Lumen Cove

by Dianne Frost

  “Come on.” He opened his arms to her and she immediately scooted down, laying beside him, her head on his chest, his arm beneath her neck. “This is my second favorite part of sailing,” he whispered into her hair and she smiled against him, wrapping her arm around his waist to pull herself closer.

  “Bring a lot of girls out here do you?” Kelsey teased and Alex looked down at her, seeing himself reflected in the mirrored lenses of her aviators.

  He blinked at his reflection, seeing himself looking at her for the first time. He had never seen that particular expression on his face before, a mix of joy and adoration and…

  Love.

  The word echoed through his head like a shot and he cleared his throat.

  “No… actually.” His voice sounded troubled. Kelsey rubbed her hand up and down his side in a soothing gesture.

  “Where do you think Drew went?”

  “Hopefully far away from here,” Alex replied and Kelsey let out a silent laugh.

  “Sully said he was buying everyone rounds at the Tavern a couple nights ago.”

  “What?” Alex asked, sitting up a little to look down at her and she tilted her head up to meet his eyes.

  “I mean… you can’t trust anything Sully says,” Kelsey amended then snorted. “He thought it was you.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Oh!” Kelsey exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. Alex looked at her wide eyed as she turned onto her stomach, rested an arm on his chest and propped her chin on it. “Speaking of Sully. Guess who asked if I wanted to help him pick out a tux for Cotillion?”

  “Mr. Papert?” Alex said and Kelsey swatted him which made him laugh. “That’s great Kels.”

  “Yeah I can’t believe he even knew about it much less made the effort to bring it up.” Her face went from astonished to guarded. “I wonder what he’s done.”

  Alex’s brow creased. “What do you mean?”

  Kelsey chewed her bottom lip in thought. “Every time Sully does something nice for someone it usually means he’s screwed them over in some other way they may not have figured out yet.”

  Alex blinked at her. “Is it possible he did it because he wanted you to be able to have your Debut?”

  Kelsey blinked back at him. “Possible, yes. Unlikely, but I guess anything is possible, really. Whatever, I’ll believe it when I see him in the tux.”

  She rolled onto her back, her head resting on his rib cage, one foot hanging over the side of the bow and closed her eyes. The wind whipped against them, stirring their clothes but the sun was warm and bright behind their closed lids. Kelsey felt Alex’s arm shift under her shoulder and he snaked it under her arm to place his hand on her ribcage just under her breasts, his other hand reached to run over her wind whipped hair, smoothing the strands that had pulled loose from her pony tail before he began to comb his fingers back from her forehead to where the band held her hair back. She was falling under, the gentle sway of the Echo Delta and the feel of Alex’s heartbeat against the back of her neck loosening her muscles and she felt safe enough to give in to slumber. Eventually Alex’s hand stopped its gentle massage, falling to her shoulder as he slipped in to sleep as well, happier than he’d been in a very long time feeling the deck of the Echo Delta under his back and Kelsey tucked warmly against his side.

  The sun was setting by the time they made it back to Lumen Cove which was still as silent and deserted as it had been that morning. They took the back stairs though, Kelsey more so out of habit and Alex from uneasy precaution. His stomach growled; the sandwiches he’d packed for their sailing excursion were a distant memory.

  Kelsey was moving sluggishly despite their long nap on the deck earlier in the afternoon. She felt sundrunk and sleepy, her cheeks stinging just a little. She laid her rain jacket over the back of a barstool as she always did and moved into the room, raising her arms over her head to stretch.

  “You want to call for dinner?” Alex asked and she let her arms flop back to her side with a sleepy sigh. “We could get Indian food from that new place down the highway.”

  Kelsey walked lazily over to his bed, perfectly made, and fell onto it, her face rubbing against the pillow for a moment before she reached behind her for his pillow and pulled it to her chest. “Whatever you want,” she said with a yawn and he smirked shaking his head as he pulled out his phone.

