The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2)

by Diana Ryan

  For many minutes I tried to retrieve any visions I could, but only frustrated myself in the end. Soon my alarm blared, reminding me it was time to head over to the library and start studying for my test.

  Adam was already there sitting in the lobby lounge waiting. He reading some type of textbook, but looked up and smiled when he saw me.

  “Feeling better? I’ve been worried about you.”

  He’s been thinking about me all afternoon?

  “I’m feeling much better, thanks.”

  Adam and I found a private study room upstairs. Adam was very patient, quizzing me for over two hours on the flashcards I had made. I needed to memorize fifty different scientific names of plants and animals, and memorizing was not my strong suit. Even so, he was encouraging, he was helpful, and when I felt like quitting he would take a break with me, telling me jokes or sharing stories from home.

  We went over and over those notecards until Adam felt confident I’d do great on the test. I couldn’t believe someone I had just met would be willing to spend an afternoon helping me out. Although I appreciated his friendship, I couldn’t help but be on my guard. What were his intentions true intentions?

  I never felt that Adam was anything but authentically friendly. Studying with him made it seem like not such a horrible task and by the end of the two hours, I did feel more prepared than I ever would have felt studying on my own.

  Adam and I split ways outside the front door. “Thanks again, Adam. I think I’ll be ready now for that test.”

  “Not a problem. I enjoyed studying with you.” His smile was sweet.

  “I owe you one.”

  “I won’t forget.” We stood there smiling at each other for a few seconds before he said, “Later, Ava,” and turned to walk down the sidewalk toward his house. Perhaps this guy was just looking for a friend.

  The walk home was refreshing. I had a happy feeling in my heart, and a simple smile on my face.

  Later that night I was in my room studying when my cell phone rang—mom and dad.

  “Hi!”

  “Hi hon!”

  “What are you up to?”

  “Oh, your dad and I are just finishing packing for our trip. Remember we might not be able to call you while we’re abroad, but you can always email. Anyway, how are you doing?”

  Mom didn’t necessarily sound concerned, but I wondered if she could somehow know about my recent episodes. “Oh, I’m doing alright, Mom. Staying really busy.”

  “Great. How’s school?”

  “Exhausting. All I do is eat, sleep, and work on homework. I met with my advisor last week. He said I could probably apply to the School of Education next semester.” I wasn’t sure if my parents knew the academic trouble I was in. If my mother was aware, she wasn’t leading on. “If I don’t get in, I’ll only have one more chance, and then I have to change my major, or transfer.”

  “Oh, honey. That would be horrible. I know how much you want to be a teacher.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll just make sure I pass all my classes and get a great score on the PRAXIS exam next week. I’ve done a lot of volunteering in the elementary schools here lately, so that’s gotta help, too.”

  “Looks good on an application, anyway.” A silence followed that seemed to be filled with motherly questions.

  I decided to ask her before she could ask me: “Is everything okay with you, Mom?”

  “Sure, sure. Ava…I don’t know how to say this, but…how come you haven’t mentioned anything about Nol—” The phone cut off abruptly.

  “Mom?” I pulled the phone away from my ear. It seemed to still be connected. “Mom? Mom?” There was only silence, so I pressed end and was about to call her back when my phone rang again.

  “Mom? We got cut off.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know what happened there. Anyway, I was saying, did Nol—” Then the phone cut off again.

  Jeez, her phone was awful. What was she trying to say?

  I dialed once again but this time a nice little automated voice greeted me. “This number cannot be completed as dialed.”

  Oh well. If it was important enough my mom would call back later.

  Chapter Six

  Sunday morning brought some really beautiful fall weather—brisk, fresh air and golden sunlight shining through colored leaves. I wrote a history paper I was really proud of, did my Algebra homework, completed some posts for my online class, and then Kasie and I decided to get out of the house and take a jog through Iverson Park.

  I pulled my baby blue Cutlass Ciera Oldsmobile between two handsome grey, stone pillars standing guard at the entrance of the driveway and parked a quarter of a mile down the way. We were the only car in the lot.

