Boy from the Woods (9781311684776)

by Minkman, Jen

  “Why don’t you go and see him upstairs?” Michael’s mother made an inviting gesture. “He’s in his room. And he’s doing much better. His amnesia is gone.”

  Julia blinked at her. “He... he’s got his memory back?” Then why did he want to see her? He remembered everything about his life – including the part where she had been completely insignificant to him.

  The woman smiled radiantly. “Yes! Isn’t it wonderful? Miraculous, even, according to the doctors.”

  The joy radiating from her face sadly wasn’t enough to make Julia equally upbeat. She dragged herself up the stairs to the second floor with a nervously hammering heart.

  The last time she’d walked these stairs, his hands had caressed her hips, his mouth trailing a warm path in her neck. Giggling and love-drunk, she’d tripped over the uppermost step, and he had caught her in his strong arms.

  Her eyes got blurry. She only realized she was crying when she looked at herself in the long mirror hanging on the wall next to Michael’s room. She sniffled in frustration, rooting around in her bag for a napkin to wipe away her tears. Of course, she shouldn’t give a hoot what Michael thought of her, but her indifference to his opinion still didn’t mean she should make a tear-stained entrance. She had more pride than that.

  When she pushed open his bedroom door at last, she did her best to keep a straight face. “Hi,” she said softly.

  Michael was sitting on the edge of his bed, a bandage around his head. He looked up at her and her heart skipped a beat. Once again, she had the feeling he was looking at her in a new way. As if he really saw her.

  “Julia,” he replied, equally soft. He said her name with obvious joy in his voice, and she couldn’t prevent a tentative smile from tugging at her lips. He got up and took a step toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. “It’s so good to see you.”

  She quickly looked away, staring at her feet in his lush carpet in utter confusion. On the floor under his bed, she spied a copy of Chess Novel by Stefan Zweig. Next to it was the jewel case of Enya’s album Watermark. Only then did she notice that her favorite music was playing. It was like walking into her own room – as if Michael could read her mind and wanted to make her feel at home.

  All of sudden, she remembered watching a TV show about near-death experiences with Gran once. It featured interviews with people who’d had a brush with death but came back to life afterward, and from that point onward they were able to feel and see things that normal people couldn’t. Could something like that be going on with Michael?

  “It’s good to be here,” she replied, a half-question in her voice. Was it?

  Michael put his hand on her shoulder. When she looked back up at him, she saw something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place – a kind of melancholy was hiding in his gaze; some sort of wistfulness she had never seen there before.

  “This must be difficult for you,” he spoke quietly, gesturing around him. “You don’t have good memories of this room.” His lips formed a bitter smile. “Or of me.”

  A stab went through her heart. Why did he think it was necessary to drag up how things had been between them? If he regretted the way he’d treated her, he could just apologize to her.

  “Why did you invite me?” she blurted out, gazing at him quizzically.

  A gentle look brightened Michael’s eyes, a smile spreading across his face. Not a teasing smile, nor a mocking smirk – it was the most genuine smile she had ever seen on his face. He looked delighted, enraptured like a child seeing snow for the first time. “Because I wanted to see you,” he said, taking a step closer and taking her hand. “I was asleep. You woke me up again.”

  Julia closed her eyes despondently. Of course he was grateful to her for rescuing him from eternal sleep. That was all it was: gratitude. He was probably too proud to offer a real apology. Maybe she was too eager to believe he might have changed.

  “I have to go.” She carefully pulled her hand from his grasp.

  “Already? You just got here.”

  She shrugged and didn’t reply.

  Michael inhaled audibly. “Just stay for a little while longer,” he said hoarsely.

  Seriously, what was the matter with him? He sounded so different from his usual self. Full of a longing she hadn’t heard in his voice before, even though she’d wanted to hear it with all her heart.

  “I’m going,” she doggedly maintained in spite of his plea. “Thanks.”

  He gazed at her mutely for a moment. “For what?” he asked, sounding puzzled.

  Julia blushed. “For your thank-you.” She bit her lip.

