Sweet Nightmares

Published by Zombie Cupcake Press

83 Ducie Street, Manchester, M1 2JQ

First edition: April 2017

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

This is a work of fiction.

Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

© Copyright by Zizi Cole 2017

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, nor be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Cover design © Zombie Cupcake Press

Editing by Emily Cargile

Prologue

I looked down at my hands.  In my grief-stricken mind, I could still see the blood covering them and my arms.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I had to be able to get through this.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle everything but I had to get through it.  There was no getting out of or avoiding it.  I opened my eyes and checked to make sure my hands were clean.  I looked around the crowded funeral parlor.  There were flowers everywhere and the crowd was a sea of black.  If they only knew that a monster was sitting among them.  A monster that was responsible for everything.

My thoughts were interrupted by the minister beginning the service.  His words, that were supposed to be soothing, did not make any sense.  All I heard was the sound of his voice. What he was saying sounded foreign to me.  Nothing had made sense after that night.  The last week had been a blur of making decisions I thought I would never have to make.  These were the consequences of my actions.  I just had to make it through the day.  A couple more hours.  Then I could go home and try to forget that horrible night.

The minister interrupted my thoughts for a second time.  “Now, Alexandrea will say a few words about the dearly departed.”

I walked up to the podium and took a deep breath.  I was never any good at public speaking.  I scanned the crowd.  I recognized most of the people there.  Get it together.  Just read what you wrote and you will be done.

“I want to thank everyone for coming.” I began lamely.  “What can I say about my parents? They were amazing people.  I don’t know how I’m going to survive without them . . .”

As I read my speech, my knees started to shake.  I glanced up to see every face in the crowd on me.  I felt like they were staring into my soul.  I just hoped they couldn’t see the monster that was inside me.

1

I crept to the door and entered the room quietly.  I stalked my prey.  She was lying so quietly and unsuspectingly in her bed.  She would never see me coming.  A part of me wanted her to see me, to know who I was and what I was about to do.  I stood at the edge of the bed and looked down at her sleeping form.  I didn’t have the pleasure to listen to her scream.  I couldn’t alert my other prey.  I had to take them down quickly before the real fun could begin.

I looked down at the face that was so familiar to me, so similar to my own.  I had to kill her.  I ran a finger down her cheek.  My head was screaming to stop, but I knew I couldn’t.  I grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back, exposing the vulnerable length of her neck.

Her eyes shot open and she stared at me wide-eyed and afraid.  Her blue eyes the same shade as my own, pleaded with me not to hurt her.  I had to hurt her.  I put the knife to her throat with a shaking hand.  I pressed hard and started to slit her throat.  Blood sprayed from the wound mid-stroke, and I jumped, slightly surprised.  I knew about arterial spray but I had never experienced it first-hand.  I finished cutting her throat as quickly as possible.  I watched the life drain out of her eyes.  Her mouth worked like she was trying to speak as she died.  I did it.  I killed my own mother.

I woke up with a scream ripping out of my throat.  I was covered in sweat. I looked around the room and for a moment I was teleported back to that night.  I didn’t see the room, instead I saw another room, covered in blood splatter.  My hands had blood all over them.  I looked down and my clothes were covered in blood. I closed my eyes and counted down from ten.  When I got to one, I opened my eyes and was back in my bedroom. I looked at the clock. I slept for a whole two hours.  Great.  I knew I was going to have a hell of a time functioning today.  Good thing I had plenty of coffee downstairs.

I got out of bed.  I knew that there was no way I would ever go back to sleep before I had to be up for the day.  I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.  I looked in the mirror and studied my reflection.  My blue eyes were haunted, my cheeks looked hollowed out, and my skin was a pale color.  My long, blonde hair hung listlessly. I sighed.  Maybe if I could get more sleep at night without the nightmares plaguing me, I could convince people I was alright.  To hell with people, I wanted to convince myself.

I turned the shower on, making the water as hot as I could stand.  I stripped down and stepped into the shower.  I leaned my head against the wall and let the water beat down onto my back. How could I continue living like this?  I wasn’t eating. I definitely wasn’t sleeping.  I was full of guilt about what I had done to my parents last month.  I couldn’t even close my eyes without seeing the scene.  I knew I had to get myself together.  I stood under the shower until the water ran cold.

I got dressed and went downstairs to start my first pot of coffee.  I sat at the island and stared out of the window.  Maybe I would sit outside and watch the sun rise while I drank some coffee later.  I always loved watching the colors that painted across the sky as the sun came up.  Of course, before everything happened, I wasn’t generally up early enough to watch the sunrise.  Now when I watched the pink, orange, and blue dance across the sky, I could forget for a little bit about the horrors that had happened in my life.

I grabbed my coffee and phone and went to sit on my porch.  I stopped at the couch and grabbed a throw in case it was chilly outside.  I sat on the oversized swing and pulled my legs up onto it. The sun started to rise, and I felt the pressure of the night lift off my chest.

I must have dozed off because suddenly I jerked my head up and looked around.  The sun had completely risen now and it had warmed up to the point where I probably didn’t need to be covered up anymore.  I wasn’t sure what woke me up.  I looked around and didn’t see anything, but the distant rumble of an engine caught my attention.  I wondered who could be coming this way.  The only reason I would hear the rumble of an engine was if there was someone coming to the house.  The road that led to our house was a dead end that curved off into our driveway.  The driveway to the house was over a mile long and was lined with trees on both sides.  I watched the drive closely. Who in the world would come out here to see me? No one had been by the house since after the funeral.

A beat up 1976 Chevy pick-up truck that looked painfully familiar came into view.  It couldn’t be, could it?  I hadn’t seen him since we graduated high school ten years ago and I took off to find a bigger and better life outside of this small town. I couldn’t imagine why he would come out here.  I gently shook my head.  It couldn’t be him.  After what I did to him, he would never come see me.

The truck rolled to a stop and the driver turned it off.  I couldn’t see who was in the driver’s seat because the figure was just a shadow.  My heartrate picked up and I broke out in cold sweat.  The truck door opened and the driver got out of the truck.

The driver was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a beat up leather jacket.  The jacket looked like it had seen better days.  He was wearing tennis shoes and a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes so I couldn’t see his face clearly.  He had enough scruff on his face that it looked like he hadn’t shaved in days.  His light brown hair went past his ears and was in obvious need of a trim.

He shut the door with a resounding thud and walked slowly up to the porch.  I kept my hands in my lap as I watched him walk up because they were shaking and I still didn’t have my heartrate under control.  I managed to steady my breathing so that maybe this visitor wouldn’t know that I was so shaken up by the idea of having company, especially someone I didn’t know.  He stopped at top of the steps to the porch and turned my direction.  I could feel his eyes on me even though I couldn’t see them.  He finally spoke.

“Hey, Lex. Sorry I didn’t stop by sooner.  I would have gone to the funeral, but I was out of town and wasn’t able to make it back in time.” His voice was a deep timbre. “I’m really sorry about your folks.”

I sat there stunned.  It was him!  I couldn’t believe he was here.  I had so many questions and memories flying through my head that I just stared at him.  He took his hat off and I saw his deep brown eyes, the shade of delicious milk chocolate.  I used to sit and dream of those eyes while in class and then I would stare into them for hours after school.  Those eyes were very expressive.  It wasn’t hard to tell what he was thinking or feeling, I just had to look into his eyes.

He hadn’t changed in the past ten years.  He was a little more muscular, but other than that he was the same.  He was six-foot-tall, broad shouldered, and had a great body.  He was lean and didn’t have an extra ounce of fat on him. I studied his face.  He had a strong square jaw with a small scar on his chin where he busted it open in football practice sophomore year.  His lips were full and kissable.  His nose was slightly crooked, again, from a football injury.

He grinned. “I’ve never known you not to talk, Lex.  Cat got your tongue?”

I smiled, “I’m sorry.  I just didn’t expect to see you. Thank you, Jake.  I appreciate it.”

Jake stood there looking at me for a long moment. “You look like hell, Lex.  Do you take care of yourself anymore?”

I glared at him. “Really? I’m dealing with the death of my parents. Both of them.  I think I’m entitled to look like shit.” Mentally I added, I’m dealing with what I did.

He sat down on the swing beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.  I was tense at first but I gradually relaxed into his arm and side.  He smelled the same and felt the same as he did ten years ago.  He looked at me and said, “Tell me what happened.  I heard stories, but I want to know what you saw.”

I shook my head and my eyes filled with tears.  I couldn’t tell him.  I didn’t know him anymore.  I wouldn’t be able to tell him what happened and I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the story I told the police.  I didn’t want him to know that I was a monster.  He could not find out what I did.

“Okay, it’s alright, Lex.  You don’t have to tell me anything right now, darlin’.”

I inwardly grinned at the pet name.  He used to call me that all the time.  The only time he didn’t call me darlin’ was when he was mad at me.  It felt like no time had passed even though we hadn’t seen each other in ten years.

“What brought you back from California, Jake?”  I asked once I composed myself.  I needed to change the subject before I fell apart and told him everything.  I never could keep things from him.

“Well, I went to UCLA on a football scholarship, which I’m sure your mama told you.  During the last game of the season, I blew my knee and wasn’t able to play anymore.  Then dad needed help on the farm, so I moved back,” Jake explained.  While he was talking about his injury, I noticed that he was rubbing his left knee like it still ached.  Then he looked at me and studied my face for a moment.  “Why did you come back, Lex? When we graduated, you told me you were never comin’ back to this hellhole again.  What changed your mind?”

I looked down at the ground and tried to figure out what to tell him.  Admitting to failure was not something that came easily to me.  I sighed.  “Things just didn’t work out, Jake.  When I finished college, I couldn’t find a job and I just floundered in the city.  Then I was in a relationship that ended very badly, so I called momma and daddy, and they helped me move home.”

He hugged me with the one arm around my shoulders.  “I’m glad you’re back, darlin’.  I’ll be honest, I thought about you a lot over the years.  I missed you.  Of course, your mama told me about that bastard you were livin’ with.  He’d better hope he never runs into me in a dark alley.  He shouldn’t treat a lady like that.”

He had talked to my mother a lot apparently, so I had a feeling that he knew more than what he was letting on.  I didn’t think my mother would ever tell him about the whole situation with Michael because she knew how he would react and she knew it would embarrass me.  I shrugged.  I knew I shouldn’t have come back.  I knew it was a mistake even before the incident.  If I hadn’t come back, my parents would still be alive.  I wouldn’t have done it.

Jake changed the subject and we reminisced about high school and the times we had for a while.  It was a pleasant visit.  I hadn’t had a nice conversation with anyone since my parents had died.  I had been completely isolated for the past month except when I had to get out and go into town.  It hadn’t occurred to me how much I missed human interactions until Jake came to visit.

After visiting for a while, Jake stood up and looked down at me.  “I’m sorry, darlin’, but I gotta get goin’.  I’m supposed to help Pops in the fields.  I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing.”

“It was really nice seeing you, Jake.  Thank you so much for coming.”

“I will see you soon,” Jake promised with a smile.

I watched Jake get into his truck and back out of the driveway.  I stood up and took my stuff back inside the house.  I put the blanket away then headed into the kitchen.  I set the coffee cup in the sink and headed to the stairway.

My arms erupted in goosebumps.  I looked around the room.  I didn’t see anyone.  I walked to the window and looked outside.  There was nothing there. Yet somehow, I knew that something was watching me.  The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I swallowed hard.

I walked away from the window, rubbing my arms.  I headed upstairs to my room.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched even though I knew it was crazy.  I couldn’t think of anyone that would be interested in me.

As I went into my bedroom, I had the distinct impression I wasn’t alone.

2

I stood at my closet and stared at the clothes that were hanging there.  The feeling that I was being watched had finally passed, but it still felt like I wasn’t alone.  I glanced around the room and didn’t see anyone.  I looked back into my closet.  I needed to hurry up and get dressed.  I had things that needed to be done.  I had an appointment with the therapist that the doctor had recommended I see after the incident.  I picked out a pink flowing shirt.  It was my mother’s favorite shirt of mine.  She would constantly tell me she wanted me to wear it more.  I smiled at the memories as I put the shirt on.

Once I was dressed, I stood and looked at myself in the mirror.  I was surprised by my appearance.  I realized with enough make-up on, it was hard to tell that I wasn’t sleeping and losing weight rapidly.  I brushed out my hair and then pulled it up into a messy bun.  I didn’t want to have to deal with it getting in my face.  After putting on my final touches, I turned to head out of the room.

As I was walking to the door, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman standing by the side of my bed.  I turned quickly towards the bed, but no one was there.  I rushed over and looked under the bed.  Nothing.  I opened the closet.  There wasn’t anything there either.  I checked the window, which was closed and latched.  I frowned as I glanced around the room.

I turned towards the mirror as I headed to my door again.  In the mirror, I saw the woman standing by the bed again.  I turned back, but no one was there.  I shook my head and rushed out of the room.  I pulled the door closed firmly behind me.

***

I was sitting in the office of the therapist that the hospital had mandated I see in order to deal with the trauma of my parents’ deaths.  I was mindlessly flipping through a magazine that had been sitting on the table while I was waiting.  I wasn’t seeing the pages of the magazine, however.  I was thinking about what I had seen as I was leaving my room.

I could swear that I had seen a woman standing by my bed.  That woman looked a lot like my mother.  In fact, for a heartbeat, I had thought that my mother was standing there looking at me.  My heart had hurt when I realized that no one was there.  I decided I wasn’t going to mention the little episode to the therapist or anyone else for that matter.  They already thought I was traumatized from what I had experienced, they did not need to think I was crazy on top of it.

I was starting to think I was crazy.  It had to be my imagination.  There was obviously no one else was in the room when I turned around.  The room was empty. Hell, the house had been empty except for me since the incident.

After my third time flipping through the magazine, the door to the therapist’s office opened and an older, stout man walked out.  He was balding, he had a prominent nose, and his eyes were a dull grey. He was ordinary.  In my mind, I figured that he would make a good assassin since he was so non-descript.  No one would notice him in the usual comings and goings of any neighborhood.  He was wearing brown loafers, loose fitting khaki pants, and a white button-up shirt underneath a green sweater vest.  He smiled at me and said, “Ms Cooper if you would come with me.”

I stood up and followed him into his office.  It was decorated in dark colors.  The walls were mahogany paneling. The desk was also mahogany.  The carpet was a beige color.  There was a couch and two chairs that were a dark brown leather.   This guy definitely liked dark colors.  In the corner, he had a huge fern in a chocolate brown pot.  The walls were decorated with degrees and certificates he had earned over the course of the years.  I found it that interesting that he didn’t have any kind of prints or pictures with any important people in them.  I thought all therapists had at least one picture of them shaking hands with a governor or something.

“Please be seated, Ms Cooper. I am Doctor Fields. I want you to make yourself as comfortable as possible.  Remember, anything you say here stays here between us.  I want you to think of this as a safe environment,” Dr Fields explained.  He had a deep bass voice.  He spoke carefully and precisely like he was afraid I wouldn’t be able to understand what he was saying otherwise.

“So, if I were to tell you that I shot someone in cold blood, you wouldn’t tell anyone?” I asked with a grin.  I sat on the far side of the couch, away from him.  If he asked me to lie down I was going to get up and walk out of the room.

“Ms Cooper, if you admit to a violent crime like murder, I am under obligation to file a report with the proper authorities,” he answered grimly.

Okay, I guess he wasn’t one to take a joke.  That was fine with me because I didn’t intend to do a whole lot of joking here.  I was going to try to do what I needed to do without giving away my secrets.  He couldn’t know what really happened, no one could.

Dr Fields leant back in his chair and crossed his left leg over his right.  He picked up a recorder and set it on a table next to his chair.  “I am going to record our sessions. It helps me to be able to go back over it later when I make my notes and observations in your file.  I hope you do not have a problem with that.” He turned on the recorder after I shrugged.  “Now, how about you tell me what happened leading up to the death of your parents.”

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “Okay,” I started in a small voice.  “It was a Thursday and it was raining.  We had finished up dinner.  Momma had put the dishes in the dishwasher while I put away leftovers.  Daddy was in his office going over papers for the case he had the next day.  I’m not sure what kind of case he had.  He didn’t like to talk about work when we were having family time.  In fact, he never talked about work.  He would shut himself in his office if he had anything he had to get done before the next morning.”

“Anyway, we got the kitchen cleaned up and watched TV for a while.  I don’t remember exactly what we were watching.  One of Momma’s shows. It was either a cooking show or some kind of forensics show.  I started getting tired.  I had to be up early the next morning so I could drive to the city for an interview.  I went upstairs and went to bed.”  I hesitated at this point. I had to be really careful while telling the rest of the story.  I couldn’t let anything slip that they didn’t know already.  Things that would make me a monster. “I woke up to Momma screaming so I hurried into their room and she was dead.  There was blood everywhere.  I ran to Momma’s side and she was cold.  Her throat…”

I shuddered at the memory, and tears streamed down my face.  How was this supposed to be helpful?  Reliving the nightmare of that night didn’t seem therapeutic to me.  It seemed like torture.  Was this my punishment for what I did?

“Okay, Alexandrea.  Take a deep breath.  What about your mother’s throat?” Dr Fields coached softly.

“It was… it was… it looked…” I stuttered.  I took a deep breath and a sob escaped.  “It looked like it was ripped out.  I rushed to her side and tried to stop the bleeding.  I put my hands on her neck and started screaming for Daddy.  He didn’t come.  She was already gone, though.  I ran downstairs and found Daddy in his office.  He was dead too, so I called 9-1-1.”

I killed them. I added silently.  I grabbed a tissue off the table and wiped my nose and tried to dry my eyes.  The tears wouldn’t stop coming.  Next thing I knew, I was sobbing uncontrollably.  Dr Fields sat there and watched me cry.  He made no move to stop me or comfort me.

After I finally got myself under control, Dr Fields spoke.  “So, Alexandrea, tell me.  How have you been sleeping?  Have you been taking care of yourself?”

“I’ve been sleeping as well as anyone could in my situation, I guess.  I have nightmares, but I figure that’s normal.”

“How about taking care of yourself, Alexandrea?  Are you eating properly, showering, and getting out around people?  During this stage in the grieving process, it helps to be around people you know and care about.  It is not healthy to be alone all the time.”

I shrugged.  “For the most part, I am taking care of myself.  I eat if I’m hungry.  I get out of bed, shower, and get dressed.  But honestly, Doc, I’ve been gone so long, I don’t really have anyone anymore except my cousin.  I haven’t seen her; I know she’s busy.  I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You should go see your cousin.  Start a hobby.  Do things to take your mind off of what happened.  You have been through things most people only imagine.”

I shrugged again.  “Yeah.”

“Here’s what I’m going to do.  I‘m going to write you a prescription for something that will help you sleep.  Take one pill at bedtime.  Only take it if necessary.  You made good progress today, Alexandrea.  We are going to end the session a little early and I will see you next week.  Next week I want to try to get into more detail about what happened.”

I left his office in a daze and decided that I was going to walk down to the diner on the corner.  I figured that I could use a shot of coffee before I drove back home.  That session was brutal.  I didn’t expect him to go straight for the throat and start with the night my parents died.  I would have to prepare myself better next time.  Next time I wasn’t going to break down and cry like a freaking baby.  No fucking way.  I had to get my shit together.  That was embarrassing.

I looked around at the buildings. Growing up, I had always hated this town.  It was too small, nothing exciting ever happened.  I would spend countless hours planning and daydreaming about getting out of this place.  Now, I appreciated the small-town feel.  I loved the close-knit community. The town had so much flair and enthusiasm.  It was the beginning of fall and there were fall themed wreaths on every light pole.  The doorways of most of the business had pumpkins sitting beside them.

The people I passed on the street were giving me a wide berth as if they weren’t sure what to say to me since they knew my parents had been murdered in our home.  Our safe little town didn’t seem so safe when I thought about it.  The police had determined it was an isolated incident and they didn’t expect that the criminal was going to strike again.  They had determined it had been a result of my father’s job.  I knew better.  But I was keeping that to myself.  There were a lot of things I was keeping to myself these days.

A chill ran down my spine.  I felt like I was being followed.  I turned and looked around.  There was no one behind me. I looked up and down the street.  People were window shopping, talking, and strolling around.  There wasn’t anyone paying any attention to what I was doing.  I turned back and walked to the diner door.  I still had the feeling someone was watching me.  I paused at the door with my hand on the handle.  I looked around again, still not seeing anything.  I had to be going crazy.

I entered the diner and sat on the stool at the end of the counter closest to the cash register.  The owners had recently redone the diner to look like it did back in the fifties.  It had a black and white tile floor and the booths and stools were all red plastic.  I loved the décor in the diner.  They had made it look like an old soda shop.

I watched the waitress behind the counter.  She had long, pitch black hair pulled back into a ponytail.  She was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with a red apron over it.  Her face was heart shaped.  Her features were delicate. She reminded me of a pixie.  As she turned to face me her turquoise eyes caught my blue ones and she smiled at me.  She had a bright smile with bright red painted lips.

“It’s about time your bitch ass shows up in my diner.  I thought I was going to have to come to your house and pull you out of there by your hair.” Mia laughed.  Then she looked at me knowingly and said, “We have to talk.”

3

I looked at Mia with tears in my eyes.  She was the one person I knew I could trust with almost anything.  She had always been my strength, my rock.  She was my best friend and had been since we were babies.  We were also cousins.  We were the same age so we had gone everywhere together.  We had matching tattoos of the infinity symbol on the inside of our wrists.  Our friendship would surpass time and go on forever.

“Yes, we do,” I whispered through my tears. “I missed you, Mia.”

She reached across the counter and gave me a quick hug.  Then without another word, she made me a cup of coffee.  With a wink, she added a splash of vodka to the coffee.  That was my girl.  She always knew what I needed.  She would know that it wasn’t enough alcohol to get me drunk.  Hopefully, it was enough to settle my nerves.

“Let’s go to my office,” Mia said.  She turned to the order window.  “Cara, get out here and cover for me, please.”

As soon as the girl came out of the kitchen, Mia led me into her office.  I hadn’t realized that she had taken over the diner completely.  I knew that after graduating high school she had started working at the diner during the day while taking business classes in the evening.  She had always wanted to run the diner, but only after she had seen the world.  She wanted to explore her Italian roots more before she had to grow up.  Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.  She had to take over the diner after her father had fallen ill, and he had insisted that she keep running it after he got better.

We sat in her office and I sipped my coffee.  I wasn’t sure what she was going to tell me, but by the look on her face, it wasn’t going to be something pleasant.  She fiddled with the papers on her desk.  I wasn’t sure if she was trying to rearrange them or just keep her hands busy.  The very fact that she was fidgeting was bad. She noticed I was watching her hands and she immediately put the papers down.  She sat on the edge of the desk.

“Lex, I need you to be completely honest with me about something,” she started.  “I know you would never lie to me, but remember, I know when you’re lying.”

“What are you trying to say to me, Mia?” I asked irritably.  I had a knot in my stomach.  I was afraid of where this conversation was going to go.

“What happened when your parents died?” she blurted out.  She was looking me dead in the eye.  “I know what the stories are.  I know the police say it was about your dad’s job.  But, seriously? I know something is seriously wrong.  I can tell you aren’t sleeping.  Hell, girl, I can see the bags under your eyes.  I know you saw them after they were killed, but what aren’t you saying?”

I wasn’t sure what to say to her.  I knew this wasn’t the time or place to discuss what happened.  I also didn’t know if I should tell her what happened.  What if she turned from me? Then I would lose my family and everyone I love completely. I opened my mouth to tell her what I had told the police and therapist.

“Don’t! Do not feed me bullshit, Alexandrea Marie Cooper! I can see the lie on your face and I want to know the truth!” Mia exclaimed.

“Not here, Mia. Not here,” I whispered.  She pulled me into a tight hug.

“I love you, Lex.  No matter what,” she whispered in my ear before letting me go. She kept a comforting grip on my hands.  “Come to my place after my shift.  I’ll fix dinner and we can really talk.  We have to talk about this, Alexandrea.  It isn’t something we can avoid.  We are in this together. No. Matter. What.”

Mia’s words made me feel a little better.  Maybe I could tell her what kind of monster I was.  Maybe she wouldn’t leave me to fend for myself.  Hopefully, she wouldn’t turn me into the police for what I did.  Maybe. Just maybe.  That little spark of hope lit inside me.  I didn’t realize how dark my soul had been until that moment.

***

Later that evening, I was sitting at the table in Mia’s little cottage.  She had a little three-bedroom house that she had bought when she took over the diner.  It was perfect for her since it was within walking distance to the diner.  We were sitting in the kitchen, which was done in sunny warm colors that you couldn’t help but feel happy looking at.  The walls were a pastel yellow.  The floor was white tiles.  There were daisies on the curtains hanging on the window over the sink and over the window in the door.  The table sat in front of a huge bay window.  Her expansive gardens were visible through the bay windows.  There were fruit trees and a vegetable garden that would make any farmer jealous.

She had made spaghetti with homemade sauce for us.  I wasn’t completely certain that the noodles weren’t made from scratch.  She served a fresh salad and garlic bread, which she’d made earlier, on the side.   I sat there twirling my spaghetti on my fork laughing at some kind of offhand comment she had made. The atmosphere was light, but the tension in my stomach told me that I wasn’t going to like the conversation that was to come.

She sat down and poured both of us a glass of wine.  I knew I was going to need it after this talk.  She looked at me and her eyes became serious.  “Okay, Lex, I need to know what’s going on.  I am seriously worried about you.  For one, I know you aren’t eating or sleeping.  I also know that you haven’t been seen in town unless absolutely necessary.  I also know you’ve been avoiding me.  What I don’t know is, why?  Why the cloak and dagger routine? Why avoid everyone you know?  What are you keeping to yourself that you’re so scared to say?  I can see the demons in your eyes.”

As Mia talked, I felt goosebumps raise up on my arms.  I suppressed a shiver.  She knew. She saw the monster I had become.  She was waiting for me to say something, but I wasn’t sure I could say it.  Admitting to what I did, what I was, was probably the hardest thing I had ever done.  Well, one of the hardest things.  I watched her for any signs of apprehension or doubt.  All I saw was calm, acceptance.

“I killed my parents!” I blurted out.  I slapped my hands over my mouth.  The only way I knew that I had even said anything out loud was that I saw Mia's eyes widen slightly.

“What do you mean you killed your parents?” Mia asked carefully.

“I tore my mother’s throat out and then went downstairs and stabbed my father in the heart!” I exclaimed.  I started to shake.  Mia got up and took me by the arm gently.  She led me to the living room and sat on the couch with me.

“You couldn’t have killed your parents, Alexandrea.  It’s not possible.  You adored them.  You would never do anything to hurt them.  Why do you think you killed your parents?” she asked quietly.

“I did.  I took a knife and slit my mother’s throat.  Then I went downstairs and stabbed my father in the chest while he was sitting in his office chair.  I remember doing it.”  I shuddered at the memory.  “I was covered in their blood. Before Momma died she whispered that she loved me.  How would I know that if I didn’t kill her?”

“I know you didn’t kill your parents, Alexandrea.  According to the police, your father was killed first.  After he was attacked, the killer went upstairs and murdered your mother.  It wasn’t the other way around.  They haven’t figured out how or why you weren’t killed as well. But I can tell you right now, Alexandrea Marie Cooper, you did not kill them.  I want you to stop thinking that right now.”  Mia had nothing but confidence in her turquoise eyes.  There was not a shadow of a doubt behind them.

“How can you know that I didn’t?” I whispered.  “I can still see myself plunging the knife into my daddy’s heart.  I can feel the resistance as it broke through his skin.  I know I did it.  I’m a monster. A monster that murdered her parents.”

“I don’t know how you can remember that.  I am telling you I know you didn’t do it.  You don’t have the sequence of events right for one,” Mia said, then added, “I saw it happen.”

“WHAT?!?!” I screamed.  Then more quietly I asked, “What do you mean you saw it?  You weren’t there.  Mia, I haven’t seen you since I got back into town two months ago.”

She sighed.  She looked down into her wine for a moment.  She took a long, slow drink.  “You’re going to think I’m crazy.  I sometimes think I’m crazy.  And you aren’t going to like what I have to say, but I have visions.  I wasn’t there when they died, but I saw it.  I also know that he knew you were there.  He went into your room before he went into your parent’s room.  He watched you sleep for a minute before he went in to kill your mother.  I’m not going to go into all the details.  I can’t stand to think about it, but you didn’t kill them.  I didn’t see his face either.  All I could see was a black shadow.”

Mia took a deep breath.  “Now, before you ask, I’ve been having visions for years.  At first, they were just something that was going to happen the next day, like tests at school.  Then as I got older, they changed.  I knew when major things were going to happen.  I knew that Dad was going to get sick.  That’s why I was prepared to start working at the diner.  That’s also why I told you I couldn’t go with you like we had planned.  I knew.  I also knew that eventually you and Jake would both move back to town.  I just didn’t know exact dates.  But I had the vision of your parents dying as it happened.  Not before.  If I would have known before, I would have done everything in my power to stop it.”

She was trying to hide the tears that were filling her eyes.  I hugged her.  I knew she loved my parents.  They were her aunt and uncle. She would have done whatever she could to protect them.  I was having a hard time believing that she saw their deaths, but deep down I knew that she did.  She knew too many facts.  Facts that there was no way she could have known otherwise.

I pulled back and looked her in the eye.  “How do you know what the police know?  You said they knew that Daddy was killed first and then Momma.  How did you know that?”

She gave me a watery grin, “They have lunch in the diner every day.  I hear things that I shouldn’t all the time.  How do you think I knew you were avoiding people?  I also know that Jake went by your house today.”

“Oh. Nothing happened with Jake.  We sat on the porch.” I blushed.

“I know.  He told me.” The smile faded.  “Are you okay, Lex?  I’m scared for you.  I also have a bad feeling.”

I nodded.  I had a bad feeling as well.

4

I pulled up to the house and turned off my car.  I sat there staring at the house from the driveway.  I studied the antebellum-style house with its wraparound porch.  It was so big and lonely, I felt empty inside looking at it.  When I was growing up we had family over all the time and it seemed to be such a happy place.  I had never thought about how big the house was until I was alone in it.  I wondered why my parents had bought such a big house for just the three of us.  I knew that Daddy had purchased the house shortly after he and Momma got married.  Maybe they planned on having a bunch of kids.  They ended up only having one. I continued to stare at the house and think about what kind of plans my parents had.  I knew that when I moved back into the house, it changed some of their plans, but they had been more than happy to welcome me home.

I decided I needed to start parking in the garage.  There was enough room to park my car.  I also needed to decide what I was going to do with all of their stuff.  Everything in the house had been left to me. I’d inherited everything including the multiple bank accounts my parents had.  I was also the sole beneficiary of my parents’ life insurance policies.  I wouldn’t have to work again if I didn’t choose to.  That didn’t mean I wouldn’t.  Regardless, I had plenty of time to determine what to do with all of their stuff.

I got out of the car and went into the house.  I turned the lamp on beside the door as I walked in and heading into the living room.  I settled into an oversized white chair, kicking my shoes off.  I pushed my shoes partially under the chair knowing that I was probably going to wonder what the hell I did with them later.  I set my cell phone down on the table and picked up the television remote.  I turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels. I settled on a comedy and pulled a blanket off the back of the chair and covered up.  I took my hair down and snuggled into the chair.  I wasn’t sure how long I was sitting like that before my cell phone went off.  I glanced toward it.  It wasn’t often my phone went off anymore.  I knew by the tone that it had been a text.  I considered ignoring it but I figured if it was Mia, she would keep messaging me until I answered.  I picked up my phone and glanced at the screen. It was Jake.

Saw ya leave Dr. office. U ok?

I smiled at the text.  I hadn’t seen him when I left the office, but that didn’t surprise me.  Jake had probably been on the other end of the street.

Eh. I guess. Been a long day. I answered truthfully.

Want company?

Not really. Thanks.

U sure? Can bring beer…

When I read the last text, I smiled.  Jake knew I didn’t like beer so the beer was probably for him.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to see anyone.  Especially after everything Mia told me that evening over dinner.  Was she really psychic?  Was I truly innocent or was I really a monster inside?  I was getting ready to tell him I was sure when I heard a loud crash in the kitchen.  I screamed and jumped up.  I looked towards the kitchen but it was pitch black in there.  I was too scared to go see what had happened. So I texted Jake back instead.

Come on over. Front door open. Hurry.

I grabbed the baseball bat that I had stashed under the couch and turned the chair so I was facing the kitchen.  No one was going to sneak up on me.  I hadn’t taken my eyes off of the kitchen doorway when I heard Jake’s truck pull up.  He had only taken a couple of minutes to get here.  I heard another noise in the kitchen just a few seconds before the front door opened and Jake ran in.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?” he asked, his eyes following my gaze towards the kitchen.  “Got here as fast as I could.”

“I think there’s something in there,” I whispered.

Jake took the bat out of my hands and headed towards the kitchen.  He disappeared into the darkness and I held my breath.  I heard him swear and saw the lights turn on.  He walked back into the living room and set the bat down.

“There’s nothing there, but looks like some kind of critter got in there.  The vase from the table was knocked off and broken.  There’s broken glass everywhere.  Did you happen to leave a window open?” he asked.

