I see ghosts but mostly what I see is an instant replay of whatever event played out there. If it was important or traumatic to the person at the time then it’s important to me, otherwise I wouldn’t see it.
The Seer (#1)
My name is Sidney Rinn. Growing up in an orphanage without parents and not knowing where you come from is hard, especially when you have a gift like mine. I’m a seer. I can see the past in any location I enter. Sometimes I see ghosts but mostly what I see is an instant replay of whatever event played out there. If it was important or traumatic to the person at the time then it’s important to me, otherwise I wouldn’t see it.
No, I’m not psychic nor do I claim to be. I’m just your average girl with an above average talent. Unfortunately, that talent had me seeing a murder I was never meant to see, which in turn, led me two of the sexiest men on the planet – Det. Denton Archer and PI Mitchell Caldwell. When Denton asked for my help on the case, I jumped in with both feet not realizing that that decision would change everything.
Now, I’m in love with both men and the killer is after me. Can my life get anymore complicated?
EXCERPT
I’m not quite sure how to begin to spin this tale of the supernatural for you. It something that I myself am still learning to deal with but since I’ve had the “gift” since I was a child there is no use in trying to make it sound worse than what it really is, especially now that I’ve learned to turn it on and off at will.
My name is Sidney Rinn and I am a Seer. No, I’m not psychic nor do I claim to be. My gift is by far, at least in my opinion, a hell of a lot more disturbing than being able to see the future. I can walk into any building, room or space, whether inside or out, and if something happened there I can see it just as clearly as I can see someone standing in front of me. It’s almost as if I was there or more rather like watching a movie that is always on instant replay.
Sometimes what I see are residual hauntings. Ghosts who are stuck in a loop forever tormented by whatever traumatic event shook them to their core and it doesn’t necessarily have to be death. It can be something strictly on an emotional level that left its mark.
Other times, it’s the energy of the place itself. It could be that something so horrible or phenomenal happened that the event tattooed itself on the essence of the environment. Occasionally, the actors or actresses in my visions, if you will, are still very much alive.
How did I come by this gift, you ask? Well, to be honest. I’m not sure. I assume it came from my parents but sadly they either died or abandoned me as a child. I was raised in an orphanage.
How was it that a strawberry blonde child with pink puffy cheeks and strikingly blue eyes was never adopted, you ask? Well, there were several couples who entertained the idea of adopting me, however, when they found me huddled in the corner of my room screaming bloody murder or laughing hysterically, they opted to take me back. Those that kept me on longer than that just assumed that I was having some sort of childhood meltdown at living in a new house, but they too took me back once I started asking questions about things that I should know absolutely nothing about – like when I enter my “parents” room and ask why mommy is in bed with someone who wasn’t daddy. Oops!
So, I spent my childhood in St. Matthew’s orphanage. The nuns that ran the place were supremely awesome ladies. They never gave me any grief about my gift and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted, but I guess when you’ve been somewhere as long as I was you just become part of the landscape.
Secretly, I think Mother Superior either knew my parents or of my parents, because the only place I was never allowed to go into in the entire building was in her office. I swore one day I’d break in there just to find out what she was hiding from me, but sadly never got the chance. As you would expect, life got away from me especially once I became a teenager. I was no longer interested in what lay hidden behind closed doors and much preferred to hide behind them with cute boys.
Hmm… boys. Brings to mind my hot little P.I. friend that convinced me to join his team of sneaks and a smoldering detective who constantly asked for my assistance on cases but we’ll get to that later. And yes, you did catch the meaning behind “friend” correctly. Ok, maybe they’re both more than just my “friends” but like I said… later.
I guess I’ll start my story from where I aged out of the orphanage and set out on my own. I was excited, overwhelmed and had absolutely no idea where I was going or what I was doing but isn’t that what makes life interesting?
The case of a lifetime has landed on Mitch's desk and yours truly is the only woman in the world that can solve it!
One of the girls from Para University has gone missing. Her last known whereabouts is a strip club called Tailpipes, owned by the notorious Hellhounds motorcycle gang. My mission... infiltrate the club, become an insider and find out what happened to her.
