“Mmm...Hmm,” Annie groaned.
I tried to turn my head away and close my eyes but to no avail. I was frozen on the spot and couldn’t do anything to block the disgusting display.
“Just relax,” he whispered when his hands started to travel under her shirt. In one quick movement, it was pulled off and thrown to the floor, revealing Annie’s athletically toned frame. She continued to lie there, completely at his will, wearing nothing but a skimpy black set of underwear.
“I’m yours,” Annie moaned, nibbling his ear sensually.
With all of my effort, I tried desperately to move my head, close my eyes and even yell out, but nothing happened. If I really did time travel again, it was not the same experience. It was similar to my normal dreams and I was a hopeless victim. The entire scene was getting worse by the second. It wasn’t until Annie finally pulled Liam’s shirt off that my feelings shifted. A strong desire overcame me while Liam’s perfectly toned muscles glowed under the bright light. Seeing his immaculate physique sent a sensual quiver through my body.
“Lie back,” he breathed heavily again, sending Annie into lustful convulsions.
Liam’s kisses started working their way down from Annie’s lips. Her neck, chest and stomach were all recipients of his gentle romantic touch. When he started tracing his lips around her waist, he stopped suddenly.
“Wha- what’s wrong?” Annie panted.
Liam sat there in shock and stared at Annie with a ghostly pale face. His eyes were wide with terror.
“What is it?” Annie said again, sounding worried.
“I… I’ve gotta go,” Liam stuttered.
He jumped out of bed and threw his shirt over his head, ignoring Annie completely.
“Wait, please! I don’t understand” Annie cried as tears began to flow rapidly down her cheeks.
While I looked at Annie crying in betrayed agony, my blood started to boil. My anger was stronger than any time before in my life. Seeing her so vulnerable and weak brought an unknown pain to my heart. In that moment, all I wanted to do was jump down and attack him, but my body remained frozen.
Conjuring up all of my energy and concentration, I tried to break from my frozen prison to console Annie. Tears were flowing rapidly down her cheeks when Liam pulled the door open and left in a flash. Right before she left to chase after him, a single, muffled word started emanating from her lips.
“Zoe,” she said between sniffs.
My heart broke into more pieces with each new cry. There was my best friend, calling out for me and I was incapable of helping.
“Zoe,” she cried again.
She finally stood up and ran out the door after him, shouting his name.
“Zoe,” a different voice called again, this time from a distance.
Without warning, our bedroom in Seattle zoomed out of focus and my body started moving at what felt like the speed of light. Everything sped by in such a blur that there was no sense of falling or flying. Then, as though my body had been pulled from a blender, my eyes shot open and I could feel a pair of soft hands carefully brushing me awake.
“Zoe, wake up,” the familiar and very soothing voice called again.
I slowly lifted my head while my eyes came into focus. A dark, blurry figure was standing over me, still rustling me cautiously.
“What’s going on?” I whimpered.
At that moment, my eyes came into focus and a very concerned face was staring back at me. Simi had found me.
Chapter 13: Thanksgiving
“Simi? What are you doing here?” I said groggily.
Her calming hand released my shoulder and she walked around the table and sat across from me. A look of mild doubt covered her face. I wasn’t sure how she had found me but her presence had somehow made me feel better after such an infuriating dream.
“I was upstairs studying and about to leave when I heard someone yelling. When I came down to check, you were sitting here thrashing all over the place,” she said with a look of concern. “Are you okay?”
“If only you knew the half of it,” I sighed, regaining my bearings. “What was I yelling about?”
Her eyes darted away from me in an instant and she looked hesitant.
“Come on Simi, what was it?” I pressed.
After a long sigh, she finally looked back at me. “Most of it was a lot of nonsense. But when I found you, you started mumbling Annie’s name. It took me a few seconds just to snap you out of it.”
The disturbing images from the dream flashed before my eyes at the mention of Annie’s name. I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Oh,” I mumbled, feeling somewhat disappointed. “That’s all I said?”
