As we reach the end of Logan’s memories, I realize that I have never felt more alive than I do in this moment before death. Now that I’m no longer afraid of his touch, I reach my hand up and run my fingers through his hair, pull him closer to me so I can feel all of him. The pain in my abdomen forgotten. All that exists in the world right now, is Logan.
As suddenly as they began, the memories end. Every stolen look, every instance where our paths met is now seared into my brain, never to be forgotten. It’s through his eyes that I see my true self for the first time. Through Logan’s eyes, I see a world I want to live in and a girl that could possibly make it happen. I break away from the kiss, desperate now to live, to be that girl that he so fondly remembers. I look into Logan’s eyes, desperate to tell him how grateful I am for what he shared with me, but I never get the chance. I barely get his name past my lips before the darkness once again engulfs me. But this time, I know that it’s forever.
Chapter Thirty-Four
~ Paradise ~
The sky above is so clearly blue that it’s blinding. I’m standing in the middle of a beautiful field surrounded by trees. Within the field is every color and kind of flower imaginable. I’m wearing a white, full-length dress that flows down to my bare feet. My hair is my natural blonde, like when I was a young girl and it billows out behind me in the wind. It’s so quiet. There are no birds chirping or insects flying around. The sun is so bright that even shadows have no chance in this paradise. I walk for a bit with my hands stretched out by my sides, feeling the petals of the flowers caress my skin as I pass them by. So much color surrounds me, yet I’m not afraid. I’m in no hurry; there’s nowhere I need to be. Even if I did want to go somewhere, I have the distinct feeling that the world will wait as long as it needs to for me to decide which path to take. Up ahead of me the field stretches endlessly, the colors caressing my core after a lifetime of avoiding each and every one of them. There’s no black here, no darkness whatsoever, just peace.
I walk for a bit more, taking in all the beauty that surrounds me when I suddenly see a sparkling up ahead. Intrigued, I pick up the pace, eager to see what glimmers in the distance. As I get closer, I see it’s a lake, perfectly round and clear, ripples dancing across its surface from the wind. I lean in to touch it and see my reflection, the blue of my eyes sparkle like the water. I smile and the person in the lake smiles back at me. I make a silly face wondering if the girl in the lake will make a silly face back, she does indeed. I laugh, a deep, rich sound that seems foreign to my ears. I pick a flower nearby and drop it in the water, watch it as it floats away, making its way around the lake.
Thrilled with my game, I reach for another flower, but suddenly the ripples in the lake change and I see another face. The girl with blonde hair and blue eyes is no more. It has morphed into another face more circular and distinctly male. His face is so familiar, but I can’t think of who he is or how I know him. He has hazel eyes, short brown hair, and a dimple in his right cheek as he smiles. I note his strong chin and wrinkles that grace his eyes from years of laughter. He smiles back at me from within the ripples and I can tell that he’s happy that I have joined him by the lake. I don’t worry about it though, because here, there is no worry; there’s only contentment and joy. I see him reach out his hand from within the water and I start a bit when I see his strong fingers break the surface of the pool and stretch out towards me, a clear indication that he wants me to join him. I laugh at the silliness of it, the pure joy of knowing that someone wants to be my friend. I look up at the sun, close my eyes, and bask in the warmth of it, in no hurry to do anything, but enjoy myself. Soon, I return my attention to the water. The boy smiles back at me, his hand is still reaching up out of the water, and he crooks his finger at me. We both laugh, giddy at the prospect of having found a friend in paradise.
Unafraid, I grab my long skirt and gather it in my hands. I lift the material up above my knees and ever so slowly begin to approach the perfectly round lake. Peace and happiness engulf me as I slowly dip my big toe into the lake water. It is neither cold nor hot; the temperature is like everything else in this place: perfect. I smile slyly at my friend reflected in the water, wondering if he has guessed my little game. For the first time, the unknown doesn’t scare me. I may not know what waits for me within the depths of lake, but I trust my friend in the reflection. Fear does not exist here, nor malice or ill intent. If anything, I am pushed forward by the quintessential concept that beats at the core of every human heart: hope. I bend my knees so low that I am momentarily lost within the flowers that are so lush and abundant here. I take a deep breath, fling my arms out wide, and I jump into the lake.