Easy peasy! Or so I thought. Getting into the club was easy. Getting out alive is the hard part.
EXCERPT
I woke just as the sun was beginning to lighten the morning sky. I knew that if I didn’t get up and do this now that I wouldn’t get the chance to do it later especially since Lily had planned to take me out for a birthday breakfast before beginning preparations for my birthday bash.
Slipping out of my bed, I threw on a pair of jeans, a sweater, and my tennis shoes and grabbed my jacket before swiftly making my way down the hallway and out of the dorm to my car. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground and I almost felt guilty marring its perfection with my foot prints.
I opened my car door and climbed into a car that felt like an ice box. I turned on the engine and cranked the heater up to high. A few minutes waiting for it to heat up wouldn’t kill me. Once the heater was blowing hot and I had stopped shivering, I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to Philadelphia.
It took me about an hour to get to my destination. It might have been a little more but honestly I didn’t care. The only thing on my mind was my end destination.
I pulled into the cemetery, maneuvering my car to where I knew Denton’s grave would be. It had been exactly a year since he died in my arms and yet the pain was still so raw in my heart, you’d think it just happened yesterday.
I put the car in park and turned off the engine. Taking a deep breath for courage, I stepped out into the cold Philly morning and made my way to his graveside. His headstone was big, black and beautiful. His family spared no expense on it and I was glad for it.
Dropping to my knees I hugged the headstone. I know it made no sense but does anything really make sense when you’re grieving the loss of the man you loved? My heart ached for him. I missed everything about him from his sarcastic sense of humor down to his dominating presence. My body shuddered as a sob escaped my lips.
“The stone can’t hug you back Sid.”
I spun on a gasp and almost cried out joyously until I remembered I couldn’t actually touch him. “Denton!”
He kneeled down in front of me and ran a ghostly finger along my cheek as if he was trying to capture the tear that fell. “Why are you here Sid, crying over my grave?”
“I miss you,” I admitted. “I miss you so bad it hurts.”
He smiled sadly at me, “I miss you too baby but you can’t spend the rest of your life crying over my grave. You have a life you need to get back to, a life you need to start living.”I just shook my head. I didn’t even know how to begin to explain that the me he used to know died the day he did.
“Sid…” he whispered softly.
I looked up into those gorgeous dark eyes of his, the ones that used to suck me into their depths with a simple look, wishing I could throw myself into his arms again. “I know what you’re thinking Sid and you can’t live your life in the past. It’s not healthy and it’s not right. Not only that, you made me a promise. Do you remember?”
I nodded, mumbling, “Yeah, I remember.”
“And what have you done about it?” he asked, eyeing me the way he would eye a suspect he was interrogating.
I looked away from him embarrassed because I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t kept my promise but instead spent my days walking around like a zombie from some apocalyptic movie. “I’ve been busy with school,” I lied.
He laughed, “I hope you don’t expect me to believe that.”
I smirked, “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”
He sat down on the snow, resting his elbows on his knees, “And how’s Mitch?”
I cringed. Why did he have to bring that up? Better yet, why the hell did he wanna know? “Why? You hated the guy.”“I didn’t hate the guy but I will admit to being jealous of him since he got to spend more time with you than I did. Besides, how could I hate the man who helped me save your life?” He asked. “If it wasn’t for Mitch, we never would have found you in time.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised.
He shook his head, “Don’t change the subject. How are you and Mitch doing?”
I sighed, “There is no me and Mitch. I broke up with him a couple weeks ago.”
“Why?” he asked. Now it was his turn to look surprised.
“I didn’t know how to separate the two of you. You guys were linked in my world and if I couldn’t have both it seemed wrong to keep just one.”
He cupped my face the best a ghost could, trying to guide my face up. I just went with it since it was the best I was going to get from him anymore. “Sidney, I understand your pain, I really do, but to break things off with Mitch because of me is just cruel. He loves you Sid. Not only that but he’s a living, breathing man who can give you the life that I wanted to but won’t be able to now. Don’t shut out the world because of your pain but rather embrace it because of it.”