“No.  I’ve kept the central air on and everything locked up tight.  And I didn’t see any animals come out.  I’ve been watching the door since I heard the crash and nothing has even gone past the doorway.  Are you sure there wasn’t an animal or something in the kitchen still?  Did you check the pantry?”  I asked, even though my eyes never strayed from the kitchen doorway.

Jake raised an eyebrow.  “Yeah, I’m sure.  I looked everywhere before I came back in here.  That’s odd.  I’ll go clean it up, then bring in the beer.”

I nodded at him and watched him walk into the kitchen.  He moved around the kitchen like he did when we were younger.  He remembered where everything was.  It made me smile a little.  Jake hadn’t been here in ten years and still acted like he was at home here.  Jake finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and headed towards the front door.  He smiled and winked at me as he walked past.  I pulled the blanket up to my chin after he walked out the door.

When Jake came back in, he held a case of beer and a box of pizza.  He set the pizza on the coffee table and the beer on the floor, half under the table so it was out of the way.  He lifted up the lid and the wonderful aroma of Hawaiian pizza drifted to my nose.  My mouth started watering.  I hadn’t eaten very much at Mia’s house so the pizza looked amazing.  Jake handed me a piece along with a napkin.  With the first bite, I moaned.  It was pure ecstasy.

“You sound like you’re enjoying it,” Jake grinned.  “I remember when you would make that noise for me.”

I about choked on my pizza.  He handed me a bottle of water.  The man thought of everything.  He was still grinning once I stopped coughing.  I shook my head and took a long drink of the water.  I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks.  “That was a long time ago.”

Jake smiled broader.  “It could happen again.  You never know.”

I scoffed, “Yeah right.  How would your girlfriend or wife feel about that?”

“Oh, she wouldn’t mind too much,” Jake replied.

I looked at him sharply.  I didn’t know if he was married or not, but he surely had a girlfriend.  A man with his looks didn’t stay single for long.  I figured that I probably should change the subject before things got too intense.

“Jake, how did you get here so fast?  You only took a couple of minutes from the time that I texted you.” I wondered.  When I thought about it, it didn’t take him any time whatsoever to get to the house.  I lived far enough out of town that it should have taken him a good fifteen minutes to get to me.

He shrugged.  “I was just down the street.  Figured you wanted company and was just being difficult, darlin’.”

“Thank you, Jake. Really.  I mean it.  I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t have shown up.  I know there was nothing there, but honestly, after everything that’s happened, I was too scared to look.  To move, actually,” I confessed.  It was nice to have someone else in the house with me.

“Honestly, Lex, I’m shocked you’re staying here by yourself anyway.”

It was my turn to shrug.  “The police said it was clear, I have a security company coming tomorrow to set up a new security system, and where else am I going to stay?  I mean yes, Mia would let me stay with her, but she doesn’t need me moping around her house all the time.  And it feels wrong not staying at the house and having it empty.”

“Makes sense.  You should have had the security system installed as soon as you were allowed back in the house, Lex.  You really need that if you’re going to be staying here.  I’m worried about you being alone all the way out here especially if a broken vase is going to scare you that badly.  When I walked in, Lex, my heart about stopped.  You looked so scared in that chair with that bat.  You should never have to feel that scared.  I don’t want you scared unless we’re watching a scary movie together or at a haunted house.”  Jake paused to open a beer and take a long drink.  “But we’ll worry about all that tomorrow.  Tonight we are gonna chill and watch a movie.  Just like old times.  Now get over here on this couch with me.  We can watch a comedy or something.  Nothing scary or sad.  I don’t like seeing the shadows in and under your eyes.”

I moved over to the couch beside him and curled up into his side.  We settled on a comedy that I had seen a hundred times.  As we sat there, it felt like when we were teenagers.  I thought back to when we were younger. Jake had been the captain of the football team, and I had been the captain of the cheerleading squad.  When he’d asked me out freshman year, I was ecstatic.  He was the guy every girl wanted.  He had wanted me.  We had dated all through high school and we’d had the perfect relationship.  We’d argued (who didn’t) but it was never anything major.  Everyone thought that we were going to be together forever and have our happily ever after.  Then I had gotten accepted to New York State and he had gotten the football scholarship at UCLA.  I hadn’t been willing to change my dreams to go to California and I hadn’t wanted to stay here.  Jake had been willing to follow me, but I hadn’t let him.  So that was why we’d gone our separate ways.  I remembered seeing the hurt in his eyes as I told him that I was going and I didn’t want him to come with me.

I looked up at him.  I felt horrible about how things had happened, and how it had ended.  I also felt like he needed to know the truth about what happened then. But that was another secret that I didn’t think he should know.  I studied his profile.  He had a strong jaw and long eyelashes. He had always reminded me of a Greek God reincarnated.  “Jake, I’m sorry for everything.”

He glanced down at me, confused.  “Sorry for what, darlin’?”

“Leaving, not letting you come with me, not going with you, being a major bitch.  Everything,” I explained.

“Oh,” Jake said.  He acted like he was going to leave it at that.  Then he added, “Don’t worry about the past, darlin’. Just focus on the future.”

I smiled.  Typical Jake.  He was perfect in every way and always had been. He wouldn’t let anything keep him down and he was so forgiving, I knew I didn’t deserve him.  How had I let him go?  Now he acted like no time had passed and things were the same as they always had been.  I should probably discuss that with him and remind him that we weren’t together even though I was sure he was already well aware of that.  But for tonight, I was going to enjoy being comforted and held.  It had been a long time since I had felt like this.  I hadn’t felt completely safe since before I left New York to come back home.  Even half the country away, I still didn’t feel completely safe.  It had been too easy coming home.  I snuggled closer to Jake and wrapped my arms around him.  He was completely solid under his shirt.  I doubted there was an ounce of fat on his flat stomach.  I took a deep breath and could smell his cologne, which was the same musky, all male scent he had in high school.  I could feel myself drifting off and tried to keep my eyes open.  They slowly drooped closed.

***

I woke up to the smell of bacon frying.  I sat up and looked around the room.  It was daylight and the pizza box was gone.  I noticed there was a pair of men’s tennis shoes on the floor by the couch, which that meant Jake was still here.  I looked at the clock.  It was seven in the morning.  This had been the longest I had slept in quite some time.  I got up and walked into the kitchen.   Jake was in there with his back to me, frying bacon on the stove.  Before I had managed to make my presence known, Jake spoke. “Go ahead and sit at the island.  I’ll bring your coffee to you, darlin’.”

I walked over to the island and sat down.  He set a cup of coffee in front of me, then slid me the sugar bowl and the little ceramic creamer pitcher.  He knew that I was picky about my coffee.  I doctored my coffee before speaking.

“You stayed the night?  You didn’t have to do that, you know.  You also didn’t have to fix breakfast.  But, thank you.”  I sipped my coffee.  He still made wonderful coffee.

He leant on the island and smiled at me.  “You’re welcome.  Honestly, Lex, I couldn’t have left if I wanted to.  You had a death grip on me all night. You were sleepin’ so peacefully I didn’t wanna disturb you.  I got the feeling you don’t sleep like that often these days.”

I shook my head.  “No, I don’t.  I haven’t slept all night in a month.  I have nightmares.”

What was my deal opening up to people like this?  I shouldn’t have admitted that I was having nightmares.  He didn’t know everything either.  I needed to be more careful with what I said to everyone from now on.

“I’m not surprised you’re having nightmares, darlin’.  You’ve been through something horrible.  It would surprise me if you weren’t having nightmares.”

I decided that it was time to change the subject.  “I heard that your dad had taken over the farm again, so what do you do now?”

I watched Jake tense.  I was surprised.  He was always so open.  I also wasn’t sure why his occupation would cause such a reaction.  He turned and went back to the bacon before it burned.  He waited so long to answer I wasn’t sure that he was going to.

“Well, darlin’, I still help my dad with the farm.  I just do a little of this and a little of that in my free time,” he answered.  He sounded like he was avoiding the subject, but if he didn’t want to tell me, I wasn’t going to make him.

“I’m going to run upstairs and get dressed and brush my teeth.  I need to freshen up since, apparently, we slept on the couch.” I got up and headed up the stairs.

When I got to my bedroom door, I noticed it was slightly ajar.  I knew that I had shut my door firmly when I had left yesterday to head into town.  I cautiously walked into the room.  Nothing seemed out of place, yet I had the feeling that everything was off somehow.  I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.  When I came out, I changed my clothes.  I turned to the bed and noticed a rose sitting on my pillow.  I walked over and gently picked it up, pricking my finger on a thorn.  I put my finger in my mouth and looked at the rose.  It was deep red and absolutely beautiful.  Jake must have left it for me, but I would’ve thought that he would’ve made sure to remove the thorns. I turned with the rose in my hand and saw a vase of roses sitting on my vanity.  There was a card tucked into the roses.  I walked over to the vanity and reached for the card with shaking hands.  My stomach dropped and I had a feeling of impending doom come over me.  I pulled the card out and opened it.

The card read: SWEETHEART, SOON.

I dropped the card and watched it hit the floor.

5

I rushed out of the room and down the stairs.  Jake was still in the kitchen.  He was making eggs and hash browns now.  I stopped in the doorway, trying to catch my breath.  Jake turned around, took one look at my face, and froze.

“What’s wrong, Lex?  You have absolutely no color in your face.” Jake studied me.  “I would actually go so far as to say you look spooked.”

“Were you in my room?” I asked seriously.

“No, ma’am, I wasn’t.  Why?”

I felt light headed.  This couldn’t be happening.  I thought I had gotten out of there.  I thought I would be safe back at home.  Maybe I should pack up and leave.  He would probably still be able to find me then, too.  I was beginning to think that I would never be safe again.

Jake walked over to me and guided me to a chair.  “Alexandrea. What. Is. Wrong?”

He called me Alexandrea.  He never used my real name. It was always “Lex” or “darlin”.  He must be seriously worried about me.  I knew I had to tell him.  I also knew that something had to change.  I couldn’t keep going like this.  I had to stand up for myself.  I hated being weak.

“There are roses in my room,” I told him.  “They weren’t there when I left yesterday.  I know there weren’t any roses in my room yesterday.  One was on my pillow and I pricked my finger on a thorn.  There was also a vase full of roses on my vanity with a card.”

He looked at the finger I was holding out to him for inspection.  He then looked me in the eye.  “What does the card say?”

“It says ‘Sweetheart, soon.’ That’s all that it says.  No signature or anything.”

“Lex, do you know who it’s from?” he asked.

I shrugged.  I wasn’t sure what to say.  Michael was so far away, so realistically it couldn’t be him, but I didn’t know anyone else it could be.  He was the only person that had ever called me “sweetheart.” How could I point a finger at a man all the way in New York?  “My ex is the only person I can think of, Jake.  Honestly, I can’t see how it could be him.  He’s all the way in New York and we’re in mid-Missouri.  Seems a little unrealistic, doesn’t it?”

Jake was quiet for a minute.  He looked over my head like he was trying to decide what he wanted to say. He took a deep breath.  “We need to call the sheriff and let him know what’s going on.  He isn’t going like it.  He may wanna get ahold of this guy and make sure that he’s actually still in New York.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Jake called and talked to the sheriff on the phone.  After he got off of the phone, he looked at me and smiled. “He’ll be here in a little bit with a deputy.  They’ll come in and take prints.  I told him about the broken vase last night.  Better safe than sorry.”

Jake fixed our plates and set them on the island.  We ate breakfast in silence.  He kept glancing at me.  I knew he was watching me pick at my food.  I didn’t have an appetite after the events of the morning.  I was definitely going to make sure that the new alarm system was installed soon.  When we finished eating breakfast, I got up, rinsed the dishes, and loaded them in the dishwasher. I turned to wipe down the island and caught Jake smiling at me.

“Just like the good ole’ days, right darlin’?” He smiled.

I couldn’t help but smile back.  He’d always had that effect on me.  I doubted that would ever change.  I had missed him over the years.  I still did miss him in every sense of the word.  Having him around made my heart full and hurt at the same time.  I was sure it was too late now, but I wished we could make up for all that lost time.  I wanted to take back all my stupid actions.  Moving away had been a big mistake and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to fix it.  That was a problem for another day.

Jake arched an eyebrow at me.  “Darlin’, where did you go just then?  You got a faraway look on your face, then you looked sad.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I lied.  “I was just thinking about things I need to do on top of the police coming to invade my space, again.  I know it’s necessary, but I don’t want them in my room.”

Jake’s phone went off.  He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then gave me a hooded look.

“I gotta take this in the other room.”  He walked away as he answered.  “Yeah, give me a second.”

Puzzled, I watched him walk out of the room.  He’d pretty much told me that he was single, but then he got a phone call he didn’t want me to hear.  Maybe he had lied to me.  Maybe he had changed more than I thought.  It had been ten years and we were almost thirty now.  I took a deep breath.  Maybe I was just reading too much into it.  I sighed.  I was so confused.  I sat there tapping the counter with my nails.  I knew that he would tell me if he wanted to, and it wasn’t like we were a couple or anything anymore.  We were practically strangers these days.

While listening to the murmur of his voice from the other room, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to see an outline of a person standing near the pantry.  I stopped mid-tap and just stared at the figure.  While I watched, the image seemed to come into focus.  The figure’s shape was very familiar to me.  I felt my heart stop and jump to my throat.  As the figure came into focus I realized I was staring at my mother’s corporeal form.  OH MY GOD! My mother was now a ghost.  It wasn’t bad enough that my mother had been brutally murdered? She wasn’t getting any peace, either?

My eyes welled with tears as I whispered, “Momma?”

The ghost smiled and nodded at me.  The tears started to trail down my cheeks.  Before I could stop myself, I was apologizing to her. “Momma, I am so sorry.  I didn’t mean to.  I know what Mia told me, but I’m still so sorry.  Please forgive me.  I’m sorry.”

She started to fade away and as she did, I heard her sweet voice in my ear, “Oh, sweetie, you didn’t do anything.”

Before I could get myself under control, Jake spoke from the doorway where he was standing with his phone forgotten in his hand.  “Darlin’, what exactly are you sorry for?  What didn’t you mean to do? And who were you talkin’ to?”

The color drained from my face as I looked at him.  He had a look that was a mix of concern and confusion on his face.  I wasn’t sure what all he heard or saw, but I could tell that he’d heard enough.  What was I supposed to tell him?  That I thought I murdered my parents and my mother was haunting me now?  Was I supposed to tell him that my cousin claimed she was psychic and she ‘saw’ my parents being murdered?

“Um, I didn’t mean to… uh…” I stammered. Then I got an idea.  “I didn’t mean to forget I was supposed to meet Mia for some shopping today.  She got someone to cover her shift and we were gonna drive into the city, but with the vases, and everything going on, I forgot.  I was talking to her on my Bluetooth.”

He leaned on the doorframe, clearly not believing a word I said.  He looked down like he just remembered he had his phone in his hand still.  It had started ringing again.  He looked back at me and sighed.

“One of these days Alexandrea, you’ll start to trust me again.  I know you went through some awful shit, but damn it.  I-” he cut himself off.  He obviously wasn’t going to finish his thought.  He answered the phone instead.  “Morris.  Yeah, I can do that.  Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him.  “Well, that was quite the conversation.  Jacob Lee Morris, when did you start being so short with people on the phone?”

Instead of answering me he shrugged.  “You have your secrets, I have mine.”

He continued to look at me.  He looked like he was trying to find the answers in my face.  He gently reached out and wiped a tear that was still on my cheek off of my face with his thumb.  He looked at the tear drying on his thumb.  He looked back at my face.  He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

“After the sheriff gets here, I gotta go for a while, darlin’.  You gotta go meet Mia anyway, so remember, don’t look so panicked.  I’ll come back tonight and sleep on the couch so you can rest easy.  I’m here for you.”

The sheriff and deputy chose that moment to come knock on the door.  Jake got up and let them in.  They followed him into the kitchen.  Sheriff Garrett Jones was an older, stocky man that had been sheriff since I was a kid.  I remembered he used to come to the house frequently with his wife and kids when my parents had cook outs and dinners.  Sheriff Jones was a close family friend and I had graduated with his son Bradley.  He had a gentle smile on his face when he walked into the room.

“Alexandrea, it’s good to see you again, even under the circumstances.”  He shook my hand.

“Hello, Sheriff Jones.  It’s good to see you again, too.”  I answered automatically.  Being polite had been ingrained in my person.  My parents had been big on manners.

“So, tell me what happened.”  Sheriff Jones said.

Jake grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  I smiled gratefully and told the sheriff everything I knew about the roses and the events of the night before.

“Well, I came home last night from having dinner with Mia, probably around nine or so.  I was sitting in the chair watching TV when I heard a crash.  I texted Jake and he came over and checked it out for me.  The crystal vase Momma kept on the table had fallen off the table and broken.  Anyway, we continued watching TV and I fell asleep.  I woke up around seven this morning and went upstairs to get freshened up for the day.  My bedroom door was slightly ajar and I knew I had shut it all the way when I left yesterday.  I found a rose on my pillow and a vase of roses on my vanity.  I came down and told Jake about it, and he called you.”

“Who has keys to the house?” He asked taking notes in a little notebook.

“My parents and I do.  I don’t think anyone else does.  They used to keep a spare key hidden outside but only Jake, Mia, and I know where the key is kept.  But I think Daddy took the key from the hiding place after I came home from New York.”

“Okay, Deputy Price is going to go upstairs and fingerprint the room.  I’ll be honest with you, Alexandrea, it is going to make quite the mess.  You’re going to need to deep clean your room after all prints have been lifted.  We’re also going to take the vase of roses in for evidence,” he explained.

“Keep the damn flowers,” I told him wholeheartedly.  “I never want to see them again.”

Deputy Ethan Price nodded at me. Jake stood up and showed him to my room.  I stayed in the kitchen with Sheriff Jones.  The sheriff leaned on the counter and watched me as I sat down on a barstool.  I wanted to squirm under his intense look.  When my parents had died, the state police had been called in because Sheriff Jones couldn’t be completely unbiased and objective.  He reached across the counter and held my hand. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

“Alexandrea, I’m so sorry about your folks.  I’m also sorry I haven’t been by to check on you.  You know you’re like part of my family, and you always will be.  Don’t hesitate to call me or Joanna if you need anything.  Hell, you know that Bradley will come help with anything you need too.  He is only an hour away,” he consoled.

“Thanks, Garrett.  I’ll keep that in mind.” I leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek.

“Do you know where your parents’ keys are?  It might be a good idea to get them together so you know exactly where they are.  I know it gets really dark out here and to be a beautiful, young woman alone in a big house can be frightening,” he told me.

“I think Momma’s keys are in her purse in the coat closet and Daddy kept his keys in his desk.  There’s a lock smith and a security company coming this afternoon to change the locks and install a security system.  I’ve never been scared to be here before.” I admitted.

He nodded his approval.  Before he could say anything else, Jake and Deputy Price came downstairs.  The deputy took the vase of flowers out to the car while Jake made his way to the kitchen.  He rubbed my back and looked between me and Sheriff Jones.

“Everything okay?” he asked, smiling.

Sheriff Jones straightened and shook hands with Jake. “Everything’s fine, Jake.  Just keep an eye on our girl.”

“I intend to,” Jake answered.

Deputy Price came back into the kitchen.  He looked at the sheriff and said, “Sir, we found something odd upstairs.”

“What’s wrong, Ethan?” Jones asked.

“There were no fingerprints in her room.  Anywhere.  The only finger prints we found were on the card.  I’m assuming that they were hers where she read it,” Ethan explained, nodding in my direction.

Sheriff Jones looked sharply at the deputy.  “Show me.”

While the sheriff and his deputy were upstairs looking over my room, Jake and I sat in comfortable silence.  I leaned against his side for a minute.  I was enjoying the reassuring presence that was Jake.  I heard the men coming back down the stairs, talking.  I couldn’t hear what they were saying but their voices got louder as they came closer.   They came back into the kitchen.

“Okay, Alexandrea, I think we got everything we can get.  I’ll let you know what we find out.  Oh, and I forgot to ask you earlier, do you know anyone at all that would do this?”  Sheriff Jones asked as he pulled his notebook back out of his pocket.

“The only person I can think of lives all the way in New York.  His name is Michael Wallace.  He’s a financial analyst at some company in New York City.  I haven’t seen or heard from him since I came back home,” I told them.  I caught a glance between Jake and the sheriff.  It was an odd glance.  It made me uneasy.

“Okay, I’ll check him out just to be sure and get back to you.  I’ll see you two later.”  Sheriff Jones tipped his hat in a way that reminded me of cowboys in old westerns that would tip their hat in a sign of respect.  I grinned. That was Garrett Jones for you.  Old fashioned to the core.

Sheriff Jones and Deputy Price left as quietly as they came.  Jake looked at me and smiled again.  He seemed to smile a lot.  He squeezed my hand similarly to the way that the sheriff had.  “Darlin’, I’m sorry, but I gotta run.  I’ll be back tonight like I said earlier.  Make sure those security people change the locks and show you how to work the security system.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.”  I watched him walk to the front door.  After he shut the door, I picked up my phone and made a call.  “Hey, I know you’re working, but do you think you can get someone to cover for you and come over to the house?  See you soon.”

I set the phone down.  If Michael had anything to do with what was going on now I was going to be prepared.

6

Twenty minutes after I made the phone call, there was a knock at my door.  I ran over to answer it.  Mia stood on the other side with a duffle bag in her hand.  I smiled and moved so she could come in.

“I wondered if you would call me after what I told you last night,” Mia started.  “I’ve also been having a feeling you needed me today, but I knew Jake was coming by last night.  Or at least planning on it.”

“How did you know he came by last night?” I asked.  She never ceased to amaze me.  She always seemed to know things about me before I did.

She smiled brightly.  “Where do you think he got your number?  He told me he wanted to get ahold of you to see how you were and I knew you wouldn’t object to him having your number.”

It never occurred to me that she would give Jake my number.  I also didn’t think twice last night about how he knew my number.  I had his because Momma had given it to me when he moved home.  I had just never used it.  I assumed he had my cell phone number the whole time.

“Now, let’s get to the reason you called me.  I know you wanna know more about my visions, and I’ll explain, I promise, but for now we need to work on toughening you up.”  Mia interrupted my musings.  “Go change into something more comfortable and I’ll meet you in the workout room.”

I ran up to my room and walked in.  There was black powder all over the room.  Sheriff Jones wasn’t kidding when he said that I needed to deep clean after they were done with it.  I put on a pair of black yoga pants, a black sports bra, and a black tank top.  I pulled my hair up into a high pony tail.  I looked at myself in the mirror.  This felt like a monumental moment for me.  It was a time of change.  I could feel it.  I was going to be ready for anything.

When I made my way into the workout room, I found Mia there. She was dressed in tight short shorts, that her ass would have hung out if they were any shorter, and a sports bra.  She was sitting on the mats on the floor.  She had also put boxer tape on the floor by the mat.  She turned and looked at me.  She studied my outfit for a moment before seeming to approve of how I was dressed.

“Okay, do you want to work out first or try hand-to-hand combat and self-defense first?” Mia gave me a wicked smile.  She had been wanting me to learn the fighting techniques for years and now here I was, actually doing it.  She knew several forms of martial arts including Krav Maga and Jui-Jitsu.

Mia had always believed that she needed to protect herself and know how to fight if it was necessary.  While the other girls and I were in dance classes, Mia was in self-defense classes.  Now that we were grown, she spent a couple nights a week teaching self-defense to women at a local community center.  We hadn’t discussed how much it would have helped while I was in New York, but I think she knew.

“Let’s do a workout first,” I decided.

Mia sat on the mat and started stretching.  I followed her lead.  She had always been the strong one and it was now time for me to get some strength of my own.  We stretched all of our muscles before we got on the treadmills and started our run.  She started out at a slow pace, then gradually sped up.  Within minutes we were running at a pretty good clip.  This continued for several minutes.  After running, we worked with weights and other various muscle building machines.

It felt like my muscles were on fire and I wanted to drop dead and sleep for a month, but Mia wasn’t done with me yet.  When we finished with the weight machines, we did a cool -down jog.  At the end of the run, Mia looked at me and smiled brightly.

“Okay, now let’s go to self-defense,” she laughed at the expression on my face.

We worked on self-defense for over an hour.  When she felt like I could remember the maneuvers she let us stop for the day.  I felt bruised and didn’t think I was going to be able to move a muscle in the morning.  I also had to clean my room before I could sleep in it.  I quickly decided that the cleaning could wait until the next morning, I could sleep in the guest bed.

Mia was standing over me on the mat laughing at me.  She put her hands on her hips and said, “Get your lazy ass up.  We have more to do.”

I groaned.  I could only imagine what she had in store for me now.  I slowly got to my feet and followed her out the door on the opposite side of the room.  When we walked in, the smell of chlorine assaulted my nostrils.  We were in the pool room off the side of the house.  My parents had added the pool room when I was younger.  The pool had originally been outside, but my parents had been afraid that something would happen and I would fall in and drown. They had decided to expand the house so that the pool could be inside.  To the left of the pool was the hot tub.  Mia locked the pool room door behind us and took off her top and shorts.  I looked at her in shock.

“What the hell are you doing?!?”  I exclaimed.

“We are going to relax our muscles in the hot tub and I don’t want to get my outfit wet. So either strip or get in like that. I don’t care but you are getting your ass in the hot tub.”  She led by example, climbing into the hot tub naked.  She looked at me and laughed, “C’mon, it’s not like anyone’s going to walk in.  And if ‘anyone’ does come in, it’s not like he hasn’t seen it before.”

I took my clothes off and joined her in the hot tub.  I could feel my muscles relaxing from the intense workout we just had.  I sighed. Mia laughed.

“See, I told you that you could do it. While we’re relaxing, I can answer your questions.” Mia said.  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.  “I might as well start at the beginning. I already told you that I’ve been having visions pretty much all my life, but it’s more than that.  So much more.  Yes, I have visions. They are so intense I feel like I’m there.  I can feel the floor beneath my feet, I can hear the white noise of the room.  It’s like a dream, but so much more than that.  Then there’s the empathy.  I feel what others are feeling.  That’s why I’m such a moody bitch.  I can’t handle extreme emotions.  When I had the vision of your parents last month, it was the worst I had ever had.  I was getting feelings from your parents and the murderer.  And I’m telling you this for the last time, it wasn’t you.  I know it wasn’t.  We will find out who it was and they will pay dearly for it.”

Mia opened her eyes and sat upright.  “I’m still having a bad feeling.  That’s why I was so relieved that you called.  It’s like a cloud of darkness and evil is trying to surround you.  I will be damned if I let it consume you, Alexandrea.  I also know that Jake won’t let it consume you either.  Now, if you have any questions, ask away.”

“Can you see ghosts?” I asked. Mia’s eyes got huge.  She looked as surprised as I was that I had asked that.  It wasn’t even a question I’d figured I would ask her.

“No….” Mia trailed off.  “Why?  I do know they exist, but I can’t hear or see them.”

“Oh, I’ve seen my mother twice now,” I admitted quietly.

“What did she say?  When was this? Where were you?” Mia bombarded me with questions.  I could see the excitement in her eyes.

“She told me I didn’t do anything.  The first time was yesterday before I went to see the shrink.  Then this morning when Jake left the room to talk on the phone.  Yesterday I was in my room, and I thought I saw her out of the corner of my eye.  I wasn’t sure.  I thought my mind was playing games with me.  Then today she was standing in the kitchen.  She whispered to me that I didn’t do anything and then she disappeared.” I held my elbows.  “I hate seeing her like that, knowing she’s trapped on this earth as a ghost and it’s my fault.”

“Oh, honey, it isn’t your fault. She has to make sure you’re okay before she moves on.  I’m sure that’s why she’s still here.  She even told you it isn’t your fault.  What you’re feeling is survivor’s guilt.  You don’t need to feel guilty.”

I took a deep breath then released it.  “So why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“What and be an outed freak for no reason? You’re nuts, girl.  Honestly, Lex, the only reason I told you about the visions is so that you would stop blaming yourself for your parents’ deaths.”  Mia shrugged.

I laughed.  Leave it to my amazing cousin to put things in perspective in a way to lighten the mood.  The rest of our soak was relaxing and we just spent time catching up on the last few years.  Granted, we knew about the major things and had talked a little over the years, but this was the first chance we had to really catch up in a while.

***

Mia and I were sitting on the floor eating Chinese food from the cartons when Jake walked in the door.  He stood at the door and took in the scene.  Then he frowned at the doorknob.

I held a box of Chinese food out to him and smiled.  “Want some?”

He frowned at me as he walked into the room.  He was annoyed about something and I was sure he was about to tell me about it.

“Why is that door unlocked?” he asked.

Mia giggled and I grinned.  We had discussed what his reaction to the door being unlocked was going to be.  We had left it unlocked intentionally just to see what he would do.  I shrugged.

“We knew you were coming back, so we left the door open for you.  Why else would it be unlocked?”  I answered.  I felt like it was an obvious answer.  Apparently, Jake didn’t think so.

“I see,” he said.  He took his shoes off by the door and went into the kitchen.  I heard the water turn on then off, the refrigerator open and close.  Then I heard the distinct sound of a beer bottle opening.  He came back into the room, took the offered Chinese container, and sat on the couch with it.

He sat and brooded for a few minutes.  I couldn’t believe he was that upset about it.  Mia didn’t seem to mind that he was upset.  It wasn’t like we couldn’t take care of ourselves.  Okay, Mia could take care of us, and I would be able to eventually.  He finally relaxed his shoulders and grinned his crooked grin.

“I know what you two are thinking.  I can see it on your faces.  I know I’m being an ass, but damn it, Alexandrea, I don’t want to see anything happen to you,” Jake snarled.

Mia stifled a giggle.  It was obvious she knew something I didn’t.  But when was I ever completely clued into what was going on?  I looked between the two for a minute, then decided to do what I did best and ignore it.

The rest of the evening went completely event-free.  We talked and enjoyed each other’s company just like old times.  After midnight, Mia decided to take her leave.

“Well, love, I better get going.  I have to open the diner in the morning.  I’ll be over after my shift to work out, and tomorrow we’re going to go over some hand-to-hand combat.” Mia laughed when I groaned.  “Don’t forget, you asked for it.”

I walked her to the door, locked it, and set the alarm.  I seated myself beside Jake and just sat there for a moment.  It seemed like the silence stretched on forever.  He seemed perfectly content to just sit there and not say a word.  I finally looked at him and broke the silence.

“Were you really mad the door wasn’t locked?  I mean, it isn’t like you knocked or anything to get in.  You just walked in,” I said.

He looked at me for a moment.  “I wasn’t mad, per say.  I was more concerned and worried.  After there was someone who didn’t leave prints in your room last night, I wanted to make sure you were safe.  You aren’t completely safe if you don’t lock the door.”

Oh. “I didn’t think about it that way.  I’m sorry.  If it makes you feel any better, the new security system was installed this afternoon.”

“I’m glad, darlin’.”

I hugged him.  He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head.  I could have stayed like this forever, but he let go too soon.  He grabbed the remote and turned on an action flick.  I rolled my eyes. Jake and his action movies.  He always was into them.  I started to yawn.

“Darlin’, you should get some sleep,” Jake suggested after the third time I yawned.

“I know, but I still gotta clean my room,” I told him.

“Don’t worry about it tonight and go to bed.” He nudged my shoulder.  “Sweet dreams.”

I wondered how sweet my dreams would actually be.

7

My hands had something warm and sticky on them.  I looked down at them.  They were covered in blood.  I had blood all the way up to my elbows.  I screamed and ran to the bathroom.  I quickly took off my blood-soaked clothes and got into the shower.  The water was as hot as I could stand it.  Once I washed the blood off, I walked into my room, wrapped in a towel.  I pulled a dress on quickly and turned around.  On the bed was what looked like a body.  As I got closer, I recognized the shape of the body.  One of the body’s arms was hanging off the side of the bed and blood was dripping off the fingers.  The fingernails looked like they were painted black.  I glanced down at black manicured nails.

I walked closer to the bed.  The body’s hair looked red, but I knew it was blood soaked.  I also knew that underneath the blood, the hair was a light blonde.  I didn’t want to get closer but I knew I had to see the body’s face.  I needed to see how she died.  I inched my way closer, focusing on the body’s face.  It was like looking in the mirror.  She had deep blue eyes, a narrow nose, and luscious lips. I was staring into my own face.

With a shaking hand, I pulled the blanket back to see that her throat was slit and her chest had a gaping hole in it.  I leaned over the body so that I wasn’t touching it and looked inside the hole.  I had never seen the inside of my own body before, or any other body for that matter, but I knew that the heart was missing.  I gasped and covered my mouth.  Someone had murdered me and cut out my heart.  I turned around to run out of the room but a man in all black stood in the way.  He had black boots, black jeans, and a black hoodie on.  He was also wearing black leather gloves with a bandana over his mouth and nose.  All I could see were his eyes and eyebrows, which were also black.  I knew I was looking into the eyes of evil.  He slowly reached for me and I did the only thing I could think of.  I kicked him in the groin.

I ran down the stairs knowing I had to get away from him.  When I ran into the living room I saw that it was empty.  I made a run for the door when I heard a sound in the kitchen.  I looked towards the kitchen and saw my mother standing in the doorway.  She motioned me to the kitchen.  I hurried to her.  My mother was standing by the island.  She looked like she did after she had died.  Her throat was all ripped out.  Her pajamas were drenched in blood.

