Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1)

by Barry Chaison

  “Ann, what’s that on your hip?” I asked, referencing a dark mark on the left side of her waist.

  “What? Oh, that? Not all of us are blessed with beautiful, blemish-free, snow-white skin like you have Zoe. It’s just a birthmark.”

  “Any other goodies you plan on revealing to the world today?”

  I took off my blue Seattle Seahawks T-Shirt, and khaki capris, revealing a modest black one-piece. It safely covered all major points of interest.

  “Hmpf,” Annie contested.

  “What is it this time?” I groaned.

  “It’s just that I thought maybe you’d have something a little showier on under your other clothes.”

  “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “You need to lighten up and relax. You’re in college now and it’s time to start over. Remember the deal we made before coming here. I’m going to focus more on school with your help and you’re going to at least make an effort to be social. It’s pathetic how you don’t even realize that you are the most beautiful girl in the park.”

  “Yeah, right,” I replied nervously. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Well, if you ever got some confidence, no girl in here would stand a chance.”

  “You keep believing that.”

  “At least come into the pool with me then, it’s not that scary in there.”

  “Oh come on Ann. You said there would be no pressure today. You promised.”

  “Please, Zoe,” she pleaded, in a last ditch attempt to get me out of my shell. “I’ll be with you the whole time, I promise. It’ll be fun. You can even sit at the edge and put your feet in. You won’t have to go in the water at all.”

  “Annie, I said no. Stop pressuring me, please!”

  It was the first time I’d ever raised my voice to Annie. I regretted it almost instantly as the change in her expression was like night and day. For a moment, she stood there, frozen on the spot, staring a burning hole right through me. She took a deep breath and finally released it slowly, shaking her head.

  “Fine,” she surrendered with a frown that creased her smooth forehead. “But I’m not going to sit here while you try and ruin my day. I’m going walk the park, check out the scenery.”

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “It’s just that you know I’ve never been a fan of the water. I’ll just stay here for a while and relax. You go have fun.”

  Without another word, she turned on her heels and glided away from the pool back towards the waterslide area of the park. She looked more like a kid in a candy store than an eighteen-year-old college freshman as she quickly skipped away. I slid on my thin sunglasses, and collapsed under the umbrella, trying to calm myself after Annie’s unrelenting pressure. She should have known better. I must have told her more than a thousand times how much I hated going in the water. While I sat there thinking, my eyes unexpectedly became very heavy. After the previous nights’ dream, the last thing I wanted was to sleep again. But the more I fought it, the heavier my eyes became. After a few minutes of futile attempts, the drowsiness finally overtook me.

  The air had cooled modestly when my eyes slowly opened. Instead of a crowded water park, I was shocked to see a familiar sight. The sun was sparkling off of the beautiful Puget Sound and I found myself seated on a random park bench. My eyes glanced around in stunned silence, wondering if it was another dream or if I’d magically teleported back to Seattle. Families were spread all about, some playing in the sand with their children on the beach, others frolicking in the water and enjoying what felt like a typical Seattle summer day. Bicyclists were flying down the sidewalk, swerving in and out of families walking along with their children and dogs. I scanned the crowds of people sauntering along the waterfront, taking in the joy and calmness the scene had provided me. All of a sudden, my gaze fell upon a very familiar family, which caused me to rub my eyes in disbelief.

  Along the waterfront walked my parents, who were each holding the hand of a very pretty little girl who was skipping along in between them. Her long black hair glistened in the sunlight while she stared out into the water, where many other families were enjoying the warm day. There was a look of longing in her sapphire blue eyes. I stared in awe as the younger me marched along with my parents, giving me a sudden feeling of déjà vu. My rigid body relaxed and I slowly stood up, trying to decide what to do. Curiosity started running rampant through my head. All I wanted at that moment was to hear them speak again, to get any taste of the past to soothe my grieving wounds. Without thinking, I headed down towards the water and quickly caught up to my family. I had to get close enough to hear them without being seen, and when I was a few feet behind them, my mother’s tender, familiar voice filled my ears.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said, her stunning blue eyes gazing down towards her pleading daughter, “but we’ve gone over this before.”

  “Please, mommy!” young Zoe begged in a very high-pitched squeal.

  “Zoe, honey, listen to your mother,” my father’s booming voice chimed in from high above. His wavy black hair was rustling softly in the breeze, and his dark brown eyes scanned the scene in front of them. I stood for a moment and stared at my father in awe, soaking in any longing that was rapidly building inside. It was impossible to forget where my figure came from, as my father’s lanky, skin-and-bones frame stood out over the more meaty men that surrounded him. Even though it was a warm day, he still sported a pair of paper-thin khaki pants and a ribbed sweater vest, but didn’t have a drop of sweat anywhere along his brow.

  “But why?” she pouted as the tears started to flow.

  My parents both stopped walking simultaneously, exchanged a quick glance, and released their hold on her hands. The older me stopped walking too, and stood back at a safe distance, still close enough to hear and see what was going on. Both of them crouched down and remorsefully looked into their daughter’s young, tearful eyes. My father wiped away one of them and smiled.