I smiled, “So what, you die and start writing encouraging words of wisdom for Hallmark?”He laughed, “Let’s just say there’s a world of knowledge on this side that you don’t have when you’re alive. It makes you see the world in a whole different light.”
“Care to give this girl some of your insight?”
He shook his head, “Sorry Sid, there are rules on this side of the veil that even I can’t break.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“What I can tell you, is that if you pick yourself up off this ground, dust off the snow and start living your life the way you were meant to not only will you be so much happier, you’ll find that there is a plethora of people out there who really need your help and one very special man who’s heart breaks a little more everyday because you left him.”
“So, let me get this straight,” I said to clarify. “You want me to get up, go back to school, use my super powers for good and return to the arms of the man you shared me with?”
“Yes, yes, yes and sadly yes. Part of that knowledge I have over here is of future events…”
“What do you see for me?” I asked excitedly.
He shook his head, “I can only tell you this… if you listen to me, which I know is extremely hard for you to do at times, you will have the greatest chance for the brightest
future I’ve seen for you. But there are no guarantees unless you work for it. Nothing worth having is ever given freely.”
“You know you’re killing me with this Hallmark crap, right?”
He laughed, “If my ‘Hallmark’ crap will bring a smile to your gorgeous face then it was worth it.”
I stood and he rose with me, “So what happens now? With you, I mean?”
“I’ll continue to stand watch over you as I’ve been doing for the last year,” he replied.
I arched my brow at him, “Have you been spying on me in the shower? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve felt prying eyes on my naked body a few times.”
He crossed his heart, his eyes twinkling mischievously, “It wasn’t me, I swear it!”
“Right,” I snorted. “Wait a second, if you’ve been watching over me for the last year, why did you seem so surprised when I told you that I’d broken up with Mitch?”
He sighed, “I’m not God Sidney. I can’t be everywhere at once and I do go visit my other family members. As a matter of fact, my grandmother and I had a very pleasant conversation the last time I went to see her. Did you know that she’s been talking to my grandfather for years? No wonder she was never really depressed about his death.” He shook his head, chuckling.I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jacket, “Will you come see me again?”
His eyes softened, “I don’t want to prevent you from moving on and having the life you should have but…” he held up his hand when he saw me open my mouth to protest. “I will spend every morning of your birthday with you as long as we don’t spend it here at my grave. Your destiny’s in the future Sid, not the past.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Oh hey, thanks for the file on my parents. I mean, I haven’t really looked at it yet but I wanted to at least thank you for the work you did.”
He shrugged, “It wasn’t much but it’s a start. I know you’re not interested in finding out about them right now but that may change in another year or two.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, “Do you know who they are?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Can you at least answer a question for me?”
“Maybe.”
“Are they dead or alive?”
He scratched his jaw and stared at me for several seconds before answering, “Alive.”
I gasped. I had always assumed my parents were dead and despite my over the top crazy stories, I would never had guessed in a thousand years that they’d still be alive or that they’d willingly give me away unless of course one of my crazy stories was actually true. But at the moment, it was too much for my brain to comprehend. “Alive?”
He nodded.
I shook my head, “That’s too much for my brain right now. I’m storing that away for future use.”
“Good idea. So, are you ready to head back?” he asked.
“You trying to get rid of me already?” I asked.
“Nope, was just gonna jump in the car and keep you company for the ride back.”
I grinned, “That would be awesome!”
We got in the car and I turned the heater back on to full blast. “So, you spending the day with me?” I asked, as we pulled out of the cemetery and back on to the main road.
“Nope.”
“What?” I asked, my head snapping to the right to look at him.“I’m just taking you back to where you need to be Sid.”
“Well that sucks.”
“Hey! Our agreement was for morning visitations,” he reminded me.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But the morning isn’t over until 11:59.”
He shook his head, “The morning ends at 10:59.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because lunch begins at eleven,” he grinned.
I wanted to be angry but I couldn’t. Instead I laughed, “Did you just pull a Sidney on me?”
Denton leaned back in the chair and crossed him arms, “I did learn from the best.”
