Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (28 page)

Snapping out of
my hurtful fantasy, I returned to the matter at hand. “Okay, I’ll meet you
there at ten.”

“I don’t want
you driving alone; maybe I should pick you up?”

“I thought the
whole point of our breakup was so we won’t be seen together.”

He was quiet
for a few seconds and then he sighed heavily. “You’re right, but if you’re
late, I’m coming after you.”

“I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

I had to sneak out of the house, but it
wasn’t hard. My parents went out for breakfast, and Alex was still sleeping
when I left. The rain had finally stopped, but the sun was hidden behind
clouds, and the chill in the air was crisp. I was wearing my baby blue woolen
mittens, which my grandma had knitted for me shortly before she died. If I
needed a hat near the waterfall, I could pull my hood up.

When I stepped
through the trees, I saw him sitting on the top of the little hill, leaning
against a bare maple. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he was hunched
so his winter coat covered his ears. Icy cold air whirled toward me from the
waterfall, freezing my cheeks and ears. I tugged my hood up, pulling the
strings to keep it on.

A twinge of
excitement bubbled up inside me at the sight of him. Pushing it away from the
surface so it wouldn’t show on my face, I stepped over and leaned against a
knotty pine across from him. I slid down the trunk to sit on the ground. It was
cold and wet, and I was sure I’d have a wet spot on my butt when I stood up. I
placed the bag I brought beside me on the grass.

“So? What did
you want to see me about?”

I sighed
heavily before I began what I had planned to say. “First, I want to apologize
for how I’ve been treating you since you broke up with me.”

He opened his
mouth to speak, but I lifted my mitten-covered hand to silence him before
continuing. “I took your book.” I said it quickly before I could change my
mind.

Just as I
expected, his face turned red with fury. “Damn it, I knew it!” he growled. “How
could you? That is my journal. I put my personal thoughts inside. If I wanted
you to know them, I would have told you!” He stood up and started pacing back
and forth in front of his tree. “You of all people should understand. You know
me more than anyone else. You had to know I’d be furious!”

I smiled at
him; he so rarely lost his temper. “Are you finished?” I asked, not fazed by
his rant. He scowled at me. I pulled his book out of my bag and handed it to
him. He took it without a glance, dropping it at his feet. It made a dull thud
as it hit the ground.

“I had to take
it, you gave me no choice. I asked you over and over what was really going on,
and you lied to me.” I was raising my voice, thinking about how frustrating it
was not knowing. Remembering my vow to make things easier on him, I took a few
deep breaths and began again. “I took your book so I could understand why you
left me. And don’t worry, I only read a few pages. There is something I kept
from you, though.”

He stopped
pacing to glance at me curiously.

“As you know, I
had the same dream you had, the one where we both died.” He nodded gravely.
“But what I didn’t tell you was that I’ve had them for months. I read your
journal and from what I can tell, we’ve been having the same dreams. All of
them.”

He sat down on
the ground again and leaned against the tree. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You know why.”
He nodded, and I went on. “The first one was us sitting on the swing set, looking
up at the sky, I thought it was Logan, but after I got to know you, I figured
out the truth. They started to get sweet, dancing in the moonlight, kissing
while we danced. Sometimes I would just see your face. Then I had the dream of
us being murdered. I’ve had it six times. I remember, because it’s really hard
to forget. You know my name in the dream is Katie, but what you may not know
is, your name is David. I didn’t read that in your journal, but like I said, I
only read a few pages.”

“I knew,” he
said quietly.

I watched him
pull a few blades of grass out of the ground; the wind blew them off of his
hand.

“Have you ever
dreamed of another face, a guy about our age, dark blond hair, steel blue eyes,
and cleft chin?” I asked.

“No, why?”

“I’ve seen his
face a few times, and it’s always distorted with anger. I believe he is the one
who killed them.” I paused, glancing at the waterfall for a few seconds,
contemplating my next words carefully. Finally, I turned back to face him.
“You’re wrong, though, the dreams are not premonitions.”

He arched an
eyebrow, giving me a smirk. “What are they then?”

