Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series)

by Christina Smith

  A green SUV was driving towards us, and it was actually slowing down. It pulled up along the side of the road, and a woman with black hair leaned towards the passenger window. “Do you kids need help?”

  A wave of relief washed over me. We wouldn’t be walking for the rest of the day like I had feared.

  “Yes, our car went off the road about a mile back, and our cell phones won’t work. Do you know of any tow truck drivers around here?” Lucas asked, leaning into her open window, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat.

  “I didn’t see a car back there.” Her eyes flicked to the road behind us.

  “We went over that big hill, back there right before the bend in the road.”

  “Are you guys all right?” Her face took on a concerned expression.

  “Yes, we just missed the tree at the bottom. I just have no idea how to get my car back.” I watched him as he spoke. His ears and cheeks were red. I was certain they were frozen, just like mine.

  “Well, come on, I’ll drive you to Jake’s, it’s freezing out there. He has a tow truck, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to pull your car out for you.” She leaned over the passenger seat and opened the door. I climbed in the back while Lucas got into the front seat. Thankfully, she turned the heaters to full blast, and I sat back, enjoying the feel of my skin tingling as it thawed. We drove for a while in silence. I was happy to be off my feet; the shoes I chose were not meant for walking long distances.

  I studied our rescuer; she was about my mom’s age with her black hair pulled back in a long braid. She looked to be wearing work clothes, and I thought I smelled the slightest hint of horse. My sharp intuition told me that she lived on a farm. We passed through the rural area and started seeing houses. “So where are you kids from?” she asked, turning her head away from the road briefly.

  “Brownridge, we went to Renford for the night to visit some friends,” I lied.

  Lucas turned his head and raised his eyebrows at me but didn’t say anything. I continued. “We were on our way home, when a car came at us in our lane. Lucas swerved out of his way, and that’s how we landed at the bottom of the hill.”

  “Careless drivers, you get them everywhere,” she said, shaking her head. I didn’t mention the fact that we thought that the careless driver might be a crazy stalker that was trying to kill us.

  “By the way, my name is Molly, you’re Lucas, and…?” She turned to me, waiting for my answer.

  “Sarah. Thank you so much for your help, Molly. We have to be home soon, and I was worried we’d be out there all night, walking.”

  “No problem.” She smiled. “Here we are, and we’re in luck, Jake’s home.”

  I glanced out my window and saw that we had pulled up to an old farmhouse. It was a large white house that desperately needed a paint job. It didn’t appear to be a working farm. I could see into the red barn, and it looked like he used it to fix cars. There was a hoist with a car sitting on top. A man, maybe in his late twenties, came strolling out. He was wearing jeans and a ratty T-shirt with grease stains smudged on the edges. His hair was hidden under an old ball cap with the words Jake’s Auto on it. He leaned into Molly’s window. I was guessing that this was Jake. His eyes were blue; his skin was rough and leathery. “What’s going on, Molly? Who do you have with you?” he asked as he leaned in the window.

  “I found these two kids walking down Gibson’s Lane. Their car went over Gibson’s Hill, and they were hoping you might be able to give them a tow. I said I was sure you would, considering how sweet you are.” She threw in a wide grin with her compliment.

  “Ah shucks, Mol, you’re such a charmer,” he said, smiling. He looked up at Lucas. “How did you manage to get your car down Gibson’s Hill?”

  “Another car was driving in my lane. I swerved out of the way and lost control.”

  Jake seemed to be considering if he should help us or not, then he finally said, “Sure, come on, you can ride with me. I’ll pull your car out, and you can be on your way.” He waved at Molly, and strolled over to his tow truck, which was light blue and covered in rust.

  “Thank you so much, Molly,” Lucas said as he climbed out of her car. I waved and smiled after I got out.

  “You’re welcome and good luck. Watch out for those crazy drivers,” she yelled, honking her horn as she drove off.

  Lucas took my hand and squeezed it tightly. Somehow I knew he was trying to protect me from Jake. Although he seemed harmless, we didn’t know him.

  “Climb in,” Jake said as he hopped into the driver’s side.

  “Thank you so much for your help.” I climbed in beside him onto the worn leather seat. There were coffee cups and candy wrappers littering the floor, but thankfully the air smelled of pine instead of garbage. I sat in the middle with Jake and Lucas on either side of me, Lucas' hand still clasped tightly in mine.

  “No problem, I wasn’t very busy. Where are you two kids from anyway? I’ve never seen you around here before.” He tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the song that was playing on the radio.

  Lucas explained where we were from, and told him the same lie I had told Molly. It didn’t take long to get to the hill. It was only a fifteen-minute drive that would have taken us an hour or two to walk.

  He backed up on the edge of the road, and then he and Lucas took the cable down to hook it to the car. Lucas stayed down there to make sure the hook stayed in place while Jake hopped into the truck to push the button that would pull the cable up.

  I watched as Lucas walked beside the car, and when it was finally up on the shoulder of the road, the two of them took the hook out. Lucas got in and started it.

  “Motor sounds fine, no damage to the body,” Jake said, walking slowly around the car, assessing for damage. “I’d say you two got away without a scratch.”

