Authors: Rebecca Abbott
The next Saturday, they had just returned from boating on the lake when Erin recognized a red sedan parked on the road. Thrilled to see Chad’s car, she ran toward the house to meet her best friend and her husband of two years.
Courtney looked like a city career woman modeling on the patio of the rustic lake house. But when she saw Erin rushing toward her, she lost all composure and screamed excitedly. They hugged each other and couldn’t catch up fast enough with their stories.
“It’s been, what, a month already?” Courtney said.
“Yeah, time flies so damn fast!” Erin answered. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you!”
“What about me?” Chad teased.
“You too, Chad!” Erin said with a grin, giving him a quick hug. She then ushered them inside and prepared snacks for them.
When she came out of the kitchen again, she was surprised to find Kale actually chatting with Courtney already. Well, actually, she was doing most of the talking.
They all sat down and had a great time talking about their summer escapades. Later, Courtney went to the kitchen with Erin to grab some coffee.
“He’s so hot!” she hissed. “Imagine being alone with a gorgeous stepbrother like that! No wonder you weren’t able to resist him!”
Erin laughed. “I tried. Believe me, I did.”
Courtney laughed too. “Yeah, I believe you. If it had been me in your place and I was still single, then we probably would have had sex on that first day.”
“Courtney!” Erin hissed.
They ended up giggling together, knowing that she wasn’t joking.
Erin had never felt happier after spending the morning with both her best friend and the new love of her life. They wanted to go boating but it started to drizzle so they ended up having early lunch. That afternoon, though, she and Courtney stayed indoors painting their nails while the men went fishing.
“Thanks, Courtney. I needed this girly fix!” Erin said gratefully.
“Of course,” Courtney said. “I think of everything! I wanted to bring a masseur along but Chad said no.” She suddenly pouted, which made Erin burst out laughing.
As the men cooked the fish they had caught, the two ladies decided to have a little bit of an adventure. “I haven’t gone boating yet,” Courtney complained. “You have to take me.”
“But it might rain again…” Erin said. “And I’m not that good yet in handling these boats.”
“That’s okay,” Courtney said. “We won’t be long and we won’t go far. I just want to experience it before we leave.”
Erin gave in and the two of them went into the lake, chatting some more. They had lost track of time and had begun to drift farther and farther from the wooden dock and boathouse. It would have been okay, if not for the thunder that suddenly roared from the sky.
“Holy shit,” Courtney suddenly said. “Let’s go back!”
Erin started paddling fast, headed back to the shore. But halfway there, the surroundings dimmed and the rain began to pour. Soon they started panicking as the water began to rise inside the boat.
“We’re sinking!” Courtney exclaimed in fright. “Help!”
Erin focused on paddling, though she too was on the verge of losing it. She tried to tell her friend to stay calm so as not to rock the boat, but Courtney was really freaking out.
“Help us! Chad! Kale!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, twisting left and right. Her voice was simply carried by the wind and drowned out by the deafening rain.
“Courtney, stop moving too much, please,” Erin said. “We’ll get there very soon.”
They were actually nearing the dock when lightning struck and thunder boomed above them. Courtney screamed and panicked again, causing the boat to rock wildly and eventually topple over.
Erin was not a good swimmer. She found herself sinking fast below the surface of the water. She thrashed her arms and kicked her legs on instinct, but she had already swallowed plenty of water. The downpour was not helping, even when she found herself breaking through the surface.
“Erin!” Courtney was yelling above the raucous rain.
Erin could see her floating in the distance, but she did not have the energy or the know-how to swim. She felt cramps starting in her lower legs from kicking too hard repeatedly. She was growing tired.
She felt herself eventually going under again. But then, a strong pair of arms lifted her up and dragged her all the way to the wooden dock. She was half-conscious yet exhausted, but could see Courtney being assisted by her husband Chad down the path.
She was then carried over muscular shoulders and hauled back to the lake house.
*****
Because of the accident and the weather conditions that evening, Courtney and Chad ended up spending the night. It was a good thing the guest room was already ready for occupancy.
“Rise and shine!” Erin heard her best friend’s sing-song voice in the hallway, followed by a series of knocks on her bedroom door. She opened one eye and groaned when she saw that she wasn’t dreaming. Courtney seemed to be in a good mood even after what had happened.
“Come on, sleepyhead! We’re all up and about!” Courtney said in a cheerful tone. “I put the men in the kitchen again. After all, we’re the victims here.”
“You don’t seem like you need any rest or recovery time…” Erin muttered sleepily.
“Well, not really…” Courtney agreed. Then suddenly, her face and tone of voice turned serious. “Actually, there’s something I need to tell you, Erin.”
Erin felt the gravity in her voice, which made her sit up in bed and pay attention.
“Chad told me last night that when the rain had begun pouring, Kale had still been preparing our dinner right beside him. But after a few minutes, he turned around and poof! Your dear stepbrother had vanished!”
“He probably rushed outside to see how we were,” Erin said, not the least bit bothered. “Or maybe his hearing’s so good he heard all of your screaming for help.”
“Maybe,” Courtney said, shrugging. “But it’s just so weird how he was able to get to the middle of the lake so fast! I mean, it wasn’t really that far from the shore, but Chad had dashed outside too after he saw that Kale had disappeared. By the time he reached the dock, he said I was already there lying on the ground and Kale was pulling you up from the water.”
“So?” Erin asked, narrowing her eyes.
“So… he’s way too fast!” Courtney hissed. “And he’s way too strong. How could he have hauled us both through the water within a short period of time and pulled us up on the dock without a boat or any help?”