“Memories.” The
word was barely out of my mouth before he was shaking his head. I started
talking again before he could. “Think about it. We both have the same dreams,
and we even had one at the same time. The night we fell asleep on my couch, I
had a dream of us running hand in hand in a field. You tripped, and I fell on
top of you. We started kissing, and I took off your shirt. I whispered I love
you David, and you said, ‘You are my life, my love, my joy.’ I remember because
I thought it was a beautiful thing to say. I woke up then, and I heard you
whisper the same words in your sleep.” His eyes widened in surprise. I
continued what I had to say. “I think we are dreaming of our former lives. We
were reincarnated.” I felt stupid saying it out loud.

He smiled, like
what I said made perfect sense. “Soul mates,” he said, nodding.

“That’s what I
think.” I was happy I didn’t have to convince him.

Pulling off my
mittens, I unzipped my bag and pulled out my laptop. “I thought we could do
some research and see if we can find something about their deaths.” I placed
the computer on my lap and opened it.

“We don’t have
last names,” he said, scooting closer to me to look at the screen as I typed.

“Just wait, and
see what I find.” I punched in the names: “David and Katie—murdered with
butcher knife.” I waited until about ten items had popped up.

We searched
through them all until we found one that sounded right. It was an article from
a town called Renford, New Hampshire. A teenager in a jealous rage murdered
David Wilson and Kathleen Simms with a butcher knife, on the night of their
engagement party. They were out in the backyard for a breather while their
families were celebrating inside the house. Tony (Anthony) Garrison was
arrested a week later, after his mother found the bloody knife in his closet.
Tony pled guilty, saying that it wouldn’t have happened if she had chosen him.
There were pictures of all three. They were in black and white, and faded, but
it was obvious that David and Katie looked just like us. We weren’t the only
ones that looked familiar; Tony was the other person in my dreams, the one
whose face was twisted with anger.

“Wow!” Lucas’
face was full of shock after reading the newspaper article. “Why didn’t I think
of this before?”

“You’re just
not as smart as me, that’s all.” I laughed as he gave me a playful shove.

“Look at the
date they were killed. March 12th 1930.” I pointed to the screen. We stared at
each other, trying to grasp what was happening.

“This is crazy,
isn’t it? I mean it’s obvious that’s us, we dream about them, and they look
like us, but it is hard to believe…” Lucas trailed off, gazing at the computer
screen.

“I know, I was
glad when you said the word, and I didn’t have to.”

He glanced over
at me, his eyes shining. “But I felt something the first time you touched me, a
spark. Everything makes sense now.”

“I don’t
remember touching you that day, I was so nervous. But I felt the same thing
when you touched my hand in the cafeteria.”

A silence
settled upon us as we remembered that day that seemed so long ago. I turned off
my computer and stuffed it inside my bag.

“Sarah?” His
voice sounded uncertain.

I glanced at
him while I played with the zipper on my bag. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry I
tried to force you to see me after we broke up.” I shook my head, not wanting
to get into that. “No, listen to me. You were dealing with our breakup your
way, and I kept pushing you to do it mine. It wasn’t fair of me. I realized
that the day I saw you crying on Logan’s shoulder. He gave me hell and told me
to stay away from you. He said that it hurt you too much to see me.”

I was
surprised. Who knew Logan would turn out to be a decent guy? “Seriously, Logan defended me?”

“You changed
him. He told me about the talk the two of you had. You had an effect on him
because you spoke your mind. My parents are so happy; he’s going to apply for
culinary school next month.”

“That’s great,
I’m glad he’s changing.” I felt so relaxed talking to Lucas. For a moment, I
forgot the past month ever happened.

He reached over
to fiddle with the strap of my bag, brushing my knee with his hand. I shivered
at the energy his touch created. That’s when I remembered his words to me in
front of my house. I needed to leave before I got wrapped up in him again. As
soon as he reminded me that wasn’t going to happen, I would hit bottom. “I
should go,” I said unenthusiastically.

His smile
disappeared. “Do you have to?”

“Has anything
changed?”

“I wish it had,
I really do, but no. Since we’ve been apart, you’ve been safe. I have to keep
it that way.”

