But William, she said more calmly, the wind stopping, the clouds lightening and beginning to disappear. You did not answer my question. Does she know yet?
His shoulders slumped, and his head fell forward imperceptibly. His eyes were no longer their usual deep, beautiful blue, and his heart sank as he thought about the life he wanted so desperately but knew he could never have. There was no denying what he was feeling was real and strong, and unlike anything he’d felt before. His heart was pulled in a direction he was so eager to follow, but he was afraid his secret was too powerful for even this love he was feeling in the deepest depths of his soul to overcome and fight against.
“No. She does not know yet,” he admitted, defeated. “Although I do not think it will take long for her to figure it out. She is a smart woman.”
His gaze locked with Elizabeth’s. “In fact, I am sure she will figure it out. And when she does, I do not think it will make one bit of difference to her. Because you see, Elizabeth, I can feel her in here.” He put his hand to his chest. “She lives deep in here, where not even you can reach her.”
The clouds turned grey again, and a strong breeze blew, but only for a moment. Elizabeth stared back at him, her black eyes flashing, her hair blowing wilder as if it had come to a life of its own. How dare he feel something for any woman other than her beloved daughter. How dared he even think of replacing her with this woman, whom he just met.
Is that so, William? Well, I certainly hope for your sake she does not feel the same.
Thunder crashed and lightning flared. Will put his hands up to cover his eyes, and when he lowered them again, Elizabeth was gone.
He stood rooted to the ground, staring down at his boots, unable to get his muscles to move in any direction. He knew what he told Elizabeth was true, that his secret was still safe. But he also knew that his secret wouldn’t stay secret for long. He dreaded the day it would come out, because as much as he was positive that he wasn’t the only one who felt this way, he had no idea the kind of reaction he would get. For the first time in many, many years, Will was actually scared. He’d lost a lot in his life and endured a lot. But he just didn’t know if he had the strength to endure losing the one person that has given him back something he lost a long, long time ago. His soul.
***
After driving around for what seemed like forever, rather than go home Sofie thought she would head to her bookshop to put away inventory that she had just received a few days ago. She fumbled for her keys and as the door unlocked a small brass bell sounded as she walked through. The sign on the window said CLOSED FOR INVENTORY so she knew she wouldn’t be bothered.
She headed over to the State History section where about four boxes stood half opened. There was one stack, three shelves high and mostly empty. This wasn’t what she really wanted to be doing, and she could barely keep her mind on the task. She pulled open the boxes the rest of the way and started placing books on the shelves. She had been at it for at least ten minutes before she realized she was just lumping things in. No particular order. Some titles were upside down, some had spines facing the back of the shelf.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she admonished herself. “Ugh! What on earth is wrong with me? Come on Sofie, get over yourself.” She started taking books back off the shelf, more carefully than she had put them on, and glanced at titles as she placed them on the counter near the stacks.
She fought with herself, but there was no way around it. No matter how many times she circled she always came back to the same spot. William had affected her. A ridiculous notion, considering how many words they hadn’t spoken to each other and how little time they’d actually been in each other’s company. He was always there, though. Sneaking in when she’d least expected him to.
Was he a hypnotist? Did he plan to lure her to a secluded spot in a cemetery, put her under in a trance, attack her and then leave her there? Was he just a creep with the same plan in mind? No, he definitely wasn’t a creep. Although that’s exactly the kind of man she had attracted her entire adult life, he wasn’t a creep. Of that she was sure.
Maybe he was married. That was it. That had to be it. He was married, but his wife worked and he didn’t, so he had all the time in the world to hang around and pick up girls to drag into the woods. So now not only was he a rapist and a murderer, but he was married, too.
She blanked on her chore again and found herself simply moving books from one shelf to another, instead of onto the counter or into a box. She threw her hands up and let out a grunt of frustration. “That’s it. I’m done for today.” She grabbed a book on top of the pile still sitting in the box. Connecticut State History: 17th Century to the Present. She glanced through the table of contents and decided it was interesting enough and might just be what she needed to keep her mind off certain recent events.
She decided to head back to the cemetery. It’s was true, it was not where most people thought of when they were trying to find a quiet spot to sit and read a book. Although William seemed to think it was a great hangout, given he was there every time she was. And he did tell her stay and hang out if she was so inclined to do so. She decided she was inclined. He probably wouldn’t be anywhere around, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hopeful to see him. Even if he did turn out to be married.
She grabbed her keys and locked the door behind her as she took her book and headed back toward the place that was certainly going to break her heart. But she didn’t care, either way she was getting to the bottom of things. Either she would get the answers she needed, or she would get her heart broken.
She sat under the willow tree that she and Will had passed earlier in the day, the book she had grabbed sitting on her crossed legs. She must have read the Table of Contents at least half a dozen times, absolutely none of the chapter titles registering. Every time she heard a twig snap she looked around, hoping she would see William and at the same time hoping she wouldn’t. She didn’t want a broken heart.
