in Shift and you believe in High Energy, then you know there are some things greater in this world than what we can see, taste, hear, smell, or touch.”
“Of course I know that.”
“Then if you know it, you must know that sometimes we can overcome time and space.”
“Parameters of Shift 101,” Jackson retorted with condescension. “I know that as well.”
“Then how can you not understand or at the very least entertain the thought that there may be a destiny for all of us. That it already exists. There, perfect, waiting, and that we might be able to see it ahead of time?”
“I’m not denying that,” Jackson argued. “But are you telling me that Rush’s destiny was to save you on a friggin’ rooftop last night?”
Rush swallowed audibly. He watched them both intently.
“Yes and no,” Bright Star offered. She put out a hand in entreaty. “What happened last night was fate. That was like a beginning, though it wasn’t. Destiny does not start or stop. It culminates. Manifests. Events lead up to it. All events lead up to it. This was just one such event.”
“You don’t believe this.”
“I believe it.” She came around the table and grabbed his forearm in a firm grip. “I believe it, and you will believe it.
Jackson rolled his eyes and puffed his cheeks out. She stepped away from him.
“Okay, fine.” He halted her. “Where does Rush’s destiny culminate?”
“Jacob Rush will save the world!” Bright Star proclaimed with a joy so strong that she laughed and clasped her hands together.
Jackson started laughing for an entirely different reason. This had to be a joke, a preposterous one at best, but a joke just the same. He laughed so hard tears started in his eyes and he sank bank into his chair holding his stomach.
“How long did you think this could go on?” he asked his brother, who had never once, not even when they were children, played a practical joke on him.
“It’s not a joke, Jackson,” Rush said. “And for the record, I don’t believe any of it either. It’s preposterous, just like you think, but she’s not kidding. That’s why I told you to leave her alone. She really believes what she’s saying. She does. And there’s no telling what she’s willing to do to prove it.”
Jackson sobered. His brother, in his own expressionless way, looked petrified. There was something about his demeanor, the way he sat on the edge of his chair. The way he had finally stopped eating. This was no joke.
“Why does she have to prove it?” he questioned hesitantly. “If it’s your destiny to save the world, then why can’t she just wait until you do it?”
“Jackson,” Rush returned. “Sometimes you’re brilliant. Bright Star, if it’s my destiny, then won’t the deed be its own proof?”
Bright Star did not address either brother. She succeeded in getting all of the debris off the floor and back onto the table where she folded the ends of the tablecloth over the mess and tied it up so she could take the bundle to the kitchen closet. She was dressed in all white again. A pair of white slacks. A white sweater with a low neck. White shoes. He didn’t get any of this.
“Are you crazy?” He posed the question as if it were a question that ever elicited more than one answer.
“No.” She shook her head with its silken red locks, took her bundle, and left the room.
Of course, she would say no. When she was gone, Jackson and Rush faced each other. “Now do you understand why she has to go?”
“No,” was Jackson’s answer. “Now I see why she needs our help. She’s obviously a danger to herself, Rush. You and I both know that. If we turn her out now, there’s no telling what she might do to herself.”
“Jackson, we are not psychiatrists. We can’t help her. Don’t you think she belongs somewhere where people really know how to help?”
Jackson’s mouth came open in shock. What Rush had just suggested was unthinkable. Where people really know how to help?
“Jackson,” Rush attempted to soothe the effect of his last words. “It won’t be the same.”
“People in institutions do not understand how to handle Shifters. Most of the world still doesn’t even believe High Energy exists. I was lucky to go into the Service. At least they knew what it was. They understood how to handle it. They trained me to use it to…” Jackson choked off those last words as he felt the old emotions wash over him.
“Then take her to the Service.” Rush leapt on his brother’s words. “You were quick to suggest it for me.”
“You’re stronger than she is—”
Rush ignored that comment. “You’re the one who said I had to be trained. You can take her there. Take her to Ronald—”
“Randall—”
“Whatever. He won’t be able to resist getting his hands on someone like her. He’ll monitor her twenty-four hours a day. You can’t do that. Leave it to someone who can.”
The option had not occurred to Jackson. Still, as quickly as he considered it, he disposed of that as an option. “She won’t go there.”
“But, Jackson, you just said—”
“You should see the way they hold Thad.”
“Thad goes voluntarily.”
“Thad realizes he’s a threat to others.”
Rush started to say something but Jackson interrupted. “She is only a danger to herself.”
“You don’t know that—”
“And, I don’t think they will understand how to help her. She’s unstable, but all they will care about is her Talent. They’ll keep her physically alive, but they won’t take care of her mental health.”
“That’s not true, and you know it. You’ve told me so many times how they help Shifters deal with their Talents. As you well know, Shifters have a higher incidence of emotional and behavioral problems.” Rush was regurgitating everything Jackson had told him over the years.
“This is different. Bright Star is different. She is vulnerable,” Jackson’s voice broke, betraying his attempt to sway his brother.
“Not as vulnerable as you think.”
“You might have saved her, Rush, but you weren’t there.”
“Why didn’t you call the police, Jackson?”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you go after her ‘attackers,’ Jackson?”
“I don’t—”
“Why did it never occur to you to take her to her own home, Jackson?”
Rush’s little brother had no answers.
“Vulnerable?” Rush gave a nasty chuckle. “Vulnerable, Jackson? She’s not fucking vulnerable. She played you like a goddamned piano, man. That woman in there is not Mom.” Rush stated soulfully. “She’s not being persecuted or ostracized for being different. We are not casting judgment on her without all the facts. She is not broken the way our mother was broken. You know Randall Sandoval. He might be an asshole, but he would make sure she was treated well. And she truly is dangerous. You’ve seen it with your own eyes. Our mother was not crazy. She was unhappy, very unhappy, but not crazy. Please,” he begged, “don’t get the two of them confused. Bright Star will hurt people.”
“She only hurt herself.”
“She will hurt others,” Rush declared.