What would I say, should I say anything? It was all making sense with the names. But the biggest questions were, how did my mom and Lucy know his name and is he really watching me, and why did Lucy say Cooper? Maybe she didn’t know his first name. Maybe he was some kind of stalker and my mom’s psychic abilities could know this was going to happen. She said I would see him again though, and be shocked. I just met this guy.
I did have that strange vision of him after we touched. It had seemed so familiar to see that vision.
So finally, after a long pause, I just said, “Um hi Avery here, you gave me your number, I don’t know why. Ok, my number is 503-2147. Ok? Um bye.”
I just sounded like a total dork. He really won’t call now. But I needed him to. I need answers badly.
Chapter 3
Dallas
It was now Tuesday night. I was leaving work when Kerri pulled me aside in the staff room and said she was going to our hangout and wanted to have a couple of margaritas with me. Oh, this sounded so nice! So I agreed that it was a great idea, I needed to take my mind off of my morning appointment with my new shrink and who Landon Cooper really was. So I grabbed my coat and said, “You are buying the first round.” She laughed and followed me out to my car.
We headed down the road to La Costa bar and restaurant. I hoped that Dallas was working and I could flirt with him a little, even if he would ask me about Kerri all night long. At least he talked to me.
Sure enough he was there when we walked in. He smiled at us as we walked in. His dimples made me tingle all over. I just wished that he would be interested for one second, hell for just one night. If only he could put his feelings for Kerri aside and want to be with me instead. The last time any guy was interested was when Kerri and I went to Vegas for my twenty-second birthday. She didn’t want me to spend it alone. That’s when I knew she would be a true friend, taking someone she barely knew to Vegas. I mean, we had just met and she and I grew to be fast friends. I remember the night very well.
It was the first time I had ever had that much fun. We went to a club the night we arrived. She had me all dressed up and did a makeover on my face. I looked pretty good, I could never redo what she did, I’m not that talented. This guy even started talking to me. So, I put my shyness aside to talk back. His name was Randall and he was easy to talk to. I was so lonely and I had just recently moved to Northern California from Southern California. I knew no one except for Kerri, so it was nice to meet new people. I learned that he too had just moved, from Texas to Nevada. He was at the club with his new friend Jack. We just were two lonely people who needed company. We spent the night together at the Bellagio club drinking and talking. His friend talked and danced with Kerri.
He was so sweet, a true gentlemen. All night he told me how pretty I was. I blushed each time he said it. That night was so much fun. We didn’t exchange numbers because we knew it would not go anywhere. And that was okay, I just enjoyed flirting and talking to him. Nothing like that, or even close, has happened since. Even though I swore off men, I would not mind being with Dallas or even Landon Cooper. Just to think like that is so unlike me. I really need a strong margarita.
We sat at our spot at the bar and Dallas started to make my regular drink, a Malibu and coke, when I said, “Not tonight Dallas, we are having Margaritas. Strawberry.”
“What ever you want princess Avery.” Princess! I laughed. Yeah, I really look like one tonight. My hair was in a ponytail, I had no makeup on, and I was in my work uniform. Really royal.
“Here you go girls. Are we celebrating anything tonight?” He asked as he set our pink, cold drinks down.
“Yeah Avery met a guy,” Kerri said. “She helped him, he was broke down on the side of the road. She thinks he’s cute.” Kerri laughed in a proud way. I could tell she was happy that I finally said someone was cute. I usually don’t comment on guys around her. I think she was starting to worry about me. So I didn’t really comment on this. I let her think whatever she wanted to. Even though she has no idea what really happened on the side of the road between Landon and I. I wouldn’t tell her, she would think I was crazy. I looked at Dallas and smiled. He did not smile back. Instead he walked away and went to serve another couple of girls at the other end of the bar.
“What’s his problem?” I asked Kerri.
“I don’t know, its like he’s mad or something. So whatever, tell me about this guy. What did he look like? Did he seem interested? Did you talk?” She asked me.
“Wow, one question at a time Kerri. I need more of my drink before I start answering all these questions,” I replied.