  “I know you’re upset, honey. This isn’t easy for us either. We love you and want you to stay safe.”

  “But what’s so scary about the water?”

  “You’re too young to understand,” my mother said somberly.

  “I’m seven. I’m a big girl.”

  “You sure are,” she chuckled. “We just feel better when you are safe with us. There would be nothing worse in this world than if we lost you. You’re very special.”

  “Reyna,” my father urged sternly. “Don’t frighten her.”

  “I’m not scared! Please let me go in!”

  “We’re done here,” my mother said firmly, standing back up to her full and unforgettably tall height. I had forgotten how intimidating she could be. The silky smooth, thin hair that fell to her mid-back was blowing in the rapidly increasing wind, as was her bright yellow sun dress. Her curvy figure made her stand out, but in more of a good way than that same figure did for me. She stood with pride and poise. Her broad shoulders were squared, and her perfectly defined face looked very confident.

  “But I never get to do anything fun,” young Zoe whined.

  “It’s not that bad, Zoe,” my mom said. “Besides, you’re safe and healthy, which is the most important thing.”

  “You always say no. I can’t play sports or sing or dance or do anything. I hate it!”

  “Shhh,” my father whispered, still kneeling down. “Zoe, we love you and just want you to be safe. What if you went into the water and someone stole you away from us? We couldn’t live with ourselves. You are the most important thing in this entire world to your mother and I. Trust me, this is all for your own good. You’ll understand one day.”

  He leaned forward, kissed her forehead and wiped away the remaining tears. My mother reached down and took hold of one hand while my dad stood and took the other. The earlier smile that covered the younger Zoe’s face had been replaced by my all-too-familiar frown. I hungrily watched as my parents continued to walk away, with the younger me locked in between them.

&n
bsp; While I stood there in stunned silence, thinking how my dreams could get any worse, an ice cold sensation swiftly swept over my body and a quick flash of white light crossed my vision. Before I realized what had happened, the unbearable heat had returned and the blurry vision of the water park reemerged. Drops of cold water were dripping down my chest and back.

  “What the…” I said, looking around, trying to shake myself awake.

  Out of nowhere came more water, this time drenching my entire head. Gasping, I leapt up, spun around and saw a shadowy figure leaning over my chair, whose face had been blocked out by the sun that was slowly falling behind him. Then there was a deep, commanding laugh which shook me to the core.

  “Uh, sorry,” the voice snickered. There was a water bottle in his hand that was tipped over my chair, as the last few remaining drops leaked onto the artificial sand. He and his friend just laughed and walked away. I stood there soaked and my anger started to boil over.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I shouted in their direction. “It’s not like I was sitting here or anything!” The people around me stared uncomfortably at my public humiliation. I picked up my towel which was luckily still dry in my bag and wiped both my face and chair before sitting back down.

  I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I had fallen asleep. The sun was definitely not so high in the sky anymore which made me think it was sometime in the afternoon. Before I had any chance to relax or stew in my anger, an excited voice came singing from somewhere behind me.

  “There you are!” Annie shrieked in delight, bounding towards me. There was an all too familiar look in her face.

  “Hey,” I responded. “What’s up?”

  “I just met one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen,” she declared with the sound of triumph in her voice.

  “Really? Where?”

  “Well…” she started. “When I left you, I went back towards those huge waterslides we saw when we came in. I had a feeling that all the hot guys would be there, and man was I right,” she said happily.

  “Most of them were at this slide called “El Diablo”, which is ten stories high and has this old, freaky looking staircase. It has this huge tube that spins towards the ground with a five-story drop. There wasn’t much competition because most of the riders were guys. Hot, hot guys.”

  “Wait a minute,” I interjected. “You hate heights. It’s the one thing you’re scared of that I’m not!”

  “I know, I know,” she countered, biting her lip. “But, while I was standing there this guy came behind me and whispered in my ear: “What’s the problem? Life’s not worth living without taking some risks…” she blushed. “I turned and there stood the most beautiful guy I’d ever seen in my life. Zoe, you have to see him.”

  “Well, what does he look like?” I played along.

  “For starters, he’s ripped, but not in that nasty, bodybuilder way. He’s just solid muscle. He has black hair, which is actually almost as dark as yours. And his eyes, Zoe, you have no idea. They are this deep, midnight black. Oh, and he’s about as tall as you are,” she said in a trance. I grimaced at the reminder of my Amazonian appearance.

  “Anyway, I turned and told him that I was afraid of heights and didn’t trust the stairs, and was seriously scared of falling to my death,” she said, with the look of love in her eyes. I’d never seen Annie so love struck by a guy before. It started to frighten me a little bit.

  “He said he’d protect me if I got scared. So, you know me, I gave in right away. About half way up, I looked down and realized how high up we were. I freaking’ slipped on the stairs and almost fell over the side of the rail!”

  Not noticing the look of concern in my eyes, Annie continued on.

  “I grabbed his shoulder and the weirdest thing happened,” she said thoughtfully.

