Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (21 page)

“I’m okay with
that,” I said, leaning in for a kiss. I would have hugged him, but I honestly
couldn’t move my arms.

“Okay, I’m out
of here before my eyes start to bleed.” Logan got up from the couch.

We pulled
apart. “No, it’s okay Logan, we’ll leave. I have to take her home anyway,”
Lucas said while he pulled me to the stairs.

He drove me home and promised to pick me up
in the morning. I gave him a kiss and went into the house.

“Hey, guys,” I
said, joining my family in the living room.

My dad and Alex
were playing video games. My mom was sitting at the dining room table looking
over papers. “Hey,” my mom said, looking up from her work. “Come here and sit
down. I feel like I never see you anymore.” She moved a stack of papers off of
a chair and tossed the pile on the floor with a thump.

I sat down on
the chair she had cleared off for me.

“I know you
want to spend as much time with Lucas as possible, but honey, I miss you. Why
don’t we do that spa day we’ve been planning? Do you work on Saturday?”

“Yes, but not
until two o’clock. Make it a morning appointment.” I leaned over to pick up a
report card from the top of the pile. She slapped my hand, and it dropped back
onto the table. I smiled at her sheepishly. It was always so tempting to take a
peek at any kind of info on fellow students. But she had some kind of radar;
anytime I even thought of it, she was there slapping my hand away. What good
was living with the vice principal if you couldn’t get any goods on the kids
that ticked you off?

The doorbell
rang, and my mom stood up to answer it. I could hear voices, but I couldn’t
tell who it was.

“Sarah,” she
said, walking in with two men. “Is there something you want to tell us? These
officers say you were involved in an accident today. Why didn’t you say
anything?”

Both men were
wearing suits; one was very tall and seemed to be in charge. He had dark brown
hair cut short and blue eyes. His suit was brown. The younger one’s suit was
blue, and he seemed uncomfortable in it, like he wasn’t used to wearing them.
He tugged at his collar twice before he made it into the living room. His hair
was light brown and shaggy, almost reaching his shoulders. They must have been
detectives, because they weren’t wearing uniforms.

“Mom, it was
nothing, I was standing too close to the road when a car almost hit me.”

“Sarah, are you
okay?” My dad finally stopped playing. He turned his head to look at me. I
really didn’t want to involve them, but I guess I didn’t have a choice now.

“Excuse me, but
if it’s okay, we’d like to ask your daughter a few questions,” the tall
detective said to my parents.

“Sure, would
you like some coffee?” my mom asked.

They declined
and walked over to sit across from me, their hands resting on the table. “Hi,
Sarah, my name is Detective Franklin, and this is Detective Markus. I know you
gave your statement to the patrolmen today, but we need to follow up. We just
have a few questions.”

I nodded, and
he continued. “So, you said you were standing on the curb about to step off
when you saw a car driving right for you, is that correct?” He was reading from
a small notepad.

My mother
gasped behind me.

Trying to
ignore her, I answered, “Yes.”

“Did you get a
look at the driver?”

“Yes, he had on
a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, so I couldn’t see his face.”

“Have you ever
seen someone with his build before? Sweatshirt, the car, anything about him
look familiar to you at all? Anything you remember could mean something.” The
lines in Detective Franklin’s forehead creased while he waited for me to
answer,

I squirmed in
my seat. Yes, I had seen him before. It had to be the same guy that followed me
two weeks ago, but I didn’t want to say that in front of my parents. I glanced
from Mom, to Dad, to Alex. They were all staring at me, waiting for me to
answer. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want my family to
know someone might be following me. The older cop looked at me, searching my
face.

“Would you guys
give us some privacy? I think Sarah will remember more if she doesn’t have so
many eyes on her,” he said, glancing at my parents.

My parents
looked at me to see if it was okay to leave.

I nodded.

They all stood
up reluctantly and went to the kitchen. My mother turned her head, her face
tense with worry, before closing the door behind her.

“Sarah, do you have something to tell us?”
Detective Franklin asked once my family was out of earshot.

“Um…you asked
if anything looked familiar about him.” He nodded and gestured for me to
continue. “Well, two weeks ago when I was walking to my car after work, I heard
footsteps behind me. I stopped walking, and the footsteps stopped. I started to
run, and the footsteps got louder, like whoever it was, was running too. I got
in my car and took off, but when I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw a person—I
think it was a guy—standing where my car had been parked. He was watching me
drive away, and he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. I
didn’t see his face.”

“Is that the
only instance? Or has something like that happened before?”

I hesitated.
Speaking about everything out loud made it harder for me to ignore, and my way
of coping was to stuff everything unpleasant into the back of my brain and hope
for the best. Of course, I knew deep down that wouldn’t solve a thing. “About a
month ago, I was leaving work, and I felt like someone was there watching me. I
called out, but no one answered. I stood still listening, and when I heard a
sound, like a bottle being kicked, I took off running. I didn’t look back that
time. And last week, I was sure there was someone standing on the sidewalk
across the street staring up at my window. He was wearing a gray hooded
sweatshirt.”