“Well, just answer one, what did he look like, what happened? Oh, sorry that’s two,” she joked.
“Well, I was coming to work and I saw this piece of crap car, like an old surfer car. I think they call them Woody’s, but this one was really beat up. Like it has been in several accidents or one really big one. Then, something just told me to help this guy. So I pulled over and helped him. He used my phone to call for a ride.”
“That’s not all, I know your hiding more details. Go on, tell me Avery.” She’s my best friend I should tell her what was going on, but not yet. Not until I meet with the doctor tomorrow.
“Well he was really cute and kind of flirting I guess. His name is Landon. And that’s all I know. Maybe I will see him around or maybe not.” I left it at that.
“Yeah, well if he was cute then you should have given him your number. Or you know what? He used your phone, you could see who he called and get his information.” She suggested.
“Yeah that’s a little desperate don’t you think? Besides he probably just called a tow truck or like AAA. I just want to drink and relax. No more talk about Landon. How is Gavin?” Although I could tell they were fighting again, because usually she would be at the bar with him after work, I asked anyways. She looked at me and I could see the tears starting to well up in her eyes. The fight must have been pretty bad.
“Well you know Bethany, the girl he works with at the bookstore?” I nodded. I knew her only from Gavin introducing us once when I went to the store to purchase a couple of books. She was really pretty. Bleach blonde, hot body. I had a feeling they were either having an affair or going to be soon enough. Kerri didn’t have to even continue talking. I just knew where this was going.
“Well I went to go pick him up last night after his shift, but I got there early. I walked into the back door, like I usually do, and I caught her and him kissing, right by the cash register. Bastard. I just flipped out. I started throwing books at them. I’m pretty sure I hit him right in the eye with a pretty big novel, cause when he showed up at my house this morning he had a black eye.” She said laughing. I laughed too. That was hilarious! Not the cheating part of course.
“What did you say to him when he showed up?’ I asked.
“I just told him to leave and that I was done. I think he has done it before, I just had a feeling though. But this time I really caught him. Avery, why can’t I just find a nice guy? Someone like Dallas.”
“Well, Dallas is single,” I said. After I said it I could just kick myself. I knew he was so into her. Now I would have to sit here and see them together and wish it were me instead. I was glad that she broke up with that loser, but I don’t want her to be with my crush. Even though I don’t have the nerve to ask him out.
Four margarita’s later Kerri and I started to loosen up and joke about everything. Mostly how Gavin was a big jerk and she is so much better off with out him. Then I decided it was time for me to get going. Especially when I saw her flirting with Dallas. He surprisingly didn’t seem too interested in her tonight, I wasn’t sure why. Every time we come here he does nothing but talk about her. She was single now and wanting to obviously be with him, he would be a fool to pass this moment up.
“Oh Avery its our song. Lets dance!” she yelled when our song was on the jukebox. AC/DC was the band we listened to on the way to Vegas for my birthday. I was feeling no shame, no pain
. So I stood up, let my hair down and headed out to the small dance floor with Kerri. We danced to our song. I just closed my eyes held her hand and sang along to the words. It felt good to be this carefree and have fun. For that little bit I forgot all the craziness going on in my life right now.
We danced to three songs after ours was done playing. Then a slow song came on. That was our cue to exit the dance floor. When I looked up Dallas was walking towards us. He was coming over to dance with Kerri, I just knew it.
When he grabbed my hand he twirled me around I said, “Very funny Dallas. Now you have your turn to get your girl, the girl of your dreams.” I whispered to him as I tried to let go of his hand and lead him to Kerri.
“No offense Kerri, but may I dance with Avery?” He asked her.
“Um, sure whatever. It’s getting late anyway.” she replied. She walked to the bar and grabbed her purse and stormed out of the bar.
“Oh Kerri, come on, you’re next.” But it was too late, she had left. She was really pissed, but I knew he was just being nice to me.
He took me tightly by the hips with his hands and stared deeply into my eyes. I didn’t know what was going on. He ran his fingers through my hair as we danced slowly across the dance floor. It felt so good. His hands were so strong and gentle at the same time. It gave me chills.