“That is so true!” I teased.
“Not very modest are we?” he grinned.
I swept my hand down the front my body, “When you’re the complete package, why would I need to be.”
He laughed, “And there’s the vibrant girl I used to know. I thought I’d lost you there for a while.”
I smiled, “You kind of did.”
“Are you ok now?” he asked.
“I think I will be.”
We finished our drive back to the school talking about everything and nothing. None of it really mattered anyway. I was just glad to have Denton back, even if it was for a short period of time.
I pulled into the school parking lot and parked the car. I turned in my seat to face Denton, “I really miss you.”
He stroked my cheek making me shiver, “I miss you too.”
I looked at the clock. It was a little before nine, “You coming up with me?”
He shook his head, “Not this time. Lily’s waiting upstairs for you and I’m pretty sure she wants to throttle you for leaving.”
I snickered, “Yeah, she does have a temper especially when people mess up her plans.”
I tried to reach for his hand but my fingers went right through his, “I love you Denton.”
“I love you too Sidney Rinn.” He leaned in towards me and my belly fluttered with anticipation. There was no actual contact when he kissed me but I felt a tingling sensation across my lips that managed to work its way all the way down to my toes. I sighed happily when he pulled away, “Happy Birthday Sid.”
“I think that was the best birthday gift ever.”He grinned, “I’ll see you next year.”
I watched as he faded away. I was still sad knowing he was really gone but knowing that I’d at least get to see him on my birthday every year, even if it was only for a few hours, was enough to mend some of my broken heart.
Turning off the car, I stepped out into the cold and sighed. It was now time to face firing squad, also known as Lily. Man was she gonna be pissed that I messed up her plans for my birthday breakfast. Oh well, at least I had really good excuse.
Slipping out of my bed, I threw on a pair of jeans, a sweater, and my tennis shoes and grabbed my jacket before swiftly making my way down the hallway and out of the dorm to my car. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground and I almost felt guilty marring its perfection with my foot prints.
I opened my car door and climbed into a car that felt like an ice box. I turned on the engine and cranked the heater up to high. A few minutes waiting for it to heat up wouldn’t kill me. Once the heater was blowing hot and I had stopped shivering, I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to Philadelphia.
It took me about an hour to get to my destination. It might have been a little more but honestly I didn’t care. The only thing on my mind was my end destination.
I pulled into the cemetery, maneuvering my car to where I knew Denton’s grave would be. It had been exactly a year since he died in my arms and yet the pain was still so raw in my heart, you’d think it just happened yesterday.
I put the car in park and turned off the engine. Taking a deep breath for courage, I stepped out into the cold Philly morning and made my way to his graveside. His headstone was big, black and beautiful. His family spared no expense on it and I was glad for it.
Dropping to my knees I hugged the headstone. I know it made no sense but does anything really make sense when you’re grieving the loss of the man you loved? My heart ached for him. I missed everything about him from his sarcastic sense of humor down to his dominating presence. My body shuddered as a sob escaped my lips.
“The stone can’t hug you back Sid.”
I spun on a gasp and almost cried out joyously until I remembered I couldn’t actually touch him. “Denton!”
He kneeled down in front of me and ran a ghostly finger along my cheek as if he was trying to capture the tear that fell. “Why are you here Sid, crying over my grave?”
“I miss you,” I admitted. “I miss you so bad it hurts.”
He smiled sadly at me, “I miss you too baby but you can’t spend the rest of your life crying over my grave. You have a life you need to get back to, a life you need to start living.”I just shook my head. I didn’t even know how to begin to explain that the me he used to know died the day he did.
“Sid…” he whispered softly.
I looked up into those gorgeous dark eyes of his, the ones that used to suck me into their depths with a simple look, wishing I could throw myself into his arms again. “I know what you’re thinking Sid and you can’t live your life in the past. It’s not healthy and it’s not right. Not only that, you made me a promise. Do you remember?”
I nodded, mumbling, “Yeah, I remember.”
“And what have you done about it?” he asked, eyeing me the way he would eye a suspect he was interrogating.