Chapter Thirty-Five
~ Awakenings ~
I awake with a start, choking and gasping for breath. At first, I’m afraid that I’m drowning in the lake, but I soon realize that the reason I can’t breathe is that there is a tube inserted down my throat. I reach up to remove it, but the minute I start to pull, an annoyingly loud beeping sound fills the room.
Within seconds, a nurse is running into my room yelling, “She’s awake!” before assisting me in removing the breathing tube. The first nurse is joined soon thereafter by more nurses rushing frantically to come to my aid.
As they work, they’re staring at me strangely, as if my awakening was an impossible act and now they aren’t sure how to handle it. Once the tube is out and I am breathing again on my own, the world around me comes into focus. Three nurses and a doctor hover around me, spitting out stats as they push buttons on the numerous monitors surrounding my bed. I keep waiting for them to ask me questions, but they don’t; they simply stare at me in wonder. I try to ask a few questions of my own, but the doctor quickly quiets me and tells me to save my strength.
I lay my head back onto the pillow. I’ve never felt more tired in my life. What happened to the flowers, the lake? Why does every bone in my body feel like it was broken and then taped back together again? My body is a strange mixture of a ridged soreness and a Jell-O type feeling. The nurses work, but keep me sideways glances. What’s happening? How did I get here? I can’t remember a whole lot from my dream, but I do remember the flowers, the lake, and the wonderful feeling of peace that accompanied it. I lick my lips, my mouth is dry like I had swallowed a pool full of seawater and every inch of my skin was dehydrated. The nurses and doctor have finally stopped their ministrations and calmed down. Whereas they all avoided my gaze in the beginning, every one of them is now staring at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
I take a deep breath to speak, my lungs burn. “What happened?” I ask. “How did I get here and why are all of you staring at me? Did I drown in the lake?”
I am met with silence, all the medical staff in my room still staring at me, but now the stare has changed from amazement to incredulity. After such peace, the silence in the room is eerie and the confusion that muddles my brain just makes me angry.
“Someone better answer my questions now before I get out of this bed and find a person who will tell me what happened!” I say furiously.
“You died,” says a shaky voice from the door. “For five minutes now, you’ve been dead, Aimee. Then you came back to us. Somehow, you woke up on your own after being dead for five minutes,” says the voice before dissolving into tears.
The nurses turn in unison to look at who spoke. As they part, I see my person, my one, and only friend in this world.
“Dejana!” I breathe happily. “You’re here. How’s this possible? How did you find me?” I ask ready for answers.
The nurses excuse themselves from the room telling me they will be back in a few minutes to check my vitals, update my records. Before leaving, the doctor made some offhanded comment about cancelling the coroners. I ignore him, still in shock from Dejana’s admission. Dejana makes her way to sit in the chair beside my bed. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are puffy. It’s clear that she’s been crying.
“Dejana,” I plead. “Please, tell me how I got here. The last thi
ng I remember I was in a beautiful meadow with flowers of every kind surrounding me. I saw Logan in a lake and he was begging me to go with him. I jumped into the water, my only desire to be with him and I wake up here, in hell.”
Dejana opens her mouth to explain, but her breath catches and she dissolves into a fit of tears. I wait patiently, strangely happy that my friend was so bereft by my apparent passing and subsequent revival. She calms a few minutes later, wipes her eyes with a tissue from the table beside my hospital bed, and tries again to explain. “Do you remember where I found you?” she asks.
I think about it for a second, search my mind befuddled by painkillers and apparent resurrection, for the answer to her question. The search is a little bit like swimming in mud. Suddenly, a bubble in my mind pops and it all comes back to me: Tyler, the torture room, being stabbed, and Logan kissing me.
