Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2)

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  I reached the garage and was a few feet from my car, about to end my call with Gregory, when the hairs on my neck began to stand up and I sensed evil around me. I whispered, “Something’s wrong. I don’t know what it is, but I sense it. If I have to, I’ll put the phone down, but will not turn it off. I’m parked in the usual area and remember that I can hear whatever you say.”

  “Well, lookie who it is. I guess you can’t take a hint and leave him alone, can you?” A familiar voice came from a shadowy figure that began to move from behind one of the parking garage columns.

  My mind told me to remain calm, as Gregory inhaled sharply at my words. “Hello, Angela.”

  “So you do remember me. I guess you just can’t remember my warning about staying away from my man. I thought our talk would be enough, but no; I had to remind you by trashing your lovely SUV. Too bad someone came into the parking area right when I was about to destroy your paint job.”

  Angela walked into the light where I could see her full form. Her aura was glowing bright red, along with her eyes. She was possessed and driven to evil. I was about to try and reason with her, when I heard another familiar voice. “Don’t you know this idiot can’t leave well enough alone? She’s a goody two shoes. She has to be the center of attention and do right by everyone.”

  Oh, no. It couldn’t be. “Pamela, is that you?”

  I looked around to see if anyone else was parked on my level and saw no other cars. I was alone and with two bodies glowing bright red with hatred and possessed souls. I silently sent up a request for Ray’s help.

  I was thankful my hearing had intensified. I was able to hear Gregory beat his fist against his desk in disgust. “Keep them talking, Jordan. Whatever you do, keep them talking! I’m calling the police on my desk phone and will alert them to your location and will be there as soon as I can get to you. Just don’t move.”

  I hoped he would understand my response. “Okay, Pamela and Angela, I didn’t even know you two knew each other. What do you want with me?” I knew that to react to them would only give them the advantage against me, so I kept my composure.

  Pamela spoke up, “We’ve both had enough of you. We tried coming between you and Gregory every chance we had, but somehow you blocked us. We were told that you two must never marry.”

  Before she could say anymore, Angela yelled out, “He’s mine. We were in love once, but then you came along. What kind of spell do you have him under?”

  I quickly responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We love each other, that’s all.”

  Pamela seemed to be the one controlling Angela. “Do it now!” She demanded.

  I watched in horror, as Angela withdrew a gun from her purse. I had an instant flashback to Lucinda drawing one on Hannah in the past and realized the dream was a forewarning for the future. I knew Gregory was on his way, but prayed he wouldn’t flash into the path of the gun.

  She held the gun with both hands and took aim in my direction. I immediately put my hands up. “I have no weapons.”

  “We know,” Pamela answered, smiling malevolently.

  “Think about what you’re about to do, Angela. I know you’re in there somewhere, now fight to regain control. If you shoot me, Gregory will never have anything to do with you or your family. He’ll never forgive you. Plus, you’ll go to jail.”

  I had never heard Gregory curse before; but a string of profanities radiated from the receiver when he understood I was being held at gun point. “I’m coming for you, Jordan. Just keep them talking.”

  She looked like she was starting to waver so I continued. “Pamela is having you do her dirty work for her.” Then I looked at Pamela. “Is this how you get your kicks Pamela, or are you working for the witch?”

  Angela looked to be struggling for control of herself, blinking and shaking her head,, while Pamela’s fury began emanating everywhere. She touched Angela’s shoulder with her hand and brought her back into focus. “Do as you’re told and OUR MASTER will reward you accordingly, by helping your father out of his financial predicament.”

  I watched in horror as Angela’s finger grasped the trigger and started to pull. Everything around me seemed to move in slow motion. Gregory flashed in, pushing me to the side, as the bullet headed in his direction.

  I was thrown off balance and stumbled sideways, as Gregory screamed in pain. He was off balance, when my hands went to his back and halted his decent to the floor. I placed myself in front of him as protection, since it was me they wanted; but he quickly changed positions, using himself as a shield for me.

  I glanced over him quickly and found where the bullet had gone through the sleeve of his jacket and shirt. There was a small amount of blood; but as I opened the hole of the sleeve and peered in, I was relieved to see that the bullet had only grazed him. To my surprise, the blood stopped flowing and his skin began to close back up and heal within no time.

  “Move, Gregory. I don’t want to hurt you; but if you stand in my way of destroying her, I’ll kill you, too.” Angela announced sternly.

  “They both are to be annihilated.” Pamela ordered.

  Angela turned her head toward her. “No. You promised only she had to die.”

  “You should know never to trust a demon,” Pamela responded, her eyes glowing a deep crimson red. “Either do the job, or give me the gun to finish them off.”

  Angela’s head swung back my direction. “I will not harm Gregory, but I don’t mind offing this leech.” She pulled the trigger again, right as I commanded, “Stop, this instance!”

  Gregory grabbed me tight and before I knew it, we were standing behind Angela and Pamela, as they stood frozen, gun in hand, with the bullet stuck in mid-air.

