by C. B. Haight
“You can’t save him,” She heard the deep, familiar voice echo through her mind. It laughed with a malice-filled chuckle.
This is all so wrong, she thought. No… this is wrong, she insisted to herself. She knew this was not how it happened. She did save him. I saved him, I got him out!
The nightmare consumed her. The boy didn’t cry; he didn’t beg her to save his life. His body jerked with his deep, wracking coughs. In between coughs, he spoke. She couldn’t make out his words. It was as if every time he spoke someone hit the mute button and his young eyes turned angry.
She turned away from him, knowing they must get out. He wasn’t supposed to die! She had to save him. She knew this was important. He didn’t cry and plead. He just tried to pull away defiantly, and kept trying to talk to her through his coughs. Anger filled his eyes. She didn’t know what to do…there was no way out! They were trapped. The smoke poured in from all directions.
She swung him up into her arms and turned, looking, searching, hoping for a way out. Her charge felt incredibly frail as she held him.
The acrid smoke infused her lungs, and she started having wracking fits of coughing. In between her coughs, she noticed he wasn’t coughing anymore. He suddenly went limp in her arms. His body’s weight was now heavy in her arms, “Nooo!” She wailed. This is not how it happened. He was not meant to die! She kicked at the wall hard. Kicking and kicking over and over again. The young boy’s limp body strained the muscles in her arms.
She felt so weak and powerless. Wait... she thought, how could I be powerless? She could not let him die. She would not let him die. She kicked the wall again as hard as she could, digging deep within herself to find the necessary strength. “I saved him!” she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks. “I saved him!” she repeated
She knew it was too late. The child in her arms no longer drew breath.
She heard a loud knock on the wall, then a shout for her name. Everything became cloudy. The child in her arms disappeared, and she screamed out her defiance again, “This was not how it happened!” She fell to her knees crying as the dream began to fade away.
She wanted so badly to cling to what was happening here. This wasn’t real. She knew that now. Still, she wanted more than anything to put it right. This isn’t the way it happened. Collett heard the heavy thump again as the clarity of her nightmare began to fade. “You can’t save them.” She heard again. She knew that voice! Why did hearing that voice make her so angry?
A loud bang on the bedroom door made her jolt upright in her bed and pulled her violently from her dream.
“Collett!” She heard a deep voice boom. “If you don’t answer me in the next five seconds, I’m ripping this door down!” With a pounding heart, she struggled hard to hold onto the
fast-fading dream. She tried to clear her head enough to answer whoever was on the other side of the door. Her mind was too fuzzy. She was panting and sweaty; her skin still felt warm from the flames that had licked at her skin so realistically. She still felt the moisture that gathered in her eyes keenly and the horrid grief in her heart for failing the little boy... even if he wasn’t real.
All the fog and emotion prevented her from regaining her focus in time. True to his word, she heard a thump then the sound of wood splitting as the door broke free of its frame. It sent bits of wood from the trim scattering across the floor. She barely had enough time to grab the sheet to pull it up over her chest as Cade stormed in.
He stood in her doorway taking up almost the entire space of the door frame with his half-naked body. His eyes scanned the room quickly then stopped as they landed on her. He was wearing faded jeans that were still unbuttoned and a layer of shaving cream on most of his face. It looked as though he recently got out of the shower. He had a white hand towel slung over his shoulder that stood out in contrast to his tanned skin. His jet-black hair hung damp, finger-combed away from his eyes. She sat there shocked for a moment. She was surprised, not only by his sudden entrance, but at his appearance and the intensity of his gaze upon her.
Cade had been too worried they might have another bounty hunter in the house to think. When she yelled something like, “Let me save him!” He stopped thinking entirely about barging in on her, and started thinking about what he was going to get to kill this morning. Then giving her one last clipped warning he had broken through the flimsy lock that held him at bay.
There he found her, sitting upright in the large bed clinging to the sheet that covered her. “Just what do you think you are doing?” She shrieked at him.
As he processed her appearance, Cade quickly realized that she was covered by nothing more than one thin, navy-blue, cotton sheet. Her hair was mussed from sleep. Her soft, ivory skin looked flushed and pink. Clear blue eyes stared back toward him, wide with shock. Collett sat there looking so beautiful and so angry. It was hard for Cade to think.
She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer to her question. Cade noticed her cheeks were tinged pink and couldn’t help wondering, is that from embarrassment, or anger? Either way he liked it. He couldn’t even remember what she had asked him. Hell, he was having a hard time thinking, period. “Um, I... I um,” he stammered.
“Well?”
Cade finally gathered his wits together and answered simply, “I heard you screaming.”
“Do you always break down doors when you hear a little scream? Maybe I just saw a spider or something,” she replied curtly.
Enjoying this more than a little now, Cade gave her a cocky smile. He leaned against the ruined door frame, stating soberly, “Then I guess I would have killed it for you. And the answer to your other question is, when I feel it’s necessary.”
“And you really felt this was necessary,” she said, gesturing to the broken door.
“It seems I did, doesn‘t it?”
