What Lies Between (Where One Goes Book 2)

by B. N. Toler

  I sat back on my heels and shook my head at her assumption. “No...to let her go yet.”

  Marlena’s mouth tightened briefly before she threw her hands up and swore, “Bloody hell, Ike! I need her help.”

  “I know, damn it!” I shouted and surged to my feet. Marlena didn’t flinch; she just stared vacantly at me like I was a child. Remembering myself, I apologized, “I’m sorry.”

  “I understand this is difficult for you, Ike. Really, I do, but..”

  “Oh do you, huh?” I shot back, cutting her off. “Do you really know how difficult it is?”

  She snorted derisively then stepped to stand squarely in front of me. “I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” she sighed. Pulling the sucker from her mouth, she lowered her head.

  Before I could ask what she meant, I was suddenly jerked off my feet and slammed to the floor. The impact knocked the wind out of me, but before I could recover, a hand covered my nose and mouth, obscuring my vision and making it almost impossible for me to inhale. Whoever had attacked me was strong, their weight holding me down and easily countering my attempts to break free. It had to be a man, based on the size difference between us, but that didn’t explain why I couldn’t overpower him. I’d been trained how to fight against larger opponents, but none of those tactics were working.

  Suddenly, I was aware of his free hand, pulling at my underwear before weaving it between my legs. I hurled every bit of strength I had against him when I felt his fingers rub against my flesh. I was desperate for air and terrified out of my mind. As I struggled, images flashed—a man’s unshaven face, his scratched neck, his dirty white shirt, the collar stained with perspiration. My mind scrambled to make sense of what was happening as my panic rose. “Stop fighting me!” he roared just before something blunt was jammed inside of me, the force making my head throb as pain ripped through my body.

  A loud shriek pierced my ears at the same moment my vision blurred and tears began streaming down my face. An entirely new level of terror gripped me as I realized I had been the one to make the horrific sound, but it hadn’t been my voice. The chaos of the attack cleared for a brief moment and I finally understood what was happening.

  I was a little girl.

  “Stay still damn it!” the man growled before punching me in the gut. My body tried to curl protectively, but his weight prevented it. In my own body I could have fought him; I could have defended myself, but in this body, I was powerless. I wanted to yell at him, to tell him to stop, but I didn’t know what words to use, I didn’t know how to say what I wanted to say. The only thing I could do was scream. A blow to the side of my head made my vision wane as pain seared through me, sucking the scream out of me. He hit me again, and again...until there was only darkness.

  Just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over and my lungs released, allowing me to finally suck in air as I stared at Marlena, head still bowed and her stance unchanged. I was standing in front of her where I had been before the attack, also unmoved. Still gasping for air I whipped around, searching for the sick fuck, my hands clenched into tight fists and ready to attack. Ready to kill.

  There was no one else there.

  “What the fuck was that?” I groaned angrily as emotions continued pulsing through me. My throat burned as if I’d been screaming and tears still streamed down my face. I felt violated and couldn’t stop crying. I’d never felt anything so horrific in my entire existence.

  Marlena ignored my question, seemingly unaffected by my current state. “As I said, Ike, I understand this may seem difficult for you, but this isn’t about you. This is about a young girl who was raped and murdered, and instead of her death freeing her precious soul from that horror, it left her trapped, all alone in the very place she was tortured, for more than two decades.”

  I doubled over, bracing myself on my knees as I absorbed her words like a blow to the gut. “And that was you showing me what happened to her?” I asked on a ragged breath, needing confirmation of what my brain was struggling to process.

  Marlena’s stoic expression dropped a fraction as she met my gaze and I caught a glimpse of the regret she felt for putting me through it, before she pushed it down and nodded curtly.

  Every muscle in my body tensed as I replayed what I’d seen and felt, and the anger built. “Fuuuuuck!” I roared as the unmitigated rage gripped me with the knowledge that I couldn’t wrap my hand around the asshole’s throat who could do that to a little girl.