Sitting on the island was a heart.  My heart.  It was still beating slow, painful beats.  I looked at my mother, confused as to why she would show me this.  I couldn’t keep my eyes on her.  I had to look back at the heart.  I watched it contract and release. I could hear it trying to pump blood through a body it was no longer connected to.

“Alexandrea, you have to be careful,” my mother whispered.  “Don’t let him touch you.”

“I don’t plan on it,” I whispered back, still looking at the heart.  I finally looked back up to my mother.  “Why are you showing me my heart?”

“You need to follow it,” she whispered.  “And remember, trust your instincts.  It’s part of your heritage.”

“Momma, I miss you,” I murmured.

I could hear heavy footsteps on the stairs.  I looked at my mother.  She looked so sad and desolate.  I could feel the heart in my chest beat faster with each step that I heard on the stairs.  He was getting closer.  What was it my momma told me?  Not to let him touch me.  I opened my mouth to ask her what to do now, but I didn’t have a chance to say a word.

“RUN!” She screamed as she ran towards the footsteps.

I did what she asked.  I ran.

I woke up screaming.  I shot straight up in bed and heard footsteps racing up the stairs.  As the door opened, I grabbed the alarm clock off the bedside table and launched it at the shadow that was opening the door.  He grunted and cursed.

“Damn it, Lex! It’s just me.” Jake came into the room and turned on the lamp beside the bed.  “I’m just glad you didn’t throw the fucking lamp at me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.  It was just a bad dream.”

He grabbed me and hugged me tightly.  “Don’t worry about waking me up, darlin’.  When I heard you screaming, my heart almost stopped.  You sounded like someone was killing you.  I couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

I wrapped my arms around him and held on tightly.  I opened my eyes and over his shoulder I could see my mother standing there with a slight smile on her face.  I knew she had always liked Jake.  I smiled at her and hugged him tighter.  I knew that it was probably confession time.  She had told me to trust my instincts and to follow my heart.  My gut was telling me that he needed to know everything.  I pulled away from him and grabbed his hands.

“Jake, we have to talk,” I told him solemnly.

He nodded.  “Yeah, darlin’. We do.”

“Please let me go first and don’t say anything until I’m done,” I begged quietly.  Again, he nodded but didn’t say a word.  Apparently, he was going to keep quiet until I was done confessing all to him.  “Okay, I know that we haven’t seen each other in ten years and we don’t really know each other anymore.  However, I know you.  You’ve always been open-minded.  Momma always loved you.  She told me I was making a mistake when I told her I was breaking up with you.”

He had an injured look on his face.  He opened his mouth and I put my fingers on it.  “Please let me finish.  I didn’t want to go by myself to New York State and I definitely didn’t want to give you up.  You have to know that, Jacob.  But I knew that if we stayed here neither of us would do anything with our lives.  We would get married, have kids, and work meaningless jobs.  We wouldn’t get to have adventures or get to really live.  I would’ve been happy with that, but I didn’t know if you would be.  Plus, we had amazing college opportunities waiting for us.  I broke up with you because I wanted you to go to college and play football.  I wanted to be able to see you do something amazing with your life.  It broke my heart to let you go, but it was what I felt was best for us at the time.  When I got to New York, I found out that I was pregnant.”

“Why didn’t you-” Jake started.  I put my hand over his mouth.

“I’m getting there.  Please, Jake, just listen.  If you talk, I don’t think I’ll have the nerve to finish everything,” I pleaded.  He nodded, so I moved my hand off his mouth.  “Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to do.  I wasn’t going to abort the baby. You know my standpoint on that.  But I didn’t want to ruin your life with it either.  I know you wouldn’t have seen it that way.  You’re too perfect for that.  But then, I had a miscarriage.  I took that as a sign that I wasn’t meant to have the baby, so there was no reason to tell anyone. So, I dedicated my life to college.  I loaded up my schedule so that I was able to graduate early. Then, I met this handsome, mysterious man.  He was charming and seemed perfect.  I decided to date him because he reminded me of you, at first.  He swept me off my feet and the next thing I knew we were living together in his apartment.  He had me quit my job and promised he would take care of me.  That was when I started to feel like things were a little off.  I ignored my instincts.  I figured I was just being silly.  Here was a great man that wanted to take care of me.  I knew he would never compare to you, but he was close.”

I sat up straighter and readjusted the pillows behind my back, trying to get more comfortable because I knew he wasn’t going to like what was coming next.  “I watched your football games on TV every chance I got.  Yes, Momma told me when you were injured during that game, but I saw it on live TV.  I watched your knee blow out and my stomach dropped.  I called Momma and got your number when I heard you went back home.  I even tried calling once and chickened out.  I hung up before you answered the phone.  What I didn’t know was that Michael was going through my phone while I was sleeping.  He didn’t like the fact that I had your number.  The first time he backhanded me was when he found out that I watched the football games you were in.  I don’t know how he knew who you were, but he did.  I also don’t know why it was such a big deal.  We’d been broken up for several years at this point.  The next morning there was a rose on the pillow next to me with a note apologizing for losing his temper.  When he found out I had tried calling you, he completely lost his temper.  He beat the crap out of me.  The next day, I had a dozen roses waiting for me when I woke up.  Again, there was a note.  The note said, ‘Sweetheart, I hope you had sweet dreams.  Sorry I lost my cool.’”

I took a deep breath and let it out.  I glanced at Jake and he was just sitting there, still as stone, and he was frowning.  I knew I had to finish the story.  “After that he started ‘losing his cool’ more often.  The final straw was when he hospitalized me.  He had fractured my arm and given me a concussion.  He’d beaten me bad enough that I’d passed out.  When I woke up, I was in the hospital and they were saying I had gotten drunk and fallen down the stairs.  Beside the bed was a dozen roses with a note that said, ‘Sweetheart, I hope you had sweet dreams. See you soon.’ After I got out of the hospital, I toed the line until he left on a business trip.  While he was gone, I called Momma.  After I told her what had happened, she didn’t react the way I thought.  She didn’t yell at me for being stupid and staying that long or anything like that.  She just said she would fix it and a few hours later she was at my door.  She didn’t even let me pack.  She told me everything in the apartment was replaceable and we left and came home.”

I paused.  Jake could tell I wasn’t done talking so he didn’t say anything.  He just watched me.  “This was about two months ago that I came home.  The night my parents died, I remember seeing them killed.  I don’t know how I saw it, but I thought I had done it.  Now, I’m not so sure.  Now, I think someone is after me.  I think I’m going to be the next one to die.”

8

We sat there for a long time not speaking.  I couldn’t read what was going through Jake’s mind, and he hadn’t moved since I started talking.  I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be as accepting of everything as I had hoped he would be.  I was starting to become afraid that he was going to decide to leave and not come back.  I was afraid that he was going to hate me after everything I had told him.  After what seemed like hours, but only moments had to have actually passed, I couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Do you hate me now?”  I asked in a small voice.

Jake looked at me.  It looked like he wasn’t sure what the best way to tell me he never wanted to talk to me again was.  He finally sighed as he rubbed his temples.

“No, Lex.  I don’t hate you.  I could never hate you. I just…” he trailed off.  He seemed to make a decision.  “Right now, we need to focus on the last thing you said.”

I felt my throat constrict and tears well in my eyes.  Right.  He was going to see me through this until he knew I was safe, then he would never speak to me again.  Or, he thought I was crazy and was going to have me committed.  Maybe I deserved it.  I deserved his anger, his hate.  I didn’t know if I could handle it.  Even when Michael had beaten me half to death, Jake was who I thought of when I woke up.  He’s who I dreamed about at night before the nightmares started.

I subtly wiped the tears from my eyes.  I wouldn’t let him see how much his rejection and silence hurt.  He still hadn’t looked at me since I finished my story.  He was staring at a spot on the wall.  I wished that instead of seeing ghosts, I could read minds.  Before I could ask him another question, Jake spoke.

“I agree with two things you said,” he said, still staring at the wall.  Then he turned and looked at me.  “You didn’t kill your parents. I don’t know how you saw it happen, either.  The other thing I agree with is that someone has it out for you.”

I shuddered at his words.  He believed me.  That was a start.  Who could be trying to kill me, though?  Why?  I didn’t think Michael was that pissed that I left.  He hadn’t even tried calling my phone after the first call when I told him it was over.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“We get to the bottom of it and make sure whoever’s after you doesn’t succeed.  I have a feelin’ it’s the same asshole that killed your folks.”

I nodded, feeling that he was right.  “So, what do we do now?”

“Go back to sleep.  We’ll look at this again in the mornin’.”  Jake got up and headed to the door.

My heart began to pound in my chest and I was sure that he could hear it.  He opened the door and went to leave the room.

“Wait,” I called after him.  He stopped and turned to look at me.  “Can you stay with me?  I’m scared.”

Jake froze.  He didn’t seem to know what to do.  He just stood there staring at me.  It seemed like he realized suddenly why he had come upstairs in the first place.  He nodded, then came back into the room.  I scooted over to one side of the bed and pulled back the covers for him to join me.  He stretched out on the bed beside me, and I pulled the blanket over us.  He was lying there stiff as a board and I could tell he didn’t want to be there.  I was just glad that even though he didn’t want to be in the room with me, he hadn’t left me.

I rolled on my side with my back to him so that maybe he would relax enough to go to sleep.  I lay there staring at the wall.  I felt him shift, then the room went pitch black.  He had turned the light off.  I could feel him shifting around for another couple of minutes.  When he finally settled in, he was laying with his back to mine.  I could feel the body heat coming off of him in waves.  Just knowing he was there helped me to relax and fall into a dreamless sleep.

***

I couldn’t believe what she had told me.  Lex had just admitted to me that she had been carrying my child and never told me.  She had never told me that she had lost our child.  Ten years and I was just finding out.  How was I supposed to deal with that?  I knew that there had been a chance of her getting pregnant before we left for college, but I didn’t think she did since I’d never heard anything.  What was I going to do about what Lex told me?  It hurt more than I cared to admit.  How was I to feel about the fact that she had never gotten over us?  She picked another man because he reminded her of me.  She could have called me.  I would have moved her to California or I would have moved to New York.

I had known that she was going to break up with me that night.  I just hadn’t known why.  She had been acting different and seemed to be pushing me away for days before she ended it.  I had thought she was being selfish. That she wanted to go to college as a single woman.  I never expected her reason to be because she wanted me to live my dreams.  She never ceased to amaze me.

I don’t know how many times I thought about showing up at her door in New York and begging her to take me back.  I would tell her I loved her and hoped she would come back to me.  I should have gone after her no matter what she had said, but my damned pride got in the way.  I was too proud to admit that the night she broke up with me, I had been planned on proposing to her.  I had the ring in my pocket when she ended things.  The same ring that I still had in my pocket.  The ring had become my talisman - it never left my pocket.

When she told me what she went through with that piece of shit, I wanted to rip his throat out.  He didn’t deserve to live after what he did to her.  And she said he did it because she watched my football games?  How the hell did he know who I was?

I was certain that he didn’t let go as easily as she said he did.  He may have outwardly let her go for appearances, but I knew scumbags like him.  They never let go when it wasn’t their idea or decision.  This new information gave him a motive.  He may not have murdered her parents, but I was one hundred percent certain that he had something to do with it.

I could feel her relax and I knew she was asleep.  I knew everything there was to know about Alexandrea Cooper.  I knew everything from her young years since we grew up together but I had made it my mission in life to know where she was and that she was okay.  I had dropped the ball on that mission when she was with Michael.  It had hurt that she was with someone else.  I also knew that he was the only other person she had ever even dated besides me.

Now that she had confessed almost everything to me, I knew that I needed to do the same for her.  But being in an abusive relationship and being a borderline obsessive stalker were two different things.  Okay, maybe stalker was too strong of a word for what I was.  Once she found out that I was keeping tabs on her, she would never trust me again.  And when she found out what my job really was, would she look at me differently?  Would she think I was crazy?  When I had been approached, I thought my partner was crazy.  But I had seen so much, I couldn’t, wouldn’t think anything was crazy anymore.

I tried to go to sleep, but questions kept running through my head.  How was I supposed to protect her from something I hadn’t seen?  What steps did we take next?  How could I end this quickly so she would remain safe?  What the fuck was I going to do about one Michael Wallace?

***

A week later, I was sitting in the hot tub with Mia.  This time we had bikinis on.  She had thought it was funny that first day to sit in there naked.  Mia tended to be amused by things that made me uncomfortable.  The next time we’d worked out, she brought her bikini over and left it here.  That was fine with me.  She’d always kept one here before anyway, so why should it be any different now?

We had only been working out for a week, but I could feel myself becoming stronger.  I wasn’t sure if it was the confidence I was getting from learning how to protect myself or if I was actually getting stronger in such a short amount of time.  Mia told me that my body was getting used to the rigorous workout and I would be actually seeing results if we kept it up.  I planned on keeping it up.

“So, has Jake warmed back up to you yet?”  Mia asked casually.

I shrugged.  He had been spending most nights at my house since the break-in and had quit sleeping on the couch.  I had told him if he was going to stay at the house, he could have the guest room for as long as he wanted.  So he’d been sleeping down the hall from me.  I was still having the nightmares and waking up screaming almost nightly.  He would come in, sit with me until I was calm, and then he would go back to the guest room.  The nightmares were fairly consistent in the fact that I was seeing the same thing.  The only difference was that my mother wasn’t always in them.

“We don’t really talk anymore,” I told her.  I tried to be casual about it, not wanting her to know how much it was affecting me that Jake had distanced himself from me.  “But he’s here pretty much every night.”

“I see.  Maybe he just needs to come to terms with what you told him.  You said you told him that you’d been pregnant with his baby, lost it, and never said a word about it.  Which you never told me about either,” she pouted.

“Don’t pout,” I scolded.  “It’s unbecoming.  Besides, I didn’t tell anyone.  I suspect that Momma knew because she would have gotten the insurance bill from that first prenatal appointment.  If she did know, she never said anything to me about it.  And you know my Momma, she was pretty open about everything.  If she didn’t like something I did or disapproved, I would know about it immediately.”

“Speaking of your mom, have you seen or talked to her lately?”

I nodded.  “A couple of times. The first time she just smiled at me with that heartbreaking smile that she’s had since she died.  The next time she told me to stay strong and patient.”

Mia’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline.  “You? Patient?  Did your mom know you at all?”

“Apparently not.  She had to have been talking about Jake, but it’s hard telling.  She’s being vague.  When I ask what she means, she just disappears.”  I shrugged again.

“Any more incidents with flowers or people breaking in?”  Mia asked.

“Not since Jake’s been staying here.  Whoever it is, I think they know that he’s here.  Sometimes I get the feeling that I’m being watched, but I never see any actual signs of being watched.  And before you ask, no, I haven’t told Jake.”  I sighed.

“You need to tell him.  He’s here to help protect you,” Mia reasoned.

“I know, but like I’ve said, he hasn’t been much for talking lately.  And I don’t want him here just to protect me.  I miss the friendliness and the companionship that we had.”

“I know, but until he quits being a stubborn ass, this is what you’ve got.  I still think you need to tell him,” she insisted.  “You also need to tell him about your mom’s ghost.”

“Tell Jake what?” Jake asked from the doorway.  “And what about your mom, Lex?”

Mia and I looked at each other.  She had a shit-eating grin on her face, and I realized she had set me up.  She knew that he was there before he had spoken.  We would be having a talk about that later.  I also could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t sorry about this little incident.  We climbed out of the hot tub and grabbed our towels.  As I was wrapping my towel around me, Jake shifted like he was uncomfortable.

“I’ll meet y’all in the kitchen.  I’m gonna start a pot of coffee,” he turned to leave, then looked sharply at Mia.  “Don’t even think about leavin.’  I think you need to be here for this conversation.”

He strode out of the pool room.  I glared at Mia again.  She wrapped her hair in a towel, then wrapped another around her body.  The towel was long enough that it covered her all the way from the top of her chest all the way past her knees.  When she caught me looking at her, she gave me a huge, innocent smile.

“Cut the shit, Mia,” I said.  “You did that on purpose.  He barely looks at me, now we’re going to be stuck having an awkward conversation.”

“You two need to get over this.  I don’t know what kind of shit storm’s coming, but you two need to work together.”  Mia had a distant look in her eye.  Then, she smiled a genuine smile at me.  “I’ve seen you two getting along. We just have to get over this hump.”

When Mia had said that we would need to work together, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that she was right.  How did she think we were going to get over the hump if he hated me so much that he couldn’t stand to look at me?  I sighed.  This was going to be a hard conversation to have.

“Let’s go face the music,” I said, looping my arm through Mia’s.

In the kitchen, Jake was sitting at the table in the breakfast nook.  He had a cup of coffee in his hand and he was staring at his cellphone.  There were two other cups of coffee sitting on the table.  One was the color of caramel, the other was black.  It was obvious he knew how we liked our coffee.  We glanced at each other and took our respective places at the table.  Jake didn’t look up from his phone, even after we’d sat down.  He finished typing whatever he was typing when we entered the room, and set his phone on the table.

“Okay ladies, I know that things are being kept from me and I don’t like it.”  Jake started.  “So who wants to go first?”

I stared at him.  I couldn’t believe how he was talking to us.  He wasn’t our dad.  He had the nerve to say that he didn’t like us keeping things from him? He’d been hiding whatever those mysterious phone calls and texts were about from me.  It wasn’t my place say anything about it, but damn it, I wasn’t going to have him talk to me like that.

“We are keeping secrets from you?  Why don’t you start by telling me about all those phone calls that you can’t answer in front of me?  Or those mysterious meetings that you go to?  What are you looking up on the computer that you feel necessary to hide from me?  Why do you close the lid to the laptop when I come into the room?  What’s all that about?”  I exploded.  “Why don’t we talk about the fact that I spilled my guts to you and now you’ve turned your back on me?  You act like you hate me. Hell, you can’t even look at me most of the time.  Why wouldn’t I keep shit from you?”

Jake just stared at me.  “You think I hate you?  Honest to God, Lex, I don’t know where you got that idea.  I’ve told you, I could never hate you.  It hasn’t changed.  You act like I should’ve been fine with all the revelations that you gave me that night.  I’m not, okay?  You casually dropped that when you left me, you were pregnant! With. My. Child. You didn’t tell me.  Then you lost it.  You went through all that pain and suffering by yourself.  You didn’t tell me.  I should have been there, but, that’s right, you didn’t tell me.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Jake cut me off.  “No.  You brought this up, you’re going to shut the hell up and listen.  You had your say the other night. Now it’s my turn.  You had time to deal with the loss of the baby.  I didn’t have that chance.  Fuck! I didn’t know.  I’m just trying to deal with it now.  I’m also trying to keep your fucking ass safe.  You were right the other night.  Someone or something is out to get you and I don’t want to see you hurt.  If I can’t stand the thought of you dealing with a miscarriage alone, what makes you think I want to see you dead?”

“I don’t want to see you like your parents.  Seeing them like that was hard on me too.  I do not want to see you like that.  I don’t want to see your throat ripped open.  What have I been up to, you ask?  I’ve been using all the resources I have available making sure your selfish ass is safe.  Yes, I did just call you selfish.  But as long as your fucking ass is alive, you can be as pissed off at me as you want to be.  I don’t care.  But get this straight, Alexandrea Marie Cooper, I never want to be accused of hating you again.  You are just going to have to trust me on the rest of it.”  He finished.  He took a deep breath.

He took a sip of his coffee, shook his head, and got up and went to the cabinet.  He pulled out the whiskey and a snifter.  He poured two fingers of whiskey and drained it in one drink.  He refilled the snifter and drank that, too before pouring yet another finger and carrying it back to the table.  He took a big drink of his coffee, then dumped all the whiskey into it.  After taking a drink, he looked at us.  “Now, who wants to go first?”

9

I sat there stunned by Jake’s outburst.  In all the years I had known him, he had never raised his voice or gone off like that.  I was sorry for causing him the pain.  I hadn’t thought that it would hurt him that much.  Was I selfish?  Yeah, I guess I was.  I had never told him about the pregnancy because, deep down, I knew what he would do.  Was I protecting his heart or was I selfishly keeping it to myself?  I shook my head.  Now was not the time to debate whether I was selfish or not.  He was sitting there glaring at Mia and me.  He was being impatient and I could tell he wasn’t going to stay quiet for long.

“I’ll start,” I said, glancing at Mia again.  She wasn’t getting off the hook, but I figured I would bite the bullet and go first.  “You know that whoever has been in the house, hasn’t been here since you started staying.  At least, he hasn’t been inside.  I feel like I’m being watched though.”

He frowned at that.  “When did you start feeling like you were being watched?”

I shrugged.  “A couple days ago, I guess.  I thought someone was following me leaving the therapist’s office the other day, but I didn’t actually see anyone.  And occasionally, I feel like someone is looking in the windows.”

“Okay, from now on we’ll keep the blinds and windows down.  That’ll keep anyone from looking in the windows.  We need to make sure you aren’t alone anywhere either.  If you need to go somewhere, I will take you.  If I’m not around, then Mia can probably take you.  Or, you can wait until I’m available to go,” he decided.  “Now, what did you need to tell me about your mom, darlin’?”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him this part.  This was where he would think I was completely batshit crazy.  I glanced at Mia and she nodded at me encouragingly.  I looked around the room.  That’s when I noticed her.  I looked straight into my mother’s eyes.  She did one slight nod.  If she thought I should tell him, I should trust her.  She’d never steered me wrong when she was alive, why would she now? I acknowledged her with a slight nod.

“This is really hard for me to tell you.  I should have said something when it first happened, but you have to understand, I thought I was crazy,” I rambled.  I took a deep breath.  “I can see Momma’s ghost.”

Jake’s frown deepened.  “You what?”

“I can see Momma’s ghost.  She’s standing behind you right now.” I told him as he turned quickly.  “Maybe I should tell you that I can also hear her.  She’s the one I was talking to that day in the kitchen when you caught the end of my conversation.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes.  I could tell that he had wondered about that day since it had happened.  He didn’t say anything at first.  I was waiting for the talk about being crazy.  He just sat there, thinking.  His finger started tapping on the table.  I looked over his shoulder at my mom and she grimaced.  She always hated when he did that.  I smiled.  Then I heard her voice whisper in my ear.

“Tell Jacob that he better stop that damn tapping before I hit his hand with a wooden spoon.”

“Uh, Jake, you might wanna stop tapping your finger before Momma gets a wooden spoon and smacks your knuckles with it,” I told him.

His fingers stopped tapping immediately.  He looked me in the eyes.  He believed me.  I couldn’t believe he actually believed me.  I felt relief wash through me.  If he believed me, then maybe things would be okay again eventually.  He looked over at Mia.  No, he definitely hadn’t forgotten that she had beans to spill as well.

“Your turn,” he said.

Mia fidgeted in her chair.  She was obviously uncomfortable with what she needed to admit.  I was starting to get another feeling that she was going to say something that I didn’t like, as well.  The longer she sat there, the more uncomfortable I was becoming.  I couldn’t imagine what she was getting so antsy about.

“Okay,” she said slowly.  “I just want to throw this out there since y’all decided to clear the air with me here.  But I didn’t know about the miscarriage, either.  I mean, I knew that she wasn’t completely okay, but I didn’t know what was actually going on.  I knew because I had dreams that she was hurting.  I just didn’t know what they meant.  I have visions.  I’ve had visions for the majority of my life.  If you just take a second to think about it, that makes sense.  The thing that I haven’t really had a chance to develop or learn about is this ability that seems to be manifesting.  I have been doing research since Aunt Emma and Uncle Joseph died.  I think this ability is called astral projection.  I was there for the murders-”

“You mean you know who is behind this and haven’t said anything?!?” Jake exploded.

“No! I couldn’t see him.  But l did see what he did to them.  I also know that he watched Alexandrea sleep.  But I don’t know anything about him or how he pulled it off.  I also don’t know how he made Lex think that she committed her parents’ murders.  I’ve been trying to figure it out.  She was in her bed the whole time.  Yet, she saw the murders happen.  She knows too many details not to have seen it.  I don’t know how he did it.  Maybe it was... I don’t know.  I’m going to keep researching it.  I’m wondering if he didn’t just implant his memories of it into her head.  There were minor details that were wrong.  Like, the fact that she saw her mother die first.  Maybe it was a mirror image of his memory,” Mia explained.

She turned to me and grabbed my hand.  “I need to tell you something, Lex.  I’ve wanted to tell you this for years, but my mom told me that I absolutely couldn’t tell you under any circumstances.  But I feel like this changes everything.  I think you should have been made aware a long time ago.  Our mothers are magical.  They had magical abilities growing up.  Not the magic that you saw on TV, but real magic.  They’re able to do spells and stuff. They just chose not to, for our sake.  They thought we would be safe not knowing about the magic world.  Our dads both knew about it as well.  I don’t know if they had magic - they’ve never said.  The only reason I knew about it is because I started having visions and Mom wanted me to understand what was going on.  She didn’t want me to be afraid of what I can do.  You’ve probably had some magic all this time as well, but it wasn’t triggered.  Or maybe you mom cast a spell to bind your magic or abilities, I’m not sure.  Please don’t hate me for not telling you.”

I looked back to where my mother was standing.  She was still there, just watching the scene before her.  She looked sad.  I knew by the look on her face she didn’t want any of this to happen to us.  She was doing what she thought was best for me, for her family.  I looked back to Mia.  Her eyes were filled with tears and her hands were trembling in mine.  She was deeply afraid that I was going to hate her or turn on her.  But I couldn’t do that.  I understood.  I had so many questions about it, though.

“Oh Mia, I don’t hate you.  I’m not even mad at you.  I get it.  They did what was right at the time.”  I smiled at her.  “I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start.  What kind of magic is it?”

“I don’t know all the details.  Mom has kept her lips sealed about a lot of it.  She’s only told me what she feels is necessary for me to know.  She has told me that our family is a hybrid family.  We have a mix of Fae and witch blood.  Our family has the powers of both the Fae and witches without some of the vulnerability,” Mia explained.  “I know it’s a lot to digest and we still have a lot to learn.  We’ll find out more about our heritage together.  Now that you know, we can explore our family ancestry and find out more.”

I nodded.  “We’re basically fairy witches?  Wow. I would have never thought of that.  That’s amazing.”

She turned her head and looked at Jake.  “Don’t forget, I know things.  I’ve seen your resources.  But you’re right, for now it’s best if we just trust you know what you’re doing, Jacob.”

He gave her a slight nod.  He was sitting and letting everything that he learned absorb into his brain.  I knew that he would let everything stew and he would have a better understanding of what was going on than we did.  Maybe this would come to an end soon and life would be back to normal.

***

I was running through the house, covered in blood.  I was trying to get away from the shadow that was chasing after me.  I ran out the front door towards the wooded area to the left of the property.  I slowed down as I entered the tree line.  I didn’t want to fall and break my neck, but I had to keep moving.  I couldn’t let the shadow catch up to me.  He would cut my heart out.

I made my way through the woods on a path that had grown over from years of neglect.  I stopped and looked around.  I had never been in the woods before.  That was one of the main rules my Momma had when I was growing up.  She had said to stay out of the woods.  I heard a branch snap.  I started following the path again.  I picked my way through carefully so I wouldn’t trip or get snagged on something.

The path opened to a wide clearing in the shape of a circle.  Inside the circle was all kinds of strange symbols that I had never seen before.  In the middle of the clearing was a large weathered stone.  The stone had a smooth top, on which a black object was sitting.  I carefully stepped closer to the object.  As I got closer to it, I was able to see that it was moving slowly.

I stood next to the rock and looked down.  I was staring at a still beating heart.  There was blood leaking out of the heart.  I looked around trying to find the body that it came from.  I wasn’t seeing a body.  I heard a creaking noise coming from the trees across from where I was standing.  I followed the noise.  When I walked into the tree line, I felt something drip onto my shoulder.  I turned my head slightly to look at my shoulder.  There was something wet on it.  In the dark it looked almost black.  By the scent, I could tell it was blood.  I looked up and there was a body hanging in the tree.  I stifled a scream and stepped back a step so I could see the body more clearly.  The body was hanging by its ankles and it has been gutted like a buck during deer season.  I looked at the face and my heart stopped.  I was looking into what was left of Jake’s beautiful face.  His eyes were open wide, unseeing. I covered my mouth as a sob escaped me.  I lost the one man I had ever truly loved.  I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I looked.  It was my mother.  She glanced around urgently.  “You need to get out of here.  He’s still coming.  You don’t have time to fall apart, sweetie.  You need to keep moving.  Remember, don’t let him touch you.”

I heard the distinct sound of footsteps heading towards the circle.  I examined my surroundings.  I needed to go, but I couldn’t leave him.  He was my heart.  Without Jake, I was nothing. When I took a step forward, I stepped on something that sent a sharp pain through my foot.  I bent down and picked it up.  It was a diamond ring.  Inside the ring it read ‘Forever and Always.’  I looked at my mom.  She looked over her shoulder.

“You don’t have time for this, Alexandrea.  You need to haul ass and get out of here.”  Momma looked around again.  “Please, hurry.”

I turned to run, and there he was, standing right behind me. He had a knife in his hand.  There was blood dripping off the knife.  As he reached out to touch my shoulder, I jerked backwards and fell onto the ground.  I crab-walked backwards until I bumped into the tree that Jake was hanging from and my hand landed in something warm and wet.  I looked at my hand and it was covered in blood.  I had put my hand in Jake’s entrails.  I screamed.

“Alexandrea! Wake up.” Jake shouted in my face.  He was shaking my shoulders.  I shot up and wrapped my arms around his neck.  Jake wrapped his strong arms around my waist in a tight embrace.

“Oh my god! You’re okay.  You’re here.”  My whole body was shaking.  He was alive and it was just a dream.   I could feel his heart beating against my chest.  It had been so realistic.

“It was just a dream, darlin’,” Jake whispered.  “You’re safe.  We’re all safe.”

“It was so real,” I whispered.

I held onto Jake as the dream faded. Before it completely faded, I thought I saw the man from my dream standing at the end of the bed. He had the knife in his hand.  As he disappeared, he whispered, “Soon.”

10

He stood at the edge of the property inside the tree line.  He watched the light in Alexandrea’s room come on.  The bastard that had been staying with her must have gone into her room.  He knew he should have made his move right after he got rid of her parents, but the time wasn’t right.  The timing had to be perfect.  Before it was done, he would have her right where he wanted her. That bastard, who hadn’t left her side, would no longer be in the picture.

It had to have been Jake’s idea to close the blinds in the house, because every window was now effectively covered.  Before he showed up in the house, the windows were always open.  Alexandrea and her mother both liked having sunlight coming in the windows.  Soon.  He would see her again soon.  He would make sure of it.

The light went off in the bedroom, so he knew whatever was going on was over, unless that asshole was touching his woman.  She belonged to him, and he was going to make sure she knew it.  If she wasn’t willing to accept that fact, he would force it on her.  He didn’t want to hurt her, but he would if he had to. He hadn’t come this far for her not to bend to his will.

He continued to watch the house.  He figured the windows would stay dark, but then a light in the kitchen came on.  He frowned.  That never happened.  Nightly, her light would come on, then go off and the house would remain dark.  He stepped farther into the trees so that if anyone looked out, they wouldn’t see him.

He had things he had to prepare, so he went to leave.  Before he left, he blew a kiss to Alexandrea’s window.

Soon, Sweetheart.

***

After the nightmare, I couldn’t fall back to sleep.  Jake suggested we go downstairs and have a cup of herbal tea. He swore it would help me relax, so I followed him to the kitchen.  My hands were still shaking.  I couldn’t get past the nightmare that I had.  It had faded, so my adrenaline wasn’t pumping like it had been, but I was still unnerved.  I hadn’t realized how much the idea of anything happening to Jake would affect me.  Now I knew I wouldn’t survive it.

I watched as he filled the tea kettle with water and put it on the stove.  We hadn’t spoken since we made it into the kitchen and I just sat there watching him pacing. I studied Jake as he paced.  He was wearing a pair of black cotton pajama pants and a black tank top.  He had a lot more muscle than I remembered.  Of course, he wasn’t a teenager anymore.  He was an incredibly handsome man.  He was deep in thought, probably trying to figure out how this dream was different.  I hadn’t told him about the nightmare.  I couldn’t.  It was too devastating for me to repeat.  He should probably know, but I didn’t think I was strong enough to do this.

I screamed when the kettle started whistling.  Jake turned and took the kettle off the heat, then finished making our tea.  He put the mug of hot tea in front of me along with the honey and milk.  I attempted to put the honey and milk in my tea, but my hands were shaking so badly that I was just making a mess.  Jake gently took the honey out of my hands and added some to my tea.  He then poured a splash of milk into the mug and stirred.

I picked up the tea and took a sip.  I felt it warming my insides up.  I hadn’t realized how cold I had been until then.  The mug felt good on my hands.  As I sipped, I noticed Jake was watching me.  He looked puzzled and concerned.  I set the mug down on the table and kept my hands on it.

“What?”  I asked.

