by Allie Burke
“I don’t care,” he said. “I don’t need them anymore.” He looked deep into her eyes.
She kissed him, and said goodnight a little more quickly than was necessary. She saw his unbearable pain, and regretted it as much as he did hers.
They were both asleep in minutes, resting in the same position throughout the day, into the night. After twelve hours of dreamless sleep, Elias opened his eyes and saw Jane’s beautiful face. He kissed her. After what Elias thought was the cutest little waking up groan, Jane opened her eyes.
“What time is it?”
“Past ten.”
“Hmmm.”
“You hungry?”
“Starving.”
“I’ll make you breakfast. You don’t have a phone, so no interruptions this time.”
While Elias cooked, Jane sat on the counter, in the same position as in Elias’s kitchen, the last time he tried to cook for her. She was glad he was cooking now, feeling a little deprived that she didn’t get to taste his food.
Elias took a break and joined her, kissing her. Her legs wrapped around him, and his hand entangled in her hair.
“I want to pleasure you,” he said, and didn’t wait for her answer.
His hands went to her neck, and he kissed her more earnestly, using his warm tongue to excite her. He traced his hand downwards. Jane moaned deep in her throat, aching for him. He caressed her over her panties, building her lust, and he moved the cotton aside, sliding his fingers into her. Jane cried out, and her delightful orgasm followed soon after.
Elias held onto her, warming her every nerve. “What happens now?” he whispered.
She looked up at him, her heavy breathing out of her grasp of control. The kitchen dream. Her body still twitched with pleasure, she hadn’t even thought about it.
“You tell me that you love me,” she mumbled.
Elias’s face was unreadable. His hand disappeared into his pocket—his eyes never left hers—and he pulled out a red ruby ring.
“I love you,” he said, and slipped it on the finger. “I know it’s soon. Just wear it for me?”
Jane’s eyes must have been as wide as her mouth.
“I love you,” he said again.
Joyous tears rained on their moment. “I love you,” she said.
Even as she kissed him, the similarities of the ring and the red necklace in her jewelry box hung thick behind her eyes. The resemblance infected her mind like the plague.
They ate their breakfast from one plate, the single dish exploding with eggs, sausage, hash browns and biscuits and gravy. Elias sat in one of the chairs at the table, Jane on his lap. She all but licked the plate clean.
“Do you want to go to the beach?” she asked.
“I would love to go to the beach with you,” he said.
“Okee,” she patted his leg and jumped up excitedly. “Let’s go!”
He laughed. She was adorable. “You’re excited?”
“You’re not?”
“Well, yeah—”
“Come on, come on!” she exclaimed, grasping his hand.
Jane danced down the hallway, pulling him along. They got ready quickly, and went out the back to the garage, where Elias had parked the car the night before.
“Can I drive?” Elias recognized the cautiousness in her question. “I just thought,” she said quietly, “you might want a break from driving.”
He appreciated her sensitivity, it was Liam’s car after all, but he didn’t think that he was that emotional. At the end of the day, it was still just a car.
“Do you drive?” he asked.
Jane nodded with a fierce smile.
He smiled back and threw her the keys.
As it turned out, Jane was a crazy driver. Elias rethought that, crazy wasn’t really the right word. He couldn’t really pin her as a crazy driver, she was actually a good driver. She just drove really fast. She actually drove the Aston Martin. She weaved through cars on the freeway, making her way to the beach quicker than he ever could. He sat comfortable in his seat, safe in her hands.
“We’re not in that much of a hurry, beautiful.” His voice shifted the humming sound of the engine.
“I know, but I’m having fun,” she said with a little girl smile, as if the black Aston Martin was a pink Barbie jeep and she was like, four.
She giggled, and pressed her foot down on the accelerator pedal even farther, giving a whole new meaning to lead foot.
“Liam would have loved you,” he heard himself say as they pulled up to the sands of Aster Beach. Her eyes flickered with his quiet words. It was too late to take them back.