  He shook his head. “You’re thanking me because I thanked you?” he established, an obviously teasing undertone in his voice now.

  “Uhm, yes.” She chuckled despite herself, shrugging again. He bit back a laugh, a playful light in his eyes. Julia’s felt her knees buckling, her determination melting away like a Popsicle in the Sahara. She had to get away from him right this instant. Gaby would murder her if she knew about this. She backed away toward the door, inwardly repeating ‘shit list, shit list’ like a mantra.

  “Don’t you want some tea?” Michael pointed at the teapot and two cups on the side table by his bed.

  “I really have to get going,” Julia replied, retreating a few more steps. “Axel is waiting for me…”

  Her voice caught in her throat when Michael bridged the distance between them in two big steps and put both hands on her shoulders, his eyes boring into hers. Julia stopped breathing when he leaned into her and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, his body so close to hers that she wanted to lean back. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.

  What was that?

  Her limbs turned cold. Michael had said the exact same words to her the morning after they’d slept together. The morning after which he’d never bothered to call her back.

  Stifling a sob, Julia pushed him away. She didn’t want him to see her tears. How dare he invade her life again after callously ditching her only a few days ago?

  “Bye,” she choked out before storming out the door and stomping down the stairs. Without looking back, she opened the front door and ran down the Giselakai. Michael would have the noble task of explaining to his mother why she was fleeing the scene. This was the last time she’d set foot in that place. Michael was way too dangerous to hang out with – because he still had access to her heart.

  As she settled on the bench in the bus shelter, Julia noticed two new messages had come in on her phone. She opened them both.

  ‘congrats on gettin ur book job chick!! xx Gab’

  ‘didnt mean 2 hurt u. sorry. x mick’

  She stared at the second text message with red-rimmed eyes, taking note of the time he’d sent it to her. Straight after she’d run out the door. So he really seemed to care about her feelings. But why now?

  Julia sighed, resolutely putting away her phone. If only she could put away her feelings for Michael as resolutely, her life would be a lot easier.

  That night, Julia stepped into the pub wearing a new summer dress. Yesterday’s bad weather was over. It was a muggy summer night and all of Salzburg’s youth hitting the town seemed to have gathered at O’Malley’s. Julia could almost feel carefree, if not for the fact that her visit to Michael was still bothering her.

  “Hey, you guys!” she called out enthusiastically, walking over to the table where Axel, Florian and Moritz were sitting. “The girls aren’t here yet?”

  “We sent them away to fetch us drinks,” Axel smirked.

  Julia cocked an eyebrow. “I see. Chivalry is dead.”

  Florian rolled his eyes. “Axel is just joking around. Tam and Gab haven’t gotten here yet. Shall we go get drinks?” He tugged Moritz’s purple mohawk. Florian and his new boyfriend made their way to the bar holding hands and shooting each other lovey-dovey smiles.

  “So, how are you?” Axel asked seriously when she took the bar stool next to him. Julia had talked to him on Facebook after the accident, telling her cou
sin all about her rescue operation in the woods, but they hadn’t really discussed how the whole situation had affected her.

  “I’m okay.” She shrugged. “What can I say? Small world.”

  “Strange world,” Axel added with a frown on his face. “I mean, you of all people coming to his rescue. Plus, Kolbe is acting really weird. In fact, it doesn’t get weirder than this.”

  Julia blinked at him owlishly. “What... what do you mean?” she stuttered, following Axel’s gaze toward the bar. The bottom dropped out of her stomach when she made out a familiar head with light-brown curls. “What? He’s here?!”

  “As you can see,” Axel replied drily. “And like I said, he’s acting weird. So nice.”

  Julia clenched her jaw, gawking at Michael in consternation. Okay, this was absurd. Why couldn’t Michael just disappear from her life and stay gone? What was he even doing here so soon after an almost fatal accident? Only yesterday, he’d lain bleeding in her lap. He should take it easy, stay indoors and go to bed straight after Sesame Street. She had to stop herself from marching up to him to give him some unsolicited medical advice.