“I can’t figure it out.  I know you’ve been having nightmares since your parents died.  I know they’re getting worse, but you are strong.  The only time I can tell they bother you is when you wake up screaming from them.  Then within minutes, you’re calm and going back to sleep.  Not this time.  What’s different?”  Jake asked.

How was I supposed to tell him that I saw his death?  That seeing his dead, bloody corpse bothered me more than seeing my own corpse bloody and missing its heart.  I couldn’t tell him.  I simply couldn’t tell him about the horrors I’d seen.  He didn’t need to be burdened with the evil I’ve seen in my head.

I shrugged.  “I don’t remember.  I just know that it was way worse than the others.”

He frowned.  He knew I was lying.  He had always been able to tell when I lied.  He was a human lie detector. “You want to try again?”

“No,” I answered.

“No?” he repeated.  “No explanation?”

“Nope,” I told him.

“Lex, you can tell me anything,” he said softly, taking my hand.  His hand was so warm and big compared to my small, cold one.

I shook my head no.  There were some things I couldn’t tell him.  We were sitting there staring at each other when the landline phone rang.  We both jumped.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was jumpy and on edge.  I smiled, then got up and walked to the phone that was mounted to the wall.

“Hello?” I answered.

“What the hell is going on?” Mia asked.  Her voice was still heavy with sleep.

“Nothing.  Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason.  I just wanted to call you at three in the freaking morning just to see what you were up to.  To see if you were sleeping or maybe fucking the hottie that you have staying at your house,” Mia replied snidely.

“I had another nightmare and couldn’t sleep, so we’re having tea.  How did you know we were up?  Why the hell did you call the landline and not my phone?” I turned and glanced at Jake.  He was watching me.  I could tell he was interested in the conversation I was having.

“I tried your phone first.  You didn’t answer, so I called the house.  And I’m a fucking psychic, how do you think I knew you were up?”

“Damn girl, you are a bitch at three in the morning.”  I grinned at the phone.  I could feel her irritation rise.  “You should consider sleeping at three a.m. instead of snarking at me on the phone.”

“If you weren’t sending vibes so strong that it woke me up, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” Mia snapped.  “And by the way, just fucking tell him what the nightmare is about so we can all get some fucking rest.”

“Love you too, Mia.  Good night.” I responded and hung up the phone.  I loved aggravating her.  Knowing Mia, she would be up for the day now.  She would either go beat a punching bag up, imagining it was me, or she would head to the diner and get caught up on paperwork.

Jake grinned at the look on my face.  “I’m assuming she didn’t tell you she loved you.  And if I know Mia, she probably told you to tell me what was going on.”

I shrugged. “Nope, she didn’t tell me she loved me, but she does.”

“And she said to tell me?”  Jake pressed.

I shrugged again.  I had no intention of telling him what happened.  He really didn’t need to know about my dreams.  Well, nightmares.  Did he? It’s not like he could stop my nightmares from plaguing my existence.  That wasn’t necessarily true.  I didn’t tend to have nightmares when he was with me.  Maybe if I told him about them, they would go away.

I opened my mouth to tell him, but no words came out.  I shut my mouth and shook my head.  I didn’t want to be difficult, but I couldn’t tell him.  I had to explain to him why I couldn’t tell him about the nightmares.

“I can’t tell you.  I don’t want you to have to deal with the nightmares that I’ve seen.  They’re horrific.  I’m afraid telling you about them will give the nightmares power.  They’re basically the same thing over and over.  Running from a dark figure with a knife.”  I said.

“Okay, it’s okay,” he said.  “I understand.  Just keep this in mind.  If Mia did tell you that you should tell me, maybe there’s a reason behind it.  Maybe she saw something that makes her feel that telling me would be beneficial to you, to us.”

I nodded to acknowledge his statement.  Some part of me knew that he was right, but I still couldn’t say the words.  I set my cup in the sink and went to bed. As I was lying there, I went over the details of that last nightmare in my head.  It was so weird.  I had been having nightmares since my parents died.  There had never been anyone dead in them except my parents and myself.  Why had Jake died in the dreams?  What made him so different?

I dozed off wondering why the last dream was so different.

11

The next couple of weeks went by uneventfully.  I went to the therapist, did the household chores, spent time with Jake and Mia, and had the usual nightmares.  As I walked outside from my weekly session with Dr. Fields, I stopped on the sidewalk.  I took a deep breath of fresh air to calm my nerves and gather my thoughts.

Therapy had been very difficult this session.  Dr. Fields had touched on things that I would rather not discuss.  He seemed to know more about my family than he should. He had touched on my childhood and my mother’s family.  I skirted around what I knew, which really wasn’t much.  The subject was dropped shortly after that.

Dr Fields had also asked me about the nightmares I had been having.  I didn’t want to tell him in detail about them, so I told him that they were the same thing.  Finding my parents dead.  I didn’t tell him about the missing hearts, being chased by the man in black, or any of other frightening things that had happened in the nightmares.  I felt the omission of some of the details was a lie, but it was a lie I was going to have to live with.  I lied to my therapist more than I felt comfortable with.  I wasn’t entirely sure he bought the lies.  He would bring up the same subjects at almost every session.

He also asked if I had been using the sleeping pills.  I told him I was, even though I hadn’t been.  The pills scared me as much as the man in my dreams.  The pills would probably keep me from waking up.  I didn’t want to know what happened if I couldn’t wake up from my nightmares.  Nothing good.  That much I was sure of.

I started to walk to my car that I had parked a little way down the street.  There hadn’t been any parking spots open when I arrived for my session, so I had parked in front of a little boutique a few storefronts away.  I was looking down while I was walking, so I didn’t see the man in front of me looking down at his phone.  We bumped into each other.

“Sorry,” I said, quickly trying to get past him.

“It’s cool, dude.”  He answered.  Then he turned back towards me.  “I’ll be damned if it isn’t Alexandrea Cooper.”

I turned around.  I couldn’t help but smile.  Before me stood a man a little shy of six feet.  He had light brown curly hair, glasses, and the biggest grin I had seen in a while.  I gave him a big hug.

“Jason Lane, I haven’t seen you since high school,” I told him, smiling.

“Right?  I never thought I would see you around Ravensville after graduation when you took off to the big city.  You left all the little people behind,” he said.  There was no bite to his statement, he said it as if it were just a fact.  I had left with no intention of coming back.  “Sorry about your folks.  I know how it feels.  I lost my parents a couple years back.  It was devastating.  If you need to talk, just let me know.”

“I will,” I told him genuinely.  “So, what have you been up to?”

“You know me,” he answered.  “I haven’t changed much in the last ten years.  I did get married and have two kids.”

“That’s great!” I smiled.  It was good to hear some happiness.  Jason had always been a free spirit.  He was the class clown and friends with everyone.  He had also been the one the other kids went to when they wanted to party.  Jason had always been the partier.  I had never figured he would settle down and have kids.  “Well, I hate to cut this short, but I really need to get home.  I’ll talk to you soon.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card.  “Here, this has all my info on it, including my cell number.  It really is great seeing you, you look great.”

I looked at his card.  Jason was a realtor.  I was thoroughly amazed.  I had figured that Jason would become a wanderer and travel after high school.  I guess people did change after all.  I turned and headed to my car.

I was almost to my car when I thought about the ring in my nightmare again.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that the ring was more than just my imagination.  To my knowledge, Jake had never bought me a ring.  What was I going to do if the ring was real?  Was there a chance that my dreams were real?  What if they were premonitions?

I got in my car and started for home.  I hadn’t realized how late in the day it was.  The sun was starting to set on the horizon.  Since it was fall, once the sun hit the horizon, it would become pitch black in a short amount of time.  It was going to be completely dark before I hit the highway that led to my house.  I sighed.  I had hoped that I would make it home before dark.  That was one thing Jake has been adamant about since everything started.  He didn’t seem to think being out past dark, alone, was a good idea.  Frankly, I agreed with him on that.

I turned off of Main Street onto the highway, which was completely dark.  There were no street lights posted and trees lined both sides of the streets.  On nights like tonight, it felt like I was driving in a tunnel.  There was no light from overhead.  The clouds covered the moon and blocked the stars.  I accelerated a little.  I could feel my heart rate picking up.  I hated driving this road when it was so dark out.

I started getting the sensation that I was being followed.  I checked my mirror and no one was there.  I had a tingling sensation at the base of my neck.  Then, goosebumps rose up on my arms.  I looked in the mirrors again.  Still nothing.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure forming in the passenger seat.  My mother.  I sighed.  Maybe the feeling was just from her.

“Put on your seatbelt,” she instructed.

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten to buckle up.  I always buckled up.  I reached over and buckled up quickly.  “Thanks,” I murmured.

“You need to get home, quickly,” she said.  “You need to stay inside when it’s dark.”

I glanced at her.  “Seriously, Momma?  I am an adult.  I don’t have a curfew.”

“Stay inside when it is dark,” she repeated.

Okay. I guessed that was the end of the discussion.  I would stay inside after dark.  I checked my mirrors again.  Still nothing, but the sensation of being followed still hadn’t subsided.  I glanced back at my mother.  She was still sitting there. She was staring straight ahead.  Besides being transparent, it was almost like she was still alive.  She was never fond of my car or the way I drove.  She thought I drove too recklessly because I liked to go over the speed limit.  Suddenly she turned and looked at me.

“Hold on tight,” she instructed.  “Try to keep the wheel straight.”

I was going to ask her what she was talking about when two things happened at once.  My cell phone rang and someone rear-ended my car.  It was good that I had instinctually listened to my mother and had tightened my grip on the steering wheel.  I screamed as my car was rear-ended a second time.  I almost lost control of the wheel.  The sound of the doors locking caught my attention.  I knew I didn’t hit the lock button so Momma must have materialized to do it.  I didn’t think ghosts could manipulate objects.

My phone stopped ringing and the text tone sounded.  I didn’t dare take my hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road.  I thought it was over, so I started to relax a little bit.  Just under a mile to my house, I was rear-ended a third time.  I lost control and the car started fishtailing.  I corrected it just enough to regain control, but didn’t stop.  I had to get home.  I knew when I got to the house, I would be okay.

“Don’t get out of the car before help comes,” Momma told me as she faded away.

When I got to my drive, I turned sharply and flew down the drive.  I hit my brakes and skidded to a stop.  I was breathing hard. Looking around, I still didn’t see anyone.  I never saw the other vehicle that had rear-ended me either.  What the hell was going on?  I heard something smack the trunk.  I turned in my seat, but didn’t see anything.  Suddenly there was a loud scratching noise.  I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.  It sounded like it was coming from the passenger side, but it could have been coming from anywhere.   My heart was in my throat. I didn’t know what to do.  I did know what I was not going to do and that was get out of the car.  My mother had given me sound advice.

The car rocked and I screamed.  My phone started ringing again.  I grabbed it and answered it.

“Are you okay?”  Mia asked.

“No, I’m being attacked!”  I yelled into the phone.  “I’m scared.  I don’t see anything, but there’s someone outside my car.”

“Stay there.  We’re on our way,” Mia told me.  “When you didn’t answer I called Jake.  He picked me up at the diner and we’re almost there.  We had a hold up on the way there, but we’re on our way.  There’s metal parts and skid marks all over the road.  What the hell?”

“Please hurry,” I pleaded.

I heard rustling, then Jake.  “Lex, we’re on our way to the house.  Just hold on a couple more minutes.  Call the cops and we’ll see you soon.”

“No, please don’t leave me alone,” I begged.  “I can’t do this alone.  I’m scared.”

“It will be okay, baby.  I will never leave you alone.  I promise.”  Jake said.

There was another loud screeching sound coming from outside of the car.  I screamed again and dropped the phone.  I looked out the window and all I could see was darkness.  Then there was a loud thump on the roof of my car.  A thick red liquid started pouring down my windshield.  I stared at it in horror.  Blood was running down my windshield.  What in the hell had that much blood? The better question was, where in the hell was it coming from?  As I stared at the blood running down my windshield, I could hear Jake yelling in the phone for me to pick up the phone.  I was so shocked, I couldn’t move.  Who would pour blood on my windshield?  That was simply evil.

I heard the rumble of an engine and a thump as my car rocked again.  I squealed and held onto the wheel.  I saw headlights in my rearview mirror coming closer.  Jake.  The truck stopped beside me and he was out of his truck and at my door trying to open it.

“Lex, unlock the doors!” He yelled through the window.  Then he turned to Mia.  “Call the police.  Have them get someone out here immediately.”

“On it,” Mia said, subdued.

When the door clicked unlocked Jake jerked the door open, reached in, unbuckled me, and pulled me out of the car.  He held me tightly as I started shaking.  He was stroking my hair and shushing me.  I was shaking so hard that I thought I was going to fall apart.

Mia got out of the truck and was looking at the car.  She frowned as she was examining it.  She walked around to the back and pointed out the back of the car.

“Hey, Jake, someone rear-ended her.  It was parts of Lex’s car that we saw on the road.  I can’t believe she made it home with this damage.  I’m really surprised that she didn’t have a wreck from the impact that would have caused this kind of damage,” Mia told him.

“I’ll look at it when the police get here.  I’m also going to have to make a couple of phone calls of my own.  I’ll find out who is behind this before she’s seriously hurt,” Jake told her.

Mia stopped at the passenger side of the car.  The color in her already pale face drained.  “Uh, I hope that you’re close to solving this mystery and getting rid of this maniac.”

“Why?”

“Come look at this,” Mia said, pointing to the side of the car.

Scratched in the black paint was one word.

SOON.

12

Deputy Price showed up about fifteen minutes after Jake and Mia did.  We were sitting at the kitchen table with coffee when he showed up.  He went outside and looked at the car.  He also took pictures and made notes.  He came back in and joined us at the table.

“Ms. Cooper, this is the weirdest thing I have ever seen,” Deputy Price told me.  “To be frank, I’m not quite sure what I can really do.  I called in the forensics team to come look at it and they’ll try to get any trace evidence that I’m not skilled enough to obtain.  I apologize, but it will probably be a long night.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” I told him.  “And, Deputy Price, you can call me Alexandrea or Lex.”

He nodded. “Okay, you can call me Ethan.”

I smiled.  “Ethan, didn’t you go to go high school with us?  I think I remember you.”

“Yeah, I was on the football team with Jake.  I graduated with y’all.  I left for the police academy shortly after.  We used to hang out a lot.”

“I knew that.  I’m sorry, it’s been a rough couple of months,” I told him.

“I understand.  Now, I really need to ask you some questions, Lex,” he told me.

I nodded. I was sure he had more than a few questions for me.  I would have a lot of questions for me if I were him.  Hell, I would probably have me taken in for interrogation after everything that had happened over the last two months.  Before he could ask a question, Jake’s phone went off, breaking the silence.  He pulled it out of his pocket, looked at the display, and excused himself.

“I have to take this,” he told me, kissing the top of my head.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” I smiled at him.  I turned and looked at Ethan. “Let’s get this party started.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked, pulling out his notepad and pen.

I took a deep breath.  I proceeded to explain to Ethan about what had happened.  I was beginning to grow weary of having to give statements to the police.  As I explained to him the events of the night, I couldn’t wait to be done with it.  I had never had this much interaction with the Sheriff’s Department before my parents were murdered.  It was becoming exhausting.  As I finished retelling the events of the evening, I paused and waited for him to finish taking notes.

“Describe the car that rear-ended you,” he said, still writing.

“I can’t.”

Ethan looked up.  “Why not?”

“I never saw the vehicle.  I looked in my mirrors but I couldn’t see it.  It must have been black or a dark color.  I doubt they had their headlights on,” I explained.

“Do you know what the word ‘soon’ means on your car?” he asked.

“I don’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure that it means that whatever is going to happen is going to happen ‘soon.’  I do know that it was also on the card that you found in my room before,” I told him.

“I see,” he said, tapping his pen on the table.  “Did you happen to see the person vandalizing your vehicle?”

I shook my head.  “No, that’s probably the scariest part.  I didn’t see anyone or anything.”

“Okay,” he set the pen down.  “Here’s the thing, I don’t know what we can do since no one saw anything. Unless, Mia, did you see the assailant when you and Jake pulled up?”

Mia shook her head.  “It was pitch black and we didn’t see anything.  He must have been gone by time we got here.  We heard the whole incident on the phone.  When Jake took the phone, he put it on speaker so he could drive while talking with her.  We heard her scream, and I’m guessing she dropped her cell phone because she wasn’t responding to Jake shouting at her, trying to get her attention.  At that point, he sped up so we could get there and protect her.”

“Okay.” He nodded and closed his notebook.  “I’ll hang around until the forensics team gets here and finishes up.  Then, I’ll head back and write up a report.”

“Would you like some coffee?”  I asked him.  If he was going to chill for a while, then he might as well make himself comfortable.

“Sure,” Ethan said.  “Coffee sounds pretty good right about now.  It’s been a long day.  Thank you.”

I got up and poured him a cup.  I figured he would take it black since most police I knew did.  I watched Deputy Ethan Price try to avoid eye contact with Mia. I would definitely ask Mia what that was all about.  I brought the coffee to him and set it down.  I went back to my chair and sat down.  I looked towards the living room where Jake had disappeared to take his phone call.  A part of me wanted to go into the living room and find out who he was talking to, but I didn’t want to invade his privacy like that.  That would piss him off.

Jake came back into the room.  He grabbed his coffee cup, refilled it, and then sat back down at the table.  He reached over and squeezed my hand.  He had a strange look on his face.  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  He looked like he was relieved, but really worried at the same time.

“What’s wrong now?”  I asked Jake, feeling deflated.

“Well, we need to talk,” he told me.  “I’d prefer it be just us, but everyone here should know anyway.”

“Okay,” I said timidly.

Jake looked at Ethan, “You already know most of what I’m going to say.”

Ethan nodded.

Jake looked back at me, begging for forgiveness with his eyes.  Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.  I squeezed his hand reassuringly.  I had kept the fact that I could see ghosts from him and I still hadn’t told him the dreams, so I figured we were even.

“Okay, I have to tell you before he gets here.”  Jake looked at his watch.  “I’m not just a farmer like I tell everyone.  It’s just convenient that everyone thinks I hang out at the farm helping Pops with it.  I do actually help Pops quite a bit when I’m not working.”

“If you don’t work on your dad’s farm, what do you do?”  I asked.  My stomach had a sinking feeling.

He got up and began pacing. He never had this much nervous energy to him.  I could tell he had a lot to say and apparently little time to say it.  “I work for a government agency out of Kansas City.  We primarily do surveillance.  We keep an eye on potential threats to the government and human kind.”

“Human kind?” I wondered.  “What do you mean, human kind?”

Jake looked at me sharply.  “We keep an eye on and deal with beings that threaten to upset the balance.  We police the supernatural beings that live among the humans.”

“What do you mean deal with?”  I asked.  I had horrific images of different ways these threats could be dealt with.

“Lex, that’s not important right now,” he said.  He watched my face, and his expression softened.  “Darlin’, don’t worry about it right now.  I’ll explain more later.”

I nodded.

He sat back down and looked at me again.  “I’ve been checking out your ex from New York.  I can’t verify if he’s in the city or if he has a solid alibi for the different incidents that have happened since you came home.  He let you go too easily for the type of person he is.  I looked into his past and he has a history of domestic abuse.  He may be evil, but I think he is solely human.  I’m not so sure that this ‘thing’ that’s been messing with you is human, though.  If they are, they’re into some kind of voodoo.  I’m not sure yet. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

“So, the phone call I just took in the other room is my partner, Cole.  He’s on his way in from the city and he’ll be working with me, trying to figure out what’s going on before anyone tries hurting you, Lex.”  He grabbed my hand and held it tight.  “I’m so sorry I haven’t told you.  Most of what I do is classified and I’m not able to talk about it.  Ethan knows because I’ve worked with the Sheriff’s department on several cases, including your folks’ case.”

I suddenly remembered when he’d said that he had hated seeing my parents like that.  When he’d said it, I didn’t think much about it but it was odd he had said it that way.  I just hadn’t taken out the conversation and examined it too closely.  I looked at Jake.  I felt like I was looking at a stranger, until I looked into his eyes.  I knew that I should be furious that he had lied to me, but it wasn’t like I had been completely honest with him, either.

Mia looked at Jake with a disgusted look on her face, “Cole is coming?  Really?  I think I’m going home.”

I looked between Jake and Mia.  What was up with that?  Who was this Cole? Apparently Cole was someone Mia didn’t care for.   I hated being the only one in the dark.

“Who is this Cole person?”  I asked.  “Do I know him?  Mia, why would you want to leave?”

“Cole Evans is a douchetastical asshat, that’s who he is,” Mia spat.  “He is a rude, condescending, arrogant, pigheaded, son-of-a-bitch.”

“Oh,” I looked at Jake.  Jake was trying not to laugh.  He knew that laughing would just set Mia off even more.

Jake looked at me, “She’s just mad because she embarrassed herself in front of him and he laughed at her. He isn’t that bad.  He just has a unique sense of humor.”

Mia glared at Jake, “In other words, he’s an asshole.”

This could get interesting.  I was curious to see what it was about this Cole Evans that got under Mia’s skin so deeply.  And I also wanted to know how they met.  Did that mean that she knew that Jake works for some super-secret agency?  I was fascinated with what was happening here.  I had so many questions but I didn’t think they were going to answer them.  At least not right now.

I figured that I would find out soon enough.

13

I asked Mia to tell me more about Cole when Jake left the room to go get his laptop.  She looked at me and snarled.  Whoa, she really didn’t like this guy.  I had never seen her react that way to a man, or anyone for that matter.

“He’s despicable,” she started.  “Arrogant, lying, greedy-”

“Telling lies about me, again?” a voice asked from the doorway.

I turned and looked.  Leaning against the archway of the kitchen was a handsome man.  He was at least six feet tall.  He had chiseled features, dark brooding eyes, black hair that was a little long, and he had a strong jawline.  He had a smirk on his face that told me he knew exactly what Mia thought of him.

He turned his dark eyes to me.  They were intense, but they had a spark in them that I trusted.  When he smiled at me, I couldn’t help but smile back.  He walked over to me and took my hand.  “I’m Cole Evans.  It is a pleasure to meet the woman that’s had Jake tied up in knots for years.”

I shook hands with him. I smiled when I replied, “Are you sure that you’re speaking with the right girl?  I’m pretty sure I haven’t tied anyone in knots.”

“Oh, absolutely.  The way he talked about you…” Cole started.

Jake came into the room cutting him off.  “Are you telling all my secrets now, Cole?”

Cole grinned.  “Only the fun ones.”

“That’s enough of that or I’ll let Mia rip you to shreds,” Jake laughed.  Behind him, Mia actually growled at Cole.  I couldn’t wait to hear what the story was about that.  “But, fun and games have to wait.  We have more pressing issues to attend to.”

Jake laid out the pictures that he had taken of the car and flowers when the incidents occurred.  He motioned Cole over to the table.  “Deputy Price, would you like to help explain to Cole what we discovered when we were in the room that day, as well as what you saw when you looked at the car?”

Jake looked back up at Cole. “Did you have a chance to check out the car when you got here?  Did you see anything I may have missed?  I didn’t see anything, but I think I’m getting too close to the situation.”

Cole cocked an eyebrow.  “Getting too close?  Dude, you’ve been too close for quite some time now.  You were too close when the Coopers were murdered.  Maybe your vision was clouded with grief for the family.  I know how close you were to them, but you should have called me down when it first happened so I could help, not wait until the shit hit the fan.  Which, just so you know, it has.”

“I don’t need a lecture,” Jake grunted.  “Let’s just solve this shit.”

Cole nodded in understanding.

Mia stood up.  She looked at me, then looked at the men in the room.  “We don’t really need to be here, do we?  We’re going to let you men pound on your chests and do cave-man grunting while we go upstairs and settle in for some girl talk, painting our nails, and giggling.  I’m assuming that you guys aren’t going to let me go home anytime soon? Not like I have a way home, since I rode over here with Jake.”

Cole glanced up at her.  “You assume correctly, Little Miss Attitude.  Neither one of you are leaving this house until it’s figured out.”

“Excuse me?  Did you just call me ‘Little Miss Attitude?’  I’ll show you attitude, you pompous, self-righteous, arrogant…” I grabbed Mia by the arm, cutting her off, and started to pull her towards the stairs.

“Good night, gentlemen,” I waved over her shoulders.  Once we left the room, she started walking without a fight.

We made it upstairs to my bedroom and shut the door.  I sat on the bed and grabbed the stuffed bunny off the window seat.  I looked at Mia as she sat down on the bed with me.  I knew she was thinking that I was pretty pathetic. I was almost thirty and was holding a stuffed animal for comfort.

Mia sat on the bed and watched me sit there staring at the bunny, picking invisible lent off of its fur.  She put her hand on top of mine to still it.  I looked at her.  I decided that this would be a good time to ask Mia about the ring that I’d seen in my dream.  I couldn’t get it off my mind and she would know if it actually existed.  I rubbed my hand on my face and rolled my neck to pop it.  I hugged the bunny, then set it in my lap.  “I have a question and I know that you’ll know the answer.  You knew everything in high school and you seem to know everything now.  Did Jake buy me an engagement ring right before we broke up?”

The widening of her eyes gave me the answer that I needed.  “Where did you hear that?”

“I haven’t heard it anywhere.  I need to know whether or not he bought a ring.  Please, Mia.”  I pleaded with her.

“It isn’t my place to tell you.  However, I can see the gravity of this on your face and I want to know why you think this is so important.  So yes, he bought you a ring,” she told me.

“What did it look like?” I whispered.  I felt light headed.

“I don’t know for sure.  He never told me what it looked like.  I never saw it.  I do know he got it engraved.” She studied my face.  “I’ll ask again, why?”

“What did it say?”  I closed my eyes.  I knew the answer.  I could see the ring from my dream.

“Forever and always,” she said, frowning. “Tell me what the hell is going on.”

I shook my head.  There was no way that my dream had been just a dream.  I knew nothing about the ring until this afternoon.  I felt like my head was going to explode.  If the dream wasn’t just a dream, did that mean I was going to lose Jake?

“Alexandrea, what the fuck is going on?”  Mia asked, grabbing my shoulders.  “You look like you are about to faint.  I have never seen you so pale. Why a ring you weren’t even sure existed would freak you out this much is beyond me.”

“I have seen it,” I whispered.  “But not in real life.  I saw it in one of my last nightmares.  I held it in my hand in my nightmare.”

Mia grabbed my hand.  “Did you tell Jake about it?”

“I couldn’t,” I whispered.  “I saw his death.  Seeing it killed me, I didn’t think I would be able to relive it by telling him.  What if it wasn’t a dream?”

Mia stared at me.  “Was it a vision?”

I shrugged.  “I don’t know what having a vision is like.  I’ve never had one before.  I wouldn’t think it was a vision though.  My nightmares are dark and horrific.  I can’t accurately describe it.  I wish I could just show it to you.”

Mia looked intrigued.  “Maybe you can.  Give me your hands.”

I placed my hands on hers.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Now, do exactly what I say.  Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Relax. Bring the nightmares to your mind.  Relax.  They won’t hurt you.  They’re just pictures.  Now take those pictures and push them through your hands into mine.”

I did as she said.  When the pictures came to mind, I tried not to look too closely at them.  I took a deep breath and willed the pictures to go to Mia.  I couldn’t get the images from my head to hers.  I sighed and leaned forwards until our foreheads touched.  When they touched, my nightmares played through my head like a fast slide show.  We both gasped.  As soon as the images stopped flashing, I jerked back quickly and watched Mia.  She kept her eyes closed and a frown formed along her eyebrows.  She finally opened her eyes.  They were filled with tears.  I leaned forward and hugged her.  The tears spilled out of her eyes as she clung to me.

I shouldn’t have tried to let her see the nightmares.  She was an empath.  She would have felt the nightmares more deeply than I did.  I knew I should apologize for letting her see, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

“Did you see them?”  I asked.  I felt her nod against my shoulder.

“Yes, not in the same degree you did.  It’s more removed and faster, but I saw everything you saw. The only way you’re going to know if that ring is the ring, is by asking Jake.”  She finally pulled back and looked into my eyes.  “I am so sorry you‘ve had to deal with these nightmares alone.  No one should ever have to go through it.  But I do have one question.  Who do you keep talking to in the dreams?  I could see you stop and talk to someone, but I could never see or hear who.”

“Momma.  She’s in my dreams.  Almost every single one.  She’s always watching and telling me not to let him touch me.  I don’t understand why.  If it is just a dream, how can his touch hurt me?  But since she says not to, I’m not going to question it.” I shrugged.  “She is my mother; she would never steer me wrong.”

“Interesting,” Mia said.  “If it was just a dream, you would think I’d be able to see your mom in it and hear what she has to say.  Maybe it isn’t a simple dream.  Maybe it’s something more complex than that.  Have you ever heard of dream jumping?  Maybe that’s what’s going on.”

“What’s dream jumping?” I asked.

“It’s basically just what it sounds like, jumping into other people’s dreams.  I‘ve never heard of anyone being able to actually do it, but I think it’s possible.  Dream jumping lets you enter someone else’s dreams and manipulate them.  There’s also a spell that can be used to control someone’s dream.  There’s a long process to dream jumping, including obtaining a personal possession of the intended victim.  I believe that dream jumping is actually dark magic, which is why it doesn’t happen often.”

“Why would he need a possession of mine?

“To make the connection stronger.”

I frowned.  “How do you know all of this?”

Mia shrugged.  “I do research when I get bored.  Dream jumping is my best guess on what’s going on.”

Great, just what I needed.  Someone entering my dreams and messing with me.  “But if they are just dream jumping, why are my dreams so dark and scary?”

“Because when they enter your dream, they hijack it and make it how they want it to be,” she explained.

“Oh, so like in the Freddy movies,” I groaned.  I hated those movies.  They had always scared me.  Now that it seemed to be really happening to me, it scared me even more.

“We really need to let Jake know about this,” Mia stood up.  “And ask about that ring.”

I grabbed her arm.  She wasn’t getting away so quickly.  “My turn, sit your ass down.”

She sat and crossed her arms.  She knew what I was going to ask and wasn’t too happy about it.

“Who is Cole and why do you hate him so much?” I asked.  “Real answers here.”

She sighed.

“You didn’t pay much attention to anyone besides me and Jake in high school.  Cole also graduated from Ravensville High, a year or two ahead of us.  Anyway, we would hang out quite a bit when you and Jake were off on your dates.  We were good friends.  Nothing ever happened between us.  Then he took off and moved away,” she explained.  “He came back to town about five years ago.  When he came back, he acted like he didn’t know who I was when he came into the diner.  He had a meeting with Jake, then they both left. End of story.”

I didn’t think that was the whole story, but I knew that was all I was going to get from her.  I looked at the closed door.  I really didn’t want to leave the room and go ask Jake about things that would be painful for both of us.

“Okay, you heard my story,” Mia said standing back up.  “Let’s go throw kinks in the guys’ plans and ideas.”

14

We went back into the kitchen.  Cole and Jake were the only ones in there.  I peeked through the window and saw that the forensics team had left.  I didn’t see Deputy Price anywhere, either.  I walked over, seeing that they had the computer open and some weird websites pulled up.  They had brought in a giant dry erase board like they use in the police shows.  There were names and symbols on the board that I couldn’t quite figure out.  It also had Michael’s name with a question mark beside it.

Jake had his back to me and I couldn’t help but stare at his ass.  He had always had a nice one.  It was obvious that he kept in shape.  I continued staring until I heard someone clear their throat.  I looked up and saw Cole staring at me.  He winked and turned back to the board.

“Uh, Jake, I need to ask you something,” I said.

He turned and gave me his full attention.  I stared into his eyes.  I knew it was going to hurt him for me to ask about the ring.  Now that Mia had been able to see my dreams and determined that it was important, I had to ask him and tell him about the dream.

“Yeah, Lex, what is it?”  Jake asked.  He leaned against the counter and took a sip of his coffee.  He smiled at me encouragingly.

“Did you buy an engagement ring for me before we left for college?”  I asked.

I hated asking in front of his partner, but I knew he would have to tell him if it was important.  I could tell by the look on his face that it wasn’t what he had expected me to ask.  He went still and just stared at me.  Cole had even stopped and was staring between me and him.  Jake slowly turned and looked at Mia.  She spoke before he could.

“I didn’t tell her about it,” she said with her hands up, showing she was blameless.

“Why?” he asked.

“Please, just answer the question,” I told him.

“Yeah, I did buy a ring.  Now, you wanna tell me why this is important all of a sudden?”  He set his coffee down and crossed his arms.

I stared at the floor while I asked him the next question.  “Is it silver or white gold? A solitary diamond with the words ‘Forever and Always’ engraved on the inside?”

I held my breath while I waited for him to answer.  I kept chanting in my head please say no, please say no.  When he didn’t answer, I looked up at him and saw the look on his face.  He looked completely shocked.  He had his hand in his pocket.  He slowly pulled his fisted-hand out of his pocket.  When he opened his hand, the ring I had just described was there.

I slowly reached out and took the ring out of his hand.  When I looked down at it, I recognized it immediately.  I had held it in my dream.  Looking at it just then, I wasn’t seeing the ring as it was, but covered in blood like it had been in the nightmare.  I started shaking my head no.  I dropped the ring and backed away from him until I was against the wall.  I slid to the floor on my ass.  I kept shaking my head no at him.