  I looked over at Gregory’s face. It was full of disbelief. “How did you…?” He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

  My hand reached up toward his face, comforting him, as he leaned into it. “This is the power I was questioning when we were at the beach. I’ve never tried this, only to control mental thought. I didn’t know I could do this until now.”

  We held each other tight, as we heard the police sirens approaching. When we heard them a floor below us, we carefully took the gun out of Angela’s hand, using Gregory’s handkerchief, to avoid putting prints on the gun. Then he grabbed Pamela’s arms, pinning them behind her back, and I did the same with Angela.

  I wasn’t sure how to unfreeze them, and had to decide where I wanted the bullet to go. I tried saying, “Release, NOW.” and it worked. The bullet miraculously did as I had wanted it to, falling to the ground where it was, and they began to protest their restrained hands. There was definitely evil in them, because my hands felt like they were on fire, trying to struggle against Angela.

  The police held their guns up and ordered everyone to put their hands up. Gregory quickly explained how we had overpowered our captors. He explained that he had arrived and found Angela and Pamela holding me at gunpoint, about to fire, and he stepped into the line of sight, pushing me out of the way. He handed the gun over, carefully, to the officer and showed him where the bullet had ruined his suit, but didn’t hurt him. The officers did a complete sweep of the area, marking the casings, where the damaging bullet hit one of the concrete columns, and then where the other bullet had landed on the ground. They took pictures of the entire scene, including the gun.

  I watched as the other officers placed the two in handcuffs and read them their rights. They fought tooth and nail as they were placed into separate police cars. Once they were in, dark shadowy clouds escaped from the patrol vehicles and into the dark corners of the garage. Those must have been the demon spirits that were controlling them. I wonder if they will have any knowledge of what happened to them and how they could’ve been possessed in the first place.

  Gregory and I finished giving our statements to the police and reported that there was an active Restraining Order against Angela, for her other misdeeds. I also enlightened the officers as to Pamela’s dismissal from the
facility and how she harbored hatred toward me, feeling I was to blame.

  In the back of my mind I wondered if we were doing the right thing by pressing charges or if this was all brought on by the witch’s minions. Ray, if you can hear me, we need some guidance and answers. I knew I wouldn’t rest until I had a response.

  Gregory guided me toward the SUV and took my keys to drive us home. “What about your car?” I asked.

  “It’s still in the parking lot at work. When we get you back to my place, I’ll flash to work and get it.” He started the vehicle and then reached over to buckle me in, before grabbing my hand and intertwining his fingers with mine and placing it on his knee.

  He was quiet, more than I had ever seen him before, on the drive home. It wasn’t until we were through the door and sitting on the sofa that he pulled me into him and began kissing me as though his life depended on it.

  The intensity we had caused the room to heat. After some time, he broke off the kiss. “You scared the heck out of me, Jordan! I almost lost you once; then, tonight, to flash in and see you staring down the barrel of a gun…I almost lost it!”

  I felt like I was being chastised for something that was within my control. “Well, you scared me, too. How the heck was I supposed to know that you would even get there in time and then you got shot! Thank goodness it was only a nick and you healed yourself. What if she had hit your heart or another vital organ? I nearly lost you, too!”

  We both huffed and crossed our arms over our chests, staring each other down. I finally broke the silence. “It’s not like I can control the darkness. Nor do I have the ability to predict what will happen next—at least not with any certainty. I only get glimpses or feelings of things to come, not the whole story. I don’t have the déjà vu feeling until I’m reliving it.”

  His head plopped back onto the sofa and he sighed. “I know, I know. I just don’t want to lose you, again. I’ve already lost you twice in the past. I can’t go through losing you another time.”

  “Do you think this is the end of our journey to the past?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I seem to recall another period of time in my dreams as a kid. Then in high school we read the Great Gatsby and it was like I had lived in that era. I was enthralled by the book and the movie.”

  “I pray that you’re wrong. I don’t like having to do all this research and seeing how we perished in the past. But, I must admit, it still feels like we are missing some details. I need to know more about the spirits and how they can possess some, but not others—like what we saw with the crowd of townspeople in Philly.”

  He nodded. “I agree. There is still so much to be learned, plus we need to contact that language specialist to see about our prophecy and what it dictates. It appears that we only have some of the puzzle, with a lot of pieces still missing. I sure hope I’m wrong, though.”

  I wanted to change the subject. “So, are you ready to go get your car? You can’t just pop in during broad daylight and have someone possibly see you.”

  “I don’t want to leave you. Are you sure you’ll be okay for the time it will take me to drive it back?” His hand came up to caress my face, as he placed gentle kisses along my nose, cheeks and forehead.

  “I’ll be fine. I should probably call Mom and tell her what happened. I’m afraid the news channels might get wind of the story and she might see it on TV. I might as well tell her now, rather than her finding out from some other source.” How on earth was I supposed to tell her, without giving away certain things?

  He slowly stood. “I’ll be back soon.” He leaned down, kissed me lightly on the lips and then he was gone, before I opened my eyes.

