Family Ties

Description: Johnny gets a surprise visit from a very close family member. But, he soon finds out that he got more than he bargained for when she interacts with her present life and gets into a little trouble of her own.

CHAPTER TWO

The attic was dark and dusty. It was as if these were decades of dust on them. Bruce wiped his hands off on his black jeans as he moved box after box. "Man, why'd we have to do this, now?" He groaned as he hit his head for the third time on the beams.

"Because, it's been years since this has been done. Besides, I haven't looked at this stuff, lately." Johnny answered as he looked through chests of old books.

"So, you dragged me over here so you could have a walk down memory lane?"

"Actually, no. I've been having these weird dreams, lately, man." Johnny closed the chest and made his way to the next.

"You think they were visions?" Bruce asked giving up on the armoire he was looking in, since it seemed as though Johnny was actually looking for something specific.

"I don't think so. I think they were memories." The psychic's eyes lit up as he found what he was looking for. He pulled an old photo album from the chest and read the label on it.

"'Johnny and Laura'?" The dark-skinned man asked.

The blond man didn't say anything as he flipped through page after page to find the right picture. "Here it is." He held it up to the dim light so Bruce could see.

Bruce stared at it intently. It was a picture of a younger Johnny and a girl with long blond hair which was tied up into two braided pig-tails and with a pair of golden-brown eyes. "Laura?" He asked. His friend nodded. Bruce looked at the caption on the side and read it aloud. "'Johnny and Laura, May 30, 1994'." The dark man gave his friend a puzzled look. "So, who is she? You look like you were pretty close."

"She's my cousin, but you never would have thought so if you saw us together. We were like brother and sister, since we were both and only child and lived a block away from each other… This was the last picture of us together." He made it clear by flipping through the rest of the pages which were blank.

"Because of the accident?" Bruce asked. Johnny nodded. "So, what happened to her? Where is she?"

The blond man shrugged. "I don't know. Her mother doesn't live here any more. She most likely moved to a smaller house, seeing as though she didn't need all that room anymore. But, Laura… She was majoring in English the last time I heard, but who knows what's she's been up to?"

She pulled into the very familiar driveway, her heart beginning to pound. It had been a long time since she had been here; eight years almost. She wondered if the man inside the large building would remember her. Would he look the same? Would he be the same person? She then mentally slapped herself. Of course he wouldn't. She had read all about him. He was different, but it was a good kind of different. He was helping people, now. It made her feel better that he was using his ability to save lives, rather than to lose them.

Her hands shook as she put her 2005 green Ford Mustang into park, behind the old blue jeep. She checked her hair in the mirror and took off her sunglasses. She took a few deep breaths and opened the car door. This was it.

"What about her mother? Did you try her?" Bruce asked as he and Johnny made their way into the kitchen.

Johnny shook his head. "I told you that she moved and her last known phone number was disconnected and I don't know of anyone else who would have her new one… Hm… Maybe I can ask Dana for help. She could probably find them… I'll call her later."

"Man, if you keep asking her for favors, she's definitely going to ask you for something big in return."

Johnny laughed sarcastically as the loud ring of the doorbell rang throughout the house. "I'll get you, later. It's probably Sarah. She wanted to discuss J.J.'s birthday party with me."

Bruce nodded as he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and followed Johnny to the door, since he was getting ready to leave and change out of those dusty clothes.

But, Bruce was refrained for leaving when he saw the shocked expression on Johnny's face. His friend was staring at the woman standing outside on the front porch. It was her. It was her long blond hair, straight and unbound as it flowed through the wind. It was her beautiful brown eyes that seemed to hide so many secrets. It was her beautiful face that was lined from so much worry.

But, there were some differences in her that were not in the photographs. She now sported a sparkling silver navel ring with a large green jewel that sat inside her navel. But that wasn't the worst part. Bruce actually found it flattering to her slender body. It was the fact that the light that was in her eyes in that picture, no longer resided in those same eyes. She wasn't the same inside, but it was still her.

She gave a nervous smile. "Hello, Johnny." She spoke with a shaky voice. It was just so hard for her to believe that he was standing right before her eyes.

He spoke with surprise in his voice. This was too much of a coincidence. But, how was be able to predict that she would appear? That what his dreams were telling him. They weren't just memories. They were visions of her coming back to him and Cleaves Mills. "Laura." He said, softly as he greeted her.


Okay, that was chapter two. Yay. I will try to work on chapter three as much as I can and try to get it done quickly.

Please read and review. If you have suggestions, I'm open to them. Thanks! :)