Authors: Tiffany King
This time I did sigh for real. Sam and I shared many traits, but messiness was not one of them. I was perpetually neat and couldn't stand trampling through clothes on the floor.
Once I had Sam's discarded pile hung up on the proper hangers and right-side out, I placed them on the hook on the opposite wall. Finally, I turned to the lovely dresses waiting for me to try them on. I ran my fingers over the fine material, trying to decide which one to try on first. I chose a mint green one that looked like a dress I had seen in a movie, when I was younger.
After stripping down, I slid the dress over my head, adjusting it as it slid into place. I turned around and looked in the mirror.
Ugh
, the green material of the dress washed all the color from my face, making me resemble an asparagus. The bodice of the dress definitely called for someone more endowed than I was. I quickly jerked the dress off and reached for the next one. By the time I hit the fourth dress, I was ready to cry. Being flat chested was not a benefit when trying on dresses that called for humongo boobs.
"Krista, come on we want to see them," Sam said, knocking on my door.
"Forget it, I'm not going," I said, cracking the door open an inch. "You have to have some kind of Hooter's chest to wear any of these," I said, thrusting my discarded pile into her hands.
"Okay, I knew most of those were a no-go, but I wanted to give you a selection. Honestly, the only dress I want you to try on is the light pink one," she said, pointing to the last dress hanging on the now near empty hook. "Go on, try it on," she continued, pushing me back into the changing room. "And you better come out and show us."
I turned to the last of the dresses and dug out the light pink one that had enthralled Sam so much. There was no denying it was a beautiful dress, but the question was, would it remain beautiful on a
ruler
like me? I slid the satin dress over my head, relishing the feel of it on my skin. It was by far the softest piece of clothing I had ever tried on. The bottom of it swished softly against my ankles. I turned around with trepidation, hoping it looked half as good on me as it felt.
I was shocked when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I looked like I belonged in a different time period, waiting for my carriage and prince to show up. The lighting of the dressing room, which had made all the other dresses look harsh on me, seemed to enhance this one. The slight padding in the chest gave me the curves God had neglected to give me. The two inch shoulder straps held the dress in place and gave me the reassurance that the dress would not slip off. My favorite part, though, was the airy skirt that floated around my ankles.
Glancing one last time in the mirror to reassure myself that my eyes hadn’t played tricks on me, I opened the door slowly and stepped cautiously out. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as Sam and Lynn squealed in delight.
Grinning more broadly, I joined them at the trio of mirrors and once again was amazed at how the dress seemed to have transformed me.
"You look beautiful," Lynn said, giving me a quick hug.
"Are you sure you don't want to go too?" I asked, suddenly completely on board with the whole prom thing.
"Ugh! No way. I didn't even go to my own prom. Why would I want to go to yours with kids I don’t even know? No offense."
Sam and I tried to protest, but we all had our painfully shy moments, and neither one of us would have relished the idea of spending an evening with a bunch of kids we didn’t know either. By the defiant look on Lynn's face, I knew there was no way we would change her mind.
Sam and I changed and paid for our gowns. After that, we hit the shoe department and in a short time, both of us found shoes to die for. Sam wanted to linger at the perfume counter, but Lynn had exceeded her shopping patience by then.
"Come on. We told the guys we would meet them in the food court over an hour ago and I don't know about you two, but I'm flippin' famished," she said, rubbing her flat belly.
At her words, my belly gave a resounding groan as if it understood. Laughing, we linked arms and headed off to join the guys that were supposed to be trying on tuxes, if they made it out of the game store, that is.
We reached the food court only to discover the guys were well on their way to gluttony. We spotted them first, but as if sensing us, they turned to watch us as we approached, anxious to be reunited.
I sighed with relief when Mark's yummy chocolate eyes met mine. Through the shopping extravaganza, I hadn’t been able to shake the nightmare I had during my brief nap outside the dressing room. Sure, I was tired with all the schoolwork and searching we had been doing lately, but except for the dark turn our dreams had taken before we moved to Santa Cruz, I've never had a nightmare my entire life.
I reached out and grasped Mark's hand in mine, relishing in the liquid heat that spread through me. His touch sent my heart racing in so many directions, that at times I had to laugh at the sheer joy of it. I glanced up to receive my customary kiss and gasped in horror when I saw red reflecting in his left pupil.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as I took a step back.
"Krista, what's wrong?" he asked again, taking a step toward me, the red disappeared from his eye.
Feeling like a fool, I realized the red was a reflection of the neon lights from the burger place on the other side of the food court.
"Nothing," I said, feeling stupid. This was Mark for goodness sake. He wasn’t going to suddenly turn into the demon from my dreams. I reached out and grasped his hand in relief and caught his look of confusion as he picked my thoughts out of my head.
Crap, crap.
I forgot to block my thoughts. The stupid dream had left me so disoriented, that my whole plan to keep it from him had obviously gone awry now.
"You had a nightmare I turned into my father?" he asked, emphasizing
father
like it was a nasty taste in his mouth.
