Forsaken (12 page)

“
Did you say you don’t
know where Alex is?” he said as he broke his stare at my baby
sister and looked over at me.

“
No,” I said, that knot
forming in my stomach again. “The truck is here, the motorcycle is
here. His cell and wallet are still in his bedroom. I don’t know
where he would have gone. It’s like he just vanished.”

As the last few words came out of my
mouth I felt my body go numb. Vanished. As if he suddenly wasn’t in
this world any more. As if he had suddenly been pulled back into
the world he was supposed to be a part of now.

“
Well, he was supposed to
meet me at the basketball court over an hour ago and he never
showed. He didn’t answer his phone either so I decided to come
looking for him.” I barely heard the words Rod said. I was suddenly
trying very hard to keep from throwing up. “Are you okay, Jess?” I
heard Amber say. “You’re white as a ghost all the
sudden.”

“
Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied
as I folded my arms across my midsection to try and hide the
trembling in my hands. “Just wondering where Alex could
be.”

“
I wouldn’t worry too
much,” Rod said. “Alex likes to wander but he always comes home
eventually.”

I nodded, barely hearing what he said.
I wished I could take that as the answer to Alex’s disappearance
but I had a feeling there was something much more terrifying and
sinister to this.

The knot in my stomach never left the
rest of the night. Rod left after exchanging numbers with my
sister. Amber went to bed early, again sleeping in the master
bedroom. I sat on the leather couch the rest of the night, waiting
for Alex to walk back through the front doors yet dreading that he
wouldn’t. I fell asleep there on the couch and had nightmares the
entire night.

X

I felt numb the next morning when I
confirmed that Alex was still not home. I called Rod who said he
still hadn’t heard from Alex. I only got Emily’s voicemail
again.

The temptation to call in sick to work
was strong. I really did feel sick but it was only from worry and
the terrifying familiar sensation of dread that filled me. I
sincerely hoped that work would distract me from my obsession.
Amber seemed grateful for the time by herself in the quiet when I
told her I had to go into work. Mondays were always slow in the
bookstore. I worked the morning shift and Austin came in at eleven
to help with the afternoon rush to the espresso and then take over
in the afternoon. Today was no different; there wasn’t a soul in
the building besides me.

I ducked under the counter, grabbing
for my purse that was stashed underneath. I set it on the wooden
surface, digging through its contents for the book I had been
reading. Pulling it out, I noticed there were two envelopes tucked
inside. My brow furrowed, I pulled them out and set the book back
down.

The envelopes were yellowed and aged
looking. I noticed that one of them was sealed with wax, some sort
of family crest pressed and then hardened into it. The writing on
it was elegant and perfectly printed in a way you just didn’t see
any more. Upon a closer look, my blood ran cold as I distinctly
recognized the handwriting.

Cole.

My head spun and little black dots
started forming on the outskirts of my vision. I then realized that
I wasn’t breathing. My heart pounded and the sound of its
thundering raged in my ears. My hands started shaking, making me
nearly drop the envelopes.

I was terrified, horrified, but
surprisingly, I was raging angry. Everything Cole had done to me,
done to Sal, done to Alex, came rushing back at me and hit me like
a punch in the face.

Before I even realized what I was
doing, I had counted to eighty-one under my breath.

So I hadn’t just been paranoid. Cole
was still around. He had been watching me, closer than I could have
ever realized. Sometime he had been in the house or had slipped
into the bookstore and put the envelopes into my purse.

He could still be here right
now.

“
Cole?” I said aloud with
a quivering voice. My system felt suddenly saturated with
panic.

But I didn’t feel any eyes on me like
I had the past few weeks.

I could only pray I really was
alone.

I opened the letter with the wax seal.
I checked to make sure no one had entered the bookstore and that no
one was around the front of the building. I leaned against the
counter and pulled a yellowed piece of paper out. My eyes quickly
glanced over it but froze at the date written in the
corner.

1 June, 1759

I supposed the date should not have
struck me as strongly as it did. I remembered Cole saying something
about how he had not walked this Earth in a few hundred years. The
reality that Cole had lived hundreds of years ago had not really
occurred to me.

My Dearest,

Let me begin by first
apologizing again for the things that happened with your father
yesterday. I promise that I did not mean to anger him. Sometimes my
temper seems to get the best of me. Please tell him again that I am
sorry and that I take back what I said. I don’t think that he fully
believed me when I said so myself.

I did not get a moment of
sleep all last night. As I stared up at the ceiling all I saw was
that horrific scene of me making a fool of myself but more front
and center was the horrified look that crossed your face. It was
well deserved and warranted. I regret every breath I took that was
used to produce the words that came out of my mouth.

Please, my dearest, I beg
of you another chance to make it up to you. Your father never need
know of me again, nor James. Even through all the times I have
begged you to end it with him, through all the times you have told
me that you simply can’t, I will gladly desist if you will simply
give me another chance.

I need you, my darling. I
cannot live without you. Please.

Yours, always and
forever,

Cole

I could only stare at the page for a
long moment after I finished reading. The laughter that suddenly
burst from my chest startled me, it was so bizarre. It was amazing,
that even though Cole had lived over 250 years ago, he was still
exactly the same. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Charming, yet hiding a
monster inside. Always wanting what wasn’t his and willing to do
anything to get it.

It was out of pure and simple morbid
curiosity that I pulled out the other letter. This one was
obviously a woman’s handwriting.