  She was drowsing when the food came and Alex blocked the view into the condo with his body as he accepted the bags from the delivery guy who called him Mr. Danvers when he greeted him and bade him farewell. His heart was pounding when he shut the door, letting out a slow breath and closing his eyes to calm himself. When he opened his eyes he saw Kelsey still curled up on the bed hugging his pillow and felt the corners of his mouth turn up. He stepped over to the kitchen, setting the bags down before padding over to her.

  “Hey,” he said softly, touching her shoulder and she twitched, her brown eyes opening to meet his. “Food’s here.”

  She stretched long and gave a sigh when her muscles relaxed as he walked back into the kitchen. She pushed herself up, rubbing her face. “Alex?”

  “Yes,” he said as he pawed through the delivery bag pulling out various containers and setting them on the counter.

  “Can I eat mine here?”

  Alex’s head whipped to her - he hated anyone eating in his bed - but when he saw her sitting Indian style, his pillow clutched to her chest as her hopeful eyes peeked over the end, he thought, well how can I say no to that?

  They sat cross-legged across from each other on the bed, chatting easily as they ate, stealing from each other’s boxes and offering each other bites from their own forks. Alex felt light and heavy all at once, a strange feeling settling under his sternum. He stared at her as she told him a story from when she and Reva were kids and her Gram had taken them to a carnival. He was only half listening, more concentrating on the perfect cupid’s bow of her lips, the way the dull light from the kitchen played off the golden strands in her dark hair, and how animated her eyes were, a deep brown flecked with amber.

  Kelsey was surprised when he leaned in suddenly and kissed her silent, her hand abandoning her fork in her take out box and moving to cup his cheek. She felt her stomach bottom out and shivered, feeling something settle inside her and she felt her muscles relax having not even realized she had been tense. He pulled back slowly, but just enough to part their lips, his forehead resting easily against hers and when she opened her eyes she had to fight her gasp at the blueness of his eyes, fathoms deep and reflecting an emotion back at her she couldn’t name.

  “Kelsey?” he said, his lips brushing hers and she blinked at him, letting him know she was listening, “I…”

  His voice died as his throat closed on itself. He swallowed and opened his mouth to try again but still nothing came out and the silence stretched between them. She blinked at him again, her lids heavy as she pressed her mouth to his and pulled back.

  “I’m super tired,” she said after a moment, blinking around blearily and he chuckled, taking her food carton from her hands and getting up. “What time is it?”

  She watched him shuffle into the kitchen, their food stacked atop one another and opened the refrigerator, depositing it inside. He leaned to look at the clock on the stove before he sauntered back over, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside.

  “It’s bedtime,” he said, undoing the buttons on his cords and pushing them to the floor before he crawled onto the bed.

  She was grinning at him as he kissed her hard, crouched in front of her on all fours. She pulled back to unthread the scarf from around her neck, rolling it into a small neat bundle as she leaned back to set it on the bedside table. She righted herself and pulled her sweater over her head and dropping it over the side of the bed. He watched her slip off the side of the bed and unbutton her pants, pushing them down over her hips with some effort and kicked them off her feet, leaving her in her thin white tank and pale pink underwear. She crawled back onto the bed and kissed him again, his mind going
blank for a sweet second where she was all he could feel, taste and smell. She pulled back quicker than he would have liked but he opened his eyes to see her stifling a yawn with the back of her hand.

  “Come on,” he said, reaching for the comforter and pulling it and the top sheet back so she could get under.

  He followed, letting her snuggle down, curling into herself as she got comfortable. He lifted his arm and she immediately pulled herself closer to him, one arm curling under the pillow they were sharing while the other draped over his stomach. She let out a sigh of perfect contentment and that full feeling was back in Alex’s chest, suffocating but comforting at the same time. He watched for what seemed like an eternity, she having fallen under almost instantly, running his fingertips over her cheek, down the bridge of her nose, over the delicate skin under her eyes. He knew that he was going to have to address this at some point but he forced himself not to think about it right then. They only had a few more days of break and he didn’t want to spoil the little bit of carefree time they had left. He could worry about it after. Eventually he succumbed to his own fatigue, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep the likes of which he hadn’t experienced in years.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The sound of shattering glass registered in the hazy state between asleep and awake. Kelsey felt her head fall from Alex’s arm and she blinked up into the morning sun, disoriented.