  “I need her help. Click needs Charlotte’s help.”

  And just like that, I felt my chest crack open, releasing all the rage and denial I’d been holding inside since I’d learned Charlotte wasn’t really dead. As much as I wanted to argue, Marlena was right—what I wanted, or selfishly felt I deserved, had no bearing on what needed to happen. “She’s in this house?”

  Marlena pushed open the door she was standing beside, letting the light from the hall window spill into the dark room, revealing a young girl pacing the floor. She didn’t seem aware of me or Marlena, she simply stared ahead, moving her fingers as she tapped against the far wall.

  “How can I see her? I was never able to see the other spirits when I was in limbo.”

  “You’re not in limbo, Ike. Not really…you’re more like a visitor.”

  “Do you know her real name, or where she came from?”

  “No,” Marlena murmured as she studied the little girl, “that was the only memory I could get from her.” A few moments passed before she licked her lips and inhaled deeply, then turned to me and said, “I’d like you to try to touch her.”

  I widened my eyes. “What?” How was that a good idea? The last living memory this poor girl had was of a man brutally hurting her. I held my hands up in front of me and stepped back, not wanting to add to Click’s trauma.

  “Look, I don’t even know if it will work, but if it does, maybe you’ll be able to pull her with you when I release you.”

  Marlena had a point, but I didn’t like the thought of upsetting Click. I felt her eyes boring into me as I chewed on her request.

  “Ike, please. We won’t know anything if you don’t at least try,” she pleaded.

  I rubbed my hands over my head. I did not want to do this, but…what if it worked? What if I could touch her and take her back? Not only would it help this poor child, but maybe it would somehow release Charlotte, too.

  Before I could overthink it, I walked to Click and reached out for her.

  “Damn,” Marlena whispered as my hand passed through Click’s shoulder.

  “Well it was a long shot,” I surmised. “Now what?”

  Marlena stepped away from the door of Click’s room and motioned for me to join her in the hallway. “Look, I know about you and Charlotte and George,” she began, “Classic love triangle…though not really so classic with you being dead and all. I understand that this situation is hard for you—”

  “I doubt you could understand,” I argued.

  “How far does your love go? What would you sacrifice for love?” Her green eyes met mine.

  Charlotte’s image cascaded through my mind. “For her…there’s no limit,” I answered honestly.

  Marlena’s mouth turned up into a soft sad smile. “Tell me the love story of the Sun and the Moon where Sun dies every day to let the Moon bloom.”

  I looked at her quizzically. Was she quoting me poetry?

  She smirked when she took in my expression. “I know your love for Charlotte is deep. It’s real. I see it. I know it’s not fair how this has played out, but you know, deep down, she’ll never find peace until she helps this child. Charlotte has a purpose. We all do. All too often, there comes a time when we are asked to sacrifice what we want, or think we deserve, to help the one we love. And we do it. Willingly. Because that’s what it means to truly love someone. Love isn’t getting your happily ever after, Ike. Love is being willing to sacrifice your own happily ever after in order for the one you love to find hers.”

  “I’m going t
o tell her,” I insisted. “I just…I just need a little more time.”

  “You don’t have anymore time, Ike. Charlotte isn’t dead, which means time hasn’t stopped for her, not yet, but if she doesn’t learn the truth soon, there might not be any left for her to help Click. She’s the one who deserves a happily ever after, Ike. Hasn’t she waited long enough?” She turned back to Click and put the sucker back in her mouth.

  I nodded despite her back being to me. I knew she was right, and yet I found myself demanding that there had to be another way, one that didn’t risk Charlotte leaving me.

  How could I say goodbye to Charlotte again?

  Charlotte

  I’d managed to shift Ike to his back, and I was on my knees beside him when his eyes opened with a flicker of confusion in them that quickly disappeared when he saw my face. He hadn’t been out long, but my heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest with panic.

  “You’re awake!” I gasped, taking his face in my hands. “Are you okay?”

