For Always

by Janae Mitchell

  "I guess I need to go get ready for work." It felt like forever since I had been down to the marina and I was missing Beth.

  "Oh, I forgot ya had to go back today." He spoke softly, almost like what he said was just a half thought.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothin'," he lied. I could tell something was bothering him. I sat up and looked at him, raising my eyebrow, causing him to grin. "What?"

  "What's wrong? I can tell something's bothering you."

  His smile left his face and he bit his bottom lip. "They still want me."

  I knew who he meant. Chills went down my spine, causing me to look over my shoulder for a brief second. "What makes you think that?"

  "I can feel 'em. It seems like I'm havin' to watch my back all the time. It's like since they had me there, they want me back." He shook his head. "And I don't know why."

  I thought about it and he was right. It's like everywhere Beau went, so did they, even all the way down to Georgia. "I don't know why either. But they ain't gonna get you. We won't let them. Well, as long as you don't go attacking one again," I laughed, trying to lighten his mood.

  "Nope, don't think I'll be doin' that again, seein' as how it didn't go as planned last time."

  I slowly rolled off the hammock and turned to look at him. "Try not to worry about it." I bent over to kiss him bye and he pulled me back into the hammock. "Beau! It was hard enough getting out of this thing once, now I gotta do it again." He kissed me, making me not care if I ended up on the ground the next time I got up. But of course I didn't have to worry about that. He flung me over his lap like I was a rag doll and stood up, letting me slide down him to the ground. I smiled up at him and said, "I love you."

  "I love ya, too, Miss Reed."

  * * *

  When I walked into work, Beth squealed and ran to me, throwing her arms around my neck. "I'm so glad you're back." She took a step back so I could breathe and said, "I've missed you so much! The next road trip you go on, take me with ya."

  "Me, too," Jace said as he came out of the kitchen.

  My heart fluttered, which I immediately scolded. "Yeah, that wouldn't have been weird at all," I teased him and turned my attention to Beth. "I know, I've missed you, too."

  "How's Max doing?" Jace asked.

  "He's doing better. Still healing, but at least he's getting to do that at home now."

  "Good. Glad to hear that." He continued to stare at me until Beth regained my attention.

  "What was it like down there?"

  "Oh, it's beautiful! The Spanish moss that hangs down everywhere makes it feel like some kind of magical kingdom. I loved it."

  "I'm glad y'all made it back okay." I hated the way it had become so uncomfortable around him now. "Well, I guess I need to get back to work."

  I smiled and let him go without saying anything to him. Instead, I turned to Beth and asked, "So, anything interesting happen while I was away?"

  "Nope, same ol' same ol'."

  That's one thing that really differed from Nashville. In Nashville, there was always something happening. "How are you and Hunter doing?"

  "Great." She smiled a mischievous smile, but didn't elaborate.

  "Has Jace been okay?"

  "I guess. He misses you, though. Won't go out much or do anything with anybody. He just works all the time."

  "I wish he would just be happy again. I hate the thought of him being with someone else, but it would make it easier on him if he was. I don't want him to be sad. I really don't." Jace was a good guy, and I hated doing this to him. "Maybe we need to set him up with someone."

  "Well, there's always Morgan."

  "I meant someone nice, not the devil incarnate."

  "There are several girls who wanna go out with Jace, he just ain't interested in any of 'em. He's picky."

  I had to laugh. "Oh, and I'm the epitome of perfection," I said sarcastically.

  "No, but you're beautiful and genuine." Then she laughed and added, "And being built like a brick house ain't bad, either." I smacked her as some people came in the door and she just laughed as she went to seat them. Before she got back, Jace opened the door of the kitchen and stuck his head out. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

  "Sure." I followed him to the break room where he grabbed a coke and sat down. I took the seat across from him, wondering what this was about. "So, what's up?"

