by Elle Klass
“Let’s go,” whispered Fetch, giving me a nudge.
We snuck towards the door. Fetch opened it and glanced into the blackness, then grabbed my hand, guiding me towards the stairs. He lifted his leg over the top creaky step, avoiding it completely and I followed him, stretching my short legs over the creaky stair onto the next one.
The anxiety inside me made the door appear further with each step, then blackness closed in around me until it enveloped me completely.
Stand Off
I woke up a few minutes later, my body bouncing and trees moving past me, chilly air against my exposed face. I shot my eyes upwards and noted the familiar jawline of the man who carried me back to safety—Fetch.
He stayed along the trees and in the grass, following the same path we had on the way in. I shot a quick glance back to the judge’s house and saw a light on, silhouetting a large, dark figure. I blinked my eyes and the light and figure vanished. Was it my imagination? I continued watching, my body felt as though it was floating. It was my imagination, but Fetch’s strong arms beneath my back and the bends of my knee were real.
When we reached the gate it opened for us and he carried me over the threshold, only glancing at me once we reached the car. He set me down, his eyes lingering on my stomach and drops of freezing water hit my cheeks.
The van door slid open. “Get in,” shouted Rox as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the back seat. We’d exchanged the car for a van after my paranoia incident. Rox squealed with excitement saying, ‘A DVD player. You freakin’ rock’,” and gave Fetch a high five. Now she showered me with affection and a roll of questions. “Are you OK? What happened? Are you hurt? OMG! Something bad happened?”
Fetch started up the van, put his arm over the edge of the seat and turned towards Rox, giving her a quick glance and sharp words as he made a three point turn. “Slow down!”
I’d never heard him raise his voice, ever. He meant business. Rox stared at me with wide eyes and mouthed, “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. I blacked out.” I hated those words. It wasn’t the first time in the last couple weeks, but this time the results could have been detrimental. If I’d have gone in alone and fainted I might have woken up bound and tied or in the back of a police car.
“It’s a good thing I was there,” Fetch said, the sternness in his voice drifting through to my heart. “You can’t keep risking your life like this!”
It was my life and if I wanted to risk it I would. Neither he nor anyone else would tell me what I couldn’t do. “I’m fine!” I huffed through my stubborn rising anger, yet another part of me wanted to coil on his lap and thank him profusely.
“You’re not fine! People who are FINE don’t faint on the stairs of a house they broke into!” he said through clenched teeth.
I thrust my head back against the headrest and folded my arms over my chest. Why couldn’t I simply thank him? Because I was willful and independent.
“What did you find?” Rox asked after several seconds of silence and Fetch and I throwing virtual daggers at each other.
“Lots, but nothing we can directly pin on him since we broke into his house to obtain it,” I answered, my anger towards Fetch simmering.
The rain poured harder and rivulets washed across the windows as Fetch guided the car over the long stretch of highway back to the hotel. He remained quiet and stoic.
“Are either of you going to tell me what happened or do I have to draw my own conclusions?” Rox said, throwing her arms into the air in frustration.
Her question was met with silence as I continued watching the rain and trees and I assumed Fetch, fuming, kept his eyes on the road and his lips shut tight in a line. An attractive line. I’d never seen him like this and didn’t have any idea how to approach it.
“Fine! You know the sexual frustration in this van is thicker than molasses? You two were made for each other. I don’t know why you don’t get on with it!” Rox huffed as she slipped earphones on and pressed the play button on the DVD.
She was right. A giggle rose in my throat and escaped my lips, followed by more. I glimpsed into the rearview and caught Fetch’s eyes on me for a second. His lips parted and he chuckled. Leaned back in the seat, a crafty, satisfied smile carved Rox’s face.
My mind raced to my fainting spells and inability to keep food down. I really didn’t know what diseases ran in my family. Then I thought of my bio-dad. Cancer. He was dying of cancer. It was inoperable and death was imminent. I hadn’t thought my recent health problems were anything that serious. Should I be worried and seek medical help? If it kept up, I promised myself I would after I solved Einstein’s mystery.