I nodded my head. "It was crazy, but it means nothing. I've just been super stressed trying to get school squared away and helping both you and my mom with your recoveries. Now that you're out and my mom will be released on Monday, I'm sure my stress level will go down majorly."
"I know. I didn't mean for that to come out that way. I just don't want you to start having nightmares that I'm
that
monster. I know you're running yourself ragged trying to take care of everything. Once your mom's settled at home and you're on a normal schedule, things will mellow out," he said, brushing a reassuring kiss on my forehead.
I felt bad mentioning my mom's recovery. I knew Mark harbored a lot of guilt over her accident. His dad had not been satisfied to just hold us hostage, he also had arranged for my mom to be involved in a hit and run, landing her in the hospital for the last three weeks. I could completely understand why he didn't want an inkling of a connection between him and the mad man.
"Let's forget it and eat lunch," I said, glancing back at the suddenly anxious group behind us.
Great, nothing like everyone knowing something was wrong,
I couldn't help thinking as we joined the others.
***
Several hours later, we pulled up to Mark's house, exhausted and ready to veg.
Piling out of the SUV, Sam and I grabbed our dress bags while the guys carried in the rest. There was no reason for me to take my stuff home. I had been staying at Mark's house with my brother Shawn while mom and Mark were in the hospital. It was decided that I would stay until my mom was released. The thought of being at my house alone made my skin crawl, not that the guys would have allowed it anyways. Things would change when my mom was released, which depressed me, but it wasn’t like we could play house forever.
Soul Mates
or not, she definitely would not tolerate it.
Mark reached over and grabbed my free hand as I walked up the crushed seashell walkway. I still felt guilty that he had found out about my dream. It was one thing for me to worry about it, but it wasn't fair to his recovery to dump it on him. Blocking my thoughts from him had been something I had been working hard on and was now a piece of cake for me. I was disappointed in myself for letting my guard down.
"Hey Krista, more sprints after dinner?" Shawn asked with a grin.
"Are you sure your ego can handle another trouncing?" I asked with a giggle in my voice. My newfound speed had been a constant topic since the guys discovered it. I had assumed it would leave me once I wasn't in mortal danger anymore, but if anything, I seemed even faster now. It was just another part of our mysterious past that we hadn't totally figured out yet.
"Hey, we're gaining on you!" Robert said, giving me a mock punch on my upper arm, but took a hasty step back when Mark stepped toward him.
I giggled again. Ever since the whole kidnapping incident, Mark has been just a wee bit overprotective of me.
"Yep, you guys are getting faster, but that just makes me have to kick it into turbo 'cool chick speed," I mocked.
Lynn and Sam sniggered behind me. "Even with superhero strength, it's funny how guys think they have to be better at everything," Sam said, taking a playful swipe at Shawn while dancing aside as he tried to encircle her wrist.
She darted ahead of us, swiping Mark's keys from his hand on her way up the two shallow steps to the front door.
We all laughed at her antics. Having Sam's positive energy around always helped keep our spirits high. I couldn't help wondering if that was just another part of God's plan for us. All of our personalities seemed to mesh perfectly, like we were created to be a group. Once again, I felt a tug at my heart for the two that were missing from our group. I now wondered for the first time what their personalities were like.
"I know. So do
I
," Mark said, quietly picking up my thoughts that I didn’t even try to block. We had beaten the subject to death, consumed with trying to come up with a strategy that would help us rescue the missing Protector and Guide pair.
"Sam, don't let Feline out," I said as Sam opened the front door. Feline liked his temporary home a lot, but was itching to try out the beach. I'm pretty sure he assumed the sprawling white sand he spied from the massive windows in the beach house was one great big cat box.
"Sam,
stop
!" Lynn said in a strained voice, all laughter gone.
Her words were unnecessary though. Sam and I both got the same vibe that Lynn did at exactly the same time.
Someone was in the house and they were working hard to hide their emotions.
Chapter 2
I could only think of one person that would go to the trouble.
Mark's dad.
Maybe my dream in the dressing room was a warning? I had been worried about this since we escaped his clutches, and voiced my concerns that his dad could come after us anytime he wanted.
Mark had disagreed with my assessment. "Even if you were at your own house, he would be able to find you. He knows where you live. It's not like we can go into hiding with you and Sam still in school," he had said. "Plus, my house is bigger, with room for all of us so we can stick together and have safety in numbers. Besides, I'm sure he needs to re-group before he even thinks about attacking us again."
Glancing at him now, I could see he was thinking the same thing by the tightening of his jaw.
Shawn was in front of Sam in an instant while Robert and Mark flanked Lynn and me.
I focused my mind, trying to get a gauge on what awaited us beyond the door, but was frustrated at the shield the individual had thrown up to ward us off.
Mark twisted the doorknob slowly, easing the door open silently.
Feline made a mad dash out the door. Snagging him by the scruff of his neck, I hauled him up into my arms as the guys stepped over the threshold into the house.
My friends and I exchanged uncomfortable looks following closely behind the trio.
I had hoped that once we entered the house my emotional gauge would pick up more of what was lying in wait for us, but that proved to be a futile wish.
The guys in front of us abruptly came to a stop, making Sam, Lynn and I crash into the back of them.