  Kasie and I were the athletic ones of my group and couldn’t talk anyone else into exercising today. We started out on a slow jog down the wide dirt pathway. After we warmed up, we picked up the pace and wound around a few playgrounds, a soccer field, and then a picnic pavilion. We jogged over rustic stone bridges spanning the swift-flowing Plover River and past the abandoned swimming area. A nature center and fireplace lodge sat quietly on the land to our right. Running felt so great, and spending time within nature was just what I needed to relax.

  Soon the pathway turned into a forest area with no park structures. Tall, Wisconsin pines lined each side and I instantly felt at home. The smell of the crisp fall Wisconsin air was alluring. Wisconsin Dells was one of my very favorite places on earth, and one of the many reasons was because of the beauty of the nature there. I could find these exact same trees near one of my favorite places in the Dells—Make Out Rock.

  Suddenly my brain jolted another unfamiliar picture in front of my eyes. I was on the rock cliff in the darkness, crying and lying in a pool of blood. It was really disturbing and I stopped running for a second to rub my forehead as a sharp pain jabbed at my head.

  “What’s up? You okay?” Kasie slowed down her run, but kept jogging in place while she questioned me.

  The pain was almost gone, so I stood up and started to jog again.“I have to be honest with you, Kas.” I couldn’t keep my secret much longer. “I’ve been having these massive headaches and weird visions lately.”

  She looked at me strangely. “Do you mean like nightmares?”

  “Well, kind of. But it’s just for a quick second and then they disappear. And it’s only happened during the day when I’m awake. Sometimes they really catch me at odd times and they are more confusing than frightening.”

  We kept jogging and Kasie said nothing but looked at me with a concerned stare.

  “Kas, I know this sounds weird, but please humor me.” I continued cautiously. I didn’t want Kasie to think I’d gone insane, although I wasn’t entirely sure that I hadn’t. “What have I told you about last summer?”

  Please know something.

  “Um, not too much. You said you made some good money with Jack but that was about it. Why, don’t you remember?”

  “See, that’s the scary part. I can’t remember anything about last summer.” I shook my head with disbelief. “God, I feel like I was high on some street drug for three months or something.”

  “Ava, I don’t know, involved in drugs? That just doesn’t sound like you. Plus, if you did, wouldn’t you think you’d still be addicted? I think we would know.”

  “Yeah, I guess. I just can’t find an answer.” We arrived back near my car and sat on the grass to stretch. “I feel like a whole chunk of my life is missing.”

  “Have you said anything to your parents? I mean, they were there with you all summer. You think they’d know if something weird was going on.” Kasie reached for her toes.

  “No, I haven’t said anything. Oh wait, it’s October 19th, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, now I can’t ask. They left for their trip to Ireland. They’ll be gone for fourteen days.” I grabbed my left arm above the elbow and stretched it across my chest.

  “And you can’t get ahold of them at all?” Kasie
switched legs and reached for her other set of toes.

  “They said they might check their email a few times during the trip and they left the number of the hotel they’re staying at in case of emergency, but I don’t want to bother them with this.”

  “I guess. Hey, what about Laura? Call her up! She was home last summer, right.”

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you? That’s why my parents are going to Ireland. Laura is studying abroad this semester.”

  “No! You didn’t tell me. That’s awesome!” Kasie laid down on the grass and extended her arms over her head for a full body stretch. “Well, I’m sure you’ll solve your mystery soon enough. Hang in there, girl.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I stood up and grabbed one of my ankles, pulling it up near my hip to stretch out my thigh.

  “Thanks for the run, Ava. This was fun.” Kasie stood up and then bent over at the hips to touch the grass without bending her knees.

  We continued stretching for a few more minutes when suddenly a sleek black car zoomed down the gravel hill a little too fast and pulled up a few spots down from my Olds.

  The door opened and Adam got out.