“You can’t have that ring,” I whispered.  “If you have that ring, the nightmare wasn’t just a dream and you’re going to die.”

Jake sat down on the floor beside me.  He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.  I started to cry.  He looked at Cole and nodded at him.  Cole and Mia wordlessly went into the other room.  It was clear she was going to catch him up on what we figured out while we were upstairs.

“I’m not gonna die, darlin’,” he whispered into my hair.  “It’s just a ring.  It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yes, it does,” I sobbed.

Jake continued to hold me until I calmed down enough to talk.  He stroked my hair and swayed with me.  I took a deep breath and pulled out of his embrace.  I wiped my eyes and looked him straight in the eye.

“I saw your murdered corpse in one of my nightmares,” I started. “I would have just written it off as another nightmare, but in the dream, I stepped on something. It was the ring.  That exact ring that’s in your pocket.  It was on the ground under the, uh, your body.”

Jake continued to stare at me.  He looked like he wasn’t sure what to say.  Maybe if I could make him understand, he would be more careful.  I held him close again.

“Jake, I know I fucked up a lot.  I know that I’ve done things you can’t seem to completely forgive, but I can’t lose you,” I said.  “It nearly destroyed me when I saw that body and realized it was you.  I can’t risk you.  You are everything to me.  You always have been.”

“Well, darlin’ it is nice to know how you feel about me, but nothing is going to happen to me.  I know what I’m doing.  I’ve been doing this stuff for years, and I’m fine.  I joined the agency a few years ago and I’m still around.  We’ll figure this out.  Then we’ll figure us out.”  Jake brushed the hair out of my face.  He cupped my face with his hands and leaned forward.  He kissed me lightly on the lips, then whispered, “We will figure this out, I promise.”

I closed my eyes and leaned against him.  Jake lifted my face and kissed me on the lips again.  As he went to pull back, and I put my hand on the back of his head and pulled him back down for another kiss.  We deepened the kiss, and someone cleared their throat.  We both turned our heads to look towards the sound.  Cole was standing there with a smirk on his face.  No wonder Mia found him condescending, that smirk would annoy me pretty quickly.

“Not to interrupt the make-out session, but we have things to do, like make sure she doesn’t get herself killed,” Cole said, still smirking.

He strode in and refilled his coffee cup.  Mia came back into the kitchen after Cole did.  She sat down at the counter, and Cole handed her a cup of coffee without saying a word.  We all watched him set the cup down in front of her.  Mia picked it up and took a sip.  She looked up at him gratefully.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

He nodded.  “You’re welcome.”

Jake stood and held out a hand for me.  I reached up and grabbed it.  He helped me off the floor.  We joined Cole and Mia at the counter.  Cole passed coffees out to everyone.

“Well, since I’m sure you two didn’t get much talking done with your tongues down each other’s throats, maybe I’ll catch you up, Jacob,” Cole remarked.  “Apparently, Mia and Lex are able to share visions, and after what Mia saw from Lex’s nightmares, she’s come to a helpful conclusion.  Mia believes that the perp is a dream jumper.  I believe her theory has merit.  It’s one of the only things we hadn’t considered.”

I looked at Mia.  Was she blushing?  I couldn’t believe she was blushing over a compliment from this man.  What had happened with them?

Jake scratched his chin.  “It isn’t a common practice.  I haven’t heard of dream jumping except in DAMNED academy.”

Damned academy? “What damned academy?”

Jake looked at me and smiled, “No, DAMNED academy.  It stands for Demonic Appropriation and Magical Nemesis Entity Detection academy.  The academy is like the police academy, but it’s more rigorous.  It’s the agency I work for.”

“Oh,” I said.  “That’s quite the name.”

“Anyway,” Jake changed the subject.  “I need you to tell me every detail of the dreams.  All of them you can remember.  Any detail, big or little, will help.  I know this is hard for you, Lex, but it’s important.”

I nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll tell you.”

I began telling them about all the dreams in as much detail as I could remember.  I was exhausted after I was finished with my descriptions.  Cole had recorded it so that they could analyze it and not make me go through the re-telling again.  The man may have an annoying smirk, but he did have a soft side.

I yawned.  “I’m going to head up to bed, everyone. Mia, you can take the guest room next to mine. Cole, there’s a room at the end of the hall upstairs you can sleep in.  Goodnight.”

***

I was standing in my bedroom looking over my dead body.  Not only was my heart missing, but my hands had been cut off.  I heard heavy breathing before I turned around.  I turned and ducked as an arm shot out to grab me.  I shot out of the room and ran downstairs.  As I was heading towards the kitchen, I noticed the light in the pool room was on.  I veered in that direction.  When I walked up to the room, I made an effort enter cautiously.

The room seemed relatively untouched, except I did notice a smell.  It was a mix of copper and chlorine.  I knew the chlorine was from the pool.  The copper smell had to be blood.  I walked towards the hot tub.  Inside the hot tub was another body.  I knew by the long black hair who it was, but I had to see how she was killed.  I put my hand in the water and jumped back, holding in a scream.  The water was boiling hot.  I had blisters already forming on my hand from it.  I peeked in the hot tub again and the water was red from the blood.  I looked around and found the pool skimmer.  I grabbed it and used it to move the body so I could see the front.  Mia.

Her eyes had been gouged out and her throat slit.  Her throat was cut so deeply, she was practically decapitated.  I saw she had a deep cut on her wrist.  Whoever this was had cut her tattoo off of her wrist.

I heard footsteps and I knew he was behind me.  I still had a grip on the pool skimmer.  I swung around and hit him in the head with the skimmer.  It connected with his temple and he fell sideways into the pool.  I dropped the skimmer and ran out of the room, heading for the back door.  I pulled it open and shut it quietly.  Maybe I could outrun him if he didn’t hear which way I went.

Once outside, I wasn’t sure where to go that he wouldn’t anticipate.  I looked around.  I saw the barns out in the pasture.  We had never had horses but the buildings had been there as long as I could remember.  I ran towards the barn.  I slipped inside using the big door, surprised at how easily that it opened.  Once inside I climbed up into the hay loft. I hid within the hay and waited.  I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for, but I kept waiting.

Suddenly Momma was there.  She was settled in the hay with me.  She looked at me with so much sadness that it broke my heart all over again.  I knew that she wasn’t sad for herself.  Well, not for herself completely, but she was sad for me.  She was scared for me and there wasn’t anything she could do.

She leaned closer to me and whispered, “You have to find it.”

“Find what?” I whispered back.

“The book,” she said.

“What book, Momma?”

“THE book,” she told me.  “Please don’t let him touch you.  He’s gotten too close a couple of times.”

I nodded.  I knew that he had gotten close enough that I felt his clothes brush against me.  I knew his touch wasn’t a good thing in any way, shape, or form. In fact, my neck slightly burned where the cloth had brushed me when I got away from him earlier.

“How do I stop him?”  I asked her.

“With your heart,” she answered.

“What do you mean, Momma?  I’m scared, and I’m tired of being scared.  I want this to end,” I told her wearily.

“You will know when the time comes,” she answered.  “It will come to an end soon.”

Suddenly I heard crackling.  I peeked out the window and the word “Soon” was burning on the ground below.

I woke up with a jolt.  Damn these dreams.  My fingers were sore, so I looked down and saw little blisters on my hands.  How did I blister?  I had never been hurt in my dreams before.  I got up and walked to my window.  The sun was starting to rise.  The light hit my car and caught my attention.  The word “Soon” was written across the top of my car in blood.  I shook my head.  Even seeing it in blood on my car didn’t scare me as much as it should anymore.  I turned away from the mess I was seeing outside of the window and went downstairs to start a fresh pot of coffee.  I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

15

Once I got the coffee brewing, I decided to make pancakes.  It had been a while since I cooked anything.  I was just putting the first set of pancakes on the griddle when I heard voices coming into the kitchen.  I glanced at the clock.  It was barely six o’clock and it sounded like someone was already pissy.

“You big buffoon, you are going to let me go to work.  I have to pay my bills.  So, someone is taking me into town or I am going to be calling a cab out here, and you will be the one paying the cab fare,” Mia said as she was walking into the room.

“No. You aren’t going anywhere today.  Just call whoever covers for you when you can’t be there. Tell them you’re being detained and just need them to cover,” Cole told her smoothly.

“That person is me,” Mia stressed. “I never miss work.  I have to be there, and I’m going to be there.  That diner is my life.  You aren’t my daddy, husband, or anyone that can boss me around.”

“Good morning, guys,” I said, so they would know I was in there.

“Morning,” they both grumbled.  It amazed me how much they were alike.  After seeing them interact, I wasn’t surprised she didn’t like him.  Then I thought, maybe it wasn’t that she didn’t like him.  Perhaps she did like him.  I had never seen her react to someone like she did Cole.  I thought I had seen her watching him out of the corner of my eye a couple times.

Cole sat down at the island, and Mia headed for the coffee.  She poured herself a cup, then glared at Cole, but poured him a cup as well.  She took it over and set it on the island in front of him.  Then I heard her gasp.

I turned around quickly to face her.  “What?”

She was staring at me in horror.  She walked over and turned me around where my back was to her. I could feel her fingers hovering above my neck and the heat from her fingers felt hotter than it should have.

“What happened to your neck?” she asked.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I told her, panic rising in my voice.

“It looks like you’ve been branded,” she whispered.

I remembered the nightmare from last night and how the creeper’s clothes had touched me.  I reached back and gently felt my neck.  My touch sent scalding pain through my neck and I almost dropped to my knees.  Sweet Jesus, that hurt!

I turned back to her.  “I was touched by his clothes last night in my dream.”

“That’s from where his clothes touched you?” she asked.  Her eyes were wide, and I could tell she was scared.

I looked down at my hands where the blisters were still hurting.  I held my hands out for her examination. I knew since the blisters were still there, I would have to tell someone. Telling her was easier than telling Jake; I hated telling Jake anything bad.

“I got burned in my dream last night, too.  The hot tub was boiling in my dream and I stuck my hands in it,” I explained.

Cole got up and walked out of the kitchen towards the pool room.  I figured he was checking the temperature of the hot tub to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with.  While we were waiting for him to come back in, I turned around and flipped my pancakes so they wouldn’t burn.

Cole and Jake came into the room at the same time.  I heard Jake’s footsteps and I grabbed a cup of coffee for him.  As he came around the island to stand beside me, I handed him the coffee.  He took a sip as he looked at my neck.  I was sure by the way he was staring at my neck that Cole had already told him about it.

Jake set his coffee to the side and pulled out his cell phone.  He gently moved my hair so none of it was touching my neck, and held his phone up to it.  I heard the faint click of the camera shutter, and knew he was talking pictures of my neck.  He then typed something on his phone and put it back in his pocket.  Jake silently picked up his coffee and joined Cole and Mia at the table.

After I had finished cooking and serving the pancakes, we all moved to the kitchen table.  Cole looked around as everyone was getting situated.  He waited patiently until he had our attention before he spoke.

“No one is to use the pool or hot tub until this is done.  I’ve taken the liberty of disconnecting the power to the entire room.  It was a good thing Alexandrea told us about the dream and the hot tub.  It looked like someone had turned the temperature control all the way up and had broken the knob off.  It will need to be fixed before it can be used again.”

I nodded.  I wasn’t sure how anyone knew that we used the pool room anyway.  I hadn’t used it until Mia and I started working out.  I looked down at my burned, blistered fingers.  I was surprised that it didn’t actually hurt. I was more worried about the fact it left evidence of my nightmare.  I looked around the table at the others sitting there.  Mia was playing with her pancake, just pushing it around the plate.  Cole was eating and reading something on his phone, and Jake was watching me.

“So what do you guys think about this?”  I asked, holding out my hands.

Jake and Cole looked at each other.  Then Jake looked back at me.  He took my hands gently in his and ran his over mine.  He frowned and then looked back at Cole.

“You didn’t tell me she was hurt from the hot tub,” Jake said, trying to reign in his temper.

“I wasn’t,” I told him softly.  “Well, I was, but it was in my nightmare last night.  This was the first time anything has hurt me, both in the nightmare and outside of it.”

“I’ll find something to protect you in your dreams.” Jake let go of my hands.  He took his phone back out and took pictures of my hands like he had with my neck earlier.  He then picked up his coffee and took a sip of it. “What about a dream catcher?  Have you tried that yet?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t tried a dream catcher.  Do they really work?”

Mia spoke up, “They do if you get them from a shaman that has the power to make them. I can go after work and pick one up.  I know who makes them, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy.  This person has been helping me learn more about my abilities.  He knew our mothers when they were children, so he kind of knows what to expect.”

Cole glared at her.  “If you keep insisting on going to work, then I’m going with you and hanging out at the diner all day.  Hope your bottomless refills on beverages sign is accurate because I will be there the whole time you are.”

“No, you won’t.  Like I said, I can’t go to my shaman friend with you lurking,” Mia protested.

Cole shrugged, “Then you aren’t going.”

As amusing as I found these little tiffs they were having, they needed to work together so we could end this.

“Mia Rose Capone, you will let him go with you to the diner.  Then he can drop you off at your car after work and head this way.  That way you can go to whoever it is that you were talking about, then come back.  I’m tired of all of this!  I want life to go back to normal, and you need to quit acting like a baby,” I told her.  Then I turned on Cole, “And you.  You will give her the space she needs to do her job and leave her the fuck alone when she asks.  I don’t know you, but believe me, I am not afraid to shove the pool skimmer up your ass.”

Jake smiled a big, genuine smile.  “There’s my girl.  It’s about time you started acting like you again.  I’ve missed it.”

I smiled back at him.  He was right, I hadn’t been acting like myself.  I had been acting like the victim this monster made me into.  The self-doubt was gone.  It was time for a change and that change was happening now.

***

I paced the floor at a quick clip.  I kicked a chair that was in my way as hard as I could and sent it flying across the room.  I flung pictures off the walls with just a wave of my hand.  I’d almost had the bitch.  How the fuck did she find that pool skimmer?  It shouldn’t have been there.  There should have been nothing for her to use against me.

I gently touched my temple where she hit me with it.  It was tender to the touch.  I could tell that it was already bruised.  I was going to have to find a way to take care of that.  I couldn’t let anyone see the bruising or they might start to suspect.  I couldn’t let them find out.  I knew a glamour spell that should work to disguise the bruise or make it fade away temporarily.

In my round of pacing, I stopped and looked into the mirror.  There was bruising all along the right side of my face.  Seeing the bruising pissed me off even more.  I punched the mirror, then yanked it off the wall and threw it across the room.  That bitch was going to pay.

I stopped, took a breath, and smiled.  A thought occurred to me.  The spell I’d cast had worked.  If I was bruised, then she was marked as well.  The sigil had been placed on her.   There were advantages to what had happened last night.  I couldn’t help but wonder where she had disappeared to.  She had been in the pool room and the next thing I knew, she was gone.  Of course, I’d had to get out of the pool, which had given her a head start.

I started the fire in the yard because I knew she was smart enough not to stay in the house with me.  She always seemed to get away from me at the last second.  I couldn’t figure out what was going on.  I made sure there was no one else in the dreams that could help her. I would figure it out and I would get her.  I had worked hard on making sure that there would be no one else in the dreams.  The spells and sacrifices that I made were supposed to ensure that we were alone.

I walked into my spare bedroom.  The windows were blacked out.  I turned on the light and went to the wall.  I stared at the pictures of her from before I took care of her fucking parents.  Her beautiful blonde hair was shining in the sun and her smile was magical.  I had to make her mine. Forever.

I reached towards the picture and ran my fingers gently down her face.  I imagined my fingers touching her warm, smooth skin.  I figured that it would feel like melting butter.  Soon sweetheart, I vowed.  It would be very soon.

16

Shortly after breakfast, Mia and Cole left to go to the diner.  I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.  I couldn’t believe how many coffee cups we’d been through.  I would text Mia later and have her bring me some disposable coffee cups.  It would make clean up a lot easier.  When I finished with the kitchen, I went around and cleaned the rest of the house.

Jake had left for a little bit to go get supplies and check in with his dad.  He might claim that he didn’t work with his dad, but I knew that he really did.  He helped him as much as he was able and he felt bad that he was spending so much time away.  I could see the guilt on his face when he told me he was going to his dad’s farm for a bit.

I sat on the couch and debated what to do next.  I felt her before she had completely appeared.  I smiled. At least I wasn’t alone.  At least my Momma was going to be with me while I was still in danger.  I looked at her.

“I wondered when you would show your face besides in my dreams,” I told her.

She smiled. “You’ve been busy.”

“Not too busy for my mother to haunt me,” I joked.  Only it wasn’t just a joke. I would never be too busy for her.  I wish I would have realized that before she was murdered.

She smiled.  “Did you find the book?”

I looked at her.  She had mentioned the book last night.  “What book?”

“THE book,” she said, emphasizing the word ‘the’.

“No, I don’t even know what book we’re discussing.  Some actual information would be helpful here.  What color is it?  What does it look like?  Is it big, little, heavy, thin?  C’mon Momma, throw me a bone here,” I sighed.  She was being very vague about this book that she wanted me to find.

“The book is important.  I would tell you where it was, if I knew.  It’s a book of great importance to this family.  You and Mia are going to need it.”

I frowned.  “You don’t mean like a Book of Shadows?”

She nodded.  “Yes. The book.”

“Okay, Momma.  I’ll look. Where did you see it last?”

“I don’t remember.  It’s odd.  I should remember.”  Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked around the room.

“It’s okay, Momma. I’ll find it,” I promised.

She nodded and as she faded she said, “Find the book.”

Great.  Now I had to go on a scavenger hunt for a book that I didn’t know anything about.  I didn’t even know what the book looked like.  I was just told to find it.  Where would my mother keep an extremely important book she didn’t want anyone knowing about?

I put my head in my hands.  I was just realizing that I didn’t really know anything about my mother.  It was like suddenly she was this mysterious woman that somehow raised me without showing me any of her personality traits.  How could I have not known that she was a witch or whatever the hell she was?  What was she?  No one had told me for sure.

I stood up and glanced around the house.  I really doubted she would keep something like “The Book” in the house where just anyone could stumble over it.  I headed to the kitchen for more coffee.  There was no way I was going to do a scavenger hunt around the property without enough coffee in my system to keep me wired for a month.  I looked out the window while I sipped.

I knew she had hidden it on the property.  She wouldn’t trust taking something that important off the property and risk something happening to it.  I walked outside and sat on the swing while I finished my coffee.  There had to be a way for me to find it easily.  If I knew where it was, then I could go get it when I needed it.

I set the coffee on the ground and sat cross-legged on the swing.  I relaxed my body and closed my eyes.  I wasn’t sure what to concentrate on, so I just concentrated on my mother.  I thought about Mia and Aunt Christina.  Then I thought about our grandmother.  I tried to remember when we were all together.  I had a feeling this “power” we had ran in the female blood lines.

Mentally, I tried to find the connection between us.  The blood.  I could feel the bonds forming.  Slowly the ties between myself and all of the female blood relatives on my mother’s side became stronger.  It was like a web being woven from member to member.  It didn’t seem to matter if the woman was alive or dead, I could feel the connections to them building.  The more I concentrated, the stronger the links with the family members became. Each line grew thicker and stronger in my mind.  The strongest bonds were to my mother and Mia.  As each line solidified, I could feel the knowledge and power start to swell and travel down them towards me.

I felt a hand firmly grip my shoulder.  I screamed and jumped.  As soon as I had felt the hand touch me, the connection had broken immediately.  I opened my eyes to Jake kneeling beside the swing.  His eyebrows were drawn together in a concerned frown.  I looked around.  His truck was in the drive. The driver’s side door standing wide open and the engine was still running.  I looked at Jake again. He had a handgun in his hand.

“What in the world are you doing?”  I asked incredulously.  I couldn’t figure out why he had a gun out or why it looked like he had been in a hurry.

“Are you okay?” He studied my face.  “When I pulled up, you weren’t moving.  I was afraid something happened to you.  There was this strange glow around you.  When I tried talking to you, you didn’t respond. It was like you weren’t there.  It wasn’t until I touched you that you seemed to come back to your body.”

“I was meditating,” I explained.  “I was trying to relax.  Everything has been so stressful lately, I felt I needed it.  Why are you back so soon?”

Jake shrugged and joined me on the swing.  “I was worried about you.  I also had a feeling that you needed me.”

I smiled at him and touched his face.  I didn’t actually need him there at the moment, but I did want him here.  I always wanted him here.  I just wished that I could have him with me all the time, even in my dreams, so maybe the nightmares would stay at bay.  I knew that wasn’t possible, so this was the next best thing.

I leaned toward him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Thank you.  I promise that I’m fine, but thank you for caring.”

He smiled.  “You’re welcome.  You know I will always care about you.  So, what were you meditating about?  It didn’t look like a simple ‘trying to relax’ moment, Lex.”

I knew it was time to completely trust him.  I had given him my heart years ago, and now I needed to bare my soul.  “I’m looking for a book.  My mother told me to find it.  She doesn’t remember what she did with it, but she says it’s important for me to find it.  She said that Mia and I would need it.”

“What kind of book are you looking for?”

“I don’t know.  She didn’t tell me,” I admitted.  “I guess I’m looking for the family “Book of Shadows” type book.  I know it’s cliché, but that’s the only book I can think of that my mother would say we need.  She didn’t describe it or anything.”

“So you were mediating to find a book?” he asked, clearly confused.

I shrugged.  “I wasn’t exactly meditating.  I was trying to expand my subconscious to see if I could...  I don’t know.  Feel the book, for lack of a better word.  I was trying to strengthen family connections, but I think I need Mia and possibly Aunt Christina to do so.”

“Have you tried physically looking for it?” he asked.  He wasn’t being condescending, he was just being practical.

I felt a little sheepish.  “Not yet.  I know that my mother wouldn’t have left it where it would be easily accessible.”

“It’s okay, darlin’. We’ll find it.”  He studied me for a moment.  “How are your hands and neck?”

I held out my hands so he could see that the blisters were already disappearing.  I moved my hair off of the back of my neck.  He moved closer to examine it.  I could feel his breath on my neck and it gave me chills.  I wasn’t sure what my neck looked like, but it seemed like he was examining it closely.  I kind of enjoyed the way his breath on my neck was making me feel.  I had knots of anticipation in my stomach.  I wished he would touch me.

“Well?  How does it look?” I asked in a breathy voice.

Jake sighed and moved back away from me.  “Looks like a brand.  I’m fairly confident that the brand is a sigil, but I am not sure what the sigil is for.  Based on the symbols, it appears to be a demon’s brand.  I’m not too familiar with the sigil myself, but I’m going to send a picture of it to someone who knows more about it.  I promise you we will figure this out and we’ll get that evil mark off of you.”

“Jake, what is a sigil?” I asked, wearily.

“It’s a symbol that’s used to summon a demon.  The only reason I can think of that the sigil would be placed on your skin, is if whoever is doing this is working with the demon or made a deal with the demon to help obtain their goals,” Jake explained quietly.  He slid an arm around my shoulders and gave me a comforting hug.

I ran my fingers through my hair.  I was sure that he would keep that promise.  I just hoped that he would figure it out in time.

***

Cole had shown up at the house an hour before Mia did and was sitting there waiting for her to get back.  It was obvious by the way he watched the clock and pretended he wasn’t.  I found it endearing. If he was around after this, maybe we could all be friends.  That would be awesome.  Then I had an idea.

“Cole, why do you annoy Mia so much?” I asked him.

He glanced at me, then at the clock, and then back at me.  He shrugged, then smiled.  “Because it’s fun.  She’s hilarious when she gets riled up.”

He just liked getting a rise out of her?  “Okay.  Why are you watching for her?”

“I’m not,” he denied.

“Okay, but if you don’t want her thinking you’re waiting for her, you might want to get busy because she’s coming down the drive,” I smirked as he opened his laptop and started trying to look busy.

Mia walked in the door and looked at both of us.  I was just sitting there grinning at her.  She cocked an eyebrow at me.  She knew something was up.

“What’s up?” she asked, setting her stuff on the counter by the door.

“Oh, nothing.  I was just waiting for you to get back.  I’m bored.  Jake took off a while ago and Mr. Stuffy-pants over there is BO-RING.  I couldn’t even leave the kitchen without him looking over my shoulder,” I told her, pouting.

“That doesn’t surprise me.  He was up my ass the whole fucking day at the diner,” she told me.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a medium sized paper bag.  The bag had no symbols or anything to indicate where she’d gotten it from.  She handed the bag to me and I pulled the dream catcher out of it.  It was beautiful.  It was made with different colored leather and beads.  The beads were a variety of colors, but there was more purple than any other color. The dream catcher was absolutely stunning.  I could feel its power thrumming through my hands.  The power that coursed through the dream catcher was more powerful than I had ever imagined.  I had never thought that dream catchers had power, but this one definitely did.  I looked at Mia.

“It’s absolutely beautiful.  And, wow, I have never felt power like this.  Why so much purple though?”  I ran my fingers gently over the purple beads.

Mia nodded.  “I know, I could feel it through the paper bag.  I tried not to touch it too much.  Now, you need to go and hang it above your bed.  Hopefully it will keep the nightmares at bay and protect you while you sleep.  The purple beads represent spirit and inner self, which is where the nightmares seem to be coming from.  The shaman couldn’t guarantee it would completely get rid of the nightmares, but it should deter whoever’s doing it.”

I nodded. This could really work.  “Okay, I’ll go hang it up now.”

17

I woke up to the sound of a heartbeat.  It was loud, echoing throughout the room.  I sat up in bed and looked around.  I didn’t see the heart, but I could still hear it.  I climbed out of bed.  I still wasn’t seeing anything.  I walked out into the hallway and the heartbeat grew louder.  I followed the sound down the hall to the room Jake was sleeping in.  I opened the door.  It was pitch black in the room and I couldn’t make out any shapes.  I stuck my arm in the room reaching for the light switch.  I couldn’t find it.  I stepped into the room, closed my eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again.  I could barely make out the bed.  I walked towards it but couldn’t even see Jake’s outline.

I looked to where the window was, and it was completely dark.  That explained the darkness; the curtains were closed.  I walked over and opened them.  The light of the moon poured into the room.  I could see Jake’s silhouette in the bed.  The heartbeat was so loud now that it was hurting my ears.  I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.  I was scared to reach out to him.  I looked around to see if my mother was there to give me the advice that I desperately needed.  Of course, she wasn’t.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I knew that she had given me the advice that I needed from the beginning.  She was constantly telling me to trust my heart.  And if I heard the heartbeat in this room with him, then he had to be the key, right?  I reached out to him.  My hands were trembling so badly that it took me two tries before I was able to grab the edge of the blanket and pull it down a little.  I then put my hand on his shoulder and shook his him slightly.

“Jake, wake up,” I whispered next to his ear.

Jake started to move around and sat up.  He looked around the room before his eyes settled on me.  His eyes widened for a moment.  Then he masked his expression so I couldn’t read him.  His initial reaction was shock.  Why was he shocked?

“What?”  I asked him.

He smiled.  “I should be asking you that.  Especially since you’re in my room, naked.”

I looked down.  What the hell? I had been wearing a tank top and yoga pants when I walked into the room.  I looked back at Jake and smiled.  What the hell, I might as well go with it.

“It’s the newest fashion, you know,” I explained.

He chuckled.  “Well, we must’ve both received the memo since I sleep that way every night.”

“Oh.”  I shifted, slightly uncomfortable.   I was so glad this was a dream and he would never know what happened.

“What is that noise?” Jake asked, looking around the room.

“A heart,” I told him.  “I just can’t find where it’s coming from.  This is usually the point where I am being chased around by a psycho murderer, so I don’t know.”

How did I know that?  I’d never acknowledged I was dreaming before.  It always seemed so real when I was in the moment.  I figured that it was because I wasn’t alone in this dream.  There was another person in it with me, so my subconscious alerted me to the fact that I was dreaming.  I looked at Jake again.  He was looking around the room.  I reached out and took his hand.  He looked at me, then and his eyes softened.

“Can I tell you something?”  I asked him quietly.

“Anything,” he said.

“I still love you.  I always have, always will.  You are my soulmate.  You are my heart.  I don’t know what I would do without you,” I whispered.

He pulled me to him, helping me under the covers.  He hugged me tightly and kissed me on the lips.  He just sat there and held me tightly.  I snuggled into his arms.  I loved feeling our skin touching like it was.

“I love you, too,” he whispered into my hair.  “I never gave up on you coming back to me, darlin’.  I just want you to know that.  I haven’t been in a serious relationship since high school.  I couldn’t. I kept seeing your face.”

I put my head on his chest as we lay in bed talking.  I realized that the heartbeat in the room was in sync with his heartbeat.  That was odd.  I put my hand to my chest to feel my heart.  It was also beating in sync with the heartbeat in the room.

I was just starting to relax in his arms when I heard faint footsteps.  I sat up quickly and looked around.  He didn’t seem to notice it.  He pulled me back so that I was lying against his chest.  I tried to relax a few moments later when I didn’t hear the footsteps anymore.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds.  When I opened them up again, I saw the shadow by the bed.  I jumped.

“Jake, did you see that?”  I asked him.

“What?  I didn’t see anything, Lex,” he said.

“We need to move, trust me,” I said, starting to get out of bed.

The shadow took the opportunity and suddenly attacked.  I saw the knife just in time for it to slide through Jake’s heart.  I screamed and reached for the knife.  Searing pain went through my chest to my heart.  That’s when I noticed the room had gone completely silent.  The heartbeat has stopped.

I looked into Jake’s eyes.  The light behind them was fading fast.  He put a hand to my cheek and tried to talk.

“No, Jake.  Don’t talk,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes.  “It will be okay.  You’re fine.  We just have to call an ambulance.  You’re going to be just fine.”

“I love. You.” Jake murmured, his voice getting weaker.  He was having trouble breathing.

“I love you,” I said.  I was panicking. “You are going to be okay, you can’t leave me.”

“Never-,” he said, taking one last breath, then went still.

“No!” I cried.  I held him as I sobbed.  My heart was shattered.  My soul was ripped apart and dead.

The figure stood beside the bed watching.  Then he did something I had never seen him do before.  He spoke.

“Soon.”

“No!” I screamed, sitting straight up in bed.

I looked around the room and everything was blurry.  My face was wet.  I wiped my face and realized there were tears.  I was crying in my sleep.  I jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room.  I ran down the hallway and burst into the room that Jake was sleeping in.

I stopped at the side of the bed.  I couldn’t hear his breathing.  I looked around the room and it looked exactly as it did in my dream, only brighter.  I reached down and touched his shoulder.  He sat up, wide awake and alert.  He had his gun in his hand and it was aimed at my chest.  I held my hands up so he could see I was unarmed.

“Jake, it’s me. Alexandrea,” I told him slowly.

He lowered the gun and put it back under his pillow. He rubbed his hands over his face, then looked at me again.

“You okay, Lex?” he asked.

I shook my head no.  I really wasn’t okay.  I stood there looking at him.  Would I be okay if anything actually happened to him?  No, I would not be okay.  That was one thing I knew for certain.  I stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure what I needed to do next.  Should I leave, or get into the bed with him?

“Sit down, and tell me about it,” Jake said, scooting over and giving me room to get into bed with him if I wanted to.

I took him up on it.  I crawled into the bed and sat right next to him.  I could feel his leg pressed against mine.  He felt warm and safe.  I stared at the wall at the foot of the bed.  I needed to just tell him about the dream.  I looked at him again.  He seemed off.  Like something was on his mind.

“I had a nightmare,” I told him.

He nodded. I knew he would figure that one out on his own.  He put an arm across my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

“Tell me about it,” he said softly.

I did.  I told him the whole dream.  As I was telling him, he stiffened.  It felt like he was even holding his breath.  Why was he acting so strangely?

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

He shook his head.  “Nothing, darlin’. Just listening.”

For some reason, I didn’t think he was being completely honest with me.  I wasn’t going to pressure him tonight.  I just wanted to know we were both safe and together, at least for one night.  I looked up at him.  I put my fingertips on his chin and turned his face so he was facing me.  He looked down at me and smiled.  I kissed him, trying to tell him how I felt with my body, not just my words.  Sometimes words weren’t enough.  And sometimes, like now, I was too scared to use words to tell him how I felt about him.

I broke the kiss and whispered against his lips, “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Always,” he whispered back.

I cuddled up against him and closed my eyes.  As I was drifting off to sleep, I thought I heard Jake murmur something under his breath as he kissed me on the forehead.  I was too tired to ask him what he said, so I just relaxed in his safe arms and fell into a deep sleep.

***

Could we have really had the same dream?  Lex described it exactly as I had seen it.  Was that how all her dreams were?  I couldn’t believe that we’d had the same dream.  I hadn’t expected anything like that to happen. I knew she had certain abilities, but dream sharing wasn’t one I thought she had.

After seeing that dream from my perspective, I could understand why Alexandrea was always distancing herself from everyone.  It was awful seeing her watch me die.  There was nothing I could do about it.  She seemed aware that it was a dream, but at the same time she seemed to realize it had been different.

I rubbed my chest where the knife had entered in the dream.  There was a dull ache and the area was tender.  I wasn’t sure how it could hurt like it did, when it was just a dream.  I figured I felt it since somehow I had been connected to the dream as well.  I glanced down at my chest and saw the darkening of a bruise above my heart.