I shoved my
mittens into my bag. “Fine, I understand, I do. But I can’t spend a lot of time
with you, it hurts too much.”

He nodded and
then stood up.

I followed him
reluctantly. Even though it was my idea, I didn’t want to leave. “I am so sorry
for what I put you through. I know you did it to protect me; I had no idea how
hard it was for you. Now that I’ve read your journal, I’ll behave.” I reached up
and touched his cheek, no longer able to resist. His eyes held so much emotion
from my soft touch, it was hard to step back.

“Goodbye
Lucas,” I said softly, before turning away from him.

I managed a few
steps before he called, “Sarah, we should meet again so we can figure out who’s
doing this.”

I turned and
smiled. “We’ll talk at school and arrange a time.” I turned back and kept
walking. I had to keep going because if I stayed any longer, I wouldn’t be able
to stop myself from throwing my arms around him. I wanted to make it easier for
both of us, so I went home to my room to wallow some more, snuggling under the
covers to warm up. My hands, face, and ears were cold from the iciness of the
air, but it was nothing compared to the chill that ran through my veins. I
wasn’t sure what it was that made my body so cold, the weather, or the lack of
Lucas’ presence.

The next day at school Andy came up to me
in the hallway. “Hey, Sarah, how are you?”

“I’m
functioning. If you’re here to defend Lucas—”

He cut me off.
“No, I’m here to tell you that I’m sorry for what he did. He’s an ass for
hurting you, and I’ve told him several times.”

This new
information amused me. First his brother and now his friend defending me was
extremely sweet, and quite unexpected. “Don’t give him too hard a time, he did
what he thought was best. It’s as hard on him as it is on me.”

“What’s gotten
into you? Two weeks ago you were giving him hell every chance you got.”

“I found some
things out, so now I’m going to try and be civil.”

“Well, good
luck with that.” He shifted his books in his arms. “Why don’t I take you out,
maybe it will cheer you up.”

“No, thanks,
I’ll be fine.” I started to walk away but his hand swung out, wrapping around
my elbow, stopping me mid-step. I stared at him, surprised at his odd behavior.

His expression
held an air of determination. “Sarah, I want to.”

I pulled my
hand away. “No. I said I was fine.”

He glanced
around and smiled. “If you need anything, let me know. I should go, or I’m
going to be late for class.”

I watched him
walk away with a feeling of uneasiness. Once he was out of sight I turned and
rushed to my own class.

When I slid
into my seat, there was a note on my desk:
How about today after school?
It
wasn’t signed, but of course, I knew who it was from.

I turned the
paper over and wrote:
Sounds good, but I don’t have a car. I’ll have Emma
drop me off at the woods. Derrick can pick me up.

I asked Emma to
hand it to Brady Walker, who tossed it to Lucas. He read it and nodded, turning
to face the front of the class.

“Emma explained what was happening, and why
everyone was driving you around. Why didn’t you tell me?” Derrick said, leaning
over the seat. We were parked in front of the driveway in the woods after school,
waiting for Lucas. He and Emma were going to dinner while they waited for me.

“I’m not in the
mood to talk about it right now,” I mumbled, staring out the window.

“I would have
helped you out, driven you around,” he said, ignoring my words.

I sighed in
frustration, tired of explaining myself. “Lucas and Logan were doing that, and
my parents took over. Besides you’re helping right now, so back off.” I
regretted the words as soon as they left my lips. Being in this situation was
making me cranky. “I’m sorry, Derrick; it’s just that I’ve had that lecture
from a lot of people. I really do appreciate you wanting to help.”

His reassuring
smile gave me comfort. He was my best friend and always would be. The sound of
branches snapping through my open window made all three of us look outside.
Lucas stood at the edge of the trees. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to be
picked up.” I shut the door behind me after stepping out, and pulled my hood up
again. It was colder today, but at least the sun was peeking through the
clouds.

All this help
was wearing on my nerves. I missed being able to drive myself around. But that
night when I was attacked woke me up, and I knew all of this extra help was
necessary. Derrick honked the horn as he drove away. I waved, and walked over
to where Lucas was standing.