“You’re really dumb Dallas, you just let the girl you want walk right out of the bar. Hey, don’t you have customers to serve?’ I slurred. I had way too much to drink. I could barely talk.
“You’re the dumb one. Can’t you see you’re the girl I want? I don’t know how obvious I have to be. I talk to you, and only you, every time you come in here, I know all your drinks that each mood represents. How much more do I have to do to make you see?” He asked as he looked intently into my eyes. I was in a state of total disbelief. I was never the girl of anyone’s dreams.
“But you’re always asking about Kerri and who she is dating. I just thought you were into her. I’m a little confused,” I told him shyly. My face was now beat red.
“Just let me take you home. You drank a lot tonight and I want to make sure you get home safely.” He suggested as our song ended. I was disappointed that it was over so quickly and he let go of me.
I nodded and agreed that it was not safe for me to drive home. I waited for him to close the bar up. It was about an hour later that he was done serving the last drink, cleaning up, and shutting everything down. I was much more sober now and I started to think about Kerri. She seemed really hurt that he danced with me and not her. I didn’t know whether to be mad at her or feel bad. I hadn’t done anything wrong. And why did he choose me and not my beautiful friend? He must be a fool.
“Ready to go?’ He asked as he handed me his motorcycle helmet. Even though I wanted it I felt like I was doing something wrong. That usual feeling of despair came back, I just felt horrible. The same feeling I have right after I wake up from my sleep.
“Dallas I just can’t let you take me home. I feel fine now. I can drive myself. I have to go. Thank you for the offer, but I can take it from here. And I enjoyed dancing with you,” I said with a fake smile, trying to cover up this guilty feeling I had. He just looked at me with his dark eyes. He looked sad. Now my guilt feeling was accompanied by hurting his feelings.
“Avery I just don’t get it. Why are you pushing me away? Don’t you like me? Don’t you feel the same way about me?” He asked.
“Oh Dallas you have no idea how much I like you. I always have. It’s just that I can’t let you take me home. You worked all night. You have got to be tired. And I live all the way across town. And you live the opposite way up the freeway. It wouldn’t be right to ask you to do that,” I lied. I thought that if I told him that instead of how I was really feeling it wouldn’t make me look crazy. Like if I said,
“Oh Dallas I feel sick, like I did something wrong even though I didn’t do anything with you. I feel a feeling of despair all day and all night, except for now it’s even stronger and I can’t control the feeling to cry right now.” Yeah I don’t think that would go over very well. So I said nothing.
“Well you can say what you want, but I’m not letting you drive yourself home. If you get stopped you will go to jail. You may feel ok but I made those drinks with a lot of tequila. So put on the damn helmet and let’s go,” he demanded.
“But what about my car? I need to get to work tomorrow and I have an early appointment before work.” Oh crap I forgot about my appointment. Now I really felt sick. I’m going to show up there smelling of tequila. A really great first impression.
“Ok I will pick you up and take you to your car. What time is your appointment?” He asked. Maybe he was hoping I would let him sleep over. Maybe I should let him sleepover. But I didn’t want to ruin what I thought might be possible between us.
“It’s at seven,” I said quietly.
“Really seven, huh? That’s really early. That’s like in five hours. We better go. I can sleep all day but you may only get a few hours,” he said as he led me out to the parking lot. Little did he know I never sleep. This was way better than staring out my window at the moon or watching the sunrise. At least I was not alone. We got onto his motorcycle and drove off toward my apartment building. Even yelling directions to him over the loud sounds of the bike surprisingly did not ruin the ride for me.
He got us there in fifteen minutes. He did high speeds the whole way. He was worried about me getting stopped? He was even riding without a helmet, I had his on my head. What a gentlemen, I thought to myself. He pulled up to the front of my building and I got off the bike handing him his helmet.
“Thank you Dallas. Please drive safe home, no need to go as fast as you did just now,” I said sternly.
“Avery I meant everything I said to you tonight,” he started saying as he held my hand in his. “I have had it bad for you since you started coming into the bar. I have just been waiting for the right time to tell you. You may not know this but I’m shy, I don’t date a lot. I just work, sleep, eat and workout. I really want to do this right. I want to take you out for dinner or lunch sometime. Would you want to do that?”