The rain continued to pour, filling every pothole in the road. It splashed against the car and spilled over the side of the road. By the time we pulled into the hotel the rain had let up and we piled out of the van. Rox and I went up to the room and, without words, Fetch went another direction. I didn’t know what he was up to but I knew it had something to do with me.
“He’s worried about you,’ voiced Rox as she waited by the elevator.
“I’m fine, just under a lot of stress.” I shot her a quick glimpse. The door opened and we stepped inside.
“He loves you and he’s the hottest guy I think I’ve ever seen, and funny. If he looked at me the way he looks at you I’d be all over that quicker than you could say flash,” she said, leaning against the silver metal wall.
“We have a long history and—”
She cut me off, “And you’re full of excuses.” She blew out a breath and fiddled with the peeling paint on her fingernails.
The elevator door opened and we strode to the room.
She did her usual plop on the bed and pulled her legs up and tucked them beneath her butt. “So what if he’s silly, doesn’t act like a boring adult, is always on his sketch pad and sings in the shower?” She jumped off the bed and strolled to the table where his sketch pad lay. “Do you know what is on this pad?”
I had an idea but also knew he sketched just about everything. Without giving me a chance to respond, she opened it and brought it to me.
“You. He sketches you.” She placed it on the bed in front of me.
I lowered myself onto the bed and picked up the tablet, flipping one page after the next. It was déjà vu and flooded my mind with memories of him asking me to pose and using his artistic eye to capture me in sketches and paintings. I shifted my eyes to hers. “Not even two months ago I lost my fiancé in a car wreck. I’m not ready for all this.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s not coming back, and Fetch is here. He’s always been here. You’re the one who always leaves him, not the other way around.” She sat, not plopped, onto the bed beside me.
I swallowed hard. She was right. Raul was gone forever. All I had of him was memories, sweet memories, of our times together. Fetch was a part of my life years before Raul and my feelings developed for him then, but it wasn’t until I met Raul that I was ready for a serious relationship and Fetch was never a serious guy until tonight. I’d seen another side to him that made me crave what had been in front of my face.
I returned his sketch pad to the table and without turning towards her said, “I have a lot of thinking to do. You’re right.” I admitted it, surprising even myself.
“Yes, you do, and do it quick. That man needs to get laid by you.” She was direct. It seemed to be her style and what I needed to get my head out of the fog and my butt in gear. Now, if I could just fess up to Fetch instead of taking offense, we’d be good.
“When I lost,” she paused a second, “my brother, I was devastated. And then my parents.” Her eyes shifted to the bedspread that she twisted between her thumb and pointer finger.
She’d mentioned losing them, but I wasn’t completely sure she was telling the truth and her nervous twisting of the innocent bedspread confirmed my suspicion. She’d lost someone but wasn’t being honest about it. I switched beds and sat beside her, wrapping my arm around her back. She dr
opped her head onto my shoulder and we shared a moment until the door opened and Fetch burst through it.
Noting us cuddled together and the surprise on our faces when he thrust the door open, his silver-bullets softened.
He dropped the pharmacy bag onto the table beside his sketch pad and took a seat across from us then took my hands in his. I considered pulling away, but thought twice after my little discussion with Rox. Fetch was a man of communication. Grasping my hands he said, “What happened today was reckless. If I hadn’t have been there you would have fainted in that man’s house and I don’t even want to think what might have happened to you.”
He was right. There was no denying he saved me. I nodded. The concern on his face and the warmth of his hands reminded what it was to have a man who cared deeply. I missed Raul, conflicting how I felt toward Fetch, yet Rox was right—Raul was never coming back.
“I don’t think what’s wrong with you is serious,” he said, his eyes shifting towards Rox.
She rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“Your face glows, your skin is more flush, and you have a tiny bump in your belly that’s never been there.” He brushed his hand against my belly, sending tingles of veiled passion throughout my body. He’d explored every centimeter of me. I shivered with the memories, but gave him a questioning expression, twisting my mouth and narrowing my eyes.