The man actually had the nerve to smile, how maddening, thought Collett, giving him a hard glare in return. More than a little miffed, she spat back, “Well it wasn’t!” Aggressively tugging the tangled top sheet free, she wrapped it around herself fully, swung her legs over the side of the bed and hopped down.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to shower,” she snapped. Then she stomped across the cool wood floor and past the dresser against the wall, heading into the adjoining bathroom.
Collett had just turned around to close the door when she almost collided with a hard, male chest. She jumped back surprised, a little squeak escaping her lips.
There Cade was, standing right in the door’s path. Collett’s surprise was so complete that she reached out and grabbed hold of the door handle to keep from falling down.
How could he have possibly moved so silently, so quickly, she wondered. How was it, I didn’t even notice his impossible approach? Never mind the fact he is now standing less than a foot from me.
He stared down at her with those deep, hypnotizing eyes. He had cleaned off any remaining shaving cream, leaving a dark stubble shadow behind. Collett tried hard to stare right back. She tried to be firm. She tried to stand her ground. She failed.
She was lost in those golden orbs of his. If her feet had been on fire at that very moment, she wouldn’t have been able to look away. His eyes were different from what she had originally thought, they weren’t cool. They were warm. In the morning-light his tawny eyes reminded her of liquid honey.
Then Cade spoke and broke the spell, “You know you’re wrong, it was necessary.” He said quietly as he took another step toward her. “If I hadn’t broken down the door, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of seeing you so angry. You can trust me when I tell you, it was well worth it.”
Collett felt crowded by his presence. He was so close she could smell the soap from his recent shower. He smelled fresh and crisp, like winter mixed with man. It was a powerful aroma, a familiar scent. It clawed at her memory, trying to grab hold, but she couldn’t think straight with him this close.
Cade could see that he was making her nervous, but for some unkno
wn reason he couldn’t resist pushing a little more.
He took another step toward her and watched her beautiful blue eyes widen even more.
Trying to get more room, Collett moved to step back, but her hand on the door handle stopped her. For some reason, she could not let go of her grip. It felt as though it was a life raft churning in a stormy sea about to swallow her.
“I think you should leave now,” she whispered weakly.
He stared at her, moving his appraising eyes over her body, thinking about what lay underneath the thin wrapping she held up in her clenched fist. “What is it about you?” he asked more to himself than to her.
Cade stared back into the depths of those perfect blue eyes wondering, what is going on with me? He had never felt so confused and out of control. Not since the first ten years after the change had it been this hard for him to gain control of himself.
Collett thought about pushing him back, but realized she would have to drop the sheet covering her to do so. Instead, as forcefully as possible she restated her comment, attempting a commanding tone this time. “It’s time for you to leave.” Straightening her spine to gain a bit of height, she gathered her courage, letting go of the door handle, and took a good step backward.
Cade shook his errant thoughts from his mind and he moved back keeping his smoldering eyes locked with Collett as he did.
As soon as Cade gave Collett the room she badly craved, Collett rewarded him by slamming the door smartly in his face. He grinned as he heard the snick of the door locking, and decided he had pushed them both enough for one day.
Behind the safety of the bathroom door, Collet slumped against it for a moment in relief. Finally dropping the sheet, she stomped over and yanked the shower on. Still seething, she climbed in without checking the temperature. The water scalded her skin. She adjusted the flow until she had it right. Grabbing the shower gel left here for guests, Collett started scrubbing her body. She was just finishing her legs when she realized her hip wasn’t aching anymore. In fact, it didn’t hurt at all.
Twisting around to get a good look, Collett was stunned. It wasn’t there… nothing, no mark, no ugly purple bruising, nothing! Not sure what to think, she exited the shower and went to the large mirror above the vanity.
She quickly scanned the rest of her body, shocked to find the scrapes on her feet missing also. Frantic, Collett yanked the bandage from her head. She found the deep gash on her temple was now a small red welt, much like that of a small cut almost healed. There was no nasty scabbing anywhere or greenish-yellow discoloration.
She wondered how it could be possible. Panic began to set in. How could she explain this?
Standing there in front of the mirror, dripping wet and cold, Collett tried to think back to any other time she had been hurt.
Searching her scattered thoughts, she reached for something...anything. A scrape, a bruise, a headache...
A headache, Collett suddenly remembered she had a headache once, and it had been a painful, excruciating headache.
How could she have repressed that memory? Her head had throbbed as if a hammer tried to split her skull in two with every painful thump of her heart. She recalled feeling that horrible and unbearable pain upon waking on a coastline with no memory, no past. She hurt then, alright. Hadn’t her skull felt as though it had been cleaved in half?
Thinking it over further, Collett could not remember any other wounds on her body that day. Nor could she recall having physical pain of any kind since that time. Until last night…
That just couldn’t be, could it? She reassured herself, it was impossible. Two years. Two years without pain, without so much as a bump on the head or a scraped knee?
The knock on the bathroom door startled Collett, causing her to smack her elbow against the shower door. Murmuring under her breath, Collett heard Cynda’s soft voice.
“Collett, it’s Cynda, are you alright?”
“Um… yeah. I’m fine, just getting cleaned up some… I’ll be down soon.” She responded.