“It was Tyler!” I scream to Dejana, the memories flooding back into my mind like waves crashing onto the shore. I sit up and I’m immediately sorry that I did, the pain in my abdomen reminds me of my injury and forces me back down onto my pillow.
Beside me, Dejana jumps up, Kleenex in hand, and concern written all over her face. “Aimee, are you ok?” she asks desperate to help.
“Yes, I’m fine and I remember everything before I blacked out. What happened after that? How did you save me?”
“It was Leah that found you,” says Dejana, the tears flowing once more. “The flash drive Leah gave you before she died had the location of the cabin we found you in. Somehow, she had used the information we gathered about the girls in your visions and used each victim’s abduction site to pinpoint a small area where the killer would have privacy and room for a disposal site. It took me a while to get the information, because Leah had encrypted it. But as soon as I read what she wrote, I gave everything to the police at my house. I told them the person that killed Leah would be there and they immediately went to investigate. Lucky for you they did, since they found you barely alive and Logan badly hurt. Tyler was already dead.”
“What about Alex?” I ask Dejana. “Did the police find Logan’s twin brother?”
Confused, Dejana pauses and looks at me as if I had grown a second head. “What do you mean twin brother? There wasn’t anyone else at the cabin apart from you three. You lost a lot of blood, it would’ve been easy to see two of Logan,” she responds clearly not willing to believe me.
I stay quiet, keeping this news to myself for now. The last thing I need is for any doctor to think I’m nuts. By now, Alex must have realized that Tyler is dead and his plan didn’t work. That would mean that he’s in the wind. But now that Logan and I know he’s alive, we won’t be so easily fooled again. I’ll just find a way to prove it to Dejana later.
“You’re right of course,” I say to my friend. “I don’t know what I was thinking. What happened after you all found us?”
Apparently appeased and no longer worried that I’m losing my mind, Dejana continues to fill me in on the story. “The police are at the cabin now with dogs searching the woods that surround the property. They have already uncovered two bodies. Luckily, an ambulance followed us to the cabin and the minute they found the basement where Tyler was holding you, they whisked you and Logan to this hospital for treatment. You were alive, but barely. Logan has a few broken ribs and some contusions to his face, but he’s going to be ok. He’s with the doctor now, but they’ll release him soon. You, on the other hand, were critical from the moment we found you. The paramedics were able to keep you alive until you got here, but the minute they raced you back into the ER you died. The doctor had just told me you were dead when a nurse came running out and told him that you were awake. I ran back in here with him. He was so stunned he didn’t even notice me behind him. It’s a miracle,” she finishes before once again, giving in to tears.
I sit there, absorbing all that Dejana told me. Wow, I died. No wonder I feel like shit. How had I come back? There’s only one reason I can think of: Logan. I must have come back for him, come back to become the kind of person I saw through his eyes. I guess the old saying really is true: love conquers all, even death.
As if on cue, Logan walks through the door to my hospital room, a look of complete shock at me being alive, painted all over his face. He’s holding his right side as he walks, I can see the tape for his broken ribs through his ripped shirt. His bruised eye is completely shut, but the blood on his face has been cleaned and his cut tended to. He smiles at me and I can see the dimple I love, come out beside his swollen lip. I smile back at him, his memories buzzing in my head, making me lightheaded and happy. Logan walks over to my bed and takes my bare hand into his. Beside us, Dejana gasps in shock since I never touch anyone willingly, nonetheless with my uncovered hand. I feel a spark, a sort of electricity pass through us, but I don’t absorb any more of his memories. Perhaps I only absorb a person’s memories when I first touch them. I wouldn’t know because I have never willingly touched anyone twice, not even Mary. But for now I don’t care, I’m too absorbed in soaking up the pure pleasure I feel of having Logan’s hand in mine.
“You did it,” he states. “You caught the killer.”
“No,” I argue. “I caught you. Thank you for giving me back my life, for showing me that a life was even possible.”