“Hey.” That was
the only greeting that came to mind.

He nodded with
a slight smile before he started to make his way to the waterfall. I followed
behind him, wondering why he was so quiet.

We ascended the
hill and sat down against our trees. There was a duffel bag lying in the grass
next to him. He opened it and pulled out his laptop.

“So what should
we look for?” he asked me.

I dumped my bag
beside me and sat up straight. “Actually, before we start I want to say something.
I think if we are going to find out who is doing this, we have to be honest
with each other. Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”

“No, it was
just about the dreams, how long I’ve been having them. And that I thought they
were premonitions. I was afraid you would think I was crazy if I told you
that.”

I grinned. My
theory was just as odd, and he didn’t judge me when I voiced it. “I have more
to tell you. Don’t be mad that I kept it from you because deep down I think I
knew if it became too dangerous you would have left me for my own good.” I took
a deep breath before I continued. This story sounded like a movie plot, not
something that had happened to me, and as I opened my mouth to recount the
tale, a gust of wind swirled around me, making me feel as cold on the outside
as I did inside.

Finally, the
words came out in a rush, as I explained how I’d been followed twice in the
parking lot at work. I told him every detail, so at least now he couldn’t
accuse me of holding anything back. Better late than never, right? When I was
finished, I paused, looking up at him. The scowl on his face wasn’t really
surprising. I pulled the rock I’d hidden out of my bag and handed it to him. “I
saw someone outside of my house watching me, and a week later this was thrown
through my window.” I stopped talking. Lucas was reading the rock, and I could
tell he wasn’t very happy with me. The knuckles on his hands were white.

He looked away
so I couldn’t read his expression, but I could tell he was breathing in and out
deeply, trying to calm down.

He stood up and
started to pace. “Sarah, how could you keep this from me? God, I’m so mad at
you right now.” He stopped speaking, his face twisted with anger. He balled his
hands into fists as though he wanted to strike something. I had a feeling that
if he were at home, he would be pounding on the heavy bag.

In the midst of
pacing, he walked over toward the edge of the cliff and stood staring down at
the waterfall. I didn’t say anything because honestly he was right. I should
have at least told the police about the rock. If I knew someone was trying to
hurt me, I would have.

He stood
staring off into space for a few moments, then suddenly turned around. His face
was still tight, but he had calmed down some, and the lines around his eyes had
smoothed. “Don’t keep anything like that from me again. I mean it, Sarah, I
need to know.” The look on his face dared me to argue, but I wasn’t stupid;
instead, I only nodded. “Did you tell the police about the rock?” Crap, why did
he have to ask that?

“Uh…no. But I
didn’t know then that someone was trying to hurt me. If I had, I would have
told them.”

He turned away
from me again, let out a breath, and turned back around to look at me. “Fine,
is that it?”

“Yes,” I said
quietly, gazing down at my hands that were folded in my lap.

He stood in
front of me. The long wet grass curled up around the leather soles of his black
boots. “So the picture of Tony didn’t look like anyone you knew or have seen,
because we look similar to David and Katie.” With his voice less strained, he
sat down against his tree again.

“You think Tony
was reincarnated too?” I asked. It made sense; I just hadn’t thought of it
myself.

“Who else
wouldn’t want us to be together? And how would anyone know about the butcher knife
unless they were there, or dreaming about it like we are?”

“But how are we
supposed to find him? He does look slightly familiar, but I can’t place his
face.”

“Are you sure
it’s not Zack? I’m telling you, he rubs me the wrong way. And you said he knew
your name before you met him.”

“I really doubt
it’s someone that I know.”

He closed his
eyes, obviously fighting for control. “Sarah, you can’t know that. It could be
anybody.” His voice was low, and it sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

“Okay, okay, it
could be anybody, but you’ve seen Zack, he doesn’t look a thing like Tony.”

He opened his
eyes and nodded in agreement.