8 June, 1759

I cannot even begin to
describe the horror that filled me as I watched you and my father
argue over what was best for my future. Father would not speak to
me for two full days afterward. He would barely even look me in the
eye and when he did it was with the utmost disappointment. He told
James of it, I don’t know why I should have expected anything else,
father tells James everything. I don’t think James took it as
seriously as it actually was. He brushed it off without a second
thought, for which I am grateful. The engagement is still
on.

I find that I cannot stop
thinking of you though. The way you whispered those words in my ear
that night haunts my every thought. The way you touched me in the
moonlight in the barn sends my heart racing.

Cole, I have to see you
again, please come as soon as you can.

All my love.

I felt sick to my stomach, the nerves
setting it on edge. At the same time my pulse raced. This only made
me feel all the more sick. Whoever this woman was, I unfortunately
knew what she was talking about. I remembered the crazed longing I
felt to have Cole touch me again. Cole’s words were compelling and
had been for me- mind boggling. Apparently Cole hadn’t just gained
this skill when he was granted a pair of wings and black irises. It
was a well-practiced ability.

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts
that I did not even notice how Austin had come in and was looking
over my shoulder.

“
Whoa, Cole huh? What
about Alex?”

I jumped about two feet in the air
when I heard Austin speak.

“
Geeze, Austin!” I
screamed at him as I put a hand over my heart, feeling it racing.
“What are you doing?”

“
Sorry,” he chuckled and
he bent down to pick a box up. “I thought it might be that order
Rita was talking to me about last night. So who’s Cole?”

“
None of your business,
that’s who,” I snapped at him.

“
Man, Jess, calm down,” he
said, his expression a little offended. “I was just teasing you. I
know that’s not your hand writing.”

I looked back down at the letter. It
was folded in half so Austin had only seen the last half of it. He
wouldn’t have seen the part about this woman’s father, James, the
engagement, or the very old date.

“
Sorry, for flipping out
on you,” I said as I put the letter back in the envelope and
stashing both of them back in my purse and then under the counter.
“Cole is, um… an old acquaintance.” There, that was at least some
of the truth. Cole was old, though acquaintance wasn’t the right
word for Cole. I wasn’t sure what to refer to him as. My
stalker?

“
Is everything okay?” he
asked as he started putting some books on a shelf. “You seem a
little freaked out.”

“
There’s kind of a lot
going on right now,” I said, not sure why I was talking to Austin.
“I’m kind of not sure how to deal with it all.”

“
Are you and Alex still
fighting?”

His question jarred me a little. I had
almost forgotten the night he had come to the house and I had
spilled my guts to him. I mostly remembered the other part of the
night, the part where Alex and I had gotten nearly naked and went
swimming.

“
Oh, uh, not as bad. I
just… I haven’t been able to find him since yesterday. That’s kind
of weird for Alex.”

“
Why is that so weird?” he
asked, his expression almost mocking as he continued to stock a
shelf.

“
Are you forgetting that
we live together?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow at him. That
reminder ought to put a damper on his ego. I felt a little bad, but
he just didn’t get it.

“
Right,” he said quietly
and wouldn’t look at me for a few moments.

I turned my attention to the inventory
book and started checking some things, trying to look busy. “Then
my sister showed up yesterday morning too.”

“
I didn’t realize you had
a sister,” he said, his attitude suddenly perking up. I could only
roll my eyes at him. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you
talk about your family.”

“
Exactly,” I said as my
eyes fixed on a blank spot on the paper before me, not really
seeing anything. “I haven’t seen her in about five
years.”

“
Well why not?”

“
I kind of left home when
I was sixteen.” Why was I telling him this?

“
I bet it was good to see
her though,” he said. I was glad he didn’t press on the last
statement I had made.

“
She ran away from home.
Her boyfriend beat her unconscious. She came to me to
hide.”

“
Dang,” he said as he
paused and looked at me. “Is she okay?”

“
She’s bruised but I think
she’ll be alright.”

“
No wonder you’re all
worked up,” he said as he broke down the now empty box.

“
I just wish that was all
I was dealing with,” I said under my breath, thinking about the
letters Cole had left for me and what they meant. Again, Emily’s
saying that Cole had lied brought up the question,
why me
?

And now I
knew
he was still
around.

“
I haven’t seen Emily in a
few days,” I said, not realizing I was saying it out loud. “She
hasn’t returned any of my phone calls either. And her class has
been canceled.”

“
Your hot blonde friend?”
Austin said. I didn’t catch the joking tone in his voice, nor did I
really even hear what he had said.

“
Yeah,” I replied
automatically.

Great, just one more thing to deal
with. Not only was Alex missing, Emily was too.

X

As soon as I got home I made calls to
all of Alex’s other houses, the one in southern California, a condo
in Hawaii, and a small apartment in New York City. There was no
answer at any of them, just the sound of his deceased grandmother
telling me to leave a message.

Luckily I didn’t have to worry about
keeping Amber company for too long. As soon as Rod was done with
his shift at some part-time construction job, he came over.
Apparently Amber wasn’t going to have any problem moving on from
Todd and apparently Rod wasn’t going to miss having Alex gone too
much.

As soon as they were gone, I headed
down to the apartment to take a very hot shower. I fought back
panic as I went into my bedroom and found four more letters sitting
on my pillow. Cole had been inside my house. Was he still there
now?