She placed one hand on his cheek, fighting the regretful edge most likely dominating his eyes. “You could not know how much that means to me.”
Elias leaned in for a kiss, but Jane let go of him. “Nuh-uh. I’ll never get out if you do that. Come on.”
They walked barefoot across the cool sand, their sandals in their hands. The night sky was unbelievable out here, no street lights or building illuminations to taint it. Aster Beach was often free of visitors due to the lack of restaurants or shops, it was just sand, stars, and ocean.
The sand under their feet changed from dry and soft to wet and compact. Aster Beach’s water was unlike a lot of California’s beaches. Its water was vast; spreading far into the Pacific Ocean, but it was clean. It was free of that awful gloomy color of most other California beaches, it was actually blue. The water was calm, the waves gently flushing over to them.
They walked in, and swam in deep enough to be in, but still shallow enough to stand with their heads above water.
“Stay close,” she said, “and if you start to feel nervous, or anything, just let me know, okay?”
“I don’t know what you’re so worried about,” he said, “I’ve already seen the water whirlwind thing.”
Jane tilted her head back and laughed hysterically. Elias wondered if she had a better name for it. If she did, she didn’t say as much.
“The water whirlwind thing,” Jane smirked. “Okay. Well, you haven’t seen it like this.” Her face was suddenly stone and serious. “Close your eyes,” she said.
He did, and he waited. Seconds later, a crashing sound like thunder bombarded his hearing.
“Not yet,” he heard her voice.
He kept his eyes fastened closed, a little excited. She was right. He didn’t hear anything like this back in Jasmyn when she had almost drowned Lewis.
“Okay,” she said.
Elias opened his eyes. The tiny, peaceful waves had fluctuated into something completely unnatural. This ocean, its waves normally orderly, crashing when they reached the shore, was now completely erratic and deranged. There were hundreds of waves surrounding them, crashing down in every direction. They busted backwards, forwards, every which way in an impossible frenzy of madness. The waves were huge. They weren’t all the same size, but some of them traveled fifty feet high before they leaped and slammed into the water below. None of them even came close to Jane or Elias. Though the friction of these monstrous waves should have swept them under, the water in their little kingdom was undisturbed.
Elias looked over at Jane. She held her arms out, her eyes scrutinizing every area her sight could penetrate. She was so amazing. She was controlling the whole ocean.
Jane looked at him, and laughed a proud, giddy chuckle. “Wait for it,” she said, and she looked back at her water.
Elias looked around again, his senses ready to grasp any new development. Jane dipped her head under the water. Suddenly, everything relaxed. The waves were gone, and the night was utterly silent. Alright, Jane, I’m getting nervous now, he thought, though he would never say it aloud.
Abruptly, a sturdy force launched Elias twenty feet in the air. It was like the effect of a busted fire hydrant, its contents shooting upwards, releasing everything in its path to the open air. Elias was sitting on top of a bursting waterfall. It let him down easy, gradually descending him until his body dipped back into the oc
ean, feet first.
Jane was waiting for him. She smiled when she saw his probably paralyzed expression. “Awww, did I scare you?”
“No,” he said weakly.
“I’m sorry!” She laughed, and jumped into his arms.
He held her tight. He had to admit, it was cooler than any rollercoaster he could ever ride. Scary as it was, to be practically flying twenty feet in the air.
“Come on,” she kissed his cheek. “Sun will be up soon.”
Elias drove home, Jane controlling the radio. She had an interesting taste in music, for a woman in her late twenties. All the classics she listened to were way before her time: Eagles, Billy Joel, Tom Petty. She sang along, the perfect tune on every note.
