She looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. “What does it mean? Petit chanson?”
Phillip smiled. “His little song, he called me.” His stomach growled and she smiled. As gently as he could, he asked, “Are you ready to talk? We can heat up whatever you put in the ice box the other night.” He didn’t try to hide his relief as she agreed, but said she wanted to shower first. As usual, she had written instructions on the foil. He turned the oven on and waited for it to heat up while he waited for Elena.
Chapter 12
Elena’s hair was still wet from the shower when she joined Phillip in the kitchen. He had already pulled the casserole out and made them drinks. At his suggestion, she seated herself at the table. Although she was still worried about Evenfall, she mostly felt relieved. She felt as if she had depressurized. It had helped that Phillip had been so happy when he was holding her and telling her of his Grandpere.
It seemed odd that they were still alone in the house. Phillip explained that Monica was visiting Jacob at the bar tonight. Elena thought it was more likely Monica was trying to make herself scarce so Phillip and Elena could have time to talk in private. Well, she better make use of it. “So, how much did you get from my phone conversation?” she asked him.
“Only that some guy cut himself at the community center and that the police and an ambulance were involved. And you, too, somehow.” The last was part question and part censure. “Tonight he calls your cell phone, and you think he is in danger.”
She explained about talking to Evenfall previously. She told him that Evenfall had watched her drive to the community center, walk into the center, and speak with someone on the way in. That he had recognized her by her voice and waited by her car. She again chose her words carefully. She couldn’t lie, but she didn’t want to come right out and tell him that she had left the center alone to help Evenfall. Phillip listened the whole time and then began with the question that was bothering her most, too.
“So, how did he get your number?”
“I have no idea. I am certain that I didn’t have my cell phone with me that night. It must have been at the bar. I don’t know who had access to it there.” She frowned but wasn’t quite ready to delve into that yet. “I don’t see how that could be connected though. I went straight from the bar to Rosewood, and he was already there.”
“That’s if he was telling the truth. Elena, this guy could have been stalking you for who knows how long. Maybe even following you from the bar.”
Elena shook her head. “He wasn’t lying that night. I’m sure of it, Phillip.” She had placed her hand on his arm and was looking straight into his eyes. He was feeling some anger and fear, but he believed her, reluctantly perhaps, but it still felt good to have his trust.
“Okay. Then what happened to him after that night? Maybe he has been stalking you since.” Again, Elena shook her head. Not much time had passed. He should have been hospitalized. She explained to him what she knew about the subject. “People who have made an attempt to commit suicide are often released relatively quickly, as long as they are no longer entertaining suicidal thoughts. But people who are exhibiting psychotic features, like hearing voices or having hallucinations, are more likely to be held in a hospital. I don’t think he was quite in touch with reality.” Phillip was definitely not happy with what he was hearing, and she had to admit that it sounded bad. “Phillip, I do not know for sure, but my gut tells me that he was not a danger to me. He was confused, and almost child-like, a danger to himself, certainly, as he was cutting himself, but he didn’t feel threatening to me.”
Phillip took his time chewing his food, but his eyes never left hers. “If he is so out of touch with reality, couldn’t he be a danger to you without him meaning to be?”
He had a point. She had to admit it. Besides, sooner or later even if he didn’t remember her saying she was on probation, he would find out. She took a deep breath. “You’re right. I know I took a risk, probably a foolish one. I’m on probation because I broke the rules. I just wanted to help him. And I thought I had. I thought he would be hospitalized, at least long enough for a full work up, and then he could get the care he needed. He didn’t call me from a hospital tonight. He was so afraid.”
“Maybe he didn’t call you from a hospital, but maybe he did. That was most likely a cell phone. He could have been using someone else’s. It doan matter whether it was his, someone he knows, or one he stole, he somehow got your number. And he could be scared in the hospital without truly being in danger. You said yourself that he’s crazy. That makes him dangerous. You need to change your cell phone number.” Though his words were serious, Phillip was feeling happy.
“I did not say he was crazy. But you’re right, his perception of his environment may not be accurate.” She ate for a while and thought. Could Phillip be right about Evenfall still being in the hospital? If he was, she felt embarrassed that she had called 911. But if she changed her cell phone number, Evenfall wouldn’t be able to contact her again. What if he truly did need help and he was reaching out to her? She wasn’t going to try to argue that with Phillip, though. Instead she said, “I’m not ready to change my cell phone yet. I can wait to see if he calls again. Anyway, he can’t hurt me over the phone. Plus, I am only going to be studying. I won’t even be volunteering in the evenings right now. I can be smart about where I go and when.” She said the last to hopefully stave off his protests. Phillip sat back in his chair and slowly nodded his head.
Success, she thought, until he added, “For a while, we’ll all make sure you’re not alone. I know Monica and Jacob will agree.” She made an undignified noise of protest and stared at him incredulously. But, Phillip wasn’t done yet. “If he knows where you live, Monica could be in danger, too. Really, all of us could be if you think about it.” Phillip knew how to play dirty when he needed to. No wonder he was feeling happy. He knew he was winning. He grinned her favorite grin, “I can keep you entertained.”