  “What do I owe you?” Lucas asked, reaching in his back pocket for his wallet.

  Jake shook his head. “Nothing, just get your girl home safe.”

  “Are you sure?” His hand still hovered above his wallet.

  “I’m sure, you seem like nice kids.”

  Lucas shook his hand. “Thank you for everything.”

  Jake smiled and waved at me. He hopped into his truck, and as he drove away, gravel spun behind his tires.

  Lucas turned to me. “Well, are you ready to go? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  When he finally pulled up to my house an hour later, I turned to him. “Thank you, Lucas. Besides the attempted murder, I had a lot of fun.”

  “Me too. I’ll look online to see if I can find a yearbook for the guy at NYU.”

  “I’ll look too. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  “Okay,” he said, smiling. He looked as happy as I felt. I leaned in and brushed my lips on his, lingering longer than I meant to, but once I touched his lips, it was hard to pull away. I was smiling when I drew back.

  A look of shock mixed with pleasure crossed his face. “Habit?” he asked.

  “No,” I said, feeling frisky. I grabbed my bag from the back and opened the car door. I waved as he drove off.

  I was humming a country song that we danced to as I walked into my house.

  “It’s about time, Sarah. Don’t ever do that again, I was so worried. Why are you so late, and why are you smiling?” my mother asked, standing in front of me with an oven mitt in one hand and an annoyed expression on her face.

  “I had fun, well, before we had car trouble, that’s why I’m so late, but we found a mechanic, and he helped us. I’m sorry I lied to you, Mom. It won’t happen again. I’m going up to my room.” I was lying to her, as I told her that I wouldn’t lie again, but I wanted to keep my happy mood. She would have to wait until later for all the gory details.

  “Okay, but we’re not finished,” I heard her yell from downstairs. I was already in my room with my door shut.

  Even my mother’s anger couldn’t ruin my good mood. I didn’t think anything could. But was I wrong.

>   I threw my bag on the couch, turned to sit on my bed…and screamed.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Bodyguards

  “Sarah, are you okay?” my parents yelled, rushing into my room. I pointed to the wall above my bed. There were large bold letters written in bright red marker that read “You belong to me,” the same words from the rock that was thrown through my window.

  “How did this happen? Who did this?” my mother asked, an incredulous look on her face.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t here, remember?”

  I was worried for my family, and I realized it was finally time to come clean, hold nothing back, now that whoever was doing this had nerve enough to come into my home.

  I stalked to my closet, took out the rock, and handed it to my dad. “The night my window broke, I found this on my floor. It was thrown through it. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”

  My father’s face turned bright red with anger. Like a boiling hot kettle, I thought he might blow. “How could you keep this from us? Sarah, we need to know when you’re in danger,” my dad yelled, something he never did. He was the softy, while my mother was the designated voice of authority.

  I turned my head away from him, feeling guilty for the constant lies and drama I’d been causing, even though it wasn’t entirely my fault. My parents were worried about me because they loved me, and I had lied to them continuously. I only hoped they’d be able to forgive me someday.

  While my father ranted, something on my nightstand caught my eye. I picked up the framed picture of Lucas and me in front of the waterfall. Someone had scribbled over Lucas’ face with red marker; all you could see were a few strands of his coffee-colored hair. I handed it to my dad.

  His eyes turned hard. “I’m calling Detective Franklin,” he said after he took the picture from me.

  A few hours later, I was sitting on the couch in my living room, with a dozen police officers wandering around my house. My family was gathered beside me, while Detectives Franklin and Markus sat across from us, asking questions. “So you say you were in Renford, with Lucas?” Franklin asked me.

  “Yes, we thought the person doing this might live there. So we were looking through yearbooks to see if I recognized anyone.”

  “Do you think you know him?”

  I couldn’t tell him about our theory of reincarnation; he’d lock me in a padded cell. “You said it was likely I did, right?”

  “Yes. Did you find anything?”

  “No.”

  “Where is the rock?” he asked, leaning forward in the dining room chair we had moved into the living room.

  My dad reached over to the end table, where he had placed the rock in a clear plastic baggie, and handed it to him.

  Franklin took it and looked at me with disapproval all over his face. “You know you should have told me about this before.”

  My eyes shifted down to my knees as I traced squiggly lines on my jeans with my fingertip in an attempt to avoid looking at him. He made me nervous. “I know, I’m sorry.”

  He turned to my parents. “Did you see anyone around your house this weekend?”

  “No,” my dad answered.

  “Anyone come to the door? It doesn’t matter how small the detail, if you can think of anything, it could help,” Detective Markus asked.

  “Well, Sarah’s friend came over.” Alex spoke for the first time all night. All eyes turned to stare at him where he sat slouched in the corner of our plush couch with his oversize sneaker propped up on the coffee table.

  “When?” my mom asked him.

  “While you two were shopping this morning. He knocked on the door and asked for Sarah. I told him that she was away for the weekend.”

  Detective Franklin started to take notes. “Is that all? Can you tell us anything that was said? Did he tell you his name?”

