Jaden (St. Sebastians Quartet #1)

by Heather Elizabeth King

"What's going on?"

  They all turned toward the foyer where four men were standing. One stood out in front of the rest, tall and dark, with the same coloring as the woman on the sofa. This must be Nico, the woman's brother.

  He rushed forward, toward his sister. "Don't listen to them, Bria."

  "I'm not crazy!" she exclaimed. "I told you I didn't imagine him."

  He sat beside her on the sofa and bundled her into his arms. "I never said you imagined him."

  "But you never believed me. You still don't believe me. Even when two perfect strangers have seen the same man." When Nico didn't respond, she shouted, "Hayley painted him. Did you see? Did you see he looks just like I told you?"

  "Where's your purse?"

  "I didn't bring one."

  "Come on." He rose, lifting his sister with him, but she struggled against him.

  "No. I'm staying."

  "You need to get in bed and rest."

  "I'm not crazy. They see him too."

  "Stop, Bria. Just stop." He released her and stepped away from the sofa. "Just stop. You have lost everything because of your illusions about this Man in White."

  "I know what I've lost. That man—no, he is not a man—he is a thing. And that thing has tormented me my entire life. Maybe now I can understand why. And if I understand, I can deal with him maybe."

  "This is crazy talk, Bria. It's all happening in your head."

  "You know he's real, Nico. You may not have seen him, but you have to know he's real. How could a child invent such a thing? And we're all having the same nightmares, the Red World and the White World, and the suffering in each. The three of us, Nico. I'm not crazy."

  She stopped talking then, and the only sound in the room was Nico's breathing, until he finally said, "Okay. Okay. I'm willing to admit that maybe something is going on. Hayley's paintings do seem unexplainable."

  "I gave you the explanation, Nico. She's seen him, too. She's had the same nightmares. Just like Edna's niece."

  "Hayley." Another man came from the foyer, this one with long blond hair. Instead of walking to the living room with the rest of them, he went toward the kitchen. "I think we need drinks."

  Hayley had been poised in front of the wall of windows, unmoving. When the blond spoke she seemed to return to earth. "Drinks. Yes. I can do that." She went to the kitchen and started getting glasses down from the cabinets. Her movements were too fast and jerky, but she looked better than she had when she'd been standing at the window.

  Kenda was in the foyer with another man who looked remarkably similar to the blond in the kitchen, but instead of long blond hair he had short, dark, spiky hair.

  With Nico there, the area around the woman was feeling crowded. Jaden rose and went to the windows and stared down at the boardwalk below. On another night, she would have enjoyed the view and complimented the loft. It was bright, airy, and pretty uptown chic for a beach town.

  Below, there was a lot of foot traffic on the boardwalk, and people going in and out of the gallery.

  "Should you be up here?" Jaden called out to Hayley. "People are still coming in to see your show."

  "Yeah. My staff can handle things," she said.

  Kenda was approaching, which made Jaden want to hide somewhere. She finally meets an attractive man with an actual personality on the day she has a public meltdown. How much had he heard? And how certifiable did he think she was?

  "I know it sounds crazy," she said as soon as he was standing beside her.

  "Crazy or not, you're not lying."

  She snorted. "You sound awful sure."

  "I was looking at you when you saw that painting. It was like someone had struck you." He reached toward her face, but came just short of touching her. "And I can see the bruises on your face. And the fact that Bria had the same reaction." He broke off and looked at Bria over his shoulder. "I can't judge what's crazy or sane, but I know what I saw. And that Hayley painted him and the rest of it." He shook his head. "That's why you were so spooked when I found you."

  "I only arrived here yesterday afternoon. My plan was to sit out on the deck tonight with a glass of wine. Stare at the ocean. That's as complicated as my night was supposed to be."

  "I hadn't thought of that. You don't know anyone here, do you? Except Hayley."

  "Just Hayley, and I only met her yesterday. She'd brought a painting to my aunt's."

  "Okay, so let me tell you who everyone is. The blond in the kitchen with Hayley is my older brother, Chris. The guy with the spiky hair is also my older brother. His name is Tyler. We've known Nico forever, and Nico is Bria's older brother. Bria is new to town, too. She's divorced. Not many details to tell, but I will say that it was bad. About as bad as it gets. She's been living with Nico till she can get on her feet again."