  He let out a grunt as he pushed himself up.

  “You should rest,” I told him. He grimaced, clearly uncomfortable, but waved a hand dismissively at me. “Ike?” He blinked a few times before turning his head toward me and gave my leg a gentle pat, never meeting my gaze. “What just happened?”

  “I need some time to digest things,” he said, his voice oddly hoarse. “Why don’t you go catch up with Axel and Grams. I’ll see you in a bit.” He took my hand and chastely kissed the back of it.

  “But—” Ike vanished, effectively cutting off my argument and leaving me completely at a loss. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach as I moved to my feet and turned in the direction of Grams’s house.

  Ike

  Axel found me at the river doing the only thing I knew to do when nothing else made sense—fishing. I never understood how it did it, but the water had always eased me, and at the moment I needed all the help I could get. He trudged out to me and handed me a beer.

  “Charlotte send you looking for me?”

  “You know it,” he replied before taking a swig from the brown bottle. “Heard that passing out thing happened again.”

  “Yeah, it did,” I said with a nod, amused at how direct he was.

  We lapsed into an uneasy silence, both of us waiting for the other to continue. Eventually, he gave in and finally asked, “So...what happened? Did you dream again?”

  I flicked my rod as the muscles in my neck and shoulders tensed. The feelings from Click’s experience that Marlena had forced on me made me angry in a way I could only equate to some level of PTSD, and it hadn’t even happened to me. More than anything, though, I was angry with myself for feeling guilty about wanting Charlotte to stay with me. For once in my life I didn’t want to be the good guy, the one who always did the right thing, and that just made it worse, especially when there was no way of knowing what would happen once I told her.

  I took a long pull of my beer and dropped my head. I was at a loss and, for once, the river wasn’t helping me find the answers I was looking for. Maybe because I was looking for the wrong ones. After a long moment I raised my head and met Axel’s gaze head on, “Charlotte isn’t dead.”

  George

  My chest fisted around my heart when the doctor asked Charlotte’s parents and me to follow him. We exchanged worried glances, but one by one we filed out of Charlotte’s hospital room and followed her neurologist into a small room just down the hall.

  Ten minutes later, Tracey was sobbing and Wayne sat unmoving next to her, his head hanging as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt not to cry himself. I stood dumbly in the middle of the room, equally frozen from the unexpected news.

  My world had officially spun off its axis.

  Despite my determination to believe otherwise, I thought I had prepared myself over the course of the last three days for whatever the doctors might tell us about Charlotte and her condition.

  I had never been more wrong about anything in my entire life.

  Ike

  It’s no secret that death is the ultimate teacher. When someone close to us passes away, we learn what it really means to live. We learn life is fragile and precious, but above everything else, we learn life is finite. Most of us that have been touched by the frailty of life find ourselves living fuller, more honest lives to better appreciate each day we have.

  Yet when our time is up, even the best of us are often faced with words left unsaid, and things left undone. For some, the unfinished becomes their regrets as they realize they didn’t seize every opportunity. For others, like myself, our time ended prematurely, leaving us without the opportunity to live a full life without regrets.

  Time wasn’t supposed to matter here, and yet it did. In the cruelest twist of fate, time mattered more to me now than it ever had when I was alive. Axel had reluctantly agreed to let me be the one to tell her, but I knew I didn’t have much time before he’d do it for me. In the end, I knew I couldn’t rob Charlotte of the chance to help Click, nor could I take away her chance to live out her life with George. Time was of the essence. I didn’t want to miss my chance and with so much unknown—would Charlotte stay or go—it felt as if it was now or never.

  She was sitting on the steps of Grams’s back porch when I arrived, sipping a glass of iced tea and grimacing at Rudy while he pecked at the ground. The hulk of a rooster noticed me before Charlotte did and he made his way over, bobbing his head as if to say hello. I could swear it was deliberate, as if he were telling Charlotte, I don’t like you, but this guy, he’s cool. When Charlotte noticed me she pursed her mouth.