Elena’s stomach flipped over about the same time panic set in. That grin worked entirely too well on her. She announced she was finished eating and began clearing the table with the intention of washing the dishes. Never mind how out of character that was for her. Phillip came to the sink and began helping her. She hadn’t been this close to him since their fight. The air felt hot around her. With a deep breath, she focused internally confirming what she already knew. She couldn’t blame Phillip for the desire she felt right now. No, to place blame she need only look in the mirror.
“Where did you get the picks, cher?” The endearment that she had so loved was like a dousing of cold water over her. Her whole body stiffened and more than hurt right now, she was angry. Angry that he had ruined her gift. Angry that he had ruined the word ‘cher’ for her. Though his voice was gentle, she only felt her anger rising. Guess she had been holding it in too long. She turned to look at him and wanted to just leave the room. He must have read her body language because he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.
“Please talk about it with me. They are beautiful. As soon as I really looked at them, I knew they were from you. I’m so sorry, Elena. I know you brought them to the bar for me. I know that’s why you were there that night. Nathaniel said you left with this guy and figured it was your boyfriend since he found your cell phone in the back room where the guy had been. Said it wouldn’t be the first time things got left behind when people were sneaking back there to hook up. I trust the guy and all, so I believed him. It must have been an honest mistake. I know I was wrong to doubt you like that, cher.”
Elena only felt more anger. At Phillip, at Nathaniel, at cher. She pulled her arm away, “Don’t call me that.” At Phillip’s confused look, she felt her anger rise again. “You called me ‘cher’ that night that you were accusing me of. . . I don’t know what. Having sex with a stranger? Just what exactly did you think I had done?”
“I know. I mean, I doan know. It sounds ridiculous when I think about it now. I know you. I know who you are
. And you know me. I’m not like this either. You know I doan like secrets. I know you have some, and you have your reasons. I can wait for you to trust me.” The stab of hurt she Sensed from him finally dimmed her own anger even as it hiked up her guilt over her secrets. “That night everything just felt so . . . I doan even know. I was done with my set and was waiting on Jacob to give me a ride home. I was just sitting there at the bar talking with Jacob and Nathaniel. Your name came up, and that’s when Nathaniel told me you had been there looking for your ‘roommate’. He told me you left with some guy, your boyfriend probably, and handed me your cell phone. Jacob finally closed for the night and took me home.”
Elena needed to think. Much about what Phillip was saying was bothering her. She gathered herself as she slipped off her bracelet and put it in her pocket. Emotions that were muted a moment before slammed into her. “What about the picks? How did you get them? You said Samantha had them?”
Phillip, looking thoughtful as he remembered that night, slipped back into his accent. “Fuh shore,” he answered nodding his head. “It was after I talked with Nathaniel. I was at the bar, pissed as hell, when she gave them to me. I really didn’t even look at them until after. . .” His voice trailed off. Until after they fought. Until after she locked him out of her room. There were many endings to that sentence, but no happy ones.
The recap of that night didn’t make sense. “Phillip, I told Nathaniel I had something for you. He even offered to give it to you himself. Even if he had forgotten that I dropped by until my name was brought up why wouldn’t he mention that? Tell me again what he said to you, please.”
Elena laid her hand on Phillip’s arm and opened herself as much as she was able. She hardly heard what he said. The words didn’t matter. What mattered was what she Sensed. And there it was. As he recounted the conversation to her she felt the smallest blank in his emotions. Someone had used Voice on Phillip that night. She wanted to immediately blame Nathaniel, but that could be a careless mistake. He was most definitely involved, but Nathaniel could have had Voice used on him. Whether or not it was an intentional use of Voice was another question to add to the growing list.
History was full of people with the talent Voice. Many had lived their whole lives oblivious of their talent. They were dynamic speakers who could sway crowds with their words unaware of the potential that could be tapped inside themselves. Plenty of both good and bad examples existed. She admitted to herself that she was biased where Voice was concerned. She always thought of the bad. Cult leaders that pulled their unfortunate followers with them in to death. Drink the punch. And so the followers did. The Holocaust always jumped to her mind when she thought of the misuse of Voice. Even though Voice was supposedly used to end that particular nightmare - evil men rarely take their own lives without a nudge from a Speaker - it didn’t take away the fact that Voice was definitely used to start it. The largest Counsel in their history had been called to deal with the untrained Speaker largely responsible for the hateful rhetoric in Germany at the time. Unaware of their Voice’s capacity to take away a person’s free will, at least temporarily, untrained Speakers were dangerous. Trained ones, in her opinion, were even more so. They had so much power. The Speaker from her childhood was like the boogey man to her, though not entirely deserved. He had only done what had to be done. She understood that, but her fear of him lingered.
Elena felt her body heating, and it drew her away from her dark thoughts. She still had hold of Phillip’s arm, and he had stopped talking. Stopped talking, moved closer, and put his arms around her. Somehow she didn’t think he was thinking of his conversation with Nathaniel anymore. She looked up to meet Phillip’s eyes but found he was staring at her lips. She wanted to lean into that last bit of space that separated them. She wanted to let him close that gap, too. But there was an important detail that needed to be said. She focused before she became lost in his emotions. She put her hand on his chest to hold him back.