  “No, he just said that he was her friend and that he stopped by to see her. When I told him she was away, he asked if he could use the bathroom before he left. I said yes, and he was gone maybe five to ten minutes. Oh…he did seem angry when I told him that she was with Lucas.”

  “That would explain why Lucas’ face was marked out of the picture,” Detective Franklin remarked, giving Markus a meaningful look.

  I glanced between the two men. “What?” I asked.

  “Well, rubbing out Lucas’ face seems a bit aggressive. Lucas may be in danger. If he’s angry that you two were together, and he thinks you’re his, he may want to remove his competition,” Detective Markus told me from where he was sitting at the end of the couch.

  It wasn’t just his theory that was disturbing; it was also that it was so familiar. The thought of history repeating itself made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

  “Alex, can you describe him?” Detective Markus asked.

  “Sure. He was around Sarah’s age, maybe older. He had dark blond hair, a little darker than mine, blue eyes, cleft chin, about my height, five eleven.” That sounded like Tony.

  “Well, Sarah, I don’t want you to go anywhere without a parent or friend. But not Lucas, he may also be in danger.”

  I swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in my throat. “Okay,” I mumbled, no longer able to speak clearly.

  “Get a friend that you trust. I don’t want you alone. I’ll have some men patrol here, and at Lucas’ house. We’ve planned to try and lure him out Saturday afternoon. I talked to your parents about it, and they know that you will be safe. I’ll pick you up at noon.”

  “There’s one more thing.” I sighed. I should have told my parents this when I got home from Renford, but I didn’t want to ruin my good mood. “On our way home today, while Lucas was driving, a car drove in our lane heading toward us. Lucas swerved to avoid him, but lost control and went over a hill.” My mother started to panic, so I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Lucas and I are both fine. We had someone pull the car out with a tow truck, and even his car was untouched. But Luke said that the other car was gray, the same color as the one that tried to hit me.” My mother gasped, and my father cursed, which was rare for him.

  Detective Franklin shook his head and sighed. He started taking notes again. “Sarah, you should have called me when this happened.”

  “My cell phone didn’t work; we had to walk to get a tow truck. I would have called when I got home, but I noticed my wall before I had a chance.”

  “How did he know where you would be? It sounds like he was here this morning. Did you leave anything in your room that might tell him where you were?”

  I thought about it, and remembered writing down information on a sticky note; it was stuck to the top of my computer. “Yes, I wrote down the name of the high school on a piece of paper. I left it on my desk.”

  “That’s how he found you then,” he said, shaking his head. “Well, the plan remains the same. I want you to be very careful,” Detective Franklin said with a stern tone.

  He asked me the exact location of where we were run off the road. He wanted to take a look to see if they could find any clues. I was glad Molly had said the name of the road and the name the locals called the hill; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to remember where it was.

  The police stayed about an hour longer. My room was now a crime scene. I was able to get things out of it, but I couldn’t sleep there. I was okay with that; the idea of him being in my room, going through my belongings, was disturbing on so many levels.

  I slept in the spare room with the door open. It was bare, with only a bed and a dresser, but I asked my dad to carry in my TV and DVD player, in case I needed a distraction. I climbed in bed and called Lucas.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.” The sound of his voice was like a warm blanket that enveloped my heightened emotions, soothing me from the inside out.

  “Do you remember when you told me that I had to be honest from now on?”

  “Yes,” he re
plied suspiciously.

  I took a deep breath and began. “When I got home, I went up to my room and found the words ‘You belong to me’ written in red marker on the wall above my bed, the same as on the rock.”

  He was silent. I waited for him to say something. But all I heard was heavy breathing.

  “Lucas, are you all right?”

  “Did you call the police?”

  “My dad did.” I played with the TV remote, needing to keep my hands occupied.

  “What did they say?” His voice was strained.

  “They’re going to try and get him with my plan on Saturday, but until then I can never be alone. But it can’t be you that’s with me because you could be in danger too. The person that did this rubbed out your face with the marker, on the picture of us in front of the waterfall. The police said that was a sign of aggression. They think you might be in danger.”

  “I’m not worried about myself. You need to be more careful, okay? Listen to what they say.”

  “Did you tell your parents what happened today?” I asked as I pushed the power button on the remote, turning the TV on. A reality show popped up, and I quickly flicked it to a game show. I needed background noise; it was too quiet in the house.

  “Yes, they’re worried about you.”

  I groaned inwardly. “Isn’t everyone? But you were there too.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think I’m the target.”

  I wanted to tell him about Detective Markus’ theory, but for some reason, I couldn’t get the words to come out. So instead, I asked him about his family.

  We talked a bit longer until my eyes started to droop. Finally I said good night.

  The rest of the week went by fast, likely due to the fact that even though it was my idea, I was terrified, and dreaded Saturday. What if something went wrong?

  My bodyguards were with me at all times. At school, it was Derrick, until Lucas enlisted Kyle and Andy for duty, as well. At home, I couldn’t even go to the store without one of my parents.

  I got paid on Thursdays, but since I was under house arrest, I had to wait and pick it up on Friday afternoon. School was finished at noon today, so after my last class, Alex and I were waiting at the office for my mom. She was going to drop him off at a friend’s house and then take me to pick up my paycheck.