  “What’s up, Rudy?” I grinned. He cocked his head, shooting me a look before he strutted away.

  “Why does he like you and not me?” Charlotte whined.

  I laughed. I had no idea why the bird seemed to like me, but it was humorous how much it bothered Charlotte. “Are you really this upset about it?”

  “No,” she huffed, then mumbled something that sounded like stupid cock under her breath. I took her hands and pulled her to her feet. She was barefoot and wearing shredded jeans with a black tank top. Her hair was tied up in a messy knot on her head. It was far from the flowing white gowns people imagined angels wearing in heaven, but even without the satin and silk, she looked ethereal to me. Her beauty was effortless. She didn’t even have to try.

  “Well if it’s any consolation, I like you,” I teased.

  She smiled and smacked my shoulder playfully. “He’ll come around. Everyone ends up liking me.”

  “Look who’s being cocky now,” I jested then squeezed one eye shut making my best Popeye face. “Guk, guk, guk.” I poked my elbow at her.

  Her mouth lifted on one side as she fought laughing at me. “Is my brother’s lameness rubbing off on you?”

  “Rudy doesn’t think I’m lame.” I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder in the rooster’s direction. “He thinks I’m the B.M.O.T.O.S.”

  Charlotte’s features contorted in confusion. “Big man…”

  “…on the other side,” I finished proudly.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, Rudy is a cock, and you know what they say.”

  “What’s that?”

  She shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly, “Birds of a feather, and all that.”

  “Oh, and I’m the dork, huh?” I chuckled.

  “Yeah,” she confirmed. “And everyone does end up liking me. I’m awesome that way.”

  “Is that so? Hmm…” I tapped my finger against my cheek as if thinking. “What about Misty?”

  The instant Charlotte’s smile fell I knew I’d screwed up.

  She blinked a few times, seemingly muddling through the shock of who I’d just mentioned. “No, I guess she never did like me, huh.”

  I mentally kicked myself for saying something that made her sad. “Who cares what she thinks,” I said as I searched my mind desperately for something to say to change the subject without making it awkward or noticeable.

  “
You don’t think…” she paused. “George wouldn’t hang out with her again, would he?” Before I could answer, she shook her head. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. I know he wouldn’t. That was a dumb thought. I’m just being…” She stopped again.

  “Jealous?” I ventured.

  Her cheeks flushed pink as she dropped her gaze to her knotted hands. “You know I was never fond of her.”

  “No one was fond of her. What ever happened to her anyways?”

  “She left town for a while, but she came back. Her and Roger worked things out.”

  “Seriously?” I asked in disbelief. “He took her back?” Out of all the men in the world, Roger was the last one I’d ever peg as the forgiving type, let alone forgiving his girlfriend for cheating on him.

  “Yeah, that’s what I heard. She never came back to the restaurant. We passed each other in town a few times, but as soon as she’d see me she’d haul ass in the opposite direction.” She rolled her eyes, and I knew she couldn’t help the jealousy she felt. “I don’t wish anything ill for her, ya know. In the years since it all went down, I realized maybe Misty had her own tale of woe…just like we all do. I don’t blame her for what George allowed himself to get involved in. We never would’ve been friends or anything, but at the end of my life I wasn’t her enemy. I just don’t like to think about George being with her…” She shook her head, annoyed by the vulnerability she was showing. She didn’t like feeling jealous.

  I gently lifted her chin to meet my gaze, “Jealousy is normal. You think I haven’t felt it?” Her brows rose in surprise at my declaration. I nodded, “You have no idea.”

  “I feel like the most selfish person in the world,” she said, taking my face in her hands as she peered into my eyes. I could see the pain and guilt she felt. She hated knowing she had a part of making me feel this way. “I don’t think I could stand the thought of either of you with another woman.”

  I pulled away and looked down, unable to hold her stare, her sentiment hitting closer to home than I cared to admit.