  "Now that I've graduated, I'm going be taking over as manager here at the marina. Since some of the staff are going to be leaving for college, I've been looking over the schedules." He took a sip of his coke before continued. "I was wondering if you'd want to work some when school starts. I know you were only going to work the summer, but I thought you might want to stay, make some extra money. It'll just be an evening or two during the week and on weekends. But you could have a day off every other, if you want." When he finally stopped talking, I told him that would be fine. "Good. I'll swap you and Beth in and out here in the restaurant and the bait shop. That way I'll only have to hire one other person." He took another sip of his coke, but didn't say anything else.

  "So, is that all you needed?" He looked up at me, but remained quiet. "Are you okay?"

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "I just worry about you."

  I leaned forward and propped my elbows on the table, trying to smile a friendly smile and not a flirty one. "Please don't. I'm fine, so there's no need to worry."

  He was tapping his coke lid on the table, which was driving me nuts. "Beth just seems…she seems to know something that she's not telling me. Something about you."

  Oh, crap. "You know everything about me, Jace. And probably some things she doesn't even know."

  His jaw flexed before he leaned forward, putting his elbows next to mine, causing me to instinctively sit back. "Just don't keep anything from me. I still care about you and…"

  I waited on him to finish, and when he didn't, I said, "I care about you, too, and I don't want you to be like this. You need to move on and focus on someone else instead of worrying about me."

  "Like you did?"

  That stung. "Maybe me working here isn't the best option right now." I felt tears welling up and dared them to fall.

  He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to come out like it did." It surprised me when he started to laugh. "I didn't want to turn into one of those crazy, jealous ex-boyfriends, but it looks like I have."

  "I'm sorry. I really am." He gave me a look that made me glad that a table was between us. "I need to get back out there and make sure Beth's okay. It looked like we were fixing to get slammed."

  He just nodded, but stopped me as I started to walk out. “You’re still going to work, right?”

  “Yes, Jace. We are just gonna have to learn how to be friends and only friends again.”

  He didn’t say anything as I walked out. And I was right, we were slammed, which I was thankful for. It left no time for me to feel guilty for breaking Jace's heart.

  * * *

  When I got home from work, I collapsed on the couch. "Where's Beau?" I was surprised he hadn't met me at the door when I pulled up. Grandmama didn't look up from the papers she was going through as she motioned toward the back door. "Oh my word, it was so busy tonight. And Jace asked if I'd still work when school started back."

  She finally raised her head up, looking at me over her glasses. "Oh, really. What did ya tell him?"

  "I told him I would. Figured it'd be extra spending money."

  "As long as it doesn't interfere with school. If it does, you'll have to quit."

  "It shouldn't, but we'll see." Beau still hadn't come in. "What's he doing outside in the dark?"

  She shrugged her shoulders and smiled slyly. "I dunno." She was acting weird, like she was hiding something. But then she said, "Oh, by the way, Max called. Said for me to have you check your email. He sent you a bunch of stuff he said you'll find interestin'."

  "Really? Wonder what it is."

&nbs
p; "Knowin' Max, there ain't no tellin'. But maybe ya should go check on Beau first and see what he's up to."

  I started to, but I assumed that if he wanted to talk to me that he would've come in by now. I figured he needed time to himself sometimes, too, especially since that's practically all he'd had for the past century. "I will in a bit if he doesn't come in soon."

  I went upstairs and turned on my computer, anxious to read Max's email. Only having three from the past month or so, I had no trouble finding it. I clicked on it and was surprised to see that he had practically written me a book.

  Hello, my sweet Malyn. I miss you and Nellie. I just hate that when you finally decided to come down that I couldn't entertain you properly. I will have to make up for that as soon as you both are willing to return to my humble abode. I'm feeling much better now, though, and hope to come up there soon—we have much to discuss. And I'm having withdrawals from Nellie's cooking. Anyway, I thought emailing you would be better than just calling since I'm going to be including several links to some sites that might interest you. After what happened with Beau, and Henry (whom I've sadly not seen since I've been back home), I decided to do more research about the Darkness and its inhabitants. From that research, I have found several things that I thought would interest you—I know they did me. Legend or fact, I can't say, but I now have a better understanding for this place and the ones that have come to be called Takers.