  “When I came in here a half hour ago, he was playing darts with two friends,” Axel continued, apparently oblivious to her inner turmoil. “He said hello, then asked me if he could buy me a drink and whether I wanted to join their game. Seriously, it was like The Twilight Zone. I was actually chatting with them until five minutes ago, when Florian and Moritz finally got here.”

  “Huh. I thought he only hung out with the cool dudes.”

  Axel smirked. “Yep, I hear you. I mean, I love myself just the way I am, but I can totally see how reading books, fixing computers and building model airplanes could be considered un-cool by His Highness Kolbe…” He jabbed a thumb toward Michael. “Until now, that is.”

  “Well, what did he sound like?” Julia asked in a hushed voice. “Did he say anything to you?”

  Axel frowned down at the beermat he was busy crumbling to pieces in his hands. “Yeah, of course we talked. You know, this may sound strange, but I got the distinct feeling he was different.” He looked up at his cousin. “You think that hit to the head did something to him?”

  Julia sucked in her breath. So Axel noticed it too – Michael really was behaving strangely. What did it all mean?

  At that moment, Florian and Moritz came back to their table, and to her mounting alarm, she saw Michael trailing behind them, making eye contact with her.

  And then he was at their table. “Hey you,” he said, leaning his arms on the wood of the bar table, his fingers brushing hers. “What’s up?”

  She prayed to God he wouldn’t mention her visit this afternoon, because that meant she’d have a lot of explaining to do to the boys – not to mention to Gaby if she ever got wind of it.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, avoiding his gaze. She was afraid she’d turn red if she looked him in the eyes for too long. Michael was looking way too good tonight. He had that characteristic, irresistible smile on his lips, and his eyes looked gentle and friendly. When Julia finally dared glancing back up, he took her hand in his.

  “You want to play a game of darts with me?” he asked.

  Julia felt the skin of her hand turn warm under his fingers. “I can’t play darts,” she squeaked.

  He smiled. “So I’ll teach you.”

  She fervently shook her head. “No, I’m serious. I can’t play. I’m a total disaster. You could be Phil Taylor himself and still fail to teach me.”

  “I can attest to that,” Axel agreed. “Last time I played darts with Julia, one of her darts ended up in my shoe instead of the board.”

  “Since you already had a narrow escape from death this week, I wouldn’t risk it,” Florian added with a wink.

  “Yeah, speaking of which, how is your head?” Axel inquired curiously. “Are you allowed to go out again? Is the doctor okay with that?”

  Michael nodded. “Yep. The wound is almost healed. They called it a miracle in the hospital. That’s why they discharged me this morning.”

  In the silence that followed, the entire group gaped at him in disbelief. Axel cleared his throat, sounding as though he was about to ask more, when Michael turned around and inched away toward the dartboard. “I’m going back to my game,” he said, suddenly seeming in a hurry. He looked sideways at Julia. “You sure you don’t want to join me?”

  She shook her head. Axel, Florian and Moritz watched him make his way back to the other side of the pub, their jaws still slack.

  “Almost healed?” Julia echoed. “That’s impossible. I know what it looked like.”

  “What baffles me even more than his miraculously healed head injury is his good-guy act,” Florian said dazedly. “Imagine my surprise when he popped up next to me at the bar and made some small-talk out of the blue? He even congratulated me on having a new boyfriend! Kolbe, our resident gay-basher!”

  “Oh. Is that – does he really hate gay people that much?” Florian had never told her that. She was starting to discover all kinds of things about Michael that she didn’t like one bit. Then again, he seemed to have a completely new side to him all of a sudden.

  “Well, he never flat-out threatened or harassed me.” Florian shrugged. “He’d just give me these contemptuous looks after it became obvious I was batting for the other side. You know, being his usual, condescending self.”

  “From what I’ve seen, he seems like a nice guy,” Moritz protested. “He doesn’t strike me as an arrogant person at all.”

  “I know! That’s what I’m saying,” Florian cried out. “He’s different. He changed.” He broodingly took a swig of beer and scooped up a handful of salted peanuts from the snack bowl they’d brought.