They went inside to Jane’s bed. She cuddled herself in his arms, and fell asleep quickly. Elias stayed awake for a while, experiencing a change of scenery after a few minutes. Instead of Jane’s dark room, he saw the trees around Jane’s house. He looked over at her from where they sat together on the porch. Her lips upturned in a sweet smile, but she wasn’t looking at him, her eyes stayed straight. He looked ahead, and saw a little girl in the trees. Her red hair gleamed against the moonlight as she played in the forest.
Jane was dreaming.
Chapter 16
Elias woke up as Jane leaped out of bed. His heart suddenly wrenched in a knot, as if he had woken up alone and Jane was nowhere to be seen. She stood at the edge of the bed, leaning with her palm against the closet door. Her heavy breathing vibrated his sleepiness away.
“Jane?”
She looked back at him, her expression filled with fear and anguish. He moved to the end of the bed, took her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she said, lying back down with him. “I thought something happened to you.”
He wrapped her into him. “What would happen to me?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, “I didn’t feel you—I must have moved during the night and I didn’t feel you—”
“Hey,” he kissed her, “its okay. I’m right here.”
She nodded.
As she relaxed, he said, “I want to take you dancing.”
She smiled. She was a great dancer. He wondered if there was anything she wasn’t good at.
Jane dressed in a purple dress, matching it with some black heels. He dressed with her, nice jeans and a black dress-up shirt. They drove to Hazel Grove so he could pick up a few more of his things before they went.
As they reached the porch, Elias knew something was off right away. The front door of his home was slightly ajar, light from the inside peeking out. Unlike Jane, he always locked his door, the result of growing up in a house where crime was always the high topic.
“Be quiet, and stay with me,” he said to Jane behind him. She was close enough that he could feel her breaths on his neck. He became overwhelmed when he walked in, taking in his ransacked house. The couches were flipped over, the dining table broken into sharp pieces of wood. His paintings were slashed, and every light in the house was on—he was sure that they were all off when he left. All the drawers in the kitchen were open, their contents lying on the floor.
They went down the hallway, and found that the bedroom was in the same condition the rest of the house was: furniture ruined and clothes littering the carpet. On the far wall were three words, written in some kind of red paint.
NEXT TIME LINDEN
Jane looked over at Elias. As if she was psychic, she backed away from him. Without any warning, he lifted a ceramic vase from the floor and hucked it at the wall, shattering it into tiny pieces.
Elias’s phone rang from his pocket. Jane jumped at the sudden sound.
“Hi, Lily,” he answered stiffly.
“Elias, the police called, my gallery has been turned upside down. They destroyed everything.”
“Shit, Lily. I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. I’ll pay for everything.”
“The insurance will cover it. Elias, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright.”
“Jane?”
“Yeah, she’s with me.”
“Is there anything I can do? I have some police friends, maybe I can call them, they could help—”
Elias didn’t give her the chance to continue. There was no sense in Lily wasting her time. “There’s nothing they can do.”
Her frown was as clear through the phone as it would be if she was standing right in front of him. “Take care, Elias.”
He closed the phone and pocketed it. His back was still turned to Jane. He said her name in the angriest, most furious tone imaginable.
She didn’t answer him, but he knew she was there.
“Take the car to your house. Pack a bag, a few days worth. Come back to me.”
Minutes passed before she said anything. “Where are we going?” Her casual tone was forced.
“Washington.”
She took the keys from his hand, and practically ran out the door without kissing him goodbye. She was smart. She knew he needed space, and gave it to him, knowing they both might regret it if she didn’t.
Elias went to his living room and righted the couch upwards. He sat down, held his head in his hands. He heard the door open after a while. Just Jane, naturally back quicker than they got there in the first place. She kneeled in front of him, her leery silence forcing him to look at her.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. I’m fine.”
He nodded, shame slitting his eyes.
“Are we driving?”
“Yeah. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
She smiled, linked her arms around his neck. He held her to him, relieved that the only person in the world who could soothe him was here, dedicated to him, despite his flaws.
