Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (36 page)

“Sarah, are you home?” called Lucas. The
tension flew out of me at the sound of his voice.

I ran to the
door, swinging it open, and felt better instantly. His very presence relaxed
me. He wore a black V-neck sweater, jeans, and a black leather jacket. His eye
seemed worse, almost swollen shut, and the skin was puckered and pink. His lip
was healing, with only a slight cut remaining. The same with his knuckles; just
a few red spots were visible. Despite all of his injuries, he looked gorgeous.
He smiled as he handed me a bunch of multicolored gerbera daisies, deep red,
vibrant yellow, and burnt orange.

“Thank you,
they’re beautiful.” I shut the door as he stepped inside.

He followed me
into the kitchen and was silent while I took a vase out of the cupboard.

“Good choice,”
I said, filling the vase with water and placing the flowers inside.

He laughed
softly. “I figured roses were ruined for us.”

I didn’t say
anything, trying not to think of the significance of roses. After I finished
with the flowers, we stepped into the living room. There was an awkward feeling
looming around us. I was pretty sure he felt it as well.

I sat on my
dad’s favorite recliner while he sat on the couch. He watched me as I made my
choice. It seemed to confirm something for him, and he nodded. “So, you still
haven’t forgiven me for leaving you?”

I was startled
by his question. After everything we’d been through, how could he think that?
He was the one who was angry. I was just happy he was alive, and here sitting
in my living room. His sweet and spicy scent drifted in the air, swirling
around me, and I basked in the comfort of it. I only wished we could get
through the awkwardness so I could feel his arms around me. But that wasn’t
possible, knowing he was upset with me. “Why would you think that?”

He gestured to
the chair I was sitting in. “You obviously don’t want to sit near me,” he said.

A laugh slipped
out of my mouth before I could stop it.

He raised an
eyebrow. “Why is that funny?”

“Why would I
want to sit beside you, when you’re angry with me?”

A look of shock
crossed his face. “I’m not angry with you.”

“Yes, you are.
You blame me for not remembering that Ryan looked like Tony. If I had, Logan wouldn’t have been hurt. That was the last thing you said to me. You haven’t called
or come by to see me in two days. What am I suppose to think?”

He shook his
head and sighed. “I’m not mad at you, I never was. I was angry at Ryan and the
whole situation. And I didn’t come to see you because your mother called and
asked me to stay away until today, so you could clear your head.” He leaned
forward in his seat. “I was going crazy not being able to talk to you. I was so
excited when she finally called today.”

“Is that why
they left me alone?” I asked, realizing now why they were acting so strange
before they left. I had asked if I could come with them so I didn’t have to be
alone, but they made up lame excuses for me to stay here, even though I hadn’t
had a minute to myself since Friday.

“Yes, she
called and told me that you were doing better and they would leave so we could
have some privacy.”

I sat up,
wrapping my arms around my knees. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I don’t know.
You’ll have to ask her.”

I felt at a
loss for words. After everything that happened, I didn’t know where we stood. I
picked at some imaginary lint on my T-shirt, trying to avoid his eyes.

“Sarah, are you
still upset with me?” he asked softly.

A tear rolled
down my cheek. “No.” I was fighting back more, so the word came out in a
whisper. I cleared my throat and began again. “I’m mad at myself. How could I
not remember? I was the one who dreamed about Tony. I feel so stupid and
horrible for what almost happened to you, and what actually happened to Logan.” I rested my head on my knees, afraid to look into his eyes.

He sighed
heavily. “Logan is fine; he has a broken leg and two cracked ribs, that’s all.
He’s actually enjoying all the attention he’s getting. Word got around, and now
our house has been crawling with girls taking care of him.”

I laughed
through my tears. I could see Logan playing up his injuries for his own
benefit.

Lucas stood up
and walked toward me. He touched his hand to my chin and lifted my face.
Smiling at me, he took my hand and pulled me up. We were standing inches apart;
his hot breath caressed my skin. “Please, tell me that you still love me,” he
said. The longing in his eyes was obvious.

I smiled and
wiped my tears away. “I love you, more than I ever have. I’m just sorry I didn—”
I was cut off as his lips hungrily crushed mine. All the pain, guilt, and anger
I felt washed away. I was in his arms, we were safe, and I was home. As long as
we were together, nothing could ever hurt us again.

A few hours later, Lucas and I were snuggled
in my bed. My daisies sat in a vase on my dresser where I could see them. The
smell of fresh paint still lingered in the room. My parents painted my wall
yesterday while I was curled up on the couch.

“I love you,
Sarah,” he whispered as he gently caressed my cheek with the tips of his
fingers. We were both lying on our sides facing each other.

“I love you
too,” I said, enjoying the feel of his soft touch against my skin.

My father
walked past the door for the fourth time.

“How long do
you think he’ll do that?” Lucas asked, his voice anxious. I knew my father
didn’t approve of us lying together on my bed, but because of the situation, he
chose to ignore it, in his own way.

“Until my mom
tells him to stop,” I said softly. I was very comfortable and thankful he was
here. I felt at peace.

“Should we get
up? I don’t think he’s happy with this.”

“No, he won’t
say anything. I’ve been a little jumpy lately, and you keep me calm.” I reached
over, resting my hand on his waist; I needed to touch him, to feel his warmth.

“Jim, get down
here and stop bugging Sarah and Lucas,” my mother yelled from downstairs.

“I’m coming.” I
heard my dad say. It sounded like his voice was coming from his bedroom
doorway, which was about ten feet from mine. Lucas and I started laughing,
covering our mouths, so my dad didn’t hear.