I held on to Lex a little tighter.  There was no way I was going to let her go or lose her to this monster.  I was going to find out who was torturing her and I was going to make him suffer.  I wasn’t as kind and gentle as she thought I was.  I had a dark side to me. That was what the agency liked about me.  When she had left and shattered my heart, I felt something shift and knew it would never be the same.  It wasn’t until I had killed my first demon that I knew I needed something like that to keep me fulfilled.  It took the pain of her not loving me away, even if it was just for a few moments.

I kissed the top of her forehead.  There were things that I had done since she left that she could never find out.  Things I wasn’t entirely proud of.  I was certain that if she knew, she would look at me differently.  I also knew that she thought I hadn’t changed at all over the years.  I felt like a stranger in my own skin at times.  The only time I felt like myself was when I was with her.  Then I could pretend I was just a small town boy, living a small town life.

I sighed.  That dream had shaken me.  It had felt like more than a dream.  The only good thing that had come out of that dream was that Lex finally admitted how she felt about me.  She had admitted that she loved me, even if it was only in a dream.  I couldn’t tell her I had the same dream because she would be embarrassed.

I tried to readjust and get comfortable, but I had trouble sleeping with Lex beside me.  Hearing her moan and breathe deeply in her sleep stirred things inside me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.  Feeling her gentle breath sliding across my chest was causing an ache deep inside of me.  A part of me wanted to wake her up and have my way with her, but the other part of me wanted to make sure she would be safe all night long.  Both sides of me knew what I was so vehemently trying to avoid.  She was mine.  Always had been, always would be.

I knew that I had to get my feelings and urges under control before she woke up; before we had a very embarrassing moment in the morning.  Right as I was starting to get my urges under control, she shifted, rubbing her leg all the way up mine.  She slid one leg over mine so it was laying between my legs.  I groaned.  This was going to be a long night.

18

The next week went by uneventfully.  Mia and I worked even harder on our training.  She wanted me to be prepared if I came face to face with the son of a bitch that was putting us through this.  She beat my ass in a big way.  If need be, Mia was dangerous.

I was spending more time on my feet now that I had some of the moves down.  Mia smiled as I blocked a side attack and tossed her on the mat.  She stood up and popped her neck. “Now, the fun can begin.”

What she meant by “fun” was that she was planning to stop going easy on me.  She went at me like she was seriously trying to kill me.  She swung a punch that I attempted to deflect.  I misjudged it and she ended up punching me in the eye.  I hit the mat, cursing.  I looked up at her to see her staring at me with her eyes wide.  I took her moment of distraction to sweep her legs out from under her.

The practice became increasingly brutal.  She got me on the ground and was sitting on me with her hands on my throat like she was trying to strangle me.  She applied light pressure on my windpipe.  Not enough to hurt me, but enough for my brain to register that I was in a precarious situation.

I felt energy building in my chest.  I wasn’t sure what kind of energy it was, but I didn’t have to wait long to find out.  Suddenly Mia flew off me and hit the wall.  I scrambled up and over to her.  She sat against the wall, dazed for a moment.

“Are you okay?”  I asked, turning her face towards me.

“Yeah,” she breathed.  She looked at me sharply.  “How in the bloody hell did you do that?  And a better question is, can you do that again?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t even know how I did it,” I confessed.  “It just felt like there was pressure in my chest, then the next thing I knew, you were against the wall.”

Mia rubbed her head.  “Yeah, I didn’t see anything, but it felt like I was kicked by a horse in the chest.  Good thing your dad had the good sense to hang mats on the wall.”

I smiled.  “Wasn’t Daddy.  Momma was the one that had the mats hung on the wall after the other girls from the cheer squad came over and I was on the top of the pyramid and fell off.  I hit the wall and cracked a rib.  The next day, they had someone here putting the mats up.”

“Either way, I’m glad it was there,” she told me sincerely.

I stood and offered her a hand up.  I knew we were done with the workout for now since she was clearly having trouble getting around.  Too bad we didn’t have the hot tub to sit in after this round.  We could definitely use it.  Then I got an idea.

“You know Momma had a steam room added to the pool area last year, right?”  I asked her.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“We could go sit in there since we aren’t allowed to use the hot tub right now, per Cole and Jake,” I told her.

She smiled.  “That’s a great idea.  My whole body hurts right now.”

We went into the steam room, undressed, and wrapped ourselves in towels.  As we entered the room, I turned on the steamer, and cranked it up.  I poured water over the coals of the heating element in the room to produce the steam.  I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.  I could feel all the pain from our training throbbing; I felt like my whole body was one giant ache.

Steam began to fill the room as my muscles started to relax one by one.  I felt like my bones were melting away.  It was glorious.  I hadn’t felt so relaxed in weeks.  I wasn’t even relaxed when I crawled into Jake’s bed at night.  I could sleep, that wasn’t the problem.  I had all this sexual tension building and I couldn’t do anything about it.  I had just forced myself to sleep as he rubbed my back or held me close.

I could feel Mia looking at me.  It seemed like she could read my mind by her expression.  I glanced at her from under my eye lashes and could see her staring at me hard.  I had a feeling this conversation wasn’t going to be much fun for me.  I sighed.

“What’s on your mind, Mia?”  I asked, pointedly keeping my eyes closed.

“Have you slept with him yet?” she asked with a smile in her voice.

Not quite what I expected, but still not the most comfortable conversation that we could be having.

“Almost every night,” I answered honestly.  I had been sleeping with him.  But it was just sleep.

“Ha, ha,” she said sarcastically.  “You know what I mean.  Have you fucked him yet?”

I shrugged.  There had to be a reason for her to be asking me these questions suddenly.  “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” she said, leaning her head back against the wall.  “Why haven’t you?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Maybe we want the anticipation to build.  Or better yet, because he doesn’t want me like that anymore.  That could be a good answer.”  I groaned.  The thought of him not wanting me made me want to vomit.  I didn’t want anyone knowing how weak I was when it came to that man.  Weakness was vulnerability, and I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

“Oh Lex, you really are blind.” Mia sighed dramatically.  “Everyone can tell that he’s walking around like he has the biggest case of blue balls seen on this side of the Mississippi River.  And he’s biting everyone’s heads off.”

“I haven’t noticed him acting any differently.”

“You wouldn’t because he doesn’t treat you differently.  He wants you and doesn’t want to push you away.  Maybe you should just jump his bones and get it over with.  Maybe you both would be able to sleep better at night.  I know I’d be able to tolerate his ass a little better.”  I could hear the laughter in her voice.

I shrugged.  It wasn’t going to happen, so it was probably best if she didn’t dwell on it.  Who was I kidding?  I needed to stop dwelling on it.  I thought about him all the time, day and night.  I had to get him off my mind.

After about thirty minutes, we decided it was time to get out of the steam room.  I stood up and went to push the door open.  It didn’t budge.  I pushed again.  Still nothing.  I looked back at Mia who was sitting there watching me with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The door won’t open,” I told her, my voice starting to raise an octave.  I wasn’t claustrophobic, but I didn’t like the feeling of being trapped.  I pushed at the door harder.  It didn’t give at all.

Mia walked over to the door and pushed.  When nothing happened, she looked at me, her eyes widening.  She pushed it again and I could see the muscles in her arms straining.  The door still didn’t move.

“Why don’t we push together,” I suggested, trying to stay calm.

Mia nodded.  We leaned into the door together and started to push.  We were both putting all of our weight on the door and it still wasn’t opening.  I was starting to panic.  We had to get out of that box.  I slammed my fist on the door.

Mia took my arm, led me back to the bench, and motioned for me to sit down.  She sat beside me, staring at the door.  I looked back and forth between her and the door, then a thought occurred to me.  I looked at the thermostat that was in the corner by the door.  The thermostat had been installed so we could make sure the room wasn’t too hot.  I saw the temperature was slowly starting to rise.

“Mia, we have a problem,” I whispered.

“No shit, Sherlock,” she snorted.  “What gave you the first clue?”

I looked at her.  She was still staring at the door.  I touched her arm so she would look at me.

“The temperature is rising.  That means someone messed with the controls outside the room before we were trapped in here,” I told her.  “In other words, if we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll be cooked alive.”

She slowly looked towards the thermostat that I was staring at.  We watched the temperature rise another degree together in silence.

“We have to think,” she told me.  I could hear the resolve in her voice.  “We are going to get out of here.  I don’t feel like being cooked like a turkey today.”

I agreed with her whole heartedly.  I didn’t want to die in the steam room of my own damn house.  I looked around the room and didn’t see any alternate way out.  I frowned.

“Do you know when Jake or Cole is supposed to come back to the house?”  I asked her.

She shook her head.  “No, they don’t tell me their plans.”

Damn.  This meant we were on our own.  I looked at Mia.  I knew she was as clueless as I was.  I tried to hold back my tears.  She didn’t need me to break down on her now.  What we needed was strength.  I couldn’t be the sniveling wimp.  If we were going to get out of this, I couldn’t break down.

“Okay, we’re going to get this door open,” I told her.  “What do we have between us that we can use?”

“You mean besides nightmares and the occasional astral projection or vision?” she replied.  “Nothing, unless you shoved your cell phone up your ass before you came in here.”

I rolled my eyes at her.  I had to appreciate her sarcasm, though.  She wasn’t panicking, but I could tell she was worried.  Her sarcasm usually increased when she was feeling a lot of emotion.

“You forgot empathy and mental instability,” I quipped.  “But seriously, if we have these special abilities and our mothers were witches, then we should be able to break out of this little box of hell.”

She looked at me.  She seemed to be trying to assess my mood.  I was determined we weren’t going to be stuck in this box forever. We just had to concentrate.  We could and would figure this out.

I crossed my legs and closed my eyes.  I decided to try to tap into the family resources like I did the other day when I was looking for the book with my mind.  I wasn’t sure what I was doing but I knew it was better than just sitting there waiting to boil to death.  I took a deep breath and reached out to grab Mia’s hand.  She held on tightly.  I could feel the energy flowing between our joined hands.  Mia squeezed my hand.  She was feeling the energy as well.

Instead of focusing on the door, my thoughts went to Jake.  I could see him standing in an office having a heated conversation with someone.  I couldn’t see who he was talking to or hear what he was saying, as I was only focused on Jake and trying to reach out to him.

He stopped talking and looked around the room.  He had a confused look on his face.  He turned back to the person he’d been talking to.  He said something and turned to rush out the door.

I hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

19

I don’t know what came over me, but I knew I had to get back to Alexandrea.  I could have sworn I smelled her perfume while in the office.  It also felt like someone had been watching me, trying to tell me something.  I knew in the pit of my stomach that she was in trouble, and I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

I would be lucky if I didn’t lose my job since I walked out in the middle of a heated discussion with my boss, the director of the DAMNED agency.  He had been trying to convince me to take an out of town assignment.  If I was reassigned, I wouldn’t have been able to keep an eye on Lex and protect her.

I sped through town, trying to get to her as fast as possible.  I knew that time was of the essence.  I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I did.  When it came to Lex, I seemed to always know more than I should, except where it counted.  I couldn’t seem to figure out who was behind torturing her.  I knew that it would come to an end one way or another, and I felt it was soon.

I flew through a red light, almost causing an accident.  I knew the police would probably be called and they would be on my ass, but they would just have to follow me until I got to the house and made sure she was okay.  I glanced in my mirror, surprised that I wasn’t being followed yet.

As I turned onto the country road that led to the house, I heard an eerily familiar voice whisper in my ear.

“Hurry,” the voice whispered.  “They need you.”

It couldn’t be.  I knew that voice as well as I knew my own mother.  It was Lex’s mother, Emma.  I spent enough time with their family that I would never forget her voice.  Hearing the ominous warning, I pressed down harder on the accelerator.  The truck lurched as it went faster.  I simply had to make it in time to save her.  I didn’t know what was wrong, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen.  As each minute slowly ticked by, the knot in the pit of my stomach grew heavier.

I pulled into the driveway and slammed the truck into park as I jumped out.  I ran to the house, bursting through the door.  I stopped.  It was completely silent.  Where the hell were they?  I looked around the rooms of the main floor.  They weren’t in the kitchen, study, or living room.  I ran towards the workout room.  They weren’t in there.  I looked around, trying to figure out where they were.  I knew they were in the house, just like I knew they were in trouble.

I heard the voice again.  “Hurry.”

The door to the pool room rattled.  I raced to the door, dread filling my stomach.  I hoped not to see them dead in the pool or hot tub.  I ran into the room and stopped.  Nothing.  Someone should have been in here.  As I turned to walk out of the pool room, I noticed the door to the steam room.  I stared at it.  What in the hell?  I walked over, eyeballing the statue that was pushed up against the door.  I moved the marble statue that was blocking the door out of the way.

I pulled the door of the steam room open.  Steam and intense heat rolled out of the room.  Lex and Mia were laying on the bench holding hands.  Their skin was bright red.  They didn’t look like they were breathing.  I rushed into the room.  I gently picked Lex up and carried her out into the pool room.  I set her down in a pool lounger and went to get Mia.  I knew I had to get them out of the heat before I determined if they were okay.  I picked up Mia and carried her to the lounger next to Lex. I set her down and stood between the chairs.

I pulled out my phone and called an ambulance.  I checked to make sure both women were breathing so I could report it to the dispatcher when she answered the call.

“911, what is your emergency?” the dispatcher answered pleasantly.

“I need an ambulance to 2340 Pheasant Drive.  I have two female vics who had been locked in a steam room for an undetermined amount of time.  I need first responders here ASAP, as well as the Sheriff’s department and a forensic team,” I told the dispatcher.

“Sir, are the victims still breathing?” she asked.

“Yes, breathing is shallow, but visible.  Both victims are unconscious,” I explained.  I could hear the clicking of the keyboard as the dispatcher put in the information.  I could also hear her call out to the response teams.

“Sir, if you could stay on the line, I will have responders there immediately,” she said.

“No.”  I told her.  “I need to get off this call.  Have them come into the house through the kitchen.  Tell them to go down the short hall and on the left is a door to the pool room.  That’s where we are.”

I hung up and dialed another number.  “Cole, you need to get back to the house ASAP.  The girls were attacked while we were gone.  This ends now.  I will not have her in jeopardy like this.”

“Are they okay? What happened?” Cole asked.  I heard a car door slam and I knew he was on his way.

“I think so, I have an ambulance on the way.  I found them trapped in the steam room of the house.  I haven’t had a chance to check out the settings or anything.  I also don’t know how long they were in there,” I explained.  “They have to be okay. I won’t let them be anything else.  I promised to protect her.”

“On my way,” Cole said, hanging up.

I dialed one more number.  I could hear the sirens in the distance and I knew I still had time to make this call before anyone showed up to assist.

“Put me through to him,” I told the secretary before she had a chance to speak.

“One moment,” the secretary said, putting me on hold.

“Morris, you better have a damn good reason for walking out of our meeting like that,” Director Hanson said as he picked up the line.

“Sir, Ms. Cooper and Ms. Capone have been attacked.  They were locked in a steam room.  If I hadn’t come into the situation as I did, they would have died in that room.  I had a dispatcher send an ambulance and a team to investigate the incident,” I reported.

“Are you any closer to figuring out who’s behind this?” he asked, warily.

“No, sir, but agent Evans and I are on it.  We’ll have the perp taken care of immediately,” I promised.

“If you can figure out who’s behind it,” the director reminded me.

I ground my teeth.  “I will figure this out.”

There was a heavy silence.  “In light of the newest situation, I‘m going to postpone the reassignment.  I want you with Ms. Cooper around the clock until you get this bastard.”

“Why the change of heart, sir?” I asked.

“I was friends with her father.  I don’t want to see anything happen to that girl.  Those girls.  I know what potential they have if we can get them to tap into it.  We need them alive.”

“Yes, sir.”  I ended the call just as the paramedics swarmed the pool room.

The paramedics checked vitals and temperatures. Their temperatures were elevated and their vitals were low.  It had been close.  I took a shaky breath.  Too close.  I almost lost her.  I wasn’t going to stand for it.  I wouldn’t lose her again.

The paramedic looked at me.  “They look like they’re going to be okay.  I checked their vitals.  They’re low, but not life threatening.  Their temperatures are a little elevated which is to be expected after being exposed to an intense heat for as long as they were.  I am going to say, any longer and we wouldn’t be the ones examining them.  They’re lucky that you showed up when you did.  I’d like to take them to the hospital overnight for observation.”

As I opened my mouth to respond, I heard Lex moan softly.  I dropped to my knees beside her and stroked her hair.  I brushed it out of her face.  Her eyes fluttered open and she reached a shaky hand to my face.

“You came,” she whispered, and closed her eyes again.

Cole burst through the door and strode over to us.  He got an update from the paramedic and crossed his arms.

“There is no way they are going anywhere,” he stated.

I agreed with Cole.  I wasn’t going to let these women leave my sight.  I pulled my badge out of my back pocket and showed it to the paramedic.  “If you want to send a nurse over, that’s fine, but we’re going to take charge of them.  I’ll sign any papers stating that we’re refusing to have them taken to the hospital.”

After the paramedics left, Cole and I took the women upstairs and settled them down into bed.  I had a glass of water waiting by Lex for when she woke up.  As soon as she was feeling up to it, she had some explaining to do about what she meant when she said I came.

I settled into a chair next to her bed and waited.

***

I opened my eyes slowly and looked around the room.  I was in my bedroom.  I didn’t remember going into my room.  For a moment, I didn’t remember much of what had happened.  Then it all came rushing back to me.  The steam room, being trapped, and Jake coming to save us.  I saw that Jake was asleep in a chair next to my bed with a book on his chest.  I smiled.

Jake’s eyes popped open.  He watched me resituate.  He seemed to be examining and analyzing every move I made.  I couldn’t decide if it was comforting or awkward.  He leaned forward, the book dropping to the floor.  He rested his elbows on his knees.

“How are you feelin’, Lex?” he asked quietly.

“I’m okay I think,” I told him.  “How long was I out?”

Jake looked at the bedside table.  “About four hours.”

I nodded.  That made sense considering I could tell the sun was setting by the darkening of the room.  Jake handed me a glass of water and I took a sip.  The cold water felt so wonderful sliding down my throat.  I handed him back the glass, and Jake set it on the table.

“What in the hell happened?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure what to tell him because I really didn’t know myself.  I shrugged.  “I don’t really know.  We worked out, then decided to sit in the steam room to try to relax since the hot tub is off limits right now.  When we went to leave the steam room, the door wouldn’t open.  Hell, it wouldn’t even budge.”

“When I got here, that statue that’s usually in the corner was pressed up against the door.  It also appeared that someone had tampered with the thermostat of the room.  Someone jacked up the heat and then broke off the control,” he told me, voice going hard.

“I didn’t think we were going to get out of that room,” I said quietly.

“Speaking of,” Jake started. “How did you do that?  I mean I could smell your perfume and I knew that you were in trouble.  I also just knew I had to get here as fast as I could.  How did I know that?”

I shrugged again.  “When we were in there, I knew that we weren’t going to get out on our own.  I concentrated on you.  I could see you but I couldn’t talk to you.  I don’t know how you got the message, but I’m so glad you did.”

He reached over and squeezed my hand.  “Me too.”

I leaned back and closed my eyes.  My body ached.  My head ached.  I was sure that I was dehydrated but that was to be expected after being locked in a steam room.  I just closed my eyes for a moment.  When I opened them again, it was morning and Jake was lying in bed next to me.  I snuggled into his arms and closed my eyes again.

20

A week had passed since the steam room incident.  Since my near-death experience, Jake rarely left my side.  If he wasn’t around, Mia or Cole were.  Mia wasn’t being left alone either, just in case she was also being targeted by this madman.  She didn’t think so, but the way I saw it, anything was possible.  Deep down, I knew he wasn’t after her; she was just an innocent bystander.

I had a sense of foreboding that kept getting stronger daily.  Nothing significant had happened since the steam room, but I didn’t think he was given another chance.  There had been someone at the house constantly since the incident in the steam room.  I wasn’t stupid enough to think that it was over.

Mia and I were sitting in the living room watching a lighthearted, carefree comedy when there was a knock at the door.  We looked at each other.  I stood up and headed to the door.  When I peeked through the peephole, there was a delivery man in a brown uniform standing there.  I opened the door.

“I have a package for an Alexandrea Cooper,” he read off the order.

“I’m Alexandrea.”  I told him, opening the door the rest of the way.  He handed me the clipboard and I signed my name.

He picked up the box and handed it to me.  As he turned to walk away, he tipped his hat and said, “Have a good day.”

“You too.” I smiled, shutting the door.

I carried the package into the kitchen and set it on the island.  I studied the package, looking for a return address.  I didn’t remember ordering anything off the internet and couldn’t imagine who would send me a package, but I didn’t think too much about it.  There was probably a note inside the box.  I walked around to the utility drawer and pulled out a box knife.  I slid the box knife along the tape to open the package.  I set the knife on the island, opened the box, and peeked inside.  When I saw the contents of the package, I screamed and jumped back.

Mia ran into the room.  She looked around, clearly confused because she wasn’t seeing the danger.  She walked up to me and peeked into the box.  The color drained from her face.  Then her face developed a green tint.  I thought she was going to vomit.  Hell, I thought I was going to vomit.

I stepped back up to the box and looked inside. It was a bloody heart.  Pinned to the heart, which I was certain was human, was a laminated note.  The note read:

Here is a gift for you, my sweetheart.

Just a token of my affection.

He will never hurt you again.

See you soon.

That couldn’t be.  Could it?  Was it really Michael’s heart?  The note did say that he would never hurt me again.  Michael was the only person that had ever truly hurt me.  I was staring at the heart and it seemed that the heart was moving.  Was the heart beating outside the body?  Was my nightmare becoming reality?  I glanced at Mia and saw she was also staring at the heart.

“Mia, is the heart moving?” I asked quietly.  I was afraid to raise my voice any louder.

She nodded.  “I think so.”

Then something crawled out of one of the valves of the heart.  I looked closer and it was a tiny spider.  There was another one.  Then another.  Suddenly hundreds of spiders came pouring out of every opening available of the heart.

Mia and I screamed and ran from the room.  I grabbed Mia’s hand and led her out the front door.  I slammed it closed behind us.  I looked at her.  She had wild eyes.  It had obviously shaken her up just as badly as it had me.  When I withdrew my hands, they were trembling so badly, I couldn’t keep my hands still.

“You call 9-1-1 and I’ll call Jake!” I told her, pulling out my cell phone.  I dialed my phone while I watched Mia dial hers. I mumbled to myself the whole time I was waiting for the phone to dial, though.  “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

Jake answered on the first ring.  “Hey.”

“Jake,” I said, my voice wobbling.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, voice on alert.

“I need you to come home,” I told him.

“What’s going on?”

“You’ll see when you get here.  Just hurry!”  I said, hanging up.

I could hear Mia talking on the phone, describing what was in the box.  I half listened as she talked to dispatch.  I heard sirens as I listened to her talk.  I glanced at her.  It was surprising that someone from the sheriff’s department could get out here so fast.

The vehicle turned into the driveway.  I watched the flashing lights get closer.  The car stopped and the officer got out of the car.  I watched his silhouette come closer.  As he approached us, I recognized it as Deputy Evans.

He stopped a couple of steps away.  “What seems to be the problem, Ms. Cooper?”

I motioned him towards the house.  “It’s in there, on the island.”

As he started to walk towards the door, I called out to him.  “Umm, can you hold up until Jake gets here?  He’s on his way.  I would feel better if everyone was here before we go in there.  Besides, there are probably spiders everywhere and I’ll need to call an exterminator.”

He looked at me, “I really need to get in there, ma’am, and see what’s going on.”

I heard a truck pulling down the drive.  It didn’t sound like we were going to have to wait much longer for Jake to show up.  I turned and watched his truck fly down the drive and skid to a halt inches in front of the garage.

He got out of the truck and rushed up the stairs.  I watched him with admiration.  He always looked calm, cool and collected.  He walked past us and stormed into the house.  We filed in after him.  He stopped at the entryway and glanced around before heading into the kitchen.  No one spoke while we were filing into the kitchen.  He saw the box and swore.

Spiders were covering the box and the top of the island.  I stepped back and stood a little bit farther away from the island.  The spiders were everywhere.  I couldn’t figure out how those spiders all fit inside that heart.  There were so many spiders that the island looked like a black moving mass on the table.  Watching it made my skin crawl.

Jake stepped closer to the box, Deputy Price right beside him.  It didn’t look as if the spiders phased either one of them.  Jake peered down into the box and read the note attached to the heart.  He stepped back and frowned at me.  I knew by the look on his face that it wasn’t good.  He turned to the deputy without saying anything to me.  I knew that he would talk to me later after he had gathered his thoughts.

“Deputy, thanks for coming out,” he said.  “I am going to call in the DAMNED agency and take over from here.  This, whatever is going on, is escalating.  We’re going to need highly trained, more sophisticated resources, and they’ll have them available for us.”

Deputy Price seemed uneasy.  He looked around the room.  “I don’t know if the Sheriff will let me hand the case over to the Feds that easily.”

Jake just looked at him.  “It’s okay, Deputy, I’ll have my boss call yours and go through the proper channels.  You can stay here until it’s done if it makes you feel better.”

Jake pulled out his phone and made a phone call.  “Hey, it’s Morris.  I’m requesting a forensics team to come over and do a thorough sweep.  I’m also requesting that we officially take over this case.  Yes, sir.  There was a package delivered with a heart in it, and spiders.  I have my suspicions about who the heart belongs to, and I’ll brief you on it tomorrow when I come into the office.  I also want an additional protection detail.  Yes, sir.  I understand.  Thank you, sir.”

Jake ended his call, then typed out a quick text.  He looked at me and then glanced back at the deputy.  “My boss is calling yours and is arranging to have the case and all files transferred to DAMNED.”

I looked at Jake.  “What are we going to do about the spiders?”

He smiled at me.  “Don’t worry about the spiders, darlin’.  The team will get rid of them as soon as they get here.  I also texted Cole and he is gonna have an exterminator come in to finish the job.”

I smiled.  Jake knew me so well.  He knew how I felt about spiders.  He was always one step ahead of me.  He seemed to anticipate what I needed and wanted.  I wondered what my life would be like without him.  I knew my life had been pretty bleak the years I was in the city.

I glanced back at the island full of spiders.  “I think I’m going to go upstairs and hide from that mess.  Let me know when you’re ready to talk to me.”

I headed upstairs and went into my room.  After grabbing some night clothes, I took a shower, watching for spiders.  I didn’t want to become a scene in a horror flick.  I laughed at the thought.  My life really had turned into a horror flick.   I couldn’t really remember a time in the past ten years that I was truly content.  I was just about there when my parents died.  I had been starting to pick up the pieces of my life and put them back together.

I finished my shower quickly and dressed.  I dried my hair and went back into my bedroom.  I sat on the bed with a book, opened it, and attempted to read.  It was my favorite book.  The book was a horror story about some poor girl who had been entangled in a web of lies and deceit.

“You know, you shouldn’t be reading something that will scare you,” a soft voice said from the corner of the room.

I jumped and the book flew out of my hands.  I looked up at the corner where my mother sat in a chair.  Did ghosts actually sit?  “Probably not,” I replied.

She smiled at me.  “My brave girl, I know you’ve been through a lot in the past months, but you are going to need your strength and courage soon.”

“Momma, I’m not strong.  I’m weak and afraid,” I admitted.  I hated to admit that I was afraid.  I didn’t like anyone being aware of my weaknesses.

“Honey, being afraid means you’re smart.  I don’t believe for a moment that you’re weak.  You just don’t know your strengths. That’s partly my fault.  I shouldn’t have hidden it from you.  I did what I did to protect you, I now realize that it only hurt you.  We come from a long line of... well, witches is the best word I can come up with.  Witches aren’t exactly accurate either.  We have more than witch blood running through our veins.  We also have Fae blood.  Your grandmother, my mother, was a witch.  Your grandfather, my father, was Fae from the Seelie Court.  We are full of magic, mystique, grace.  We’ve had magic in our family for hundreds of years.”

“Why did you hide my magic from me?” I asked.

She sighed.  “You were probably about three when I decided to bind your magic and keep you out of the magical world.  I would walk into your nursery and you would have all of your toys floating in the air.  That, I didn’t mind.  In fact, I thought it was funny and it was good practice for control.  What I did mind, though, was that you were talking to someone who wasn’t there.  You kept saying the name ‘Damon.’  You would talk about Damon a lot.  He was the topic of dinner conversations and you would talk about him before bed.  I thought it was your imaginary friend and harmless.  One of the days that I came into your room, the toys were floating, but you weren’t laughing.  You were crying.  When you noticed me standing in the room, the toys fell.  You ran to me and hugged my legs.”

Momma looked tired, “It took me about thirty minutes to calm you down.  When you did finally calm down, you told me that Damon had gone away and a bad man was in your room.  I don’t know what happened to Damon.  I tried telling you that the bad man wasn’t real and couldn’t hurt you until you showed me that your arm had a red mark on it.  You told me that the bad man did it.  You said that the bad man wanted you to come with him.  That he was going to come back for you.  It scared me.  I called Aunt Christina and explained what happened.  Together, we decided what we needed to do.  She came over and we bound your powers.  Since Mia didn’t have any active powers, we didn’t bind hers.  Then to be safe, we hid the book so you would never come across it.”

I frowned, trying to remember what she was talking about.  “How did you keep the bad man from coming back for me?”

“That’s when I gave you the necklace.  I told you that it was a special necklace that would keep the bad man away.  You loved it.  It was more than a necklace; it was an amulet for protection.  The amulet kept you safe while Christina and I worked around the clock to come up with a spell to keep spirits out of your room.  Then, we decided to treat the whole house with the spell to keep any spirits, benign or malevolent, out.”

I glanced at my jewelry box.  I knew the necklace was inside it.  I had always kept it with me.  I had taken it off when I moved to New York because I didn’t want it to get lost or stolen.  I looked back at my mother.  She was being really chatty tonight.

“Why tell me all of this now?”  I asked.

“You need to know.  I need to keep you safe.  You need to find the book, but it isn’t the priority today.  You needed me today.  Remember what I told you all through school when you didn’t want to do your homework or thought it was too hard?” she asked.

I nodded.  “Knowledge is power.  Without knowledge you are nothing and vulnerable.”

Momma smiled.  “That’s right.  My beautiful girl, you have the knowledge you need.  You always have.  Just remember this.  The knowledge will come to you when the time is right.  The knowledge will be there when you need it.  If you really need me, I’ll be there for you.  Everything will be fine if you follow your heart.”

“I love you, Momma,” I whispered softly.

“I love you too, my sweet girl,” she said as she disappeared.

21

The room was pitch black.  I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.  I closed my eyes for a few seconds, hoping my eyes would adjust to the darkness.  I opened my eyes and looked around.  Still nothing.  I started to feel my way around the room.  I knew that my life depended on getting out of the darkness and out into the open.  I needed to be able to run for my life, if the situation called for it.

I could feel my heart beating against my chest.  My heartbeat was echoing in my ears.  I ran my hands along the walls.  I needed to figure out where I was so I could find my way out.  The walls felt cold and slightly damp.  They felt like cement.  I couldn’t think of anywhere that had walls that felt like this.

I stumbled over something.  I felt around trying to figure out what it was. It felt like a wooden stepstool.  I released that I was holding my breath.  I stood back up and started making my way around the room, feeling for a door.

Suddenly a strong smell hit my senses.  I wasn’t sure if I had been smelling it the whole time or if it just appeared.  I recognized the smell immediately.  It smelled like pennies and death.  There was blood somewhere in this room.

I stopped.  I couldn’t decide if I should try to escape or if I should find the source of the smell.  I was sure the smell was the dead body of a loved one of mine.  I didn’t really want to see that.  I decided to keep going.  I slid my hand along the wall.  I touched something slimy and squishy.  I paused and gently explored it with my fingertips.  It was round and had string or chord attached to it.  Then I felt the second one.  I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach.  Please, don’t let it be what I think it is.

Suddenly a light came on and blinded me for a second.  When my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw what I was fondling.  I had a pair of eyeballs in my hand.  I saw the brown irises and recognized the eyes immediately.  I was holding Jake’s eyeballs.  I let go and stepped back.  They bounced on the wall and continued to hang there.  They had been strung together with a fishing line.  I stepped back, turned, and looked around the room.  I was still alone.

On a table in the middle of the room were two objects.  A bleeding, beating heart and a head.  The head was missing its eyeballs.  Jake’s head was staring sightless and eyeless at me.  A sob tried to escape me.  I backed up against the wall and the eyeballs brushed my cheek.  I jumped away.

I looked around trying to find a way out of this hell.  There was a dark doorway.  I ran over to it.  I could make out stairs.  I started up the stairs to a door.  The door was laying down.  That’s when I realized where I was.  I was in the wine cellar behind the house.  I tried to push the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.  I could hear the chain and lock rattling on the other side of the door.

I went back downstairs.  I looked for another way out of the cellar.  I couldn’t find another exit.  I needed to calm down and think.  I took a deep breath.  I studied the room.  The ceiling was about seven feet tall, and the room was approximately ten feet long and ten feet wide.