Kate was frosting a red velvet cake she had just made, for herself only, since it was just factual that Grant wouldn’t be around to enjoy it with her. She was certain of his affair, but there was nothing she could do about it. Divorce in her position was impossible, so she was just going with it, enjoying cake instead of sex.
A little shriek escaped from her throat as a heavy knock on the door surprised her. She walked to the door, licking her frosting tool on the way. If she was surprised when she heard the knock, she was bewildered when she opened the door to find her son standing on her porch. Accompanying him was a stunning woman with red hair, who looked shockingly familiar to Elizabeth. Kate knew she had passed away years ago, but this girl could have been her twin, if it wasn’t for the fact that this woman was even more beautiful than Elizabeth, Elizabeth, who was the most beautiful woman Kate had ever seen back in the day.
“Elias,” Kate breathed.
“Mom,” he said strictly, like he was stating a fact rather than greeting her. “Can we come in?”
“Um,” she looked at the woman, and decided to rebel against her husband’s rules. She didn’t want to be rude to the only woman Elias ever brought home. “Of course. I was just finishing up a cake.”
They followed her inside to the kitchen. Neither of them said anything.
“Elias,” Kate said, “are you going to introduce me?” She wanted to know as much about her as was possible, starting with her name.
“This is Jane. Beautiful, this is my mom, Kate Linden.” Elias made the introductions without any movement whatsoever. He was completely stiff, like every one of his limbs was glued to the air.
“You have a wonderful home, Mrs. Linden.”
Kate was taken aback for a moment. Her voice was as beautiful as her.
“Thank you,” Kate said, eyeing Jane’s outfit. The purple dress she wore was very elegant, long, flowy, expensive material. It was as if it was tailored to her perfect body. The rhinestones on her heels sparkled up at Kate.
“I can’t help but notice you are dressed very nicely,” Kate said.
“Oh, thank you. We were on our way to go dancing, but, well, you know, Elias’s vandalized house.” Her musical voice turned cold, her gaze pierced
Kate’s like a threat.
Kate looked over at her son. She could have sworn she saw him smiling before he said, “Oh, please. Since when do you care?”
“Elias, please don’t do this. Not now.” Kate looked back to Jane.
“What? Now that I bring my fiancée to meet you, it’s all different? Now you’re sure that I didn’t turn out like Liam. Does that mean I can be your son again?”
“Your—fiancée?” Kate’s frantic eyes found her mother’s ring on Jane’s left hand, and tears gushed out of them.
Jane stepped closer to Elias’s side. Elias looped an arm around her.
“I need to speak with my father,” he said.
“He’s upstairs, getting ready for work.”
“It’s eight o’clock at night.”
Embarrassed, Kate’s teary eyes dropped to the kitchen floor. Elias actually growled.
They all heard footsteps, and Grant emerged. Kate saw the same dark hair and blue eyes in her son, the charm, but never the anger she saw in her husband’s pale face right now.
“Jane, stand behind me,” Elias whispered.
Jane did what she was told. Kate watched her fingers spread apart at her sides. Kate blinked her eyes clear. Oh, shit, Kate thought. She had seen this before.
“Oh, what the fuck are you doing here?!” Grant yelled at Elias, charging at him.
“Hi, Dad,” Elias said, his entire body tight with tension.
“Answer my goddamn question,” Grant was an inch away from his son now.
“Someone came to my house,” Elias said. “Luckily I wasn’t home, or I’d probably be face down on my carpet with two fucking bullets in my brain. I know you knew about it.”
All things considered, Elias was pretty calm.
“It was not my place to interfere in an ongoing investigation, Elias.”
“Don’t give me that D.A. babble bullshit. What if my fiancée was home? I know you don’t give a shit about me—”
“You’re what?” Grant interrupted. The mop of red hair hiding behind Elias registered in his eyes, and he looked over at Kate. Kate should have wiped her tears. Grant’s temper was about to flare, incomparable to the temperature in its flames the second before.