“You’re pregnant,” he stated, a wide half-cocked smile forming on his face like he was going to be a daddy.
I’m what? Anger, surprise, shock shot through me like a speeding train. He was insane, out of his mind. I reacted in a way conducive to my track record and jumped off the bed. “I am not! That’s impossible. No way!” My words were strong, but inside I wasn’t so sure. Raul and I made love the night before his death. It was completely possible. I just couldn’t admit it to him.
“Yes, you are!” he said, walking towards me until his chest was inches from my face. I felt his eyes on my head.
I brought my hands to my hips and stared upwards into his silver bullets. “Impossible!” I stomped my foot and pushed against his chest.
He took a step backwards then cupped my face in the palm of his left hand. “Take the test in that bag and prove it.”
I glowered at him. “I will not! Remember I don’t take orders.” I laced my arms around my chest. Stop being so stubborn! But I couldn’t. If I did then I had to admit he was right. Flippin’ junipers, what was wrong with me?
“I shouldn’t be the voice of reason since I’m the delinquent teen, but I agree with him,” said Rox, joining our stand-off.
What a traitor. I’d brought her in, kept watch on her, and she was taking his side? And after our bonding moment, of all times to take his side. “Fine.” I grabbed the bag and marched into the bathroom. I peeked my head around the corner before closing the door and glared at Fetch. “If I’m right you’re buying dinner tonight.” I slammed the door.
“If I’m right, you’re not doing anything more that’s dangerous. I’m writing out a list now,” he shouted.
I took the package out of the bag, quickly scanned the directions, then realized I’d have a few minutes to wait so I flung the door open and stomped back into the bedroom. Fetch sat at the table with hotel pen and paper, writing his list. I grabbed my phone then stormed back into the bathroom and peed on the stick.
I set the alarm on my phone as if I was baking something. Noting a message from La Tige. This your girl? is all it said. I downloaded the attachment and stared at a picture from a milk carton. The brown-eyed, brown-haired, freckled teen without a doubt was Rox. Her biological name was Roxanne Shewer and she was seventeen. According to the info, she’d be eighteen next week. Well she hadn’t lied about that.
Another text came through with her parents’ names and phone number. I returned his text, confirming that it was her, and a thank you. Sitting on the hard toilet I planted my chin in the palm of my hands. Do I call them? It shouldn’t even be a question. They were her parents and she’d gone rogue, but I didn’t know the whole story or probably any of the story. She sought me out? Why?
Pondering deep and my heart pulling apart in angst, the alarm beeped on my phone, startling me. It was time? I knew what it was going to say without looking and maybe it was Raul’s way of living on. Closing my eyes, I reached for the stick sitting on the edge of the counter.
Only in My Dreams
I peeled my eyes open and stared at the bright pink plus sign. A baby? I was going to be a mom? No, I wasn’t mom material. My nerves jittered and my hand shook as I reread the directions. Confirmation I was pregnant didn’t help to calm my nerves. Growing inside me was Raul’s offspring. A perfect little baby that would rely on me to comfort and scold, to love and direct. A wave of anxiety washed over me and the room spun. I thrust my head between my knees to keep from fainting.
The door knob jiggled. “Cleo?” said Rox as she knocked against the door.
Through the black tunnel that was forcing itself on me I crawled to the door, reached up and unlocked it. She burst through the door, Fetch on her heels. He thrust me into his arms and laid me on the bed. His fingers running through my hair.
“We were right!” she said as she swung her hips and danced around the floor. “We’re going to have a baby! Bump.” She swung her fist up to Fetch who bumped her in return.
His eyes twinkled in the light, a pattern of many colors washing over the silver and a smile as wide as the Mississippi stretched across his face. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a huge bear hug, continuing to pull me upward. Before I knew it, he was spinning me in circles around the room.