He was writing
in his notebook. “So two of these incidents happened in the parking lot of the
multiplex, right near where the accident happened?” asked Detective Markus.

“Yes.”

They exchanged
glances. “Is there any reason you can think of that someone you know would want
to hurt you?” Detective Franklin asked.

“No, why?” A
cold shiver of fear ran up my spine.

“Well, since
all the incidents happened when you were getting off work, or here at your
house, it would indicate that he not only knows where you work, but also where
you live.”

I froze. I
never thought of that, but that was impossible. Someone I knew would never harm
me.

“It could also
be a customer that has seen you at work and fixated himself with you. He could
be staking out the theater waiting until he sees you, then gets out of his car
and follows you,” Detective Markus added. I liked his theory better, if I had
to choose. “We’d like you to be very careful, and have someone drive you
around.”

“Actually my
boyfriend already insists on doing that. He’s a bit of a worrier.” That was an
understatement.

“Good, you can
never be too careful.” They both stood up. “Call me if you think of anything,
or if something happens.” Detective Franklin handed me his card, and I stuffed
it in the front pocket of my jeans.

“Thank you.”

I walked slowly
into the living room after seeing the detectives out, and sunk down onto the couch,
feeling dazed. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I hung my head in
my hands wondering what was going on, gazing at the bread crumbs mixed in the
carpet. Someone should really vacuum in here.

My family came
out of the kitchen, looking concerned and confused. My father rushed toward me,
sat down, and took my hands in his. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you want us to
hear what you had to say?”

“I didn’t want
to worry you, Dad. It wasn’t a big deal. Everything is fine. I’m going to bed
now; I’ve had a long day.” He only let go of my hands because I yanked them
away. I strolled calmly past them, trying to ignore their worried faces, and
made my way upstairs.

I hated lying
to them, but I didn’t want them to worry about me. I did what was necessary, I
told the police, and if it got worse I would tell them, and Lucas, maybe.
Telling Lucas was different than telling my family. I knew he was having dreams
of me being stabbed and killed, so he was constantly worried it would come
true. I hadn’t told him about being followed because I knew he’d be scared of
losing me. He was overprotective now, I couldn’t imagine how he’d react if he
knew everything. He meant so much to me, I couldn’t worry him.

The next morning, Lucas was waiting for me
in front of my house.

“Hey,” I said,
climbing into the passenger seat.

“Good morning,
how was your night?” He was wearing a dopey grin.

“It was fine.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s with you? Why are you in such a good mood?”

“Why wouldn’t I
be, I get to escort a beautiful girl to school every day.” He leaned in for a
kiss.

“Okaaay,” I
said, amazed at his good mood so early in the morning.

At lunch, our
now usual group, Emma, Derrick, Andy, Kyle, Lucas and I, were eating lunch
together. I saw Cory and Pete hitting on a couple of girls at a table across
the room.

I was about to
take a bite of my sandwich when Logan sat down beside me. His strong cologne
almost made me choke. That would be my next project with him—lay off the paint
thinner. “Hey, guys.” He nodded to everyone before leaning over me. “Luke,
could I get a ride home with you and Sarah, Jim’s car is in the shop. I still
have another week without mine, and I’d rather not walk.”

“Sure, just
meet us in the parking lot after school.”

“Thanks.” He
waved goodbye to everyone, and smacked my shoulder gently as he stood up,
winking at me before walking away.

I turned to the
right side of the table where the rest of them sat. Lucas and I were sitting on
the end. All of their mouths were wide open in shock, staring at Logan.

I followed
their gazes. Logan was heading to his table, occasionally saying hi to people
who spoke to him.

“What the hell
just happened?” Emma asked, looking stunned.

“Are we in an
alternate universe where Logan is actually an okay guy?” Derrick asked.

Lucas and I
just shrugged our shoulders. I looked down to pick a piece of bread from my
sandwich and took a bite. Lucas held his can of soda and stared into the hole.
Our lunches were suddenly so interesting we couldn’t answer their questions.

“So Sarah, did
Luke tell you where you’re going Friday night?” Andy asked, waving his sandwich
at me to get my attention, a piece of salami sticking out of the bread.

“No, where am I
going?” I asked, glancing at Lucas.

He smiled.
“They want to take you to a paintball war; they’re guessing you’ve never been.”

“And they’d be
right.” I shrugged. “Sure, sounds fun.”

“Hey, Emma, why
don’t you and Derrick come too? It’ll be fun with more girls to beat,” Andy
said with his usual arrogant grin.

“Oh, we’ll be there.
Taylor and you are so going down,” she said, trying to look tough.

“Sarah, Mom
said she gave you money for my lunch, since I was asleep when she left,” Alex
said, suddenly appearing behind me.

“Oh yeah.” I
reached into the pocket of my jeans and handed him a ten-dollar bill.

Alex took it
and glanced at Lucas. “Hey, Luke, did Sarah tell you the cops came by to talk
to her last night?” I suddenly felt the urge to punch him.

“Alex, you’d
better go, or you won’t have enough time to eat. Go,” I said pushing him away.