  "Wait a minute, I know who Bria is. I've never met her, but she works for my aunt at the bakery, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "Her ex beat her and she ran."

  "Bria is shy and skittish, but I never got crazy from her."

  "What about the tall woman?"

  "That's Sydney. She's been here about five years. She's an attorney. We have three law firms in town, if you can imagine that. Two actual firms, and then we have Sydney. She does a lot of pro bono work. I've never really talked much to her. I'm honestly surprised to find her here."

  "She saw Bria go down. And she saw my reaction, too."

  "Who needs a drink?"

  The question had come from Kenda's brother, Chris. He and Hayley were returning to the living room with an unopened bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, glasses, and a bucket of ice.

  This town sure loved its Tennessee Honey.

  Hayley had a large, beige sectional and two armchairs, giving everyone plenty of places to sit. Tyler had already settled in beside Bria. The two were talking quietly while Nico sat on the other side of his sister, staring toward the windows. Sydney was in an armchair. She was quiet, but she looked to Jaden like she was studying everyone.

  Jaden sat on the empty side of the sectional. Kenda settled in beside her.

  Chris passed out glasses, dropped a few cubes of ice in each, while Hayley poured the whiskey. When they had filled everyone else's glasses, they did their own. Sipping carefully, Chris sat beside Nico. Hayley lowered herself into the spot beside Chris.

  "Okay," Tyler began, once everyone was sitting, "who here has seen the man in Hayley's painting before?"

  Jaden, Bria, and Hayley raised their hands.

  Everyone looked at Sydney.

  She held her hands out in front of her. "Don't look at me. I'm only here to help. I heard Edna's niece—"

  "Jaden," Kenda said.

  "I heard Jaden cry out when she saw that painting. Right after that, Bria came up, saw it, screamed, then fainted." She shrugged. "I've never seen anything like that." She looked at Bria and tried a smile. "Scared the crap out of me, if I'm gonna be honest. I couldn't just walk away without seeing they were all right."

  Bria did smile, now. "Thank you. And thank you, Kenda, for carrying me upstairs."

  "Don't mention it," Kenda said.

  Jaden didn't know anybody there. She'd be gone at the end of summer, so she supposed she had the least to lose. She drank some of her drink for courage, kept her eyes on Hayley, cleared her throat. "I don't know who he is. I don't even know if he's a real person. But I've seen him for as long as I can remember. He's always been a presence in my life. When I was young he was an apparition. I wouldn't say he haunted me, he was just always there, dressed in white with a halo of light around him. It wasn't until I was a teen that the nightmares started. They were always of people I didn't know, suffering, screaming, in agony. And there was always a presence there; a shadow overseeing things. I'd wanted to help the people, but I didn't know what to do." She paused to take another sip of her drink. "I'd be in that world. The Red World, the one Hayley captured, and I'd always end up getting lost. Then the shadow would realize someone was there and it would come after me. I
t was years before I connected that shadow with the apparition."

  As Jaden spoke, Bria and Hayley nodded.

  "Yep," Hayley said. "Same for me. I actually thought he was a guardian angel or something stupid like that. He always seemed to be there, watching over me."

  "How often do you have nightmares?" Kenda asked.

  "It's not every night," said Hayley. Not even every week. Is it like that for you guys?"

  Again, Bria nodded.

  "Pretty much. A month doesn't go by without a dream," Jaden said, "but I've gone a couple of weeks without one."

  "Next question," Tyler said. "What does he want?"

  The three woman looked at each other. "I don't know that he wants anything," Hayley said.

  "He has to want something. You say he's been watching all of you since you were children. Now you have nightmares. If you try to help the people in your nightmares, he chases you. Why? There has to be a reason."

  "We don't say he's been watching us, Tyler," Hayley said, "He has been watching us. Big difference."

  "He's not arguing with you, Hayley," Chris said. "He's just trying to understand. We all are. This is—"

  "Crazy?"