Simi nodded, still looking apprehensive. “What’s going on with the two of you? I never heard how your time together went a few weeks ago. I’m guessing from your dream that it didn’t go so well?”
I took a deep breath and started to look around, not sure if I was ready to tell Simi everything. The library was still desolate and nighttime had fallen outside. I gazed steadily out the window while an eerie sensation overtook me. Even though it was dark outside, I got the strangest feeling that a pair of invisible eyes was watching the two of us.
“It’s complicated,” I resigned.
Simi’s eyes narrowed. “I think I can handle it.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I chuckled uneasily.
A brief smile appeared on her face. “I’ve heard some pretty crazy things, why don’t you start from the beginning?”
I proceeded to tell her everything that had happened that night, up until the part when we got mugged. It was hard enough for me to accept and believe, let alone tell someone who would probably think I was crazy. The happy memories from that night had been overtaken by all of the insanity that ensued afterwards.
Simi looked confused when I finished. “It sounds like things went well. What’s the problem?”
Even though Simi’s presence had calmed me, I continued to resist. I still couldn’t bring myself to tell her about my ability to survive gunshot wounds and Liam’s skill at memory alteration. It still sounded too crazy for me to believe.
“You’re hiding something.”
Was it that obvious? I tried with all my might to avoid discussing it, but her persistence started to get a tad annoying.
“Alright, I’ll tell you but I guarantee you’ll think I’m crazy,” I surrendered.
With a victorious smile, she leaned back in her chair and waited for the next part of the story.
Retelling the story wasn’t an easy experience, especially knowing the lasting affects it had on Annie. While I talked, Simi sat across from me, listening without interruption. Surprisingly, when I retold the part about getting shot, there wasn’t a change in her expression. She continued to sit there calmly, taking in every word I said.
It wasn’t until I told her what Liam had done to Annie when she showed her first signs of concern. How she didn’t freak out when I told her about getting shot but did when I mentioned Liam erasing memories was beyond me. There was something unsettling about her behavior, which made me feel even worse. Was there nobody normal left in my life?
“This is very important Zoe,” she said sternly, leaning forward in her chair. “I need you to tell me exactly what’s happened with Annie since that night.”
“Honestly, I haven’t seen her much. The only time we really talked was about a week ago. She didn’t remember a single thing that happened, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Her memory wasn’t just gone, it had been replaced. All she kept saying was that she showed up for our date on time and I was gone. When she walked back to Beta house, she said that you and I were sitting in the Pit, having dinner together. She thinks I abandoned her.”
Simi gazed out the window and drew a deep breath. “This isn’t good. I kept warning him to stay away but he wouldn’t listen. Zoe, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
I couldn’t tell what was freaking me o
ut more; the fact that Simi wasn’t put off from what had happened, or that she actually seemed to understand it all. With each passing moment of silence, I got a funny feeling inside while Simi stared deeply into my eyes.
“I know Professor Woodward has talked to you,” she said urgently. “He’s had me watching you the past few days, ever since he told you about Common Ground. I know this isn’t easy to accept at first, I was in the same boat and struggled with it too. But, this is all real and there is something bad coming, I can feel it. Everything goes deeper than you could possibly imagine and Liam is just the beginning. This will not be easy to hear, but Annie is at the heart of it all. The longer Liam stays around her, the worse off she’ll be. We’ve been trying to warn him for the past few months, but he’s obsessed with her and won’t listen. There isn’t much else we can do, so we’re going to need your help. He’s going with you guys to Seattle for Thanksgiving, right?”
My jaw was agape and I stared at her in shock. I couldn’t find anything to say. The one person I felt most comfortable around, and trusted, had apparently been a part of it all from the very beginning.
“Zoe, you still with me?” she said, waving a hand in front of my blank face. “You have to follow me on this, it’s important.”
“How could you not tell me?” I finally gasped. “All this time you knew and kept it from me?”