  “Morning Drew,” an unfamiliar, grizzled voice said and her eyes flew open, scrambling up onto her arms as she blinked her eyes into focus but this couldn’t be real. It was just a nightmare.

  A large man had Alex by the hair trying to drag him off the bed, another stood behind him, skinnier and rat-faced, attempting to reach around his partner and grab Alex’s arm. A third was making his way in through the shattered pane of the sliding glass door. Alex’s body twisted suddenly, his fist connecting with the man that had him by the hair and he huffed, releasing him, but the rat-faced man reached for him still.

  “Kelsey! Run!” Alex yelled, his voice a hard slap as he twisted his arm in the rat-faced man’s grip, slipping loose and throwing his body weight behind a right hook that sent the intruder sprawling in to the third man by the door.

  Kelsey scrambled off the bed, her feet slapping on the kitchen tile as she made a break for the back door. She hit it hard, grappling with the handle but Alex had locked it behind them last night and her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t grip the nubbin of the lock. She screamed as she felt large, rough hands close around her shoulders, pulling her away from the door. An arm snaked around her stomach, lifting her off her feet and she kicked and thrashed as she was hauled back into the living room, her feet connecting with one of the barstools and knocking it over.

  Alex had been caught as he tried to vault over the bed after Kelsey and was attempting to fight off two at once, the large man and Rat-Face, ducking and punching with such precision and power Kelsey almost stopped struggling to marvel at him. Alex elbowed Rat-Face in the nose, a loud cracking sound echoing throughout the condo. He howled, blood spurting between his hands as he doubled over holding his face. The large man then looped something around Alex’s neck, winding the red fabric around his hands to cut off Alex’s air supply.

  Kelsey screamed, resuming her struggle to get away. “No! No!” she yelled watching Alex try and pull the fabric away from his neck. “No… Gram…”

  Even in Alex’s oxygen deprived state Kelsey’s exclamation resonated and in a split second it all came together. Kelsey never wore scarves. The red had faded substantially. Finally a memory of Eleanor on stage introducing a play at the civic center, a bright red scarf looped around her neck.

  Alex immediately let go, the sound of threads beginning to give echoing loudly in his ears. His vision was going black. Come on Alex, think! His mind screamed and he took a chance on tucking his arm to his side and ramming his elbow straight back. The fabric loosened as the large man gasped, Alex’s shot to the kidneys incapacitating him for the split second it took Alex to rip the scarf off his neck and throw it towards the bed. Kelsey watched it catch the air and flutter, morning light playing over it as it wafted down onto Alex’s pillow. Rage boiled in her fueled by fear and grief. She lifted her foot high and stomped as hard as she could on the motorcycle boot of the man that held her and while he was distracted she jabbed her elbow behind her into his ribs as she’d seen Alex do. He gave a soft oomph, his grip on her loosening and she lunged forward.

  “Kelsey, NO!” Alex screamed holding his hand up as if to ward her back and the large man sidestepped him, his hand catching Kelsey around the throat as she tried to barrel past him.

  She choked instantly, the pain excruciating as he crushed her larynx, pulling her roughly against him. She heard a click and saw something glint in the light before she felt the tip of the blade press against her cheekbone at the corner of her eye.

  “NO!” Alex screamed his hand still reaching, crouched as if he were ready to lunge. His eyes were wild, scared. Kelsey reached up to try and tug at the large man’s hand, blackness creeping into the corners of her vision. “Let her go. I don’t know what you want but she’s not a part of it. Let her go.”