Erin was quiet as she thought about it. She then remembered how the snake had retreated after wrapping around Kale’s neck. She also recalled that first night she’s seen him vanish into thin air. Was it all her imagination? And was it possible for a human being to do what he’d done the previous night?
Aloud, she simply said, “Let’s just be grateful that he saved our lives, Courtney.”
“Yeah, I know but…”
Erin changed the topic immediately, dragging her friend back into the kitchen to enjoy breakfast with their special men. Nobody mentioned the accident again. What mattered was that nobody had gotten seriously hurt.
After the meal, Chad and Courtney had to go. “Take care,” Courtney whispered, giving Erin a tight hug before leaving. Erin didn’t know if the short statement had meant much more. But she did not like to dwell on these doubts about Kale. Besides, they did not make any sense at all.
She soon forgot about it as she lost herself in the fun-filled summer days by the lake. It was like she and Kale had an entire paradise of their own where they could be themselves completely without a care in the world.
As Erin watched Kale chop some carrots one evening, she wondered how she’d been so lucky to have found this marvelous man. However, she did not know where their relationship was going. Not yet, anyway. And frankly she didn’t really want to think about it at the moment.
“So what are you cooking, Kale?” she asked excitedly, positioning herself behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
“It’s my secret recipe,” he answered, trying to sound mysterious.
“Ooh sounds yummy…” she said, laughing and tightening her embrace while trying to look over his shoulder. He was too tall so she had to lean on his right.
“Ouch,” he suddenly muttered, dropping the knife.
Erin stepped back when she saw the blood ooze out of his finger. She took his hand quickly and examined the wound, which turned out to be a deep cut. But he immediately pulled back and just placed it under the running water. “It’s alright,” he insisted. “I’ll be fine.”
He headed to the bathroom while Erin followed him with her eyes curiously. “Let me get some bandages…” she offered, going inside the master bedroom.
When she came out again, she was surprised to find him almost done with the cooking. “Let me see your wound. Is it not bleeding anymore?” she inquired with great concern.
“It’s fine,” he said firmly, not meeting her eyes.
They started dinner in silence, with Erin wondering what had happened to the deep cut she’d seen. As they were eating, she saw that there was no sign of the wound anymore. But later, she got distracted by the delicious dish he’d prepared and the stories he was telling about his childhood.
“Do you miss your mom?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” he replied honestly. “We were really close even when I was already in my teens.”
“What happened to her?”
“She, uh… went missing.”
“Oh, my gosh! Why? You never found her again?” Erin asked in shock.
He opened up then about his mom being some sort of police agent or investigator who was assigned to protect someone. But when she failed in her mission, she suddenly disappeared and they never found out where she had gone.
“That’s so sad,” Erin said, her heart going out to him. “It must have been so painful for you and your dad.”
He nodded silently. “What about you? How did you cope as a little girl after your dad… passed away…?”
“It was difficult,” she said. “Mom was a wreck. And I didn’t talk for months after that. I withdrew from people, I guess. But somehow our relatives and friends helped us recover.”
“That’s good.”
Silence followed.
Suddenly, they heard the front door swing open. The sound was followed by two pairs of excited footsteps. When Erin turned around to face the living room area, she was shocked to find her mom standing in the center with outstretched arms.
“Erin, my princess, my baby!” she exclaimed. “Come here and give me a hug!”
“Mom!” Erin said in shock. “What are you doing back here?”
Jillian folded her arms across her chest, frowning in a joking manner. “Is that the way to greet your mom whom you haven’t seen for some time?”
Erin gave her mom a hug, though still astonished.
Meanwhile, Winston came forward with their luggage and greeted everybody. All of a sudden, the room had become livelier with Jillian’s excited chitchat. She and Winston were thrilled to get home early so they could be one big happy family before the summer break was over.
Later that evening, as Erin was moving her things to the guest room, she could not help feeling awkward and a little bit guilty. Here they were supposedly celebrating as a new blended family, while she and Kale were keeping their relationship a secret.
Suddenly, reality was creeping in, slowly sinking into her.
Kale’s my stepbrother, for crying out loud!
she screamed in frustration in her mind. Images of their various sexual encounters and sweet gestures suddenly came rushing back to her.
It’s just for the summer,
she told herself.
After this vacation, everything will go back to normal. This whole affair will seem like a dream.
Thinking that, she did not know whether to feel relieved or miserable.
*****
Kale was sound asleep in the sofa. Even Jillian and Winston were already snoring, probably tired from the long day of travelling. But Erin was wide awake, pacing back and forth in the room. Because she could not sleep, she decided to fix her clothes in the closet. She turned on the light and started arranging her shirts, jeans, jackets, and accessories.
That was when she stumbled upon an odd-looking jewelry box. It was a simple rectangular box covered with genuine leather. Imprinted on top was Kale’s name. At first, she thought of just setting it aside and giving it to him in the morning. But her growing curiosity made her open the lid.
“What are these?” she whispered in horror as she dug through the piles of photos that showed her as a little girl with her parents. There was also a newspaper clipping about the car accident that had killed her dad but which she’d miraculously survived. Then she saw other pictures of herself as she was growing up. There was even one of her and Arnold, as well as one of her with Courtney.
“Oh, my God,” she hissed, fear and doubt gripping her heart. “Oh, my God. He knew them all this time. He’d been stalking me?!”
At that instant, a sound from the doorway made her turn around. Kale was standing there with a serious expression on his face that she could not decipher.