“This isn’t the time for that Zoe,” she retorted quickly. “I promise to explain it all later, but right now, you need to hear me.”
I sat there in silence and looked away from Simi, who took that as a sign to continue. “Good, now listen closely. Remember when I told you Annie is going to need you sooner than later? I think that time is coming soon. You’re going to have to watch over her and make sure she stays safe. We don’t know who to trust right now.”
“Are you telling me that Liam is going to hurt Annie?” I asked, staring back at Simi. “I’ll kill him if he does. I swear on it.”
“We don’t think so, but we’re not sure to be honest,” she said. “That’s why you need to watch out for her on this trip. Can you do that?”
“Of course I can do that!” I snapped, my frustration growing with each passing second. I couldn’t stop it and part of me didn’t want to. “I always watch out for her, all of you should know that by now.”
I grabbed my bag and stormed away from the table without another word. My list of people I could rely on was paper thin. It didn’t matter that she was an angel, or Liam was a demon, all I could think about was Annie and the reality of her being hurt. Simi’s intuition was right, but she didn’t know the extent of it. Something bad was coming, and I knew exactly where and when.
**************************************
Thanksgiving week came without another incident. Professor Woodward remained gone and cancelled our final two classes before the vacation. It was probably for the best, seeing how angry I was with him and Simi and everyone else who was in on it all. Annie and Liam stayed away too, but our unpleasant vacation started earlier than expected.
“Before you all depart for the holiday,” Professor Franklin said at the end of our last class before the holiday, “I want you to remember that when you get back, finals will only be three weeks out. You survived your midterms, but finals will require a whole new level of hard work. Come back refreshed and ready to focus. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.”
The remaining few students that attended class packed up their bags faster than I’d ever seen. While I started to put my binder away, my eyes glanced towards Annie and noticed she was almost up and out the door, not even giving me a brief glance. For days, I’d be thinking about anything that could give me a good reason to talk to her, and it was then it hit me. Swallowing my pride, I stood up and jolted after her.
“Hey, wait up!” I yelled, chasing her down the stairs. “Annie! Wait!”
“What do you want?” she grumbled, stopping in front of the double entry doors to the building.
The fact she stopped at all was a positive sign, but the nastiness in her response was not what I was in the mood to hear.
“Nice to see you too,” I retaliated. “I wanted to see what your plans were for getting to the airport this afternoon.”
“Our flight leaves at three. Be at the Beta house in an hour or you’ll need to catch a cab,” she said frostily.
“Oh, great! Thanks a lot, you’re a lifesaver,” I exhaled.
Even though spending all afternoon with the two of them was daunting, knowing I had a ride calmed me down a bit. We stood there for a moment while an awkward silence fell between us.
“Is there anything else?” she demanded, tapping her foot.
There was something else, something she wasn’t going to want to hear. Liam had already split us apart so much that any more ill-will towards him would possibly end our friendship. I knew Annie couldn’t know exactly what I’d seen, but she had to be warned somehow.
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to call you,” I started, not sure of a better way to bring it up.
“I know. Thanks to you, I almost had to change my number,” she joked unpleasantly.
“Well, you could have called me back. It was really important Annie,” I shot back.
She seemed uncomfortable. Instead of looking me in the eye, her gaze was plastered towards her shuffling feet.
“What’s the problem?” she asked more coldly than before, still not lifting her head.
I swallowed hard at the bitterness in her voice. A part of me started to reconsider telling her what I knew, solely for the fact that I couldn’t take much more of her hostility. But Simi’s concerned face floated to the forefront of my mind, reminding me of the importance of Annie being on alert.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for Liam to come with us.”
“And why is that?” she demanded, shooting me a fiery look.
“I have a bad feeling Ann. Bringing Liam with us is going to cause a lot of trouble. You’ll just have to trust me on this!” I pleaded.