“Phillip, I can’t say for certain about my cell phone. I went into the bathroom, but I don’t think I took it with me. Maybe I did. Maybe it was in my pocket and fell out, though I seriously doubt it. What I do know for certain is that your picks were in my backpack and wrapped in a box. Someone went through my things.”
Phillip flashed anger and fear. His arms tightened around her further, this time pulling her into a protective embrace. “I doan like this. It’s hard not to feel like you are being stalked. I’m back to blaming this Evenfall guy. Who else was at the bar that could have gotten into your bag?”
“First of all, I don’t think I am in danger.” She thought it more likely someone was jealous of Phillip or just didn’t want the two of them together. “I only saw Nathaniel and the delivery guy. My supposed boyfriend.” She added in a very dry tone.
Phillip only grinned at her. “Only a fool would believe that. The kind who is sorry later. And feels like an idiot.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Seriously, though, I am sorry, Elena. You goan to forgive me?”
“I do, Phillip.” Elena was beginning to be certain that she would die if he didn’t kiss her soon.
“Well that’s good ‘cause you’re stuck with me even if you’re still mad. At least ‘till you’re safe.” She rolled her eyes, but decided not to repeat herself. “Doan look so sad, cher. I told you I can keep you entertained. I have a lot of making up to do.” He surprised her when he tossed her over his shoulder. He had done that once before when the roommates were all playing poker, and she kept winning. Hard to lose when you knew what the other players felt. That night he had tossed her on the sofa and yelled at the others to make off with the poker chips while he held her back. He was headed to the coach again. “Now you goan to tell me where you found the picks?”
“Well, I actually had them made.” She told Phillip the story. He teased her about snake charming the sales clerk at the music store. It felt so good sitting there on the couch, laughing and touching again. “My snake charming doesn’t work on you.”
Phillip’s astonished look was actually comical and once again, his accent thickened. “What you said? How you think that?”
“Well, I’ve been dying for you to kiss-” and that was all she got out before Phillip was on her. She felt like she did when he kissed her that first time in her bathroom after untangling the necklace from her hair, yet the familiarity of the kiss was also like a homecoming. They stayed lost in each other for a while. So much so that neither heard Monica come in through the garage until she was standing over them.
“Well, I guess you already made up. Should I go back out and slam the door, maybe knock first?” She looked tired but was smiling at them.
“Monica!” Elena said a little too brightly. “Where have you been?” She was embarrassed as she tugged at her clothes.
“Don’t worry. All your lady parts are covered. I have been working and studying. Then I went by the bar. Jacob is pulling a double. Nathaniel didn’t show up.”
Phillip had sat up but stayed very close to Elena. “That’s not like him. He’s a trustworthy guy.”
“You sound like Jacob. One of these days I am going to have to get to know this Nathaniel. I have some questions for him. And his little friend.” Monica gave Elena a pointed look.
“When do you play there next, Phillip? I would like to see you and your band again.” And so they made plans to all go back to the bar in a couple of days. Monica headed upstairs, and Phillip and Elena headed to her room. Monica was out in seconds. Phillip and Elena were not.
Chapter 13
Elena woke the next morning in Phillip’s arms. He was sleeping soundly. She had awakened several times in the night, and it seemed anytime she moved he was reaching for her. Like he didn’t want to let her go again even for a second. That thought brought a smile to her lips even as she pondered what didn’t happen last night. They had kissed and touched and talked and laughed well into the night. But he had not made love to her. He was obviously aroused and interested, but he had not m
ade that final move. There were several times that Elena almost overcame her nerves and pounced on him, but he always seemed to start up a story right about that time. She loved hearing about his home and his family. It made her feel closer to him. Underneath all the jokes and laughing she could feel the love the family shared. Elena had finally drifted off to sleep as he was telling her a story about one set of his grandparents. They had died when he was younger, and she hadn’t heard very many stories of them. Elena kissed Phillip on the cheek and murmured at him to go back to sleep. She had a letter to write.
Elena chose her words carefully. She knew it was a long shot, asking her mother to clarify a Vision. Even a powerful Seer such as her mother couldn’t force a Vision to be more clear. Still, she needed to try. Nothing was resolved with Evenfall. That made Elena believe that she was wrong about the Vision concerning him. She left some French toast in the oven to keep it warm and left for the day. She was driving to campus today. She had an early class, and then she was going to get started studying for finals. She couldn’t believe the semester was almost over. She parked her car and began walking to class dropping off the letter to her mother in a post box on the way. No way of knowing how long it would take to reach her or of how much time would have passed for her by the time she got it. Her thoughts were focused on her mother and what her warning could pertain to. Uneasily she looked around. Someone was focused intently on her. Despite her distraction and worry over her mother, the person’s focus on her broke through enough to get her attention. There was no one close by. For her to be feeling this intense study was unusual. It was almost as if the person knew what she was capable of and wanted her to know he was watching. . .
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