“Anytime.” He smiles brightly as he leans down and kisses me. It’s a kiss that sends us both flying; returning us to the perfect peace we found in our perfect lake in heaven. But this time, it's breathtakingly real.
Chapter Thirty-Six
~ Unforseen ~
The orderly in charge of Aimee’s needs, sets down the food tray he was carrying to her room on a random counter before making his way down the stairs to the door that leads out of the intensive care unit. David, or The Seer, to those precious few that know him, leaves as silently as he had arrived, slipping unnoticed among the staff of Grady Hospital in Atlanta. His best weapon is his ability to blend in anywhere and with any type of people. After witnessing the kiss between Aimee and Logan in her hospital room, he’s fuming. He prides himself on always being patient, but this situation has absorbed him for years. He simply has no time for any more disappointments. He had planned for years, waited for months to see how everything would play out. Yet, he never foresaw this scenario; never guessed that happiness would be Aimee’s fate.
However, there will be time to fix it. He already had to intervene and shoot that boy in the cabin. Only he was going to kill Aimee and by God, no one will do that, but him. That’s her fate. David has plans for her demise, plans that did not include an easy death by stabbing. None of it would have been necessary if the damn bomb had done its job in the first place. He had watched her eat lunch in that cafeteria for weeks. He knew that she sat in the same place and at the same table every single day at lunch. How could he have anticipated that on that fateful day a red-haired boy would take the chair with the bomb taped underneath it to another table to join his girlfriend? One redheaded kid ditching class ruined his most carefully laid plan. But David couldn’t be too mad about it, the boy paid for his intrusiveness with his life. Still, it should’ve been Aimee’s death by his hand that sparked his ascension into his new life. She thinks she’s alone. She thinks he has no memories. What she doesn’t know is that if he touched her he would see the same thing, no past whatsoever. Over time, David has learned to use his affliction for his benefit. Money, revenge, killer for hire, nothing was beneath him. But his problem of late is that his mind can’t absorb an infinite amount of memories. His mind has been filled with so many memories that it keeps short-circuiting, causing his power to lessen each time. He can already feel the pressure building up in his brain, the fragile balance held together only by his will. Aimee’s powers, it seems, are limitless. Her death was to be the catalyst that leads him to the correct path, the place where he’s to regain his birthright, his true power. Her death was supposed to give him back his life.
“Oh well,” thinks David. “If at first you don’t succee
d…”
Acknowledgements
An author never publishes without tons of help. It takes a whole crew of very creative and wonderful people to bring a book to fruition. Thank you to my readers: Melissa McDonald, Mary Kay Donovan, Kari Manning, Beth Knight, and Scot Ferrel. Without you, I never would have known if the book was good in the first place. To my wonderful editors, Erin Elliott and Jordan DeGennaro, without your keen eye and creative help I would have been lost. To my awesome young adult editor, Keely Murk, without your purple pen and hard love, the story would have so many holes in it you’d be able to see through the paperback. You helped me more than you could ever know. Thank you to my wonderful husband and awesome kids who understood every time Mommy had to write. And thank you to everyone at Fire and Ice Young Adult Publishing and Mélange Books, especially my ‘coolest people ever’ group of authors. You truly are a family and I’m honored that you asked me to be a part of it.
But most of all thank you, Caroline Andrus. If it weren’t for you believing in my story and creating the most amazing book cover imaginable, my dream never would have come true.
About the Author
Shelley Pickens is a Spanish teacher by day and a novelist by night. She’s been in love with everything paranormal since she can remember. After years of teaching high school students, she decided to take her firsthand knowledge of young adults and apply it to her passion for creative writing and fantasy. When not teaching or writing, Shelley likes to spend time with her husband and two beautiful children in Atlanta, Ga. Her escape from reality is her love of complex thriller and science fiction TV series like Supernatural and Sleepy Hollow. In her spare time she is an avid watcher of little league baseball. THE HAUNTING OF SECRETS is her debut novel.
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