  I had to smile at the way his email started, especially since his Georgian accent was nowhere to be found in his words. I could actually see the scientist that he was, which I rarely got to see. He continued to explain what he had deduced from his research, which left me speechless. Chills ran down my spine more than once as I read about a place that I had willingly visited, and had been lucky to escape from. I hesitantly clicked on the links he had included, getting more freaked out with each one that I opened. By the time I got to the conclusion of Max's email, I felt like I was almost on the verge of panicking.

  "You've got to be kidding me," I whispered to myself.

  "'Bout what?"

  I almost fell right out of my chair. "You scared me to death!" I was so engrossed in his email that I hadn't even heard Grandmama come in.

  "Sorry," she said, half laughing.

  "Yeah, you look sorry," I retorted, but couldn't keep from smiling, too, as I straightened back up in my seat.

  "So, what all did he say? Anything interestin'?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of my bed.

  "Interesting is an understatement. It's about the Takers and some things that he found out."

  "Like what?"

  I spun my chair around and looked at her; not wanting to say what I knew was true. "What they want."

  "Which is what?"

  "Beau."

  She didn't look as surprised as I thought she would. "Why? Why him? Why now?"

  "It's my fault. If we never would've come here this probably wouldn't have happened."

  "Everything happens for reason, and I think us comin' here is what was meant to happen. How do you know they want Beau, anyway? Did Max say that?"

  "Not necessarily, but I figured as much from what he said and the info he sent. His research uncovered a lot of info about the Takers and the Darkness. He said a lot was legend, but that legends are usually formed from actual events. From what he said, the Takers are like demons, but they weren't mean enough to be demons in hell, so they formed their own sort of hell, which is the Darkness. But they aren't strong enough to maintain it on their own; they need energy—spiritual energy." I took a deep breath, detesting every word I spoke. "Our energy is hard to attain, but Beau's isn't so hard. The Takers have no power to take souls, though, so instead, they trick them into coming willingly. And when they do, they entrap them, so their energy is always there for the taking." I stopped, hoping she was processing all I was saying.

  "So why now all of a sudden? He's been here for a long time and ain't seen hide nor hair of 'em 'til now."

  "Like I said before, it's my fault. I think they can sense my gift, but not just that, they can sense his energy more now, too, since he stays solid most of the time. They probably don't understand it but know he's special somehow."

  "Yeah, he is special. Never felt an energy like his. I can sense his emotions so strong. It's like I can almost read his mind when he gets close enough. I've never been able to do that before."

  "Yeah. And did you notice that Henry wasn't affected by that EMF pump or by Max's plasma ball unless he was right by it? I wasn't either when I was waiting on Beau to get out of my body and let me back in. And the pump didn't even affect that girl who got inside the car with us at that gas station we stopped at on the way down to Max's, either. The only person besides him it's affected so far was that woman who hit my window in town that night. It has something to do with the inherent energy that he possesses."

  I could tell she was thinking about all I had unloaded on her until she finally said, "Well, if the only way that they can get him is if he goes willingly, then we don't have anything to worry 'bout, right?"

  "I don't know. And the fact that I don't know is what worries me. If they do want him bad enough, they may figure out a way. He's already ended up there once, and it's a miracle I was able to get him back. I doubt they'd let it happen again. They’ll be ready now."

  "Ready for what?" Beau asked from my doorway, causing me to jump, yet again.

  "Nothing," I said nonchalantly and quickly changed the subject. "I wondered if you were ever gonna come inside."

  "Actually, I wasn't. I was waitin' on ya to come outside." He eyed Grandmama, making her laugh. "But since ya didn't, I came to get ya."

  Grandmama threw her hands up. "Sorry, I tried."