  “Oh, seriously,” I said under my breath.

  He shut the passenger door and stayed facing the car. I could hear the clicking noise of someone sending a text.

  “Well, well. Who do we have here?” I couldn’t hold back a smile as Adam slowly turned around. He was dressed in black warm-up pants with a white stripe down the side, a long-sleeved grey T-shirt that said “Fulham Football Club,” and a pair of athletic shoes.

  “Ava! You know, this town isn’t that small. How do we keep ending up in the same place?” He put his phone back into his pocket, smiled widely, walking over toward Kasie and me.

  “I just don’t know, Adam. It’s almost like someone is stalking me.” Then I gave him a little playful punch on the shoulder.

  “Ha. You wish.” Adam’s eyes drifted toward Kasie.

  “Adam, you remember my roommate, Kasie?”

  “Hey, Adam.”

  “Yes. Right, right. Hello, Kasie. Nice to see you again.” Adam leaned against the bumper of my Olds. “So, judging by the deep shade of red on your faces, I’m guessing you girls just finished a jog?”

  Oh gosh, how ridiculous did I look right now?

  “Yeah, just finished.” I brushed my cheek with the back of my hand as if that would erase some of the red. “Isn’t it a little early for you frat boys to be out and about? I thought you couldn’t leave the house before noon.”

  “Many don’t,” he laughed. “That is true.” He paused and looked around the area. “A friend recommended I take a little jog through the park.”

  His accent was particularly adorable this morning.

  “You wouldn’t want to join me on a little jaunt, would you? I’ll need a proper guide since I’ve never been here before and I’d hate to get lost in the woods.” He hit me with pleading eyes. “You do owe me, remember?”

  It’s true I barely knew the guy, but something inside me urged me to trust him. “Yeah, I guess I could go back out for another jog. As long as we don’t go for too long.”

  I looked over at Kasie and she mouthed, “Are you sure?” I nodded, and handed her my car keys.

  “You can give me a ride back to my house later, right Adam?”

  “Absolutely! I’d love to see where you live.” He leaned up against the side of his car, smiling.

  “Okay. Well, don’t work her too hard, Adam.” Kasie gave a menacing smile and Adam laughed out loud. She took my car keys, opened the passenger side door, and then leaned over and gave me a hug. “See you later, Ava.” Then she whispered “be safe” in my ear.

  “I will. Bye Kasie. See you soon.” And then she got in, started it up, and drove off with a bang when the transmission shifted.

  I giggled, embarrassed. “I gotta get that car looked at.” I looked over at Adam’s ride. It looked very expensive. How did he get such a nice car—let alone any car—as a foreign exchange student? But before I could ask, Adam took off running down the pathway.

  “Come on, local. I need a guide!” He yelled over his shoulder.

  I jogged after him with a smile on my face. Very quickly my body started aching. Why did I decide to go around again?

  “Brilliant. It is beautiful here,” Adam commented.

  “If you like this, you’d love the Dells.” I wiped a few beads of sweat from my forehead.

  “What’s it like in the Dells? You keep telling me how great it is.”

  “The Dells is the name for a seven-mile series of sandstone rock cliffs that line the Wisconsin River. I can’t even explain how gorgeous they are. You should come back with me some weekend and I’ll show you around town.”

  What did I just say? Was I inviting this guy I barely knew back home? I had never taken a boy home to my parents’ house before, besides my high school boyfriend. I was about to take it back, but Adam already accepted.

  “That’d be, as you Americans say, awesome!” He was smiling at me, excitement in his eyes, when it hit me again.

  “Ow! My head!” I was struck with blinding pain, and didn’t see the tree root sticking out of the dirt. I tripped and rolled onto the ground, laid out flat. Suddenly I saw a vision of a very handsome man kissing me in a very small room that looked somewhat like a bedroom. He was caressing my lower back and slowly dancing with me. It was so real I thought I might actually be in the room with that man—until I heard Adam’s voice.