Rox was twirling with us, her arms clutched onto his as she sang: “We’re going to have a baby, a cute, pudgy baby.” Caught up in their delight and my own shock, I was speechless. I had two people already staking a claim to my child. It couldn’t hurt since I didn’t know thing one about taking care of a baby. My only experience with children was my childhood which under every circumstance isn’t the life my child would live. The saying goes “It takes a village to raise a child” and these two were already building the village.
After a few more spins, we all fell over onto my bed. A baby? My baby? Our baby? Definitely Raul’s baby? I sent him a telepathic thought, well I hoped it reached him. You’re a daddy, babe. Your flower will do the best she can to take the best care of our little guy.
Then it hit me. I said ‘guy’. What if it was a girl, or twins? Shaking my head; it didn’t matter at all. I would love and care for this baby and be a trillion times better parent then my bio-parents were to me. I’d never abandon him, he’d eat healthy home-cooked meals. He’d never sleep on a couch but his own bed, he’d play sports or sing or participate on the math team if that’s what his heart desired. He’d complete school and go to college and...
My thoughts were interrupted when Fetch said, “Let’s go celebrate.”
The three of us headed out and ate steak dinners. Well, I picked at my Filet Mignon and vegetables. Rox beamed the whole time as if she was about to be an older sister. Fetch couldn’t stop smiling all night and they both hugged me every chance they found to sneak one in.
Self-doubt pricked at my heart. Every part of me wanted this baby even though unplanned. My bio-parents were a special breed who abandoned their child but I wasn’t them. I’m not them!
The following day we discussed what we found in Judge Feeney’s office. “He owns a home in Puget Sound, Washington, and Long Island. The Long Island home I assume is a summer home, but why Washington?” I asked, my partners in crime, still bubbling with excitement and smiles, stared at me.
“A getaway?” Rox stated, shrugging her shoulders.
I Googled the address and it appeared in the middle of nowhere. Einstein’s friend’s body was discovered on a hiking trail in Oregon. How close was the house? “It’s close to Puget Sound, in the middle of nothing, surrounded by dense forest.”
“Puget Sound? Maybe he likes t
o hunt or fish when he’s not judging. Everyone needs an escape,” said Rox.
“Could be,” Fetch answered, scanning through the photos we’d taken. “We just need to find a way to frame him.” Rox leaned over his shoulder as they stared at photo after photo.
“No, we need to go to Puget Sound,” I offered the only obvious answer and was met with two pairs of wide eyes, Rox’s mouth drawn into an O.
Fetch’s eyes then narrowed. “Oh no, not you. I finished my list.” He read it off in his most unlike Fetch serious business tone, covering anything remotely dangerous that I might consider.
“Who are you to decide if it’s safe?!” I huffed. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid.” This was my mystery to solve for a young man who meant the world to me, risked his life to save mine. I was going to be part of it without risking Raul’s precious offspring growing inside me.
“I won the bet,” he said, as if that was it, case closed.
Our relationship was one competition after the next, including many bets. We’d always sucked up our losses with pride, more determined to win the next. This was different. Reluctantly, I dropped my arms in defeat. He was right, anything outwardly dangerous was harmful to my baby, but we needed clear cut boundaries. “You won and you’re right, but I’m not an invalid and this is my mystery to solve.”
Rox’s voice chiseled a hole in the thick air between us as she opened my computer, “Maybe we can do a little spying. No harm in that, low risk. Nobody will know.” She tapped away on the keyboard. Fetch and I swapped glances then moved to stand behind her, glancing over her shoulder.
After an awkward hour or so she leaned back and her upside down eyes darted from Fetch to me. “There it is. I’m blowing this pop joint, you two kiss and make up.” Her matter-of-fact words punched a hole in my gut. She rose from the seat and slid the Do Not Disturb sign over the door as she exited. “Toodles!” and she was gone.
I stared at the screen. A simple, ranch-style house set on the edge of a cliff above the sparkling water of the sound displayed on the screen. Before I knew what was happening, Fetch had me in his arms, his lips pressed against mine. Weak in the knees from his intoxicating scent and proximity to my body, my mouth returned the gesture and I fell under his spell.