How could I say no to him? He is so true and honest. The nicest guy I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen him talk to any of the girls at the bar besides me. Why didn’t I ever know that he liked me, why didn’t I see this before?
“Dallas I would love to go out with you. It’s what I have wanted too, for the same amount of time. I always thought you liked Kerri, kind of like all the other guys. It’s just that I’m going through some weird stuff in my life right now. And it may be a while before I can go out with you. I mean I want to get this straightened out first.” I wanted to be honest with him. I really didn’t think it was a good idea to start a relationship with someone when I’m clearly losing my mind. I hoped that a few appointments with this new doctor and I would be okay. A very naive thought.
“I’m not going anywhere Avery. I will wait until you’re ready. Can I kiss you goodnight or is that too forward?”
“It’s not too forward,” I answered expectantly. He got off his bike and ran his fingers through my hair, all while looking deeply into my eyes. And kissed me very sweetly on the lips.
I danced up the stairs to my apartment. I was wasted drunk on that kiss and I felt so good. Dallas really liked me! I couldn’t believe it. His kiss was so great, as were his lips. I unlocked my door and walked into my living room. All the lights were on in my apartment. That was so unlike me, I try to shut everything off. Oh well, maybe I just forgot this time. I shrugged it off and tried to pretend that it didn’t seem super weird to me. So I started to shut every light off.
I reached the kitchen and took a big drink of water hoping somehow that I would not have a hangover in four hours when I needed to be at my appointment. This was the strangest day ever. Two guys are interested in me and they are both really cute with great potential. But being completely honest, I know nothing about Landon or Dallas really. Mostly Lando
n. At least I have spoken to Dallas. Landon is a stranger who gave me his number. Hey, he never called me back. He must have not charged his phone yet. Or maybe he realized giving me his number was just a nice gesture and he found someone more his type. I set down my glass of water and walked into my room.
When I opened the door my knees felt weak. The feeling of fear paralyzed me, because what I saw before me was not possible. I was so scared I could not scream nor talk. I only could stare at her.
Chapter 4
Ianni
She was magnificent and so beautiful, yet so scary to have her sitting on my bed. She had huge silver wings, yes wings. They were so tall they almost touched the ceiling. And her hair was a bright red. So bright it almost hurt my eyes. She was wearing a white dress that was very fitted on top and long and flowing on the bottom. It was sort of sexy looking. I tried to talk but I still couldn’t. It was as if there was something holding my lips closed. I swallowed and the lump in my throat seemed to grow larger. She started to stand up and her wings fluttered and flapped.
It sent a flood of feathers all around my room. They started to fly around and made quite a mess. She had a very serious look on her face at first then it turned into a smile. She took a deep breath and then spoke.
“Hello Avery. I am here to speak with you about a very interesting turn of events that is occurring in this lifetime of yours. It has happened in all your lifetimes before and seems that we cannot stop it from happening again. You are just uncontrollable. You may not recognize me, but I have been with you since you started all your paths. Since the 19th century. My name is Ianni and I am your Angel or you can call me your Spirit Guide.” As she spoke I noticed the fear in me started to grow less and less severe and the lump in my throat disappeared. I felt a calm come over me and I knew I could listen to her without completely freaking out.
“You have no reason to fear me. I am here to help you. Seeing that doctor tomorrow will not help you. You know this as well as I do. It will not do any good, but you will go anyway because that is what makes you comfortable. You like to know that someone is listening and you like to receive advice. Which is okay Avery. You may return a different person, but your soul has always been the same. I know you very well. I’m talking about reincarnation just so you know. I don’t want to confuse you. So I’m here because I know you saw him again. The one they call Landon now. It seems you two are really linked forever. And I mean forever in every life you have lived. But I am here to help you sort it all out and you seem to be having some trouble with this life. You can ask me questions but you have to realize I cannot answer for your future, only the past and present.”
The Many Lives of Avery Snow Page 3