  "Well yeah, a little. But I didn't say I think you're crazy. Just the situation. It's hard to believe."

  "Well it's true, Christopher Browning. None of us are lying, if that's what you're implying."

  "I wasn't. I'm just saying this isn't exactly run of the mill."

  "Exactly," said Nico.

  Bria covered her face and began to cry softly. She seemed to cave in on herself. Jaden wanted to go to the girl and comfort her, but she didn't think Nico would like that. So she stayed where she was and watched helplessly.

  He put an arm around Bria, but she pushed away from him. "I just don't want to think about it. Who wants to think about a man, powerful enough to invade your dreams, wanting something from you?"

  Hayley poured herself a second glass. "I sure don't."

  "But there's the three of us now," Jaden said. "That makes us stronger than we were before." She looked at Bria. "You're not alone anymore."

  Nico rose. "That's enough," he said. "I've heard enough."

  "This isn't about you," Sydney said. "It's about your sister. She's the one who's been having nightmares, not you."

  "And I'm the one who'll be up with her half the night because she'll be too afraid to sleep." He looked down at his sister, who was still crying. "Come on, Bria."

  "Nico," Tyler said, also getting to his feet. "Maybe she wants to stay."

  "No. You guys have fun talking about your ghosts and nightmares and bogeymen, Bria and me are going home."

  Bria rose shakily, wiping at her face with the palms of her hands.

  "Nico please," Hayley said. "She's still too shaky to walk. You're gonna make her walk two blocks? Or I suppose you're gonna carry her?"

  "I'm all right," Bria said. She hoisted her chin into the air, Jaden guessed it was an attempt to look strong. But she didn't look strong. She looked small and scared.

  Jaden looked at Hayley, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  "I have two spare bedrooms," Hayley said. "Why don't you stay here tonight. Or at least a little while longer. I have cable, a guest bathroom, you don't have to be part of this conversation."

  "We're going home," Nico said.

  "You're being an ass." Tyler said.

  "This is none of your business, Tyler. Back off."

  "She just fainted, for crying out loud. She had the wits scared out of her. Give her time to get herself together. And you can't tell me if you were the one having nightmares all your life and came across two people having the same nightmares, you wouldn't want to find out more."

  "They're filling her head with nonsense. She can't afford that right now."

  "I get that you're afraid for Bria," Tyler said, "but give her a break."

  Bria nodded vigorously. "This is the first time in," she looked up at the ceiling, "my entire life that I haven't felt like a freak."

  "You're not a freak," Sydney said. "And you make the best white chocolate mochas I've ever had."

  For the first time that night, Bria smiled. "It's Edna's recipe. She uses real white chocolate that she makes herself." Bria looked at Jaden. "Your aunt is as close to an angel as anyone I've ever met. She gave me a job when no one else would. And she's taught me so much."

  "Aunt Edna is pretty fabulous. She's giving me a chance at a fresh start, too." Jaden shrugged, not really sure why she was about to tell a room full of strangers something so private, but she felt Bria needed to hear it. "I left my job of seven years. Now I'm not sure what to do with myself. Only thing I know is that I'd like to write an amazing book. Several amazing books. Aunt Edna is letting me camp out at her house while I figure out my next step."

  "I love the view from her back deck."

  Everyone looked at Sydney.

  "What?"

  "Edna really does know everyone," Kenda said.

  "I helped her with the legal end of things when she decided she wanted to open a bakery."

  "You're that Sydney," Jaden said. "Okay. I know who you are."

  "And I know who you are. Your aunt thinks the world of you."

  There was a small clearing of the throat that got everyone's attention.

  Bria was sitting on the sofa again, her eyes red, but the tears were gone. "I've thought a lot about this over the years," she said, in her quiet voice. "I think it has something to do with those people in the Red World and the White World. I think..." she looked at Nico and frowned, before continuing. "...I think we're supposed to help them."

  "Help them how?" Hayley asked. "We don't even know who they are?"

  Bria shrugged. "I think we're supposed to find out."

  "How do we do that?" Jaden asked. "I wouldn't know where to start."

  "At the library," Sydney said. "All we have now is a Red World and a White World, it's not much, but it's a place to start. I don't mind helping. I'm an ace at research."