I saw my mother’s image appear in the corner.  She motioned me over to her.  I walked over.  She had something with a leather cord in her hand.  She opened her hand to reveal the amulet that she had given me as a child.  I looked at her, confused.

“Put it on quickly,” she instructed in a rushed voice.

I took the amulet from her and slid it over my head.  The stone was smooth and felt warm against my skin.  I gently caressed the amulet.

“Momma, how do I get out of here?” I asked her quietly.

She disappeared.  I looked around for her.  I got the feeling I wasn’t alone.  I could hear his heavy breathing.  I turned and he was standing behind me.  Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could tell he was smiling.

“Nowhere to run this time, little mouse,” he whispered in a deep raspy voice.

I thought his voice sounded eerily familiar, but I couldn’t place it.  I glanced around the room.  He was right, there was nowhere for me to run to get away.  This was going to be the dream where he finally caught me.  I backed into the corner as he slowly reached for me.  As his hand got closer, the amulet was getting warmer.

Suddenly everything went white.

I woke up with a start.  When I sat up, I had a weight on my chest.  I looked down and the amulet was on my neck.  The glowing was starting to fade.  That was interesting.  I touched the amulet.  It was warm like it had been in the dream.  The question I had was, how did it end up on my neck?  I also wondered if it would protect other people besides me.

I got out of bed and tiptoed down the hall to Jake’s room.  I opened the door and crept across the room.  I stood at the side of the bed watching him sleep.  I wondered how many more opportunities I would have to be able to enjoy seeing his face relaxed.

I crawled into the bed with him.  I gently touched his face and kissed him on the lips.  I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I needed to be with him. That this might be the last chance I would have.  I knew that the feeling was probably an overreaction, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom.

He opened his eyes lazily and looked at me.  He didn’t say anything, just smiled and kissed me back.  He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me closer.  We were touching from chest to knees.  The only way we could be closer was if I climbed inside him, and that wasn’t a horrible idea.

I pulled back from the kiss just far enough so I could ask him what had been on my mind.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” I asked.  I felt butterflies flitting in my stomach.  I was afraid he would tell me no and send me on my way.  He just looked at me for a long moment. “Please?”

Jake didn’t answer. Instead, he smashed his mouth against mine in a hard, passionate kiss.  I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to get closer to him.  He groaned in my mouth.  His hands roamed up and down my back, then slid down to my butt, and he squeezed it, pulling me closer.

He suddenly rolled us so that he was laying on top of me.  He broke the kiss.  We were both panting.  He rested his forehead against mine like he was trying to get himself under control.  I didn’t want his control.  Tonight, if it was going to be the only one we had together, I wanted him out of control.  I moved my legs so they were hugging his hips.  I wrapped my legs around his.  I stroked his back, feeling the hard ridges.  I wanted to remember every inch of his body.

I lifted my chin to kiss him again.  He pulled his head back so my lips didn’t have the chance to connect with his.  He looked me in the eye.  I was trying to keep my composure when he asked, “Are you sure, Lex?”

I nodded.  “Yes.  I want you.  I need you.”

That seemed to break the last thread of control that he had.  He kissed me hard and pressed his pelvis hard against mine.  Feeling him touching me like that made me catch my breath.  I gripped his shoulders hard, digging my nails into them, encouraging him to continue.

Sometime later, we were cuddled together, with the blankets tangled around us.  I could feel the hard planes of his chest pressed against my back as he breathed deeply.  I knew he was awake because of the feeling of his fingers gently tracing shapes on my hip.  No words were needed for the moment.  We were laying in a comfortable silence.

I felt him lean forward to kiss me lightly on the shoulder.  I shifted enough to give him access to my neck as well.  I felt his smile against my shoulder.  As he ran his fingers up my side and over my ribs, I sighed.  This must be what it was like in Heaven.  Only, our heaven was to be short lived.

I woke up with the first rays of the sunlight peeking in the window.  I stretched and felt Jake move closer to me.  He wrapped his arms around me and put his cheek on me.  I smiled and hugged his arms.

“Good morning,” he whispered into my ear.

“Morning,” I whispered back.

He opened his mouth to say something else, and I gently put my hand over his mouth.  Then I whispered, “Let’s just lie here and watch the sun rise.  I want to see something beautiful before the darkness covers us again.”

He nodded and we watched the sun rise in a warm embrace.  I loved watching the sunrise.  I would wake up early almost every morning to watch the colors spread across the sky.  It was a peaceful, beautiful time.  The world was still and beautiful.  It reminded me that there was beauty and grace in a life that could be dark and depressing.

When the sun was fully up, Jake kissed me on the cheek.  “May I speak now?”

I rolled my eyes for effect.  “I suppose.”

“I really hate to ruin the mood, since you seem so happy this morning.”  Jake started with a grimace.  “I’ve been looking for Michael.”

I sat up and pulled the blanket up to my neck so no skin was exposed.  I had a feeling I wouldn’t want to hear this conversation naked.  Jake handed me his t-shirt and my panties from the floor.  I got dressed quickly.

“Anyway,” he continued.  “I haven’t been able to locate him, which you knew.  The interesting part is, he hasn’t been seen since you left New York.  I figure that he probably tried to follow you home and has been intercepted, or something happened to him along the way.”

He paused.  I knew he was trying to come up with a way to word what he wanted to say next without me feeling guilty or even more freaked out than I already was. “I think the heart you got in the mail yesterday was his.  My suspicion is that your “stalker” for lack of a better word, took care of Michael for you and sent his heart to you as a present.  This guy is obsessed with you and his actions are escalating.”

I nodded.  “I was thinking the same thing when I saw the heart in the box.  I knew it was Michael’s before I read the note.  The note just confirmed it.”

“I also heard back from the agent that I sent the picture of the sigil on your neck to.  Agent Turner said that it was the sigil of Asmodeus, also known as the demon of lust.  Whomever is doing this is trying to get you to develop feelings for him.  He’s wanting to claim you as his possession.”

“So, whoever this is, he’s using a demon to try to possess me?”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck.  “It’s looking that way.  I wish I had better news for you, darlin’.”

I reached up and touched the amulet.  I looked into Jake’s brown eyes and instantly knew what I needed to do.  I took the amulet off and slid it over his head.  Jake looked down at the amulet, then looked at me confused.

“It’s for protection,” I explained.  “Please just keep it on at all times until this is over.  I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you and I think that it will keep you safe.  Especially since this, uh, stalker seems to have some kinds of magical abilities.  If he can dream jump, who knows what else he can do?  I want you to be safe.  Promise me you will keep it on.”

Jake leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.  “Anything for you.  I promise.”

22

I still couldn’t get the feeling of dread to pass.  It seemed like I’d had that feeling for days, but nothing happened. With each uneventful day that passed, the feeling got stronger.  I knew something was going to happen but I didn’t know what.  The last couple of days, I hadn’t even had a nightmare.  That scared me more than anything.

I was pacing the living room and Mia was sitting on the couch watching me pace.  I was trying to figure out what was going on.  I was also trying to think outside the box to find the book Momma told me about.  I tried to think of places that she would hide something she wouldn’t want me to find when I was a kid.  I stopped.  Daddy’s study! No one was ever allowed in there except him and Momma unless you knocked first and he allowed you entrance.  When he was gone, he locked the door.

I took off to the study and turned the knob.  The door opened quietly.  I stepped into the room and looked around.  No one had been in here since Daddy died.  In my mind’s eye, I could still see him sitting in his chair with a knife sticking into his heart.  I closed my eyes and shook off the feeling.  When I opened my eyes again, it was just like it had always been.  I started looking at the books on the bookshelf.  They were all legal books.  I walked across the room and a board squeaked.  I checked out the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room.   This was the shelf he had dedicated to memorabilia.  It had pictures of our family throughout the years, pictures of sports figures, one of him shaking hands with the governor of Missouri, and other random pictures that made me smile.

I crossed the room again and the floor squeaked again.  I stopped.  When did that floorboard start squeaking?  Had it always done that?  I started to move the rug out of the way when Mia entered the room.

“Hey psycho, what are you doing?”  she asked, leaning on the doorjamb with her arms crossed.

“Hey bitch, why don’t you stop making fun of me for a moment and come over here and help me move this damn rug.  It’s heavy.”  I grunted.

Mia rolled her eyes as she crossed to me.  “You know it would help if you pushed the desk and chairs out of the way, right?”

I looked up at her.  I hadn’t realized the desk was on it.  “Oh, yeah, let’s do that then.”

Together we moved the desk and each one of us took a chair from the rug and put them against the wall, out of the way.  We got down on our knees and rolled the rug up exposing the floor boards underneath.  We sat back and looked at the floor.

“Do you wanna tell me why we’re redecorating the study?”  Mia asked.

“There’s a squeaky floorboard,” I told her.

“Yeah, that explains everything,” Mia remarked sarcastically.

“I know I look crazy. If I told my therapist everything, I’d be locked up right now.  Just roll with it, okay?  Look for a board that’s sticking up or loose,” I told her.

I leaned forward and started pressing on boards.  The third board I pushed on compressed a bit.  I glanced at Mia and her eyes widened a little.  I started trying to pry the board up with my fingers, but I couldn’t get a grip on it.

Mia pulled a knife out of her back pocket and flipped it open.  “Here, let me.”

“Where did you get that knife?”  I asked.

She looked at me with the knife pointed to the floor. She grinned, “I always carry a knife with me.  Never know when I’ll come across cake that needs cut... or a creep that needs shanked.”

I chuckled.  Leave it to Mia to go from one extreme to another.  The girl did love her cake, though.

I watched her carefully slide the knife between the floorboards to pop the loose board up.  The board came up easily.  We looked at each other and glanced down into the hole where the board had been.  Inside was a blanket.  I reached in, praying there wasn’t a spider in there somewhere, and pulled the blanket out.

I unfolded the blanket. Inside was a book.  Not just any book, though.  When I touched the leather cover, I felt a warm and comforting energy slide up my arm and into my heart. I opened the cover of the book and a folded piece of paper fell out.

I handed the book to Mia and picked up the paper.  I carefully unfolded it to find my mother’s careful handwriting.

My beautiful daughter,

If you are reading this then one of two things has happened.  I have explained everything to you and unbound your magic, or something has happened to me and I can no longer be with you in the physical form.  I am hoping for the first.  I am sorry for having to bind your magic, but it was the only thing that I could do to keep you safe.  Your magic was attracting entities that you were better off not having to deal with it.  You were too young.

As you became a teenager, I didn’t want to burden you with something that you would always have to be careful with.  I wanted you to live as normal of a life as possible.  I wanted to see you happy.

I have been having a feeling of foreboding for days now.  I want to be prepared for anything.  I couldn’t tell you until the time was right and you were ready.  I didn’t think you were ready as soon as you came home from New York, but I plan on telling you in the next couple of days.

Please don’t be mad that I kept this from you.  It is your destiny to have this magic and you will use it to do great things.  Always remember what I said about knowledge.  Knowledge is power.

Be knowledgeable, stay brave and strong, and always be kind.

I love you always, sweet girl!

Love,

Momma

I read the letter over and over again.  It was written the day before her and Daddy were murdered.  I looked at Mia with tears in my eyes.  She took the letter and read it.  She handed me the book and the letter.

I flipped through the pages of the book.  It was written in old looking handwriting.  The pages were slightly yellow, but well preserved.  The book wasn’t what I had expected.  It wasn’t just spells, although there looked to be a few. The book contained information about the supernatural world.  It also had remedies for colds and other ailments.

While flipping through the pages of the book, a page that appeared to be written with a quill caught my attention.  The page looked older than most, and it was slightly faded, but well preserved.  I read the page quickly.  I read it two more times to make sure I read it right.  I looked up at Mia, who was watching me intently.

“Did you know this?”  I handed her the book to let her read the page.

Mia looked up at me with her eyebrows pinched together.  She looked back down at the book and read through the page again.  When she finished, she checked the back of the paper, and the next few pages before looking at me again.  “I had no idea.  I don’t even know what it means, if you want the truth.”

“It sounds like a prophecy or something.”  I took the book as Mia offered it to me.

The words on the page sent a chill down my back.  I looked over them again, still not believing what I was seeing.

From two sisters, two cousins there will be.

One borne with magick to see,

One borne with magick from beyond the veil.

Shall face perilous deterrents should they prevail,

They shall have magick unlike any has seen.

That passage had to be what was so important that my mother haunted me from the grave about finding the book.  When I read it, I knew that it had to do with Mia and myself, but I wasn’t sure what it all meant.  The passage didn’t sound good.  The words caused goosebumps to erupt swiftly up my arms and a chill to race down my spine.

I looked back up at Mia and shuddered.  “If this is a prophecy, it doesn’t sound good.”

She shook her head.  “No, it doesn’t. We will figure out what it’s talking about.  Your mom couldn’t be the only person that knew about this.”

“Mia, what do we do now?”  I asked softly.  I could feel the tears rolling down my face.

She hugged me.  “Until we figure out who’s torturing you and killed your parents, I think we need to keep it somewhere safe.  It should probably be somewhere that’s a little easier to access than under the floorboards.  We had to move too much stuff to get to it.  I’m curious about what’s in it, too.”

I nodded.  She was right. We needed to keep it safe, but we also needed to be able to access it if we needed to.  I picked it up and walked to the book case.  I reached for the first book on the third shelf and pulled.  The stack of books swung out revealing a wall safe.  I quickly opened the safe and put the book inside.  I reset the safe and replaced the books.

Mia put the board back in place and stood.  She stepped on the board to push it back into place.  We arranged everything back where it had been and examined our work.  Everything looked exactly like it had when we had originally entered the room.

I walked to the desk and pulled out Daddy’s keys.  I found the key to the office and took it off the ring.  I went to put the keys back when I noticed there was one missing.  His house key.  It was a good thing I’d had the locks changed.  Maybe that was why I hadn’t had anymore unwanted surprises inside the house.  I set the keys back in the drawer and decided it was about time to go through Daddy’s desk.  I knew it had to be done eventually, but I decided that it could wait until everything was settled.

We walked out of the room.  I shut the door firmly and locked it.  We went into the kitchen and I took out two snifters and the bottle of Jack Daniels.  I poured two fingers in each snifter and slid one over to Mia.

“I think we need to have a toast.  To family,” I said, raising my snifter.

“To family and the end of secrets,” Mia added, clinking her drink to mine.

I drank the drink in one gulp.  I poured us another drink and slammed it down too.  I set the snifter on the counter with a thud.  I leaned forward on my elbows and looked Mia in the eye.

“I have a confession,” I told her.

“What’s that?” she asked, setting her glass down gently.

“I’ve been getting a bad feeling for days and I can’t shake it.  Just like Momma described in her letter to me,” I said.

Mia nodded.  “I know.  Me too.  I also know that things are going to escalate quickly when whatever it is happens, but I can’t figure out when.  I’m not sensing much about this.  Almost like someone knows that I get visions and is somehow blocking me.”

“That doesn’t sit well, Mia.  Listen, I called my lawyer the other day.  If anything happens to me before I’m married with children, everything goes to you.”

“Don’t talk like that, Alexandrea Marie,” Mia scolded.  “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“If it does, I want you to know.  The lawyer has an envelope.  I used a wax seal on it to ensure no one else opens it before you.  It has everything about the house, the safe, everything.  Also inside the envelope is a key to my safety deposit box.  I had the bank give me an extra.  The other key is mine.  Inside the box are the deeds, titles, and other important documents needed for the house when you take ownership,” I explained.  I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but I wanted to be prepared.

Mia sighed, “Okay, Lex, I get it.  I won’t need it, but if it makes you feel better to be prepared, I understand.  Thank you for trusting me.”

I hugged her.  “I’ll always trust you.  You’re basically my sister.  You’ve always been here for me, even when I wasn’t here for you.”

My phone went off.  I pulled it out of my pocket and quickly read the text.  I put my phone back in my pocket.  “The guys are going to be late.  Apparently there’s something going on out on the highway and traffic is backed up.”

Mia looked at me funny. “The traffic is never backed up out here.  Must be an accident.  I’m gonna go wash up really quick, then I’ll start fixing dinner.  I was thinking homemade pizza tonight.”

I watched her walk off.  I refilled my glass one more time.  I decided I wasn’t going anywhere tonight, so getting a little drunk wouldn’t hurt anything.  I turned and looked out the bay windows.  It was pitch black out.  That was odd.  I stepped closer to the window and realized that the lights outside were all out.  I frowned.  I would have to have Jake look into that when he got here.

I downed my drink and turned to go put my glass on the counter when the power went out.  I froze.  The house was silent.

“Mia?”  I called out.  I didn’t hear a response.  I set the glass down on the table and walked towards the counter to get a flashlight out of the drawer.

Suddenly a blinding pain shot through the back of my head.  As I was losing consciousness, I thought, this is it.

23

When I woke up, I was tied down to a large stone.  My arms were tied together to a pole above my head.  My feet were tied to poles at the end of the stone.  I could feel the night air on my skin.  I could see the stars overhead.  I looked around. From what I could see, I was in a clearing in the woods surrounding my house.  I recognized the area immediately.  It was the ritualistic circle that I had seen in my dream, the one Jake was found outside of.  A chill passed over me.  I tried to see if there was anyone with me.  I couldn’t see anyone, but I could feel a presence around me.

I heard a voice coming from the trees to my left.  It was a soft chanting.  I strained to hear what was being chanted but I didn’t think it was English.  I was pretty sure it was Latin.  The chanting seemed to fade away.  I strained my ears trying to hear him.  Within a few minutes, I could hear him again.   A surge of power rushed over my skin as he closed the circle of power.

I watched the figure walk out of the trees.  He was dressed in all black and I couldn’t see his face because of his hood, which was pulled low.  As he walked closer, a wave a familiarity flooded me.  I knew he was the guy from my nightmares here in the flesh, but he also just seemed familiar.

“You’re awake, little mouse,” he said softly.

“Who are you?”  I asked.

“The man of your dreams,” he responded, chuckling.

I rolled my eyes and the chuckling stopped.  I attempted to shrug, which was difficult since my arms were tied over my head.  “Sorry, it’s hard to take you seriously when you’re making stupid puns.”

He walked closer until he was standing at the edge of the stone.  He backhanded me, hard.  “Do you take me seriously now, little mouse?”

I nodded.  I was seeing stars from the hit.  I took a deep breath to try to ease the pain.  I had to keep him calm.  Hopefully, Jake and Cole would be here to save me soon.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make fun of you.  Why are you calling me ‘little mouse?’”

“You always run away like a little mouse,” he answered with a shrug.

He caressed my face gently with the tips of his gloved fingers.  Great, he was smart enough not to leave fingerprints.  My skin crawled where he touched my face.  I tried to keep still but it was hard not to shrug away from him.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“Soon, sweetheart, soon,” he answered.

The word “sweetheart” made me shudder.  The only person that ever called me that was Michael and I knew this wasn’t him.  I almost wished it was because I could handle him.  I usually knew what to say to make him calm down.

He disappeared for a moment.  Then, he stood back up with a jar in his hand.  He opened the jar, and the coppery scent of blood wafted in the air.  He set the jar by my head and took a knife out of a pocket.  He cut my shirt down the middle, exposing my bra and torso.  He picked the jar back up and stuck his fingers into it.  He took his bloody fingers and started to draw on the flat of my stomach.   I watched him with a mix of fascination, disgust, and dread.  This couldn’t be good.

After he drew the symbol on my stomach, he dipped his fingers into the blood again and reached for my face.  I jerked my head, trying to get away from him.  He set down the jar and backhanded me again.  “Stay still.  I don’t want to hurt you more than necessary.”

“How much is necessary?”  I asked.

He just grunted and picked the jar back up.  He dipped his fingers into the jar again and drew an inverted pentagram on my forehead between my eyes.  I could feel the design as he was drawing it.  I didn’t know what ritual he was trying to do, but he was trying to open my third eye.  If he managed to get my third eye to open, he would be able to reach into my soul.  No matter what he tried to do, it was going to be bad.

He set the jar down and picked up the knife.  The knife had symbols carved into it.  It looked ritualistic.  He touched my neck with the knife.  “Scream for me, little mouse.”

I shook my head no.  I wouldn’t scream for him even if he killed me.  I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.  I pressed my lips together.  I even bit down a little on my lips to keep from making a sound as he pressed the knife harder against my skin.  I heard a small pop and felt my skin give as he broke the skin with the knife.

He took the knife and held it up so I could see the blood on it.  He put the tip to his mouth and licked my blood off the knife.  As he did so, he moaned.  I thought I was going to be sick.  I could feel him watching my reaction, so I tried to remain motionless.  He leaned closer to me and whispered, “You will be mine soon enough.”

He started to chant again.  The chanting started softly but grew a little louder.  He leaned his head back and his hood fell off.  When he straightened his head back up, I saw his face and knew him.

“Deputy Price?”  I asked incredulously.   I hadn’t expected it to be him.  I suspected my therapist, Dr. Fields, before him.  “I thought you were a good guy!”

Ethan stared at me for a moment.  He seemed perplexed, like he didn’t quite know how to respond.  He had been found out, but he also had me where he wanted me.  He knew I couldn’t go anywhere.

“There is no such thing as a good guy,” Ethan said.  “Good guys do bad things all the time.  Just look at your precious Jake.  If you knew what I know about him, you would know he isn’t a good guy.  Jake has killed people in cold blood, yet you idolize him.  Sheriff Johnson used to evade taxes.  Your own father helped bad guys walk away.  Did you know he had a case thrown out for a guy that was guilty of murder?  We had the evidence we needed to lock him away forever, yet he got out on a technicality.”

“Why my Momma though, Ethan? Why did she have to die?”  I asked.  I had to keep him talking.  The answer was going to kill me inside, but I had to know.  I could feel the tears burning the back of my eyes, as I tried my damnedest to keep them from spilling over.

“That bitch caught me coming out to my spot one day.  She said if she caught me out here again, she would make sure the Sheriff would know who and what I was.  The Sheriff is a Catholic man and would frown upon my religion if he found out.  Plus, she was in my way.”

“In the way of what?”  I asked, knowing the answer.

“You, my little mouse,” he answered.  “You belong to me.  We are going to be together for a long time.  With your magic combined with mine, we will be unstoppable.”

“What happens if I don’t join you?”

“You will join me.  If you aren’t willing, you will be by the time I’m done with you.”  He shrugged, “There are other ways to be with me that aren’t physical.”

“You know, Jake will be looking for me,” I told him.

“And I’ll take care of him, too.”  He sneered.

***

I raced into the house as soon as I pulled up and noticed everything was dark.  I had a flashlight in my hand.  The front door was standing open.  I ran in.  I found Mia sitting on the floor in the hallway with her head between her hands.

“What happened?”  I asked her.

Mia shook her head gently.  “I don’t know, Jake.  I was heading to the bathroom to wash up a little before I started dinner. I was going to make pizza. Something hit me in the back of the head.  Next thing I knew, it was dark in here and you were running in the door.”

I squatted down in front of her and shined the flashlight into her eyes.  She likely had a concussion.  Other than that, she seemed fine.  I had to find Alexandrea.

“Where is Lex?”  I asked her quietly.

She shook her head again.  “She was in the kitchen.  I don’t know where she is now.”

I got up and ran into the kitchen.  The room was empty.  I pulled out my phone and tried to call Lex.  I saw her phone light up on the floor.  It must have fallen out of her pocket, or maybe she had dropped it when the perp abducted her.  I knew with every fiber of my being that he, whoever he was, had taken her.  She would have never just taken off like this on her own.  I hung up and dialed Cole’s number.

“Man, I need you here now.  Mia was hit in the head, and Lex is missing.  I’m gonna start searchin’ for her.  I doubt he took her far.”

“I’m on my way.  Should be there in a couple of minutes.  How’s Mia?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“I think she has a concussion, but she’ll be fine,” I explained.  “She’ll be waiting for you to get here, and she can show you which way I went.  I know they’re here somewhere.”

“Got it.” Cole said, hanging up the phone.

I put the phone in my pocket and looked around.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I needed a clear head or I would get Lex killed.  If nothing else, she needed to be okay.  I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

I started to head out of the house.  I stood at the top of the steps and looked around.  That’s when I heard the voice.  It was the same voice I had heard when Lex was trapped in the steam room.

“This way,” the voice whispered in my ear.  “Hurry.”

“Which way?”  I asked.

“The woods.  She’s there.”

I nodded as I took off at a dead run.  I was afraid I was going to be too late.  I prayed I wouldn’t be too late.  I had already let her down by allowing the monster to get that close to her.  I ran as hard as I could until I got to the edge of the woods.

I stopped and focused.  I knew I needed to be quiet if I planned on getting to them undetected.  I started to walk quickly but stealthily through the woods.  I was able to avoid breaking branches and rustling leaves.  Tracking was something I had always been good at.

I worked my way towards the center of the woods.  I stopped when I could hear voices.  I knew I was close, but I didn’t want to announce my presence just yet.  I needed to get an idea of the type of situation Alexandrea was in so I could determine what I needed to do.

I stood right inside the tree line.  I could see Lex tied to a sacrificial stone in the middle of a ritual circle.  I focused on the guy next to her.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was Ethan Price.  That son of a bitch! I thought he was one of us.  He knew a lot of sensitive information, including things from some of my past cases that the local police had been involved in.

I could hear Lex asking him questions to keep him talking.  I couldn’t stop the small grin that flitted across my face as I realized what she was doing.  She was trying to distract him and stall him until the rescue party showed up.  I listened to their conversation.

“You know, Jake will be looking for me,” she told him.

“And I’ll take care of him too.”  He sneered.

I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, so I ran into the circle to protect the woman I loved.

24

I watched helplessly as Jake burst into the circle of power.  He had his gun drawn and was wearing the protection amulet I had given him around his neck.  Deputy Price stood above me with a knife pointed at my heart.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jake.  He had found me.  I couldn’t believe he had found me.  He scanned the area quickly for other threats besides Ethan.

He looked at me and asked, “You, okay?”

I nodded slightly.

Ethan laughed.  His laugh was maniacal.  He looked at Jake and yelled, “Don’t come any closer! Take another step and she dies now.”

Jake froze.  He lifted his hands up, still holding the gun in one hand, but the barrel was pointing towards the sky.  “Okay, I won’t move.  Don’t hurt her.  Let her go.  Use me instead.”

I didn’t take my eyes off of Jake.  Ethan pressed the tip of the knife into my chest.

“Put the gun down, Jacob,” he demanded.  “Haven’t you figured it out yet?  She is mine, she will always be mine.  But did she ever see me?  No.  She was always looking at you.  She’s still looking at you.  The golden boy.  The football player every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be.  I knew she was mine when I saw her in the first grade, then you had to steal her away from me.  I will have her now and she will be mine forever.”

Ethan raised the knife over his head to plunge it into my heart.  Jake rushed him.  He tackled Ethan to the ground.  As they hit the ground the knife flew out of Ethan’s hand.  They started to struggle. I saw the amulet chord break and fall to the ground underneath them.

Ethan went still.  Jake seemed to have control of the situation. Jake looked up at me and smiled reassuringly as he sat on top of Ethan, keeping him pinned to the ground. Suddenly, the knife flew off the ground and embedded itself deeply into Jake’s chest.  Jake looked down and fell backwards.

I screamed. Ethan laughed.  The more he laughed, the louder I screamed.  The ropes that tied me down to the stone started to smoke.  They suddenly turned to ash and fell off of me.  I sat up and stared at Ethan and Jake.  Jake was laying on the ground gasping for air and Ethan was laughing hysterically.  I felt the anger build as I stared at Ethan.

I got up and raced over to Jake.  He was still fighting to breathe.  I dropped on my knees beside him and held his face in my hands.  I could feel the tears building in my eyes. I turned his head to face me.

“Please, don’t leave me,” I whispered.  “I need you.  I need you now more than ever.”

Jake stared in my eyes.  “I’ll. Never. Leave. You.”

“Save your strength, help will be here soon,” I begged.

“I’ll always be right here,” he gasped, touching my chest.

I had tears pouring down my face.  “Jake, you can’t leave me.”

His breathing became more labored.  I kissed him on the lips.  He smiled as his last breath left him.

“No.  Don’t leave me. Please. Stay,” I begged.  “I love you.  You hear me?  I love you.  I need you with me every day for eternity.  The rest of our lives isn’t enough.  Come back to me. Please? Please. Don’t go.”

A sinister laugh caught my attention.  I looked up from Jake’s lifeless body to see Ethan watching us with a look of amusement on his face.  “I don’t know how you got free, Alexandrea, but I do quite enjoy hide and seek.  We’ve been playing it for quite some time now.  I’ll give you a head start, little mouse, and then I’ll come find you like I always do.”

I stood up slowly and looked at him.  I wasn’t running away anymore.  I was no longer scared of him.  Okay, I was terrified of the crazy son of a bitch, but I wasn’t going to back down.  Jake wouldn’t want me to, and I had to protect what was mine.  My family, my love, my magic, my life, it was mine and some psycho freak wasn’t going to take that away from me.  I was taking control.  I had a choice.  I could run and hide or stay and fight.  I was choosing to fight.

“I’m not running away from you, Ethan,” I told him firmly.  “I’m done being scared and hiding.  This ends here and now.”

“Oh, my little mouse has finally gotten brave,” Ethan said coldly.  “This should be fun, albeit short lived.”

My stomach was in knots.  I hoped I could do this on my own.  I glanced over my shoulder at Jake’s lifeless body lying on the ground.  That was when I found my resolve.  I knew then that one of us wasn’t going to be leaving this sacred circle tonight.  I prayed that I would be the one able to walk away.

I rolled my shoulders and my neck.  I took a deep breath, and looked Ethan square in the eye.  “You forget something about mice, Ethan.  They bite.”

Ethan rushed me.  He seemed to think that he would be able to subdue me quickly.  I slammed my palm into his nose as he came at me.  I felt the bone crunch under my hand, then felt a warm gush of blood on my hand before he recoiled.

“You stupid bitch!” he wailed, grabbing his nose.

He moved his hands. His face was covered with blood from the mouth down.  He grinned at me, his teeth covered in blood.  I backed away from him, looking for a weapon to protect myself.  I knew that he wasn’t going to let me get the upper hand again so I was going to have to outthink him, and quickly.

He advanced on me more slowly and cautiously this time.  Once he got close enough, he pulled his arm back and punched me in the eye before I even realized what was happening.  He was actually faster than I thought, and I also knew that he had police training on his side.  What he had against him was that he was crazy and his mind didn’t seem to be working logically.  If it had, he would have known that he outweighed and outmuscled me, and also had way more training than I did.

I reeled back from the hit, and fell on my backside.  I noticed a huge branch that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.  I crab-walked toward it as quickly as I could.  Before I could reach the branch, he caught me by the ankle and pulled me towards him.  I kicked out and my foot connected with his stomach.  He doubled over and I crab-walked faster.  My fingertips grazed the branch as he jumped on me.  He straddled me and grabbed my throat.  He started to squeeze.

As my airway constricted, I tried reaching for the branch with one hand, and tried to get his fingers off my throat with the other.  I could feel the rough wood of the branch with the tips of my fingers but I couldn’t reach it to get a grip on it.  I was starting to see spots and my vision was going dark around the edges.  I had to get ahold of the branch before I lost consciousness.  If I lost consciousness, all would be lost, and I would be dead.

I was frantically stretching for the branch when I started to feel the energy building in my chest.  It was the same feeling I’d had before I had thrown Mia across the room.  I went limp and focused on the energy.  It pulsed around my chest and seemed flow out of me towards Ethan.  When his grip loosened enough that I could breathe, I took a deep breath.  My lungs filling with air renewed my determination to get away from the creep and win.  I focused my energy on the stick while Ethan was distracted by the energy pushing at him.

The branch shifted slighting and I was finally able to get a grip on the branch.  I squeezed it and swung with all my might at his head.  It connected with his temple and knocked him off of me.  I scrambled to my feet, breathing hard, my lungs burning and aching from being without air for so long.  My heart was knocking hard against my ribs, beating erratically.

Ethan was sprawled on the ground, stunned.  I looked around.  This was my chance to end this once and for all.  I ran over to the gun Jake had dropped and picked it up.  The cold metal felt awkward and foreign in my hand.  It was heavier than I had imagined it would be.  I hurried back over to Ethan, who was still dazed, and aimed the gun at his head.

“Stand up,” I demanded.

He stared at me from the ground.  He didn’t move.  I could see him trying to calculate a plan of attack.  I couldn’t let that happen.  I aimed steadily at his head.

“I said stand up. Now!”

He came to his feet slowly with his hands up in a gesture of surrender.  I aimed the gun at his chest now that he was standing.  I widened my stance so I could keep steady aim at him.

“You aren’t going to shoot me,” Ethan said softly.  He had a condescending smile on his face.

“You don’t know me very well,” I told him.

“You shoot me, and you’ll be labeled not only a murderer, but a cop killer as well,” he said with amusement in his voice.

“What do you think you are?  You killed a federal agent,” I told him, cocking an eyebrow.  “And, seriously, I’m willing to take the chance.  Besides, I’m doing this in self-defense.  You’ve been trying to kill me for weeks.”

The smiled dropped from his face.  I could tell that he didn’t consider that when he plunged the knife into Jake’s chest, he was killing a federal agent.  He glanced over my shoulder at Jake’s body.  He looked at me in the eye again and I saw the first stirrings of fear flash quickly across his face.