I leaned back
against the tree, watching the branches blow in the wind. A plan suddenly
formed in my mind. I was sick of having bodyguards everywhere I went. I wanted
this over. I wanted to be with Lucas, but I was still upset with him about how
he handled things. If he’d been honest with me, and let us figure this out
together, I wouldn’t have lied to him. We could have found out what the dreams
meant long ago.

I sat up and
stared at Lucas. I wanted to tell him my idea, but I was afraid of his
reaction. “What if we trap him?”

“What do you
mean?”

“One night
after work, I’ll go out and wait for my ride, which seems to be running late.
You, my dad, and even the police will be waiting for him to take the bait. When
he does, they grab him, and we’re done with all of this crap. We can get on
with our lives.”

His jaw locked.
“I don’t think so. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“No, I’ll be
surrounded, he won’t get to me.”

“No.”

I groaned.
“There you go again, running the show. It always has to be your way, doesn’t
it? If you had been totally honest about your dreams we wouldn’t have suffered
for the last month like we have.”

His face
clouded with anguish. “Sarah, I told you that I had to.”

“No, you
didn’t. The day you ended it, I wanted to figure it out together, and of
course, I have no say in my own life. You wouldn’t listen to me. But what are
we doing now?”

He opened his
mouth to argue, and then quickly shut it. He glanced around at the trees,
absently playing with the keys on his laptop. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want
his apology; I wanted the last month back. I was suddenly so angry with him, I
needed some space to calm down. I stood up, and so did he. “No, don’t follow
me.” I held my hand up to stop him. “I just need some space from you right now.
I don’t want to make it worse for you, so I’ll be back when I calm down.”

I reached down
and picked up my laptop, before walking over to a set of pine trees away from
the waterfall, not far from where Lucas stood a few minutes ago. He could still
see me, but I was far enough away to give me the space I wanted. The smell of
pine was strong, but since it was so cold, I wasn’t surprised that it was all I
could smell; everything else was frozen.

I sat down
against a tree, shifting slightly when a pine needle stuck into my butt, and
opened my laptop. There had been something on my mind, but I didn’t want to say
it out loud. I pulled off my mittens and typed in the words “Soul mates” and
waited to see what came up. There were thousands of articles on the subject, of
course, most speculation, and a few that were interesting. One was the thought
that humans originally consisted of two beings with shared bodies and souls,
similar to conjoined twins. Zeus feared their strength and separated them,
condemning these beings with a life of longing, seeking their severed half.
That was cool but weird.

There was
another one that sounded similar to what we believed; it said that God created
souls equally male and female. Later speculations claimed that they lived a
life on earth that angered Karma, so to teach them a lesson, they were ripped
apart, and over many lives they sought out one another until their Karmic debt
was cleared. Then they would become one again.

These were
really interesting, and I was about to read some more when I remembered there
was a point to my research.

The next words
I typed in were “how to stop a soul from reincarnating.” One article appeared;
it said that cremation could stop a soul from coming back. There was also an
ancient natives’ ritual that involved using a personal item from the person who
last carried the soul. Once you had the item, you were to light it on fire
while reading a special chant as it, and the body, burned. Of course, there was
no way of knowing if it worked until the next life.

My thoughts
kept going back to Tony. If we somehow got rid of him, or whoever he turned out
to be in this life, he would just keep coming back to destroy our lives. I
didn’t know what I would do with this information, but it was good to have.

I shut my
laptop and walked back over to Lucas.

He stood up.
“I’m sorry. You were right; I should have listened to you.” I didn’t have
anything to say to that. I knew I was right, and I was tired of dwelling on it.
If I did, I would just get angry again. I stood facing him, uncertain of what
to say, and an awkward silence fell between us. Before I could think of
something to ease the tension, his eyes held mine, and he seemed to make a
decision.

He stepped
toward me, cupped my face with his hands, and leaned in to touch his lips to
mine. I gasped and wrapped my arms tightly around him, dropping my laptop onto
the ground and yanking him against me. Desperate for his touch, I never wanted
to let him go. It was wonderful, the feeling of our lips fused together. It
felt like home. I wanted to lose myself in him. I wanted, no needed, this kiss,
this glorious kiss, to last a lifetime. But instead, I pulled away.