I looked away from him embarrassed because I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t kept my promise but instead spent my days walking around like a zombie from some apocalyptic movie. “I’ve been busy with school,” I lied.
He laughed, “I hope you don’t expect me to believe that.”
I smirked, “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”
He sat down on the snow, resting his elbows on his knees, “And how’s Mitch?”
I cringed. Why did he have to bring that up? Better yet, why the hell did he wanna know? “Why? You hated the guy.”“I didn’t hate the guy but I will admit to being jealous of him since he got to spend more time with you than I did. Besides, how could I hate the man who helped me save your life?” He asked. “If it wasn’t for Mitch, we never would have found you in time.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised.
He shook his head, “Don’t change the subject. How are you and Mitch doing?”
I sighed, “There is no me and Mitch. I broke up with him a couple weeks ago.”
“Why?” he asked. Now it was his turn to look surprised.
“I didn’t know how to separate the two of you. You guys were linked in my world and if I couldn’t have both it seemed wrong to keep just one.”
He cupped my face the best a ghost could, trying to guide my face up. I just went with it since it was the best I was going to get from him anymore. “Sidney, I understand your pain, I really do, but to break things off with Mitch because of me is just cruel. He loves you Sid. Not only that but he’s a living, breathing man who can give you the life that I wanted to but won’t be able to now. Don’t shut out the world because of your pain but rather embrace it because of it.”
I smiled, “So what, you die and start writing encouraging words of wisdom for Hallmark?”He laughed, “Let’s just say there’s a world of knowledge on this side that you don’t have when you’re alive. It makes you see the world in a whole different light.”
“Care to give this girl some of your insight?”
He shook his head, “Sorry Sid, there are rules on this side of the veil that even I can’t break.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“What I can tell you, is that if you pick yourself up off this ground, dust off the snow and start living your life the way you were meant to not only will you be so much happier, you’ll find that there is a plethora of people out there who really need your help and one very special man who’s heart breaks a little more everyday because you left him.”
“So, let me get this straight,” I said to clarify. “You want me to get up, go back to school, use my super powers for good and return to the arms of the man you shared me with?”
“Yes, yes, yes and sadly yes. Part of that knowledge I have over here is of future events…”
“What do you see for me?” I asked excitedly.
He shook his head, “I can only tell you this… if you listen to me, which I know is extremely hard for you to do at times, you will have the greatest chance for the brightest
future I’ve seen for you. But there are no guarantees unless you work for it. Nothing worth having is ever given freely.”
“You know you’re killing me with this Hallmark crap, right?”
He laughed, “If my ‘Hallmark’ crap will bring a smile to your gorgeous face then it was worth it.”
I stood and he rose with me, “So what happens now? With you, I mean?”
“I’ll continue to stand watch over you as I’ve been doing for the last year,” he replied.
I arched my brow at him, “Have you been spying on me in the shower? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve felt prying eyes on my naked body a few times.”
He crossed his heart, his eyes twinkling mischievously, “It wasn’t me, I swear it!”
“Right,” I snorted. “Wait a second, if you’ve been watching over me for the last year, why did you seem so surprised when I told you that I’d broken up with Mitch?”
He sighed, “I’m not God Sidney. I can’t be everywhere at once and I do go visit my other family members. As a matter of fact, my grandmother and I had a very pleasant conversation the last time I went to see her. Did you know that she’s been talking to my grandfather for years? No wonder she was never really depressed about his death.” He shook his head, chuckling.I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jacket, “Will you come see me again?”
His eyes softened, “I don’t want to prevent you from moving on and having the life you should have but…” he held up his hand when he saw me open my mouth to protest. “I will spend every morning of your birthday with you as long as we don’t spend it here at my grave. Your destiny’s in the future Sid, not the past.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Oh hey, thanks for the file on my parents. I mean, I haven’t really looked at it yet but I wanted to at least thank you for the work you did.”
He shrugged, “It wasn’t much but it’s a start. I know you’re not interested in finding out about them right now but that may change in another year or two.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Can you at least answer a question for me?”
“Maybe.”