He walked away,
looking back at me with a confused expression on his face.

“What was he
talking about, Sarah?” Emma asked.

Luke’s jaw was
clenched, and his cold stare told me that he was not pleased. I didn’t want to
meet his eyes, so I glanced at Emma.

“Nothing, you
know Alex, he’s crazy.” I gathered my stuff, shoving it awkwardly into my bag.
“I’m going to my locker. I have a few things to do.”

Lucas started
to rise.

“No, you stay
and eat your lunch. I’ll see you in class.” I rushed away without looking back.
I didn’t go to my locker.

I went outside
to the bleachers and sat snuggled in my coat trying to stay warm, waiting until
the bell rang so I could go right to class. A dark gray cloud hovered above,
threatening rain, and wind whipped the leaves and rubbish that were scattered
along the football field around me. The chill in the air threatened a storm,
but I still preferred my spot here, rather than face the disappointment in
Lucas’ eyes. I hated when he was mad at me. It had only happened once before,
but I wasn’t looking forward to a second time. I took my book out of my bag and
began to read; there was still a half hour left of lunch. If I was going to
hide out, I needed something to do.

“So first you
lie to me, and then you hide. What the hell is going on, Sarah?” Lucas’ voice
startled me. He stood behind the bleachers. I refused to turn around. “Sarah,
look at me.” I stayed planted in my spot, knowing it wouldn’t matter. I would
just have to face him, he was here, and he wasn’t going away. Tucking my book
back inside my bag, I waited.

He stalked
around the bleachers to stand in front of me, his hair blowing wildly in the
wind. “Why did you lie to me this morning?”

“I didn’t lie
to you. You asked me how my night was. You didn’t ask if cops came over to ask
me questions. If you had, I would have told you.” I smiled at him. To me, my
logic was sound. He continued to stare at me with his arms folded in front of
him, waiting for a better explanation.

“What?” I
asked, getting a little uncomfortable. We stared at each other, waiting to see
who would break first. He was better at it than I was. Damn, he was good. I
caved. “Fine, two detectives came to my house last night to follow up on the
accident. They asked questions, I answered, end of story.”

“You’re keeping
something from me, I know it.”

“And you’re not
keeping anything from me?” I asked, suddenly realizing it was true.

He glanced at
the ground, shifting his feet, a sure sign he was lying. “I’ve told you
everything you need to know.” Whatever that meant.

“So have I.” We
glared at each other some more. I could see that he was still angry.

“You should
have told me.” He ran his fingers roughly through his already messed-up hair in
aggravation.

“And if I did
what would it matter? You were there the first time they questioned me.”

“Yes, but since
they came to your house, it must mean that they are concerned that it wasn’t
just a random hit and run, right? They think someone is targeting you, don’t
they?”

I averted my
eyes, looking down at my hands that were folded on my lap. My expression gave
me away.

“Sarah, why
won’t you open up? You mean everything to me, I need to know.” His voice was
laced with frustration.

“What if they
did think that? What if it was true, which it’s not. What would you do? You
would never leave my side. I want a boyfriend, not a bodyguard.” He shifted his
feet again, looking away. “That’s what I thought.” I stood up, climbed down the
steps, and walked away as fast as I could.

Before I could
open my locker, I saw him at the end of the hall, heading my way.

The mature
thing to do was to stand my ground and talk to him, try to work it out. But I
never said I was mature, so instead, I ducked around the corner and slid into a
utility closet. The smell of dirt and mildew was thick in the small room. I
turned my head and noticed a dirty mop leaning against the wall right beside my
head. That explained the stench. I waited until he walked by, then slipped out
to my locker.

I went to class
without him, I was irritated and confused. My emotions were in turmoil. It was
bad enough that someone might be targeting me; I really didn’t want to drag my
friends and family into it.

Lucas tried to
get my attention a couple of times during class, but I ignored him. When Emma
looked at me curiously, I just shook my head.

After fourth
period, I stood in front of my locker, thinking about getting a ride with
Derrick. The feeling of hot breath on the back of my neck changed my mind. As I
closed my eyes, it turned into soft kisses on my skin, leading to the side of
my throat. Thank God I wore my hair up today. The kisses slowly moved up to my
ear. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. His breath gave me goose bumps. The familiar
sweet and spicy scent made me forget my anger.

I leaned my
back into him as he rubbed my shoulders. The kissing continued until we heard
“Get a room” from someone walking by.

I finally
turned around and looked into his eyes.

“Let’s just
agree to disagree for now, okay? I don’t want to fight with you.” His eyes
pleaded with me. How could I resist those beautiful gold-flecked hazel eyes
that haunted my dreams so often?

I smiled,
wrapping my arms around him. “Come on, Logan’s probably outside waiting for
us.”

He was, but he
wasn’t alone. He was talking to a few girls, and everyone was smiling, no one
was slapping him or telling him off. That was a good sign.

“I’ll see you
girls later,” he said when he saw us. “You were right, Sarah; you do get more
attention when you’re nice.” He smiled at me as we met him in front of the car.
“I will never doubt you again.”