From the corner of my eye I watched his hand slowly lower.  I realized I hadn’t checked him for weapons.  I felt my heartrate pick up a little faster.  His hand dropped behind his back, and I pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Three times.  The gun kicked back each time I pulled the trigger. The bullets found their mark in his chest and he looked down, confused.  The blood started to blossom from the holes and he fell to the ground.  I watched as the life left him.

His spirit stood by his body glaring at me.  “I can’t believe you killed me, you bitch!  I will make you suffer for that.  Now I can be with you, haunting you, for the rest of your life and all of eternity.”

I smiled at him.  “I don’t think so.”

Shadows rose out of the ground and started to gather around his spirit.  There was moaning on the breeze from the shadows.  They stretched and crept toward Ethan’s spirit.  The shadows never took a definitive shape.  They started to form a circle around Ethan.  His eyes widened and he started looking around quickly.  He looked like he was starting to panic.

“You see, when you do evil things, karma is a bitch.  It comes back tenfold.  Enjoy hell, asshole,” I said softly.

The shadows completely covered him and I could hear him screaming as they consumed his spirit.  I could still hear his screaming as the shadows slid into the ground.  The echoes of the screams were haunting me.  They would probably haunt me for years to come.

I turned and ran to Jake’s side.  I dropped to my knees next to his rapidly cooling body and pulled his head onto my legs. I looked down into his lifeless eyes.  They stared unseeing ahead.  I leaned over him and started to cry.

“Awe, Lex.  Please don’t cry.”  A voice said from beside me.  I looked up and saw Jake’s ghost standing next to his body.

I starting crying harder.  “Get back in your body.  You have to.  I can’t do this alone.”

He knelt beside me.  I was holding his body in my arms and looking at his ghost.  “You don’t need me, Lex.  You’re capable of taking care of yourself.  You always have been.  I think I needed you more than you needed me.”

“Then you’re a stupid man,” I yelled.  “I love you! I need you with me.  I want you with me.”

He continued to look at me and didn’t say anything.

“Please,” I whispered.  “Please stay with me.  Grow old with me.”

The smile faded.  “I’m sorry, darlin’.  I don’t know how to come back.  I’m sorry I won’t be with you physically.  But my spirit will always be with you.  I’ll be in your heart.  I’ll be in your dreams.  I’ll be in the sunrise that you love so much.”

“Without you, I’m nothing.”  I sobbed.  “My spirit and soul are dying with you.  Don’t you get it yet?  I am absolutely nothing without you.  Without you, I’ll cease to exist.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he apologized.  “I really am.  I wish I could stay.”

Mia and Cole found us before I could say anything else to Jake’s ghost.  I was curled protectively over Jake’s body.  They ran over and dropped to their knees beside me.  Mia looked at me with her turquoise eyes wide and filling with tears.

“Is he?” she asked.

I nodded, sobbing.

Cole got up and walked away.  I glanced up to see him standing at the edge of the clearing with his hands in his hair.  He was pulling on his hair, probably trying to keep control of his emotions.

I looked at Mia.  “I can’t let him die.”

She hugged me.  “Oh, honey, I think it’s too late.  I’m so sorry.”

I wiped my eyes and took a breath.  “His ghost is still here.  I’m not letting him die.  I will fix this.”

“I don’t know how you can,” she said.  The tears were spilling freely from her eyes.

Cole walked back to us, noticing Ethan’s lifeless body for the first time.

“Did Jake kill him?” he asked, kicking the lifeless arm.

Cole walked back to us, and knelt beside Mia, putting his arm comfortingly around her shoulders.  He kept his eyes on me, waiting for my answer.  I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to it, but I didn’t care.

“I killed him,” I answered plainly.  Cole nodded.

I looked back up at Jake’s ghost.  “You aren’t leaving me.  I have made this decision and you are going to respect it.  You’re going to listen to me, too.  I can’t let you leave.  I can’t lose you again.”

“Alexandrea, you never lost me,” he said.  “I kept that ring in my pocket all these years for when you came home.  I wanted to marry you since the day I met you.  I knew you were the one.  You didn’t lose me, but you will have to let me go.  I can’t stay like this forever, but I won’t leave you unless you tell me to.”

I shook my head.  There was no way I would let him leave me.  I also wasn’t going to make him stay a ghost.  I looked at Mia.

“I’m going to bring him back,” I said.

“We don’t have that kind of power,” Mia said, wiping her eyes.  “That’s necromancy.  Necromancy is a very rare, old, and powerful magic.  I haven’t heard of anyone in the last century, at least, with that kind of power.”

“Well I’m not letting him die.  So this is going to have to work.”  I looked at Cole.  “You need to have your phone ready to call an ambulance.  As soon as he comes back he’s going to need medical assistance.  The knife is in his heart.”

Cole stared at me, wide eyed.  In fact, everyone was looking at me wide eyed.  I glanced around and noticed another person standing behind Jake.  Momma.  She nodded once at me.

Use your heart, Alexandrea.  You will know what to do. I heard my mother’s voice float through my head.

I lowered his upper body back to the ground so that he was lying flat.  I got up on my knees and grabbed the hilt of the knife.  I took a deep breath and pulled the knife out of his body as quickly as possible.  The knife slid out with a sickening sucking noise.

I dropped the knife on the ground beside us. I leaned over and kissed Jake’s rapidly cooling lips.  I was willing him to breathe. I kept chanting use your heart in my head.  When he didn’t start breathing, I inhaled deeply and breathed into him through his parted lips.  Nothing happened.

I sat back and looked at his ghost.  Jake had his fingers to his lips and was staring at his lifeless body.  I knew I had to figure out how to get him to breathe and get his heart beating on its own.  I frowned.  Then an idea formed.

I lay on top of his body so our chests were pressed together heart-to-heart.  I put my lips to his again and willed him to live.  I closed my eyes and pressed my lips harder to his.

Breathe.  Feel my heartbeat.  Match your heartbeat to mine.  Have our hearts beat together as one. Breathe.  Live.  Be with me.  With us.  Live.

I felt it then.  It was a slight thump against my chest. At first, I thought I had imagined it, but then I felt it again.  There was a stutter, and his heart began to beat along with mine.  Then I felt him take a deep breath.  I scrambled off of him and took my shirt off quickly.

“Cole, call the ambulance and get them here now,” I ordered.  I pressed my shirt to the wound on his chest.

I looked up and found that his spirit was gone.  My mother had moved closer and was smiling down at me.  I hoped that I didn’t bring him back just to lose him again.

“Is he going to be okay?”  I asked quietly.

She hesitated, then nodded once. “Yes.  You repaired the damage to his heart.  You gave him some of your strength.  Just don’t let him lose much more blood.”

I could hear the ambulance siren wailing in the distance, coming closer.  I looked at Mia.  She was staring at me, shocked.  I knew that I had just done something that people said couldn’t be done.  She inched closer.

“You will have to tell me how you did that,” she whispered.

Before we could say anything else, we were surrounded by police and paramedics.  The paramedics pushed me out of the way and applied pressure to the knife wound in Jake’s chest.  They worked together to lift him up onto the stretcher and wheeled him quickly to the ambulance.  They loaded him into the ambulance.

“Wait,” I called to the EMT before he could shut the ambulance doors.  “I’m going with him.  I’ll answer any questions the police have for me at the hospital, after I know Jake is going to be okay.”

The EMT looked me over.  I knew he was looking at the bruises and the cuts I had all over my body.  I glanced down at my shirt.  It was torn and the exposed skin was bleeding.

“You need to be looked at as well,” he decided.  “Hurry up, we need to get to the hospital.”

I started towards the ambulance when I noticed a flash of light on the ground.  I bent down and picked up the ring.  It was the ring Jake had kept in his pocket.  I stuffed it in my pocket and rushed to the ambulance.

The doors shut and we were on our way to the hospital.

***

I was sitting in the waiting room while Jake was in surgery.  I couldn’t sit still.  I would flip through a magazine, then pace the waiting room.  Every time someone walked out of the restricted area, I would tense up and wait to get the news that Jake hadn’t made it.  I was afraid that even after everything I had done, it wouldn’t be enough and he would still die. Again.  I put my hand on my stomach.  I felt sick.

Mia came rushing into the room and enveloped me in an embrace.  She held me tightly.  I held her just as tight.  I was starting to think if he didn’t come out of surgery soon, I would fall apart.  Nothing seemed to help calm my nerves.

Cole came into the room a few minutes later.  I let go of Mia and walked over to hug Cole.  He wouldn’t say anything, but I could tell he was hurting and scared.  I know that when he saw Jake’s lifeless body, it really shook him up and made him face his own mortality.

“How is he?” Mia asked, wringing her hands.

I shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything yet.  He’s still in surgery.  He wasn’t completely aware of what was going on in the ambulance.”

“Was he...” she started to ask, trailing off.

I nodded again.  She knew he had been dead, but she seemed to be trying to reject the idea.  I looked at the door to the restricted area again, wishing I could be in there with him.  He needed me with him, I could feel it.  I needed him, I needed to know he was fine.

Cole looked that direction as well.  Then he turned and walked out of the waiting room without saying a word.  I looked at Mia with my eyebrow raised.  She looked as confused as I felt.  We sat back down and she held my hands as we sat there.

Time seemed to move slowly.  Every second was excruciatingly long. The room was so quiet, all I could hear was the ticking of the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick. I glanced at the clock again.  Cole had walked out of the room three minutes ago.

I heard raised voices coming down the hallway.  I recognized the voices, even muffled through the door and far down the hallway.  Jake’s parents, Mark and Jennifer, were on their way to the waiting room.  I grew up with them around and I spent a lot of time with them while I was dating Jake in high school.  I sighed.  I hadn’t seen them or talked to them since before I had left Jake for college.  I squeezed Mia’s hands as they entered the room.

Jennifer rushed over to me and swept me into a hug.  She had tears running down her face.  “Oh sweetie, it’s so good to see ya.  I wish it were under better circumstances.  You should have come by.”

I started to cry.  “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Morris.  Jake is hurt because of me.”

“That’s nonsense, sweetie.  I know what Jake does for a livin’, and I know the risks.  I also know that he had been so worried about you lately that he couldn’t concentrate even when he was helpin’ his daddy.”  She stroked my head gently.  It reminded me of Jake.

I felt another set of arms embrace us.  I looked to see Jake’s dad had wrapped his arms around us in a hug as well.  He didn’t say anything, just offered his support.  I didn’t question it.  He had always been the strong, silent type.

We settled down into chairs to wait for the surgeon to come out and update us on Jake’s condition.  I studied his father.  Mark had a lean, wiry build.  He looked a lot like Jake, expect older and thinner.  He was just as handsome as Jake was.  I figured looking at him was like looking at Jake in thirty years.  I hoped I would see Jake in thirty years.

Mark looked directly at me.  He finally spoke.  “You shouldn’t have left him like you did.  You shattered his heart, and he hasn’t been the same since the day you left.  But, you should also know that we don’t hold it against you.  We knew that you had to do what was best for you at the time.  Honey, we’re proud of your accomplishments.  Really, Jake also accomplished so much more than he would have if you would have stayed and y’all would have gotten married.  He may not admit to any of it, but we know him.  We also know that he still has feelings for ya.”

He reached over and grabbed my hand.  “If he doesn’t make it out of this, just remember, he did what he did, not only because it was a job, but because he never wanted anything to happen to you.  You mean a whole helluva lot to him.”

The door of the restricted area opened.  A doctor dressed in green scrubs came into the waiting room.

“Is this the party here for Jacob Morris?” he asked.

We all nodded.  I saw Cole slip into the room behind the doctor.

“Jacob made it through surgery,” the doctor began.

25

I felt all the tension pour out of my body.  Jake making it out of surgery was reassuring.  I knew he was alive.  It was a relief.  I looked at the doctor’s face and realized he didn’t look like he was happy.  Weren’t they supposed to have a good poker face when delivering good news?

“I’m Doctor Phillips, the surgeon that’s been working on Jacob.  He’s strong and holding on.  From what the paramedics told me when they brought him in, there were several severe injuries and a lot of blood loss at the scene.  I was also told they were certain his heart had been penetrated by the knife that he had been attacked with,” Dr. Phillips explained.

“While we were performing the surgery, I noticed there was, indeed, damage to his heart.  It also looked like he had scar tissue on it, but his records didn’t indicate that there was previous damage to his heart.  The scar tissue made repairing the damage to his heart more difficult, but we believe that we were successful.”

Jennifer frowned at the doctor thoughtfully, “What you’re tellin’ us is, everything went fine? What you aren’t tellin’ us is why you look like you sucked on a lemon.  Why don’t ya just tell us what the bad news is, so I can go see my baby boy?”

“Of course, ma’am.  My apologies.  He’s currently in a coma.  We’ve done blood transfusions to replenish the blood he lost from his injuries.  I’ve also been made aware that he may have quit breathing for a short time so, I cannot be positive that there’s no brain damage.  At this point, he’s in critical condition and there is a chance he won’t wake up,” he explained.  “I’m sorry I’m not able to give you better news, but I feel like the odds are in his favor.  If the knife would have gone any deeper into his chest, it would have completely penetrated his heart and he would have died in moments.”

We all nodded.  I closed my eyes.  He had no idea how much damage that knife had done to his heart.  I could still see the way Jake was, lying there dying in my arms with the knife embedded hilt deep into his chest.  I shuddered.

“So when can we see him?” Mark asked.

“We’re going to keep him in recovery for a little while longer to keep an eye on him, but he’ll be able to have visitors in probably another hour or two.  But I’ll be restricting visitors to immediate family only.  So, Mr. and Mrs. Morris, if you could let me know who all is immediate family, that would be great.”  Dr. Phillips looked around the room at us.

Jennifer looked around the room.  “Those two over there are his brother and sister, Mia and Cole.  This here is his wife Alexandrea.  And of course, we’re his parents.  Everyone in this room is immediate family.”

“Okay, thank you, ma’am,” Dr. Phillips said as he turned to walk away.  He stopped and looked back.  “I or a nurse will let you know as soon as you’re able to visit him.”

A couple of hours later, the doctor returned to let us know that we would be able to visit, but he only wanted two people in the room with Jake at a time.  He explained that Jake was in the critical care unit, so they wanted to limit the number of visitors at a time to try to keep the exposure of germs to a minimum.  Jake’s mom insisted I go with her into the room first.  I followed her to the room, my mind racing.

What if I hadn’t saved him?  What if I had prolonged his pain by making him stay here?  I couldn’t bear him leaving me, but I didn’t want him hurting.  These thoughts were running through my mind as we walked into his hospital room.  Even with all the what-if’s, I couldn’t make myself feel sorry that I saved him.  Well, brought him back.  If I had to do it again, I would.

I was looking everywhere but the bed.  I didn’t want to see Jake weak like that. The room was small.  The walls on the sides were cement and the wall facing the hallway was glass.  There was a window overlooking the parking lot.  I looked at the monitors that were connected to him.  I didn’t know what they said, but I did know one thing.  Those machines were showing that he was alive.

I studied the heart monitor.  His heart beat seemed to be a little slow, but steady.  That was a good thing.  Maybe I hadn’t done any major damage when I forced his heart to start beating again.  I watched his heart monitor, lost in my thoughts.  I didn’t hear Jennifer come up behind me.  She put her hand on my shoulder.

“Honey, it’s okay.  You can look at him,” she said softly.  She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

I reached up and put my hand on top of hers.  I squeezed lightly.  “It’s so hard.  He’s like this because he felt like he had some stupid obligation to protect me.”

“Alexandrea, he has never thought of you as an obligation.”  She turned me around and hugged me tightly.  Then she whispered in my ear, “I know you saved him.”

I pulled out of the embrace and stared at her wide-eyed.  She slightly nodded.  “I know what you are.  I also know that you play a very important role in Jake’s life.  Alexandrea, I know where your destiny is going to lead you.”

“How?” I whispered.

“Now, honey, that’s a story for another time.  Just remember, everything happens for a reason.  You were meant to help him, save him.  Don’t feel guilty for that.  Don’t question it.  Just go with it.”  She caressed my cheek.  “Be strong, sweet child.  Now go hold my son’s hand and be the supportive wife I told the doctor you are.”

I turned and looked at Jake.  He was lying still and motionless in the bed.  If it wasn’t for the monitors beeping and the gentle rise and fall of his chest, he would look dead.  I walked over to the bed and touched his hand with my own shaking hand.  I gripped him tightly.  I sat in the chair next to his bed and just stared at him.

Jennifer sat at the other side of his bed chattering away to him like he was awake.  She would pause randomly like she was listening to his response, then would pick up where she left off.  After about an hour of chatter like that, she decided to go down to the cafeteria.

“Do ya need anything, sweetie?” she asked at the doorway.

I shook my head no.  I really didn’t have an appetite and I wasn’t thirsty either.  She nodded and slipped from the room.  I watched her walk out of the room and looked back at Jake.

“Your mama is really something,” I said quietly.  He didn’t respond or flinch.  “She seems to know a lot about what’s going on, and I’m going to have to talk to her about it sometime.  Oh, Jake, I am so sorry.  I’m sorry that we’re in this situation.  I’m sorry if you’re in pain still.  I’m sorry if I caused any of it.  However, just because I’m sorry for causing you pain, I am not sorry that I didn’t let you leave me.  You still aren’t leaving me.  I won’t let you.  If I have to stay by your side every day for the rest of eternity, then I will.  You’re stuck with me forever.”

I felt him squeeze my hand slightly.  Maybe he was actually aware of what was going on! I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring that he’d kept in his jeans.  I turned his hand over and placed the ring in the center of his palm.  I closed his fingers around it.

“I found this on the ground after they put you on the stretcher.  I thought you might want it back.  I know how important this ring is to you.  I can’t believe you never told me about it, or that you meant to propose.  If I had known, I may not have left.  But there’s no point in wondering about the what-if’s or worrying about the past.” I kept my hand on his.

I brushed my fingers across his face.  I leaned over the bedrail and whispered in his ear.  “Please come back to me. Please.”

I settled into the chair to wait.

26

I wasn’t sure how long I had been sitting in the chair by his bed.  I watched people come and go.  I knew that I had been there for days, but everything seemed to blur together.  I would only leave the room when I was going to the bathroom.

I was sitting there watching him when Mia and Cole walked in.  I looked at them and gave them a weak smile.  Mia smiled and held up the bag that she had in her hand.  “I come bearing gifts.”

“What kind of gifts?”  I asked.

With a flourish, she pulled out a tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, dry shampoo, and a hair brush.  With a big smile, she tossed me some deodorant.  “I also brought baby wipes and a couple of changes of clothes.  Girl, I gotta be honest, you’re starting to reek.  Go brush those teeth and we’ll sit here with him.  If you can, try to catch a shower in the room at the end of the hall.  I’m sure the nurses would appreciate it.”

“Do I stink that bad?”  I asked, sniffing at myself.  Yeah, I kind of did.  I got up and kissed her on the cheek as I took the items and went down the hall to shower.

I showered as quickly as I could, and on my way back to the room, the nurses smiled at me.  Maybe Mia was right and I needed the shower.  I walked up to the nurses’ station and smiled at the nurse sitting there.

“Hi, Nancy,” I started.  “Can you tell me if there have been any changes to Jake’s condition?”

Nancy smiled at me as she turned to look at the computer.  She started typing and read the information on the screen.  She looked at me with a fake smile in place.  I recognized that smile because I had seen it every day for the past week.  “No, honey, there haven’t been any changes.  According to his vitals, he’s comfortable and not in any pain, which is good. There’s a note in the file that says the doctor is going to come in and talk to you today about it.”

“Thanks, Nancy,” I said, walking away.

When I entered the room, Dr. Phillips was standing there waiting for me.  I put a fake smile of my own on and shook his hand.  He smiled back and glanced at the clock.  “Sorry, I don’t have a lot of time, but I talked to Jake’s parents already and they said that they wanted you to be the one to make decisions on Jake’s behalf.”

I nodded.  Jennifer told me that before she had left the other day.  They couldn’t afford to stick around the hospital, but they came every day.  I knew the stress of their only son being in a coma was wearing on them. “I’m aware of that.  Why don’t you stop pussy footing around and tell me what you need to discuss with me?”

Dr. Phillips smiled.  “Okay, I’ll be upfront with you. The longer he’s in the coma, the less chance there is of him coming out of it.  He’s been in a coma for a week now and hasn’t responded to anything...”

“That’s not true,” I interrupted.  “He squeezes my hand when I talk to him.  He wants to wake up, he just can’t.  I don’t know what you’re suggesting we do, but I want to give him more time to come out of it.”

Dr. Phillips nodded.  “Okay, that’s fine.  I just want to make sure you aren’t getting your hopes up.  He may not have squeezed your hand.  Sometimes the nerves cause muscles to contract.  I’ll be back later to check on him.  I have to get to surgery.”

After he left, I took my spot next to Jake and looked at Mia and Cole.  “Do you think I made the right decision?”

Mia nodded enthusiastically.  “Yes I do.  Don’t listen to him, if you felt Jake squeeze your hand, he did.”

Cole shrugged.  “Your decision, I have no say.  If your decision means that he isn’t going anywhere, then I’m for it.  I miss my partner.”

I watched the sadness pass over Cole’s features.  I hadn’t realized how much this had affected him.  He was having to watch his best friend, his partner, lie there and look like he was at death’s door. It had to be hard.

“Don’t worry,” I told him.  “Jake will wake up.  He’s just lost and will find his way.  I’m sure of it.”

They stayed for a while, then Mia got up to leave.  She walked over and gave me a hug.  “I have to get back to the diner.  I’ve been neglecting my duties for far too long and I have to get back to it.  Since everything is truly over and Ethan is gone, I can’t put off payroll any longer.”

Cole and I sat in silence with Jake after Mia left.  Cole was usually quiet when he sat with me.  It was a comfortable silence.  He knew what happened and he wasn’t upset that I made the decision to save Jake’s life.  He had told me that he would have done the same thing if he were me and was glad I made the decision to bring Jake back.  That was the only time anyone acknowledged what I actually did.

Everyone besides Mia, Cole, and myself thought that the knife just didn’t plunge into his heart.  We knew better, but we also knew the world wasn’t ready for the knowledge of what I did.

We were both lost in our thoughts when Cole finally spoke up.  “I received an interesting phone call today.”

I pulled my gaze away from Jake to look at him.  “Oh?  What kind of phone call?”

“It was from Director Hanson.  He knows what happened, and he wants to meet with you.  I told him that it would have to wait until Jake was awake.  He seemed to take that into consideration and he’s holding off, but I don’t think he’ll wait too long to approach you.” Cole said.

“What does he want?”  I asked.

“To give you a job,” Cole said.  “He was impressed with how you dealt with Ethan by yourself.  It takes a lot to impress him.  The director also informed me that I’ll be getting a new partner.  Agent Rebecca Turner will be arriving in town within the week to replace Jake.”

“I’ll think about it,” I told him, my gaze drifting back to Jake.

“Well, I better get going, too.  I’ll be back in the morning.”  Cole walked over to me and kissed me on the forehead.  He leaned over me and whispered in my ear, “Wake him up, he’s been asleep long enough.”

I nodded, tears brimming my eyes.  I had been trying. Cole was right though.  Jake had been asleep long enough.  He had been asleep too long, in my opinion.  I just wasn’t sure how to wake him up.  I had no one to ask.  I hadn’t seen my mother since I put Jake’s soul back into his body.

Suddenly, Jake and I were alone again.  I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.  “You need to wake up now, Jacob.  I miss your eyes.  I miss your smile.  Hell, I even miss you mouthing me.  I can’t stand you lying here like this.”

When he didn’t respond, I finally got angry.  “Jacob Lee Morris, if you don’t wake up, I’m gonna order you a coffin.  Might as well, since you promised you wouldn’t leave me and you have.”

Tears filled my eyes.  “You promised you wouldn’t leave.  You did.  Just because you’re here physically doesn’t mean that you are here.  I know you’re lost in that head of yours, but I need you to come back.  I finally understand everything.  You are my heart.  You are my destiny.  Without you, I’m not complete. Please come back and keep your promise to me.”

I stood over him and put my forehead to his.  “Please,” I whispered again as a tear rolled down my cheek and landed on Jake’s face.

I felt hope slipping away from me.  I was starting to think he wasn’t going to come back to me.  I settled back into the chair and cried.  The tears that had been building for the past week finally broke through the dam.  I started sobbing.

I was holding his hand while I cried and I felt him squeeze my hand.  I was used to that, so I didn’t pay any attention to it.  Then he squeezed my hand again, harder.  I put my head down on the edge of the bed while the grief consumed me.

A hand touched my head and stroked my hair.  My head shot up and I looked at Jake.  He didn’t look like his condition had changed any, but it was his hand that had been on my head.

Jake whispered, “Don’t cry, darlin’.”

27

Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel had been in and out of Jake’s room looking at print outs and examining him.  By the end of the third day of that, Jake was getting pissed off.  He was cursing at the doctors as they came in.

He looked at me. “Get me the hell out of here,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Okay, you need to calm down, though.  I’ll go talk to the doctors and make it happen.”  I kissed him on the forehead and walked out of the room.  I walked to the nurses’ station where the ever-present Nancy was sitting.  I leaned on the counter and smiled at her.

“Is there any way I can take Jake home, like now?”  I asked sweetly.

She dropped her fake smile.  “Are you kidding?  There is no way that he can go home now.  Not only is he recovering from major surgery, but the doctors want to figure out how he went from being practically brain dead to talking again like he did.”

I dropped the smile as well.  If we were going to have words, I wanted her to know who the bigger bitch was in this situation.  Me.  “Let’s put this another way Nancy, I am taking him home and there is nothing you can do about it.  Legally, he doesn’t have to stay in the hospital if he doesn’t want to.  Now, if you would ever so kindly get the discharge papers ready, Jake is ready to go home.”

I turned and started to walk away, then I turned back and gave her a huge toothy smile.  “Oh, and by the way, Nancy, you have spinach stuck between your teeth.  Looks disgusting.”

I walked back into Jake’s room and picked up my cell phone.  He watched me with fascination.  I was sure he had watched the interaction with the nurse with amusement.  I dialed the phone and put it to my ear.

“Hey, Jake wants to go home today.  I’m making it happen.”  I told Cole on the other end.

“Okay, what do you need from me?”

“Well, he’s going to need clothing, probably a button up because of his chest.  Oh, and do you think you can give us a ride to my place?”  I said, looking at Jake.

“No problem,” he said, disconnecting the call.

I set the phone down and sat on the bed next to Jake.  I was careful not to jostle him and aggravate his wound.  I looked at him and smiled.  “So, are you ready to go home?  Well, my house?”

“You have no idea,” he said. He grinned at me.  “What did you say to that nurse to make her turn that shade of red?”

I laughed.  “Just that she had spinach in her teeth.  It was true.  I was just trying to help the girl out.”

“Sure, you were.  Now let’s get out of here.”  He tried to get up.

I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.  “Not yet.  We have to wait for Cole to show up with clothes.  Dr. Phillips will be here soon.  I’m sure I’ll go a few rounds with that man as well.  He has to bring the discharge papers and everything.  Don’t worry, nothing will stop me from taking you home where you belong.”

After two and half hours, three phone calls, and some arguing with the doctor, we finally walked into my house.  The atmosphere felt different from the last time that I had been home.  It felt peaceful.  I couldn’t remember the last time the house had felt peaceful.

Cole and I settled Jake onto the couch.  I sat in the chair.  “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen.  We’re going to put a full sized adjustable bed in one of the spare rooms downstairs until you’re able to make it up and down the stairs on your own.  Also, we’re going to move things around in the other downstairs guest room.  There will be a live-in nurse staying here until you’re better.  That was the only way I was able to get you home.  Oh, and Dr. Phillips will be here daily to personally to check your progress.”

Jake shrugged.  “Seems fair enough.  But, are you okay with some stranger living in your house, taking care of an invalid?”

“You are not an invalid, and I’m having the nurse’s background thoroughly checked out.  I made a phone call to your boss and he said he would personally see to it that the nurse meets our criteria and has a completely clean background.  In fact, he said that by the time he was done with checks he would be able to tell me if the sperm that impregnated the nurse’s mama farted before it entered the egg.”  I wrinkled my nose at the thought.  It was kind of gross.

Jake laughed.  “Sounds like Hanson.  Did he say when I could go back to work?”

Cole leaned forward.  “Hanson is bringing in Turner.  As soon as I found out you were awake, I called and discussed this with him at length.  He’s going to give you some time to recover before he calls to work out the details, but he said that your job is secure.  He also said that you’ll be back in the game as soon as you’re able to.  Just relax and take things easy.  Turner will do fine while you’re gone, then I’ll get my partner back.”

Jake just nodded.

After Cole left, I was sitting on the couch next to Jake, watching a movie.  I put my hand on his leg and he looked down at it.  Then he looked up at me with an eyebrow cocked.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re wearing the ring,” he said.

“Oh, yeah.  Your mom told the doctors we were married so that I could stay with you. I didn’t know what to do with it and didn’t want it stolen.  I had been putting it in your hand, and on my finger if I had to leave the room. I guess I just forgot about it with you waking up.”  I started to take it off.

He put his and on mine, stopping me from taking it off. “Don’t, darlin’.  It looks good on you.  Better than I ever imagined it would.  Keep it on.”

“Are you sure?”  I asked him.  I hoped he realized how much meaning was behind that question.

“Oh, yeah darlin’.  I’ve never been so sure in my life.  I do hope we’re on the same wavelength, because that ring on your finger means forever to me,” he admitted softly.  He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.  “And at some point over these past couple weeks, we’ve both promised forever.  I intend to keep that promise.”

I intended to keep it too.

Epilogue

Jake and I were sitting on the porch swing listening to the birds sing, when we heard the rumble of an engine heading to the drive.  I looked at him and a moment of panic seized me.  I took a deep breath and tried to lower my rapidly beating heart.  I had to remind myself that it was over, the danger was gone.  I was still having nightmares, but they consisted of what had happened in the ritualistic circle.  I could still see Jake’s dead body on the ground.  I would feel the gun in my hands, the way it jerked when I pulled the trigger.  The sight of the bullets entering Ethan Price’s body still flashed through my head.

Jake put his arm around me and pulled me closer to his side, in a protective gesture.  I could tell by the tension in his arm that he wasn’t quite over the ordeal, either.  We stared at the driveway waiting to see who would be coming down the drive.

As the black SUV pulled into sight, I relaxed.  It was just Cole.  I had known that he would be making an appearance sometime this week.  He had told Jake that he was going to bring his new partner over for us to meet.  Jake and Cole already knew Agent Turner, so introducing her must have been for my benefit.  Jake had also told me that it was Agent Turner who had identified the sigil on the back of my neck.

At the thought of the sigil, I reached back and touched the brand.  The skin was raised up, like I had been branded with an iron.  I had hoped it would go away when Ethan died, but it hadn’t.

Car doors shutting pulled me from my musings.  I watched Cole and a woman approach.  She was a little taller than Mia, but a little shorter than I was.  She had dark curly hair that seemed to bounce all over the place.  Her curves were well defined.  I wouldn’t call her big, but she wasn’t petite either.  She walked with a confident stride.  As they stepped up on to the porch, I saw that her eyes were dark and stormy.

“Hi, Cole,” I smiled.  I turned my attention to the woman.  “You must be Agent Turner.  I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

“Hello,” she answered shortly.

Jake reached out and shook hands with both Cole and Agent Turner.  “Cole, hey man, good to see you.  Turner, nice to see you again as well.  This is Lex. Lex, this is Agent Becca Turner.”

Agent Turner nodded her head at me.  Then she turned back to Jake.  “When do you see yourself back on your feet?”

Jake shrugged.  “I’m well enough now, but the doctor and Hanson both think I need extra healing time.  They’re projecting another several months.  Hanson directed me to use the sick time and vacation time I’ve built up, and completely recuperate before I return.”

“That’s a good idea.  I know you have plenty of time built up, I’ve never known you to miss a day of work before this,” Turner told him.

I looked over at Cole who was fidgeting around.  It didn’t seem like him to fidget.  “Do you have something in your pants that you can’t be still?”

Cole looked at me.  “Did the brand ever go away?”

I shook my head no.  “No, it doesn’t feel like it’s changed at all.”

Agent Turner spoke up.  “That’s one reason why we’re here.  Theoretically, the brand should have gone away once the threat and contract made with the demon was voided by Price’s death.  This makes me think that maybe Price wasn’t working solely for his on benefit.”

I frowned.  “What does that mean?”

“It means that it sounds like there was something more sinister at play here.  I have also noticed a spike in demonic activity.”  She looked at Jake.  “Not just in the area either.  This is becoming a national epidemic.  I’m starting to worry.”

I looked at Jake.  His eyebrows were pinched together.  He looked like he was thinking hard about what we were being told.  Was he as concerned as I was about demonic activity increasing?  It didn’t sit well with me.

Jake caught me watching him and he smiled.  He leaned over and kissed me on the temple.  “Don’t worry, darlin’.  I got your back.”

I smiled back, but my insides were in knots.  Were the nightmares over?  I had a feeling that Ravensville was in for quite the rollercoaster ride.

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Table of Contents

(Untitled)

Prologue

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Epilogue