  "I'm at the gallery till three tomorrow, but I'll come to the library after that. What about you guys?"

  "I want to help," Bria said. "I'm free after three, too."

  "Jaden?" Hayley asked.

  "At this point, it can't hurt. I'm in."

  "Does three work for you, Sydney?" Hayley asked.

  "My last appointment is at three-fifteen. Once I'm done with that, I'll meet everyone at the library."

  They talked a bit more, but Jaden didn't think anyone had come up with an idea better than Bria's. It wasn't necessarily right, but it was a place to start.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kenda had no idea what he'd gotten himself into. Or why, even? Things had spiraled out of control before he realized what was happening. Now, when he had a clearer picture of things, he still found himself walking Jaden home. Not because the streets of St. Sebastians were dangerous, or even because he was worried she'd lose her way. It was impossible to get lost in St. Sebastians. He simply wasn't ready to say goodnight. Not yet.

  When he'd seen Jaden for the first time he'd had to do a double take. At first, he was certain his eyes were playing tricks on him. He'd never seen a woman like her. Her brown skin was smooth, she looked ageless. She was dressed simply, and the simple clothes seemed to accentuate her beauty. She had the kind of full lips he thought he could spend an entire night kissing, and a laugh that was infectious. Though, he hadn't heard much of it tonight.

  He hadn't thought a woman like Jaden existed in real life.

  She didn't have much to say on the walk home, but he didn't mind. Just being with her was enough.

  What was going on with him? She didn't even live here. Not to mention the fact that she thought she saw ghosts and had one following her around. This couldn't go anywhere.

  "This is me," she said, breaking the silence. "Thank you for walking me home."

  "Will you be all right?"

  She nodded. "I'm actually better than I've been in a long tim
e. Maybe we can find the cause of these nightmares. I can't even imagine what it would be like to go to sleep without fear of what I'll see once I close my eyes."

  "I can't imagine."

  "It's amazing what a human can get used to."

  They started up the walkway to the front door. Wildflowers grew along the path. He couldn't see the pinks, yellows, and purples, but he knew come sunrise, Edna's front lawn but be full of color.

  "If you're worried about being alone—"

  "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

  With that, she went inside, then shut and locked the door, leaving him standing on the front steps feeling stupid.

  Clearly, this attraction was one-sided. She gave no indication of interest in him. She had been preoccupied, but still. Not a fluttered eyelash, not a sly smile, nothing.

  He started back toward the street and back toward home, thinking about the night. She had seemed a lot more engaged before she'd seen that last painting, the one that had made Bria faint.

  Could there really be some mysterious figure out there, stalking these women? Who? And where was he from? How could a man appear to each of them as—he couldn't even get his mind around this—as an apparition, then control their dreams? Tyler had come down on Nico for being so resistant, but it was crazy. Kenda didn't think they were lying; he just couldn't see how it was happening.

  He lived a few houses down from Edna and was turning into his yard when his cell phone rang.

  "Hey Kenda, are you still with Jaden?" Hayley asked from the other side of the line.

  "I just left her. What's up?"

  "Shoot. She left her purse."

  "No problem. I'll come get it and bring it to her."

  "You don't mind. It's late."

  "Hayley, after tonight I'm far and away from sleep. I can't get my brain to shut down. I might as well be useful."

  *****

  Jaden made herself a hot cup of tea as soon as she was inside. She didn't know what to think about. She had met women who had the same nightmares as her. She'd learned early on not to talk about the Man in White, or about her dreams. Mentioning the man would get her sent to her room and her video games taken away. And she couldn't count the doctors her parents had sent her to after she'd started having the nightmares. She'd had all kinds of diagnoses and been put on an assortment of drugs. Some made her sleep, which was horrible if she fell into a deep sleep on the night of a nightmare. Others prevented her from dreaming, which should have been fine, but she never felt fully rested when taking those. She'd spend her days feeling like a zombie. When she'd become an adult she'd made the tough decision of going off the drugs, all of them, and facing her dreams. There had to be a reason why she was having them. Tonight, she felt closer to finding out what that reason was.