  Alex’s heart was slamming into his ribs, his mind racing as he watched Kelsey’s fingers claw weakly at the hand at her throat. Three assailants at ten, noon and three. One injured but not incapacitated. Two at full fighting capacity. One with a weapon and a hostage. Kelsey. He swallowed hard. The large man grinned at him revealing blackened front teeth. He flicked his switchblade closed and gave Kelsey a rough shove towards Rat-Face who caught her, smearing a bloody handprint across her white tank, gore still smeared on his upper lip and chin from his broken nose. Alex lunged for her but felt the large man grab one arm, the third man sliding into place to grab the other and he was forced onto his knees, his head shoved down so he was looking at the floor. He could see Kelsey’s feet with her teal polished toes scrambling for purchase in front of a pair of dusty black motorcycle boots.

  “Now,” the large man said, letting go but the third man kept a hand on his shoulder. Alex brought his head up to look between the two men in front of him. He could elbow the man behind him hard in the knee, possibly overextend his knee cap, then rise up to break his nose, but he didn’t like how close the large man was to Kelsey, switchblade still in hand even if closed. He didn’t like the way Rat-Face had her pulled to him, his hand disturbingly close to her breast as it wrapped around her ribcage. “We have some business to settle, Drew.”

  “He’s not Drew!” Kelsey exclaimed and the slap was loud and sudden and Kelsey didn’t even realize she’d been hit until the numbness started to fade and the sting set in.

  Alex had risen to his feet in a charge, barreling into the large man and toppling him back into the front door. He screamed at Kelsey to run and she tried her elbow trick again and was once more successful in getting free.

  “Kenny, stop her!” the large man yelled and the third man lunged at her as she tripped around the couch, tumbling into the bookshelf by Alex’s desk.

  The third man, now Kenny, grabbed her arms and slammed her hard into the shelf. A sharp pain bloomed at the back of her head as everything went into slow motion. She felt her knees give out and Kenny caught her under the ribs with one arm while the other gripped her hair, yanking her head back. The pain brought everything back to normal speed and she whined, craning her neck back to try and alleviate some of the pressure.

  Alex was on his knees again, the large man hitting him the face, once, twice and then a third time, yelling all the while. “Where’s my fucking money, Drew? Huh? You think you can lift ten Gs from me and not repay?”

  “He’s not Drew,” Kelsey yelled again, struggling and Kenny tightened his grip on her chest, one hand covering her breast in a savage hold that made her cry out.

  “Don’t… don’t hurt her,” Alex said weakly, blood pouring from his mouth as he tried to keep from sagging to the floor. His head was spinning. He had to breath
e. He had to come back. Alex you have to come back. He blinked hard, looking up and he felt a surge of adrenaline burn through him as he saw Kenny with his arm around Kelsey, his hand gripping her breast to hold her steady, his other hand wound in her hair nearly bending her backwards with how hard he was pulling on it. “Don’t. Hurt. Her.”

  “He’s not Drew,” Kelsey gritted out again, her voice strained in pain. “He’s his twin. They’re twins.”

  Kelsey screamed and snapped her eyes shut as the large man landed another punch to Alex’s jaw, blood flying in an arc as his head turned from the force of the blow. She struggled again but this time she was reaching toward the bookshelf. Her fingertips brushed the photo album but she couldn’t reach, Kenny holding her solidly in place by her hair. She gritted her teeth and made a lunge that seemed to scalp her, the pain making the back of her head burn hot as she felt clumps of hair being pulled out by the root. Her hands closed around the album, taking it with her as Kenny pulled her back again. She struggled with the pages, trying to bend where his hand pulled her, her scalp searing in pain.

  “Look!” she yelled, fumbling with the book as she turned it out towards them, trying to point to a picture of Alex and Drew side by side their faces younger but still identical as they stood in front of a huge fountain in a park somewhere. Neither were smiling. “Look! Please!”

  Kenny let go of her hair, shaking his hand out and Kelsey watched dark strands waft to the floor in large clumps. He snatched the album from her and turned it towards himself, blinking dumbly at the photo. The large man landed another blow. Kelsey struggled.

  “Hey… hey Clint,” Kenny said, his voice a slow drawl. “Hey I think she’s not bullshitting.”