  I looked from him to her, then back to him. "What's going on?"

  He walked over and held out his hand. "Miss Reed, may I have the honor?"

  I couldn't help but laugh, having no clue what he was doing. I put my hand in his and replied, "Yes, you may." I would follow him anywhere.

  "Okay, kids, I'm goin' to bed. Love y’uns. Lock up."

  "We love you, too," I said as I was lead down the stairs. "Where are we going?"

  "You'll see." As we got to the back door, he stopped, turning to face me. "I've felt bad ever since I missed your birthday. Ya don't know how bad I wanted to be the one to make ya feel special that day. So I want to make it up to ya. Or at least I hope it kinda will, anyway." He kissed my forehead and opened the door for me. "After you, ma'am."

  As soon as I walked out the door, I was overwhelmed at what I saw. Candles were scattered everywhere, probably two dozen of them, that gave off a soft glow that danced across the yard. My hands instinctively covered my mouth and tears welled up in my eyes, and that was before I saw the flowers and the cake on the picnic table. He walked over to the table and picked up my mp3 player that was hooked up to my radio, which I hadn't even noticed yet. I raised my eyebrow, impressed that he had pulled this off.

  "I have to admit, Nellie did help me out just a little." He reached his hand out toward me. "May I have this dance?"

  I was still speechless, so I just walked toward him and took his hand as he clicked on a song. He put his hand on my waist and held my hand up, so I put my free hand on his shoulder. As the song came on, he proceeded to lead me in a dance that was not like the usual swaying back and forth kind of dance I had done before at school dances—it was his dance. I immediately knew which song it was, and when he started softly singing it to me, it felt like a dream. It was one of my favorites, and I realized at that moment just how perfect it was—it was Beau's song.

  "My life is a story that starts with time,

  growing as I live just to learn how to die.

  Another chapter in this book that brings

  death to life.

  Don't let your eyes fool you, lies they may feed,

  what you want may not be what you need.

  You are the breath that kept me from drowning,

  in thi
s river of loneliness where you found me.

  Remembering what was,

  unsure of what is yet to be.

  I exist for you, only you,

  until I close the book…."

  As I laid my head on his chest, he continued to hum along to the song as we danced. "This is perfect."

  "I hope so, ‘cause ya deserve nothin' less." As the song went off, we kept on dancing, even though there was no music. He kissed me before leading me to the table to feed me cake. "I made this myself," he warned as he lifted a heaping bite to my mouth, grinning.

  "It's delicious," I said, accidentally spitting half the bite on him. "Sorry," I laughed, covering my mouth.

  He watched me as I took another bite. "You're so beautiful." He reached over and grabbed a strand of my hair. "The candlelight bounces off your hair like moonlight off water."

  Even though my mouth was full of cake, I leaned over and kissed him. I swallowed my cake this time before I told him I loved him. "You just don't even know."

  "Oh, but I do. Remember?"

  I didn't know what he meant at first, but then remembered. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."

  "I didn't mean to end up in your body like that; it's just where I landed."

  "I know." I smiled as he grabbed my hand. "And thank you for all this. It's the best post-birthday party ever."

  "You're welcome. And I promise, I'll never miss another birthday of yours again."

  "It's okay, I missed yours, too."

  "That ain't your fault, though. I didn't tell ya it was my birthday 'til it was done gone."

  "Yeah, but if I'd have known I would've done something special for you."

  "You did. You came here. You comin' here has been the best thing that's ever happened to me—dead or alive. You were my birthday present." He rubbed the back of my hand and smiled, making me wonder if his smile would always do that to me, and if he'd always make me feel like I did at this very moment. Then his smile faded and he said, "I don't know what's gonna come of me, where I'll go or when. Or if bein' with ya and lovin' ya like I do is right or it ain't. But what I do know is that even if I had to spend the rest of my time in hell it'd be worth it, as long as I got to spend this one moment with you."