“I brought up some clothes for you. Cade mentioned you were up and about already. I guess I’ll leave them out here on the bench. I hope they fit.” Cynda waited for a moment before going on, “We’ll have someone fix this door. Cade told us what happened. Are you sure you’re alright?”
On the other side of the door, Collett looked in the mirror at her unmarred body and answered, “Yeah, a bit of a bad dream is all, I’m fine... I’m feeling a lot better. Really, it’s amazing.” Just flipping amazing, a discouraged Collett said again to herself.
Cynda hedged, “Alright we’ll see you downstairs for breakfast. Jenny said it should be ready in half an hour or so. That is, if you feel up to it.”
“Okay I’ll be down. I promise. I’m really hungry too. Don’t worry.” As Collett spoke through the door, she told herself again, I’m fine, just fine.
Chapter Six
Cynda sat at the small table in the kitchen feeling the warmth of the morning sun leaking in through the large bay window. They decided to have breakfast here today instead of in the oversized dining room. She and Rederrick generally ate their meals in the kitchen, unless they had guests.
To her, this room was the center of her home. Her children had grown up eating at this table every morning before school. They used to prattle on about their teachers and friends here each morning as they got ready for their day. She remembered giving them cookies, milk, and helping them though their daily frustrations as they grew. These days, she and Rederrick sat in this room often, simply enjoying each other’s company.
For Cynda, a quiet Sunday morning breakfast here with her family was always welcome.
This Sunday, though, she sat in one of her favorite rooms, with her husband, Cade, and Collett, thinking about how very worried she was. She looked across the table where Collett sat eating her second helping of Jenny’s homemade blueberry waffles. At least Collett has a healthy appetite, she mused, sipping her orange juice. She noticed a stark white bandage taped to Collett’s temple.
Collett had refused any medication for the pain both last night and this morning. However, she looked pretty good considering what she’d been through the previous evening. Collett wore a light pink cashmere turtleneck and a pair of dark grey slacks. All of which came from Cynda’s own wardrobe. Cynda gave her a turtleneck thinking she would want to cover any bruising left from last night’s attack. The slacks were a little looser on Collett then they were on her, but the whole ensemble looked better on Collett than it had ever looked on her.
Collett’s hair was pulled back into a long ponytail with some bangs swept over to the left; a very flattering look for her.
Cynda had loaned her some shoes, knowing from their shopping trip last Thursday that they had the same size feet.
With her color back it all made her look angelic in the morning sunlight. No matter how lovely her outer appearance though, Cynda knew things still weren’t right. Collett was still incredibly shaken. She just wished Collett would tell them what was really going on.
Cynda examined the indigo tint of insecurity mixed with the red of anger in Collett’s colorful aura. The colors wavered back and forth, seeking dominance over each other. She had breaks, holes and spots of blackness as well. Cynda could tell Collett was feeling very imbalanced. The usual bright glow she emitted was subdued this morning.
Cynda had been hoping for a better moment, but it looked as though there wasn’t going to be one. Not seeing a way to ease into this, she just decided to dive right in, “Collett, I was thinking… I could take you to the police today to file a report.”
Collett looked up abruptly. With wide expressive eyes she said, “Well, I’m sure I can handle it. There is really no need for you to come with me.”
“No, I insist. You were attacked here on my property. The least I can do is go with you and be supportive. Besides, they might need to talk to me, too. This way I’ll save them a trip out here. You know how overworked the police are. I’m happy to h
elp.” Cynda ended with a sweet smile.
Tentatively, Collett replied, “I suppose that’s true... but really, there’s no need to trouble over it. I’m fine today. It was probably just some drunk.” Then she looked to Rederrick for support.
She realized her luck had not improved when Rederrick replied, “No, I have to agree with Cynda, they will probably need to talk to one of us, might as well make it easier on our boys in blue. Anyway, then Cynda can take you out to lunch to make up for last night.”
Collett began to feel trapped. She had to get back to her apartment and plan her next move. How could she get out of this now? Besides, she truly didn’t want to file a police report on a false man. Okay, somewhat false...there was something out there. Plus she couldn’t have them taking pictures of wounds that didn’t exist.
As she swallowed the last bite of her delicious waffle, she came up with an idea. Infusing her voice with a slightly weak tone, Collett said, “You know I am still a bit run down from last night. Maybe I would be better off skipping all this and going home for some sleep.”
“Oh my, how inconsiderate of me,” Cynda said. Then she looked to Rederrick slyly, “Maybe we should take her to the hospital after all. I couldn’t live with myself if you had some lasting injury we couldn’t see.”
Crud, that backfired, Collett thought. “No, I’m fine, really; I just need some extra rest that’s all. Truthfully, I’m not up to going to the police. I just couldn’t deal with it all right now.” She insisted and then rushed on, “Besides what would I tell them? I didn’t even see the man and my injuries came from my own bad driving.”
Rederrick felt satisfied. This was going just the way they hoped. They could avoid any police involvement and make it Collett’s idea. So, he hedged on with a placating tone, “We don’t want to make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with, Collett. I’m sure we can figure this all out.”