There was no way I could tell her what I’d seen; the kissing, the touching and the sudden exit were all too disturbing to repeat. It would have been the death of our friendship if I made such outrageous claims without evidence.
“Oh, you’re a piece of work,” Annie mocked. “You were so afraid he was going to hurt me, and what has he done? Nothing! He’s been perfect and all of your warnings and worrying were useless. When are you going to just accept that he isn’t a bad guy? Besides, it was my mom’s idea for him to come, so if you have that big of a problem with it, maybe you shouldn’t come.”
“Wow,” I gasped while my heart shattered into a million pieces. “You’ve been holding that in for a while, haven’t you?”
“Oh get over yourself,” she snapped back.
“Wait a minute!” I roared. “That’s it Annie. I’m tired of being your pincushion! All I’ve ever done is look out for you and be supportive. But, it just seems like no matter what I say or do, you find some reason to yell at me and I’m done with it. So, consider this my final warning. Watch out for Liam, he’s not who you think he is.”
Without realizing it, my body had firmed up and I towered over Annie. All of my anger and frustration had come rushing out at once. Her face had the same look it did during our last argument.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but you’re really starting to freak me out,” she said, slowly backing way. “Liam is perfect and there is nothing to worry about. You’re just being normal, paranoid Zoe. I can take care of myself!”
“Fine. I think I’ll find my own ride to the airport. See you later,” I said, turning on the spot and leaving.
At that point, if Annie wanted to take the gamble, so be it. I’d done my job and now she was on her own. The trip was going to end in a disaster, and I would be ready to catch her when she fell.
**************************************
The travel arrangements turned out to be exactly what I imagined. After a long and e
xpensive cab ride to the airport, I met up with Liam and Annie and instantly felt like a third wheel. Annie didn’t say a single word the entire trip to anyone, but instead kept a firm grip on Liam’s hand. He remained silent too, and played it cool like usual, not noticing any of the awkwardness that floated in the air.
My only solace and escape was the thought of our final destination. If there was one person in the world who would be just as distrusting and watchful of Liam, it was Mark. I felt a twinge of frustration when Marie stepped out of the car to greet us in the pouring rain.
“Oh Annie!” she gushed, pulling Annie into a very wet hug.
“Hi Mom,” Annie mumbled. Marie was so overjoyed that she barely noticed Annie’s lack of enthusiasm in the hug.
“And Zoe, oh it’s so great to see you hon!” she said, giving me the same treatment. The comfort I felt in Marie’s embrace reminded me how happy I truly was to be back in Seattle, despite the downpour.
“You too Marie, I’ve missed you!” I said cheerfully, forcefully returning the hug.
“Wow, have you been hitting the gym Zoe?” she panted. She pushed away from me and rubbed her side arduously.
“Um, not really, I’ve just been doing lots of yoga,” I replied. The smile on her face faded slightly while she studied me for a moment.
“Mom, this is Liam” Annie interrupted, putting her hand on his shoulder.
“It’s great to finally meet you Mrs. Johnson,” Liam said, pulling Marie into a surprising hug. “I’ve heard so much about you. Where’s your husband?” Marie seemed taken aback by the hug, but returned it just the same and continued to rub the same spot on her side.
“Oh, he’s working late tonight, trying to get some last minute stuff done so he can enjoy the holiday!” she stuttered, not looking too confident in her response. “But, we’ll talk in the car, let’s get your bags inside.”
The car ride back to the Johnsons’ house was the one bright spot in an otherwise depressing day. Marie’s barrage of questions about our semesters took up the whole ride, specifically when she asked about classes. I sat there quietly while Liam and Annie filled Marie in about school. It was interesting to hear about Annie’s recent struggles. She told Marie that classes were getting harder, but I knew the truth. Hanging out in a fraternity house was not the most efficient way to spend time. But, I held back my thoughts and remained silent until the comforting sight of the Johnsons’ house came into view. Annie and Marie continued to chat until we all entered the familiar foyer of the house.
Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) Page 25