  “What do you think happened to him?” Axel asked pensively.

  “Who knows?” Julia mumbled. “He had a near-death experience. That must have done something to him.”

  Florian’s eyes widened in sudden surprise. “Jules, that’s it.” He hit the table with a fist full of peanuts. “He’s been at Heaven’s Gates.”

  “Uh-huh. You think?” Axel snorted.

  “Yes. And he met Saint Peter, or someone. And this saint told him he was only allowed to live out his life on earth if he promised to better it.”

  Axel smirked. “Of course, Flo. That must be it – he was blackmailed by an apostle. Gee, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”

  Julia giggled, but tried to stop when she saw the offended look on Florian’s face. She shouldn’t laugh at him for his theory. In fact, she’d thought something along the same lines; Axel just made it sound so funny.

  “There are plenty of stories about people who came back from the dead,” Moritz backed up his boyfriend. “They claim they saw dead relatives, or some sort of peaceful, bright light. Whatever it was this Michael guy encountered, it must have changed him.”

  Everyone was pondering his words when the door to the pub swung open and Gaby and Tamara trotted in. “Darlings!” Gaby hollered, sashaying toward them with Tamara following in her wake. “Have you guys started drinking without us? Shame on you.”

  Axel got up from his stool. “Let me prove chivalry is not dead,” he said, winking at Julia. “What would you both like to drink?” he asked the two girls.

  While Axel went off to the bar to get drinks, Gaby and her sister squeezed in between Florian and Julia. “I can’t believe this heat!” Gaby huffed. She was wearing a purple-and-black striped tank top and a big purple pentacle dangling from a chain around her neck to match. “First we get rains heavy enough to make Noah bring out the Ark again, and now it’s like Austria was relocated to the tropics overnight.”

  “Be glad,” Florian said. “You’re working at the riding school this summer, right? Nothing says ‘this seasonal job sucks’ like having to work outside in the rain all day.”

  “I appreciate the sun, of course. Just not to this extent.”

  “So, how are you?” Tamara turned to Moritz. “Any more gigs this week?” />
  Moritz’s eyes started to sparkle. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you all. Our band was invited to play a club in Camden Town in about one month.”

  “Which is in London,” Florian explained.

  “Awesome!” Gaby and Tamara blurted out at the same time.

  “That’s why I thought it might be a good idea to go to London during the same week,” Florian continued, probing their reactions. “So we can see Moritz and the band perform?”

  “Of course we should,” Julia enthused, looking around the circle of faces. “He’s gotta have his homefront supporters with him. And in return for our attendance, he can be our guide in London.”

  “We’ll be there,” Gaby nodded. “Goes without saying.”

  Moritz looked so genuinely happy, a broad grin splitting his face in two, that he resembled a cheerful toddler despite his mohawk and numerous piercings.

  Axel returned holding two drinks, squeezing himself between Gaby and Tamara as he sat the beers down on the table. “Here you go, ladies.”

  “What do we owe you?” Gaby asked, digging around in her purse to find her wallet.

  “A heart-felt kiss, darling. What else?” Axel winked lecherously.

  “Sounds like a good deal to me.” Gaby inched closer and pressed her lips to Axel’s cheek. “By the way, we have to tell you about the new London plan,” she quickly prattled on. “Moritz is about to make history in England. Listen to this.”

  As Gaby, Florian and Tamara filled Axel in on the details of Moritz’s shot at fame next month, Julia observed her cousin over the rim of her beer glass. She could be mistaken, but she was fairly sure he’d turned slightly red when Gaby had kissed him just now. A hint of a smile crossed her face. Well have you ever – she never would have seen that coming.

  “What the hell?” Gaby suddenly blared, shooting a glance in the direction of the dartboard, her eyes widening. “Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Michael? Shouldn’t he be in the hospital?”

  Julia moaned inwardly. Not again – she was full up on stories about Michael’s amazing recovery. What’s more, she didn’t want to be subjected to Gaby’s scrutinizing look once Axel and Florian told her how he’d invited her for a game of darts. If she started blushing, Gaby would have it in for her.