“Are they dead or alive?”
He scratched his jaw and stared at me for several seconds before answering, “Alive.”
I gasped. I had always assumed my parents were dead and despite my over the top crazy stories, I would never had guessed in a thousand years that they’d still be alive or that they’d willingly give me away unless of course one of my crazy stories was actually true. But at the moment, it was too much for my brain to comprehend. “Alive?”
He nodded.
I shook my head, “That’s too much for my brain right now. I’m storing that away for future use.”
“Good idea. So, are you ready to head back?” he asked.
“You trying to get rid of me already?” I asked.
“Nope, was just gonna jump in the car and keep you company for the ride back.”
I grinned, “That would be awesome!”
We got in the car and I turned the heater back on to full blast. “So, you spending the day with me?” I asked, as we pulled out of the cemetery and back on to the main road.
“Nope.”
“What?” I asked, my head snapping to the right to look at him.“I’m just taking you back to where you need to be Sid.”
“Well that sucks.”
“Hey! Our agreement was for morning visitations,” he reminded me.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But the morning isn’t over until 11:59.”
He shook his head, “The morning ends at 10:59.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because lunch begins at eleven,” he grinned.
I wanted to be angry but I couldn’t. Instead I laughed, “Did you just pull a Sidney on me?”
Denton leaned back in the chair and crossed him arms, “I did learn from the best.”
“That is so true!” I teased.
“Not very modest are we?” he grinned.
I swept my hand down the front my body, “When you’re the complete package, why would I need to be.”
He laughed, “And there’s the vibrant girl I used to know. I thought I’d lost you there for a while.”
I smiled, “You kind of did.”
“Are you ok now?” he asked.
“I think I will be.”
We finished our drive back to the school talking about everything and nothing. None of it really mattered anyway. I was just glad to have Denton back, even if it was for a short period of time.
I pulled into the school parking lot and parked the car. I turned in my seat to face Denton, “I really miss you.”
He stroked my cheek making me shiver, “I miss you too.”
I looked at the clock. It was a little before nine, “You coming up with me?”
He shook his head, “Not this time. Lily’s waiting upstairs for you and I’m pretty sure she wants to throttle you for leaving.”
I snickered, “Yeah, she does have a temper especially when people mess up her plans.”
I tried to reach for his hand but my fingers went right through his, “I love you Denton.”
“I love you too Sidney Rinn.” He leaned in towards me and my belly fluttered with anticipation. There was no actual contact when he kissed me but I felt a tingling sensation across my lips that managed to work its way all the way down to my toes. I sighed happily when he pulled away, “Happy Birthday Sid.”
“I think that was the best birthday gift ever.”He grinned, “I’ll see you next year.”
I watched as he faded away. I was still sad knowing he was really gone but knowing that I’d at least get to see him on my birthday every year, even if it was only for a few hours, was enough to mend some of my broken heart.
Turning off the car, I stepped out into the cold and sighed. It was now time to face firing squad, also known as Lily. Man was she gonna be pissed that I messed up her plans for my birthday breakfast. Oh well, at least I had really good excuse.
About the author:
Charlie Daye began writing at the tender age of thirteen. With an obsession for romance, happy endings and the supernatural she delves into your greatest fantasies and worst nightmares. She will have you laughing, crying, falling in love and getting angry. She will always give you a HEA but getting there is the journey worth taking.
Charlie Daye was born in Lynwood, California. Her greatest passions are music and writing. Her first short story was written at the age of thirteen. At the time her entire class was asked to write a short story for Halloween as part of a homework assignment. Most of the kids in the class wrote one to two page stories... Charlie wrote eight. The short story titled The Haunted House went on to win her district wide awards and was published locally. From their she began writing poetry as means of expression.
Since her writing career began she's has published several titles... The House, The Colonial, The Reservation, The Portrait, The Gypsy's Dance, Mistaken for a Call Girl, Her Last Request and Breeders. Four of which have been nominated for the 2012 RONE Award.
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4 comments:
Sounds very interesting.
I like supernatural books!
Thanks for stopping by!
And I love writing them. 😉
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