  My muscles all clinched in worry, expecting the worst.

  “I felt this… I guess you could call it an electric shock,” she giggled. “It was a really weird feeling, but it didn’t hurt at all.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I did it! But, unfortunately my stomach didn’t and I lost it as soon as I got out of the pool at the bottom,” she sighed. “He teased me and then asked me if I wanted to hang with him and his friends.”

  “Wow…” I sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “How do you do it?”

  She snorted and crossed her arms. “It’s not that hard Zoe.”

  “For me it is,” I admitted. “Guys just don’t flock to me like they do to you. Never have and probably never will.”

  “Look,” she said in a friendly voice, “I know it seems like it won’t ever happen but I promise it will. You are beautiful, and someone will notice one day. We just need to get you in the right position for it to happen.”

  “Like you were?”

  “Exactly. What if you were there with me? I’m sure they would have been all over you too. No doubt.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Maybe someday we’ll find out.”

  “We definitely will,” she responded, with a soft hand on my shoulder. “But, what do you think of Liam?”

  Only Annie could make such a quick transition from others to herself. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

  “Liam?”

  “The guy Zoe, the guy! Try to keep up!”

  “Oh, well, he sounds cool I guess,” I started.

  “You guess?” Annie said, with a slight hint of suspicion. “What do you mean you guess?”

  “To make you go on something you were scared of going on doesn’t seem very nice,” I said.

  “Liam was just trying to talk me out of my fears,” she replied quickly. “He’s really a cool guy, you just don’t know him. Besides, it’s no different than me trying to get you out of your shell.”

  She made a good point. Even though this guy Liam didn’t appear to be the best influence on Annie, what he did wasn’t really much different than what Annie was trying to do with me. There was something about him from her story that didn’t sit well, but I hated seeing Annie upset more than anything in the world. My thoughts and judgments would have to take a back seat.

  “You’re right,” I said. “You always are, as scary as that sounds.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon. He asked for my email so I gave it to him. I hope he writes soon. Zoe, you’re just going to melt when you see him, I swear.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I lied. “Maybe I’ll even get the courage to say hi.”

  “We’ll work on it,” she smiled. “Anyways, how was your afternoon?”

  My mind raced through the events of earlier, trying to pick out what to tell her. So much happened but yet I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell her about my dream. But, telling her that a stranger accidentally spilled his ice-cold water on me would probably save face for the day.

  “You’ll never believe this, but I kind of met a guy today too,” I started to say as we began to pack up our bags and head out of the park. Annie froze mid-step and stared at me in shock.

  “Oh, no! Not like that!” I added quickly, realizing how bad it sounded. Annie seemed to thaw out after that, but she still looked at me skeptically while we continued to walk.

  “Then what was it?” she asked.

  I proceeded to tell her the story of my water wake up call. Annie laughed, but when my face turned sour, she stopped almost immediately.

  “Um, did you at least talk to him?” she asked hopefully.

  “Not really. I kinda yelled at him instead,” I said sheepishly.

  Annie’s jaw dropped. “You yelled at him?”

  “Well he just walked away! What else was I supposed to do?”

  “He didn’t even apologize?”

  “Not really. He gave this insincere apology and then walked away.”

  “Wow, what an ass!” she exclaimed. “Did you even see his face?”

  “No, the sun was in my eyes and my glasses had fallen off while I was sleep
ing,” I said.

  “Don’t you worry Zoe, that one doesn’t count,” she said, giving me a friendly push. I smiled and pushed her back.

  It may not have been the day I was expecting, considering the fact that the only guy I met was the one jerk who dumped water on me and walked away. And on top of that, the eerie dream about my parents and the random fire just made me wonder what was really going on inside my head. But the purpose of the day was to relax and spend some quality time with Annie. Although we didn’t spend all day together, the last few minutes where we just walked, talked and joked had pushed all of the negatives out of my mind, even if it was only for a day.

  Chapter 2: Surprises

  The sun was blazing early when we stepped out of our condo the next morning. All around us, groups of students had flocked out of apartments on their way to campus for orientation. Annie and I chose our complex because the school built it specifically to give new students a chance to get that “living on your own” feeling. They were nice, modern looking homes, with two units per building. There was a single driveway per building, big enough for two cars, although Annie’s was the only car in ours since we moved in. It was two stories and painted a rich, southwestern adobe color. There was a lawn of rust color pebbles that lined our entire front yard, which was encased by a white picket fence. It looked like we were living on the moon, without a glimpse of green anywhere in sight. It was quite a difference from our traditional northwestern desert of evergreens. Finally, a curvy sidewalk went from the driveway, around the lawn, up to a single staircase that led to our home. As we were walking down the stairs, we noticed two girls emerging from the downstairs unit.

  “Hey!” Annie exclaimed as we reached the bottom.

  Both girls turned immediately as the taller of the two sported a very welcoming smile.

  “Hi,” she replied enthusiastically. “You the girls that live upstairs?”

  “Yep, I’m Annie and this is Zoe,” Annie replied, putting her arm around my waist in a half hug. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks in embarrassment.