“I have a
question for you.” I moved my hand from his waist, poking his nose with my
fingertip, after I heard my dad go down the stairs.

“Shoot.”

“Last Monday,
Andy asked me if I wanted him to take me out, so he could cheer me up. But he
was weird about it when I said no. He held my arm and said he really wanted
to.”

Lucas laughed.

“What?”

“Andy.” He
shook his head. “I asked him to keep an eye on you, since I couldn’t. When he
asked how he was supposed to do that, I told him to find a way. Apparently it
didn’t work.”

I laughed with
him. “Oh good, I was worried he liked me, or something.”

“Not that I’m
aware of,” he said, resuming the gentle caress on my cheek.

“Do you know
when Ryan’s funeral is?” I asked, suddenly remembering the photo.

“No, why?” His
eyebrows creased in confusion at my abrupt change of topic.

“I can’t tell
you right now. I want to check something first.”

I started to
stand up, but he pulled me back onto the bed. “No, don’t leave me.”

I laughed but
shoved his hand away. Finally, he let me go, and I stood up to get my phone off
of the dresser. I dialed Detective Franklin’s number.

After I hung
up, Lucas stared at me with a look of extreme confusion.

“What the hell
was that about?” He reached up and curled a strand of my hair around his
finger, pulling me down until I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Okay, so we
got rid of Ryan-slash-Tony, right?”

“Right,” he
said slowly.

“Say we live
happily ever after. We grow old together, and then we die.”

He grinned.
“Sounds good to me.”

“Let’s say I
believe that we’re soul mates, which I’m not sure, but there is evidence that
says we are.” He nodded, and I went on. “We’re born again, we find each other,
and again we get together. What about Tony?”

“Well, if that
happens, what are we supposed to do? It’s kind of out of our control.”

“Maybe it’s
not,” I said, grinning as I stood up.

“Sarah, are you
crazy? There’s nothing we can do about it.” He sat up with his legs hanging
over the side of the bed.

“When I was
researching our dreams, or past lives on the Internet, I looked up how to stop
a soul from returning. I didn’t expect to find anything, but there were a few
articles. Of course, there is no way to know if it’s true, they’re just
theories. Some people believe that if you are cremated, you won’t be
reincarnated again. And I also found an article about a ritual ancient natives
performed to keep souls from returning. They said if you take a personal item
of the diseased and burn it at the same time the person is being cremated,
while saying a particular chant, the soul won’t return. The only problem is
that you have to do it within fifty feet of the body while it’s being burned.”

“Are you
seriously thinking of doing this?”

“Yes.”

He stared out
the window, thinking. “Is he being cremated?” he asked. I nodded. After my
conversation with Detective Franklin I knew everything there was to know about
Ryan’s arrangements after his death. “Well, we don’t know the chant, and how
are we supposed to get fifty feet away?”

“I do know the
chant, it was on the Internet. And they are cremating him at seven o’clock
tonight, after hours. So the parking lot will be empty. That’s about fifty
feet,” I said, smiling.

He gazed into
my eyes and finally said, “Let’s do it.” He stood up. “Wait! We don’t have a
personal item. Or are you going to break into his house like you did min?” he
asked with a smirk on his face.

I stuck my
tongue out at him and opened my closet door. Reaching up, I took the photo off
the top shelf. I handed him a sandwich baggie with the photo inside. “I took it
from his pocket. That’s what you saw me steal from him.”

“He was
carrying a picture of you and Emma?” His eyes hardened, and his fingers
tightened on the picture. Obviously he wasn’t happy that Ryan had carried a
photo of me around with him.

“Yes.”

He shook it off
and blew out a breath. “Okay, let’s get ready. What do we need?”

We spent the next couple of hours gathering
all the things we needed to take with us, and preparing for the ritual. We
drove to the funeral home and sat inside the car until six forty-five. As we
waited, it started to snow. “Awesome, it’s finally snowing,” he said, looking
out his window. There were a few flakes coming down, but they were so small you
could barely see them.

“I wouldn’t get
too excited, you can’t even see it.”

“It might pick
up later. I can’t wait to get my snowmobile out. Christmas holidays are coming
up in a couple of weeks. Last year I didn’t get a chance to use my sled until
after the holidays. What a waste of a vacation,” he grumbled.

“Derrick said
the same thing. What’s so exciting about driving a snowmobile?” I asked,
reaching to turn the radio down.

“Have you ever
been on one?”

“No.”

“Just wait,
it’s so much fun. Tell Derrick to bring his over to my place; we can go through
the trails in our back woods. You and Emma will love it.”

“I’ll take your
word for it.” I glanced at the door of the funeral home. I didn’t want to be
seen out here. Most of the windows were dark, but there was a glow from
somewhere inside. I saw no movement anywhere.

“What happens
if someone sees us?” Lucas asked. Could he read my mind?

“We have the
car parked blocking where we’re going to do it. No one will see us.” I glanced
at the clock. “Let’s go.” I grabbed my bag that held the items we needed.

Outside, we sat
on the cold, hard pavement. I took out the stainless steel mixing bowl I had
brought and set the picture inside. “Are you ready? You light it and I’ll read
the chant.” I peered at my watch, waiting for seven on the dot, and when the
hour hand finally moved into place, I nodded to him.

As he lit the
picture on fire, I watched it burn for a second, and then read the few
paragraphs loudly. The photo burned until only ashes were left.

I looked up at
the sky and watched a shimmering light rise above the funeral home. It hovered
for a few seconds, and then vanished. I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I
had just seen.

Lucas was
staring in the same direction with an amazed look on his face. “Did you see
that?”