  “Ava…Ava, dear. Take a deep breath.” I could barely hear him. I pushed his voice out of my head—I wanted to keep the vision in front of my brain. My heart was aching for whoever was in that room with me.

  “Ava. You’re far away.”

  The man in my vision was incredibly handsome and his beautiful blue eyes were mesmerizing.

  “Ava…come back to me. Open your eyes.” Adam’s voice sounded miles away.

  But then my vision became hazy, like someone slowly turned down the color.

  No! No…no…

  Adam had crouched down next to me, gently coaxing me to sit up, eyes right at my level. He kept very calm, speaking to me as he placed his hand on my upper arm, rubbing slowly.

  “Ava…. You’re safe. You’re here in the park with Adam.” He continued to comfort me. “Come back to me, Ava.”

  I shook my head a little as the vision faded away. My breathing was heavy and fast. I looked up at Adam’s brown eyes with hurt and concern on my face. But he did not freak out. He did not overreact. He was perfect. He said nothing, but grabbed my hand to pull me into a sitting position. A tiny smile of disbelief slid onto the corners of my mouth and I let out a sigh.

  “Welcome back, Ava. I thought I had lost you there for a second.” He took my hand in his and it felt wonderful, like a tiny blanket of hope wrapped around me.

  “Adam, why are you being so nice to me?”

  “We have an old saying in England: ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover.’”

  I snorted. “We have that saying, too.

  A look of surprise took hold of his face. “Blimey, you do?”

  “Yes! Of course! But what does that have to do with me?”

  “I see what’s inside you, Ava. I can tell you are a good person, and a strange outburst here and an odd headache there won’t turn me away from being your friend.”

  Adam felt somewhat like a father figure to me, and even though I just met him, he was proving himself to be a good friend and I was thankful I had him in my life.

  He stood up from the ground and extended his hand to help me up. “I think you’ve had enough strenuous exercise for one day. What do you say we take a pleasant stroll through the rest of the park?”

  “That sounds great.”

  How did he do that? He turned me from a crazy mess to calm and comfortable. Was Adam a great guy or just good at deceiving innocent girls like me? Either way, he somehow made me feel secure and safe next to him.

  We approached
the summer swimming area and I explained how the Plover River brought tons of people to the beach each summer. “They even employ a few seasonal lifeguards, and there is an old red brick bathhouse behind the beach.”

  “That antique stone on the building is so beautiful—reminds me of home.” He took a deep breath, staring out over the pool and bathhouse. “Do you like swimming?” he said without looking back toward me.

  “Love it! I was on the Dells Dolphin swim team when I was a little girl.”

  “Really? A little fishy, huh?” Adam played the part of big brother, playfully teasing his little sister. I liked it.

  “How about you?”

  “I love it as well. Just don’t get to do it that often. Greenwich is right on the River Thames, but you won’t catch anyone swimming in there. All that passes by these days is rubbish barges and empty lager bottles. But, ah, the Thames is part of my home.”

  “Do you miss it? I mean, being at home?”

  For the first time I saw a little distance in his eyes. He turned to me and said very sincerely. “I do. I miss my family and mates. But I’ve had so many wonderful experiences here and I’ve grown so much in only the short time I’ve lived in the US. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

  “I’ve always wanted to visit Britain. Tell me about London.”

  It took us almost forty minutes to finish the walk and he spoke of home the entire time. He told me about his family’s cottage just outside of Loughton, northeast of the heart of London, about his brother and sister, and his favorite travels. It was all very interesting and I loved hearing about a different culture.

  We finally arrived back at the parking lot. “So, Ava. Do you remember every single one of those blasted notecards from yesterday?”

  “Oh gosh. I haven’t thought about those all day. I hope I remember them.”

  “You’d better, after all the time I invested in you!”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll study again later today and a bit tomorrow before class.”

  He leaned his backside on the hood of the car while I took a seat nearby on a bench at the edge of the parking lot. “So, Miss Ava, what are your plans for the rest of today?”