She settled back against the tree, going over the contents one more time but this time blocking out all other noise. Until she heard his voice.
“Hello,” he said quietly, startling her.
She pushed the book off her lap and was standing before she could form a response.
“Oh, uh, hello,” she finally mustered, pushing curls behind her ear and avoiding his eyes.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had left,” he said, his hands folded behind his back and good bit of distance between him and Sofie.
She regained composure and took back control. She was a strong woman, and he was going to know that.
“I happen to like it here,” she answered, a slight smile on her face. “What are you doing here? Last I remember, you had things to do.”
She was a bit harsher than she meant to be, and the flash of sadness across his face made her regret her tone almost immediately.
“My plans got changed.”
She still couldn’t figure him out. It was possible that his plans did change, and he decided to get away from the wife and kids again. Or maybe he just told her that because he was actually a nice serial killer and didn’t really want to make her a victim, so he had to come up with something to make her go away but he stayed behind to find his next victim.
She bent to pick up her book and held it folded against her chest, like a kid with a security blanket. “Well, you feel like going for a walk?”
A strong breeze brew threw the tangled fingers of the weeping willow where they stood. His eyes rolled upward and she could see him stiffen slightly.
“Why don’t we just stay here,” he asked as he stepped closer to her. “We can talk, get to know each other.” He took the book from her, careful not to touch her but brushing his hand against hers. His skin was warm, and she could feel the goosebumps rising on her arms. He pointed to where she had just risen from and she sat back down again.
William innocently turned the book around to glance at the cover, a wistfulness flashing across
his eyes. He touched the picture briefly before handing the book back to Sofie, and then sitting on the ground across from her, his legs crossed in an X. He absently grabbed a fallen piece of bark in front of him, playing with it nervously.
“So, where do you come from? And don’t just tell me around,” she asked jovially, trying to lighten whatever had dampened his mood. Sofie wasn’t letting him back out that easily this time.
“I grew up in a house just over that way.” He pointed with his finger behind where Sofie sat. “It was an older house, and they’ve long since torn it down. I watched them do it, and I was really sort of sad.” He sounded sad, and it was breaking Sofie’s heart.
“Are you married?” she asked quickly, without thinking, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer. If he was married, she wanted to know now, before anything got a chance to go anywhere. Just rip it off like a band aid.
“I was once,” he answered after a moment, adding almost silently, “and I had a child, too.”
This is an aspect that hadn’t even crossed Sofie’s mind. A kid was involved. Married or not, he was tied to another woman for good. Was she prepared for that? This would seriously affect weekends, there would be no spur of the moment plans. And, heaven forbid that the mother did not like her, she could make any sort of relationship with William a complete hell. Sofie was not at all sure she was prepared for that.
“Oh. Boy or girl?” she asked, deciding it was better to get more information to make a more educated decision.
“A little boy. Conor. He and his mother died quite a few years ago.”
She could feel the sadness coming off of him in waves, and it made her want to reach over and put her arms around him, to comfort him somehow, though she honestly didn’t know if it would have been a comfort at all.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. How did they die?”
He threw the nugget of bark in his hand as if he was trying to hit something that wasn’t there. It really wasn’t any of her business, and she started feeling like she was pushing him for information he didn’t want to share right then.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” she began as an apology.
“No. It’s okay,” he interrupted, the sadness melting slowly away from his face. “They were killed in a fire, in a barn on my family’s land. I was supposed to have been working in the barn, and they came down to surprise me. They were at her parents’ house visiting, in Massachusetts, and weren’t due to be home for another day. But my wife missed me, and so they came back early. But I was not in the barn. I don’t remember where I was. I had lit a lantern to look in the loft, which was pretty dark at that time, and I must not have extinguished it properly. The fire spread rather quickly, before Charlotte even knew what was happening. She had chased Conor up to the hay loft, where he had climbed to look for me, knocking the lantern off of its hook in his haste. So they were trapped,” he said almost without taking a breath.
The story poured out of him like it had been bottled up for centuries and he was just waiting for someone to ask, like the genie in the bottle waiting for someone to rub the lamp and let him out. His voice trailed off, his eyes turning stormy. He was picturing the event, seeing it happening again right in front of him. He flinched, as if he could feel the timbers of the barn falling right next to him. Beads of sweat formed on his temples, and he began to shake slightly.
She put her hand on his arm, not caring if she should or not, but he didn’t move at her touch. And then as quickly as he had disappeared, he was back again. His eyes returned to their beautiful blue, and his face calmed. He placed his hand on hers but he didn’t push her away, stroking her skin in small circles with his thumb.
“They’re buried here.” He motioned with his chin toward the expanse of graves in the lawn beyond the pines.