  I grabbed a glass of water to help cool down my overheated skin, thanks to Gregory, and quench my parched throat. Then I called Mom and gave her the barest descriptions possible of what happened. The next five minutes were spent reassuring her that we were fine and that both Angela and Pamela were now being held at the police station awaiting bond hearing, sometime tomorrow. “According to the police, given their charges and their lists of prior violations, it will likely be impossible for them to make bond. Even if they are eligible, it’s expected that bail would be set so high that no bondsman would cover it.”

  I paused for a moment when I heard the lock on the door click. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed one of the frying pans in Gregory’s cupboard and held it up, readying myself for an intruder.

  To my surprise, it was Gregory, back already, and with takeout for dinner. “Mom, I’ll call you in the morning. I’m feeling pretty wiped out given the time and all the events, today.”

  I hung up the phone. “You were only gone ten minutes. Your drive is at least twenty, if not more.”

  He closed the door behind him, locking it. “I know. I was curious that since I was able to transport you with me, if I could do the same thing with the car. I drove it out of the parking lot and stopped at the Market Grill to pick up some food. Then, on the drive here, I imagined I was already at the entrance to my complex, and suddenly I found myself here. Pretty cool, huh?” He grinned.

  I noticed he had another bag in his hand. “What else do you have there?”

  “I don’t know. I found it on the Welcome mat at the front door.” He sat the food on the kitchen counter and we both looked into the bag, which contained a small cardboard box.

  We pulled out the box and noted the package was addressed to both of us, from a Ray M. Iel. “Do you want to look at it now or after we eat?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if I can handle looking at it, now. I know; it’s late and we need some food in our systems. We experienced a big scare, today; and while we seem okay, we could go into shock later if we don’t eat and get some nourishment for our bodies.”

  He started unloading the meal he had picked up, while I grabbed two sugary sodas from the refrigerator. He looked at me puzzled a bit, when I explained, “The sugar will help. Just trust me, it’s a medical thing.”

  To my surprise, he had managed to grab some of my favorite soup, creamy chicken and wild rice, turkey sandwiches and a container of fresh fruit. I didn’t think I would be able to eat much, but once the food hit my palate I was ravenous. I noticed Gregory was the same way, eating everything in sight and downing his drink in no time.

  When we were done, we both kept staring at the package until he finally got up and opened it. Inside was a note from Ray:

  I reached in and found an old book with a light suede cover. I turned it over in my hands and read the title, “Witches, Dark Spirits and Possessions – A Guide to the Dark Unknown”. I detested the title, but we did need to know what we were up against.

  I looked over to Gregory, who seemed to be transfixed on whatever items remained inside. He reached in a pulled out a pair of black, wingtip shoes. I did the same and pulled out a rounded, burgundy hat with a gold fabric bow wrapped around it and a rosette formed where the ends met. What is the name of this hat? Then I remembered a themed party in high school where we all dressed from the past and, for some reason, I honed in on the 1930’s, dressing in a vintage dress and headwear. But, I was told by a classmate that I had the wrong era headwear, having picked up a flapper headband from the 1920’s, rather than the clouche hat I was supposed to be wearing to accessorize my dress.

  Gregory reached over and touched my hand and we were instantly transported to the steps of a building in a large town, where Studebakers, DeSotos, as well as Pontiacs and old Buicks were passing in front of us, and police sirens were wailing in the distance. I looked over to see we were sitting in front of a library, with large lions at each side of the steps. I’ve seen these lions before! I know I have.

  I suddenly realized a guy was talking to me and holding my hand. “Are you okay, my love?”

  I looked into his eyes and saw my Gregory. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  I felt his hand release me and I was suddenly catapulted back to the present, dropping the hat into the box, as Gregory let his shoes fall
, too. We looked at one another in a questioning manner.

  He finally spoke. “Courtney?”

  I nodded. “Nathaniel?”

  We both smiled and said, in unison, “I remember loving you always…”

  Our journey was not over, we knew a new one was about to unfold. We could only hope that we could solve this one quickly, as our Wedding was now only a little over a month away. Looks like I’ll be adding a new journal entry soon, about our new adventure in the ‘30’s.

  Would this last task give us the rest of our answers? We had some suspicions as to who we needed to watch out for; but would they be confirmed? Would we finally have our happily ever after? Or would the darkness defeat us again, in the present? We would soon find out….

  The next installment of the Remembrance Series, “Always,” coming in 2014.

  To my wonderful husband, son, and mother: Thank you for you continued encouragement to follow my dreams. I couldn’t do this without you!

  To the memory of my father, who taught me to go after anything I put my mind too. I miss you dearly, but will forever hold you close in my heart. You have a special place in this book.

  To my mother and father in-law: The support you give means everything to me.

  To Stacy, (It Started with A Book Blog), my beta reader, book blogger, and good friend. Your belief in my writing means more than you will ever know. I am so glad our paths crossed!

  To Mia, my beta reader, mommy friend and fellow book lover. Your continued encouragement and wonderful words speak volumes to me. I appreciate you!

  To Jessi, Julie, Kimberly, Stephanie, and Audrey: Your words of wisdom and guidance continue to help me find my way along the path of writing.