“And that’s why you’re always here,” she said as a statement more than a question.
“In a way, yes,” he answered, a quaver in his voice.
Will shook his head and wiped invisible tears from his face. He sat up straight, not even realizing that his shoulders were slumped, and he was more than likely depressing one of the most beautiful women he’d seen in centuries.
He brought his eyes up to look at Sofie, and he was afraid that the smile on her face was because she had just heard the solid thump of his heart against his chest. It was a feeling he was quite sure he would never feel again. He had found the mirrored match to his soul. The one that complemented his, that lifted it up out of purgatory and dusted it off to shine again.
“But please,” he said lightly, his voice soft. “My life is dull and boring. What about you? I’m not used to seeing someone here so often who is not burying or visiting someone. Why are you always here?”
There was no way that Sofie could fess up with the truth. Or could she? What would be the worst that could happen, if she confessed to him that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else in the last twenty four hours but him? That the only reason she was here so often was that she could possibly spend ten minutes with him. Would he be flattered? Would he confess that he felt the same? No, she decided. More than likely he would think she was a bit freaky and run really fast in whatever direction she was not.
“I just happen to love beautiful places,” she settled on. It was true, this was a truly stunning place. The dark green grasses, the Monet-esque ponds, the perfect landscaping.
“So do I,” he confessed softly.
For the next two hours they did nothing else but sit and talk. Mostly about the small, superficial things, but neither one of them cared. The more they sat, the more they never wanted to leave.
He reached out and grabbed her hand at one point, staring down at her long, slender fingers, wrapping his around them. He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips to the tips of her fingers.
She hoped he didn’t hear her small gasp, her breath catching in her throat. Sofie was terrified to move, to scare him away. She thought of those soft lips on hers and it took all of her strength not to grab him by the shirt collar and pull him to her.
“So, umm,” she stuttered, trying hard to think of something to say to break the spell. “How old are you?”
How old are you? Did you seriously just ask how old are you? Exactly what kind of an idiot are you? She reprimanded herself.
Will paused his attentions to Sofie’s hand, pulling back and smiling widely. His shoulders shuddered a bit with his easy laugh, but he didn’t look up. He stroked his thumb over her fingers, grabbing her hand with his other and turning it over to place a warm kiss to the inside of her palm.
“I’m older than you think,” he whispered as he reached up and cupped the back of her head, pulling her to him to finally place his lips on hers. Her hand slipped out of his and tangled in his hair.
Sofie rolled onto her knees, her lips never leaving his. Gently she pushed until Will was laying on his back, his hand still behind her head, his other arm wrapped around her. She straddled him, her hands on the ground to either side of his head.
Will was the first to break away. His breath came fast as he fought to catch it, Sofie’s matching his.
“Wait. Sofie, wait. There is something I need to tell you, before this goes any further.”
“Now?” she asked, barely able to speak. “Now is a good time to tell me something? Can’t it wait a bit?”
Carefully, Will pushed Sofie up and sat her back gently. She sat there dumbfounded, staring at Will as he stood and looked around for something. He reached behind Sofie and picked up her book.
“Seriously,” she said flatly. “This is a good time to read a story?”
“Actually, it is.” He sat down across from her, but close. He bent one leg in and stretched the other straight out so that it was touching her. He knew what he was about to tell her, and he needed the solid reassurance of her. There was a good chance that he was about to scare away the best thing that had happened to his life in two hundred years, but he couldn’t keep ly
ing. He loved her. It was plain and simple. And by the way she kissed him, he knew that if she didn’t love him, too, she soon would.
Will flipped through the pages quickly until he found the one he was looking for. He stared at it for a moment, and then closed the book again, keeping his finger between the pages.
Sofie couldn’t think of how to feel right then, but what she mostly felt was confused. She watched Will’s face, but there was nothing for her to read.
“I don’t,” he started, and swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he continued. “I don’t know how to feel what I feel without truth. And what I feel is, I love you. So, you need to know the truth. All the stories I’ve told you about myself, about my wife and son, about living close by, those are all true. What I neglected to admit, however, is all of those stories took place two hundred years ago.”
Sofie stiffened slightly, her eyes snapping open wide. She knew there was something about him, and she was afraid this was it. Will was crazy.
“Two hundred years?” she asked incredulously. “Come on, Will. What are you talking about?”
“Yes, I am two hundred and forty three years old.”
Sofie backed away from him, laughing nervously. She pushed herself up against the tree, slowly standing, her hands grasping the trunk to keep from shaking.
“You know, Will,” she started, suddenly getting angry. “If you didn’t want to do this, you could have just told me. You didn’t have to make up this stupid story. Although I guess I should be grateful that you came up with it before we did anything, so thanks for that.”
Will flipped the book open and shoved it at Sofie.
Destined ~ A Time Travel Anthology Page 7