Raw: The Ultimate Mc Collection (66 page)

Because I more than wanted that.  My body was on fire around this man, and I wanted everything he wanted to give me.

He grabbed my hand again and we continued walking down the boulevard together, taking in the sights and laughing as we went along.  When we came upon an old woman selling fortunes, Mike’s eyes lit up and he pulled me towards her.

“What are you doing!” I squealed.

“C’mon, let’s get your fortune read!  I love this shit!”  he said, showing me once more that he wasn’t your typical biker.

“Um…really?”  I, on the other hand, thought fortune telling was a lot of baloney.

“Yep, I’ll pay for it. C’mon, it’ll be fun!”  He looked almost boyish as I shook my head and let him pull me through the crowd and sit me down in front of the old woman.

I smiled at her as she peered into my eyes.  She had to be at least eighty.  With wrinkled skin and sunken, yet sharp, blue eyes, her long salt and pepper, braided hair was covered in a fringed scarf, with more scarves wrapped around her neck and wrists along with dozens of jangling chains and colorful beads — and one very scary looking bird claw hanging from a leather rope and displayed squarely over her heart.

“Hello, child,” she said to me, studying my face.

“Hello, ma’am,” I replied as Mike sat in the chair next to me.

“Would you please read my friend’s fortune?” he asked. 

She turned to him, drinking him in slowly as she sized him up. At first she looked suspicious, but then she must have found what she was searching for, because she grinned hugely, her eyes almost disappearing into her face.

“You’re a very handsome man!” she said to him.  I laughed, and when I looked over at Mike, I saw him beaming back at her.  He could have charmed a snake with that smile.

“Why, thank you, ma’am.  You are very beautiful yourself!”  he replied sweetly.  Like I said, a charmer.

“You can both call me Lady Sylvia,” she said.  “I’d be honored to read your cards, child.”

She turned her attention to me, slowly shuffling the tarot cards in front of her.  Lacey and I used to read our tarot all the time back home to pass the time.  We’d squeal with laughter at the different outcomes we could get each time, and scream in fear if they seemed to hit too close to home.

“Pick three cards, child.  One will represent your past, one will represent your present, and the final one will represent your future.  I want you to focus on each one as you pull them.  Pull the cards that speak to you, child.  If you are quiet, and listen carefully, you will hear them.  Don’t turn them over yet, just lay them on the table in front of you.”

“Okay, sure,”  I said, as I began. Since I wasn’t at all keen on focusing on the past,  I picked that one quickly, before taking a little more time with the other two.  Once I had the three cards set out in front of us, we waited quietly as she turned over the first one.

I gasped when I saw it.

“Ah…the devil, but reversed.”  She peered into my eyes, studying me silently. “This is a very interesting card, child.”

“You have a devil in your past.”  She said it so simply, but it gave me chills.  I immediately thought of Todd, and quickly glanced over at Mike who was looking at me curiously.  I had only hinted of my past, but I knew eventually I would have to tell him everything.

I laughed nervously, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Um, okay…”  I murmured as the old lady continued.

“This card represents someone very dangerous in your past life.  An old ghost that is haunting you.  Someone who only thought of himself, and was trapped by his own desires for accolades, awards and sexual fulfillment.  Like the devil, he impersonates an angel, hides his evil behind the word of God.  This represents a relationship with someone who only treated you as a possession.  An object to be controlled and used.  This person cared nothing about your own desires or goals, child, only what they could get from your existence.  I’m very glad to see this card represented in your past and not your present, girl.”  

I could feel Mike’s stare without turning to look at him.  I wondered what he was thinking as Lady Sylvia turned over the next card.

“Ahh…your present.  Death.”

“Death?!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear child.  This is a good card, it really is.  This tells us that the difficult time you have been enduring is finally coming to an end.  It might not be quite over, but the end is near, rest assured.  Major changes lie ahead, child.  Be prepared, and don’t fight them.  I have a feeling they will be changes for the better,” she said as she threw a flirtatious glance Mike’s way.

It was at this point that I began to feel sick.  Sure, I wanted changes, but she had just said I wasn’t done with the hard times, and I so desperately wanted it to all be over.  Once again, Todd’s face flooded my mind, and I shuddered.

“Ah, yes! Yes!  Now, see I was right,” she said as she turned the last card over, revealing a bright orange sun.  “The sun!  This may just be the best card of all, child.  Your future looks bright, darling.  Happiness will enter your life soon.  You will find happiness in your work and your relationships, and you will find happiness deep within.  You will find motivation and energy, and the air around you will be filled with joy.  You will bask in serenity and calmness, child.”

She saw the relief on my face, and laughed a loud, cackling laugh.  

“Oh, don’t worry, child.  Everyone has to go through a thunderstorm every now and then.  But I am confident you will make it through, pretty one.  Now, there’s just one more thing…”  Her voice trailed off as she put the cards away and looked at me intently, her sharp blue eyes peering into mine deeply.

“What does the number twelve mean to you?” she asked.

“Um…nothing,” I replied, shaking my head.

“No? Are you sure?”  She stared at me, contemplating my silence before she squinted her eyes and continued. “It will mean something quite significant to you in a very short time,” she said, not breaking my gaze.

“What do you mean?”  I asked.

“I’m not sure.  I see the number twelve.  I see fire.  An explosion. I’m not sure exactly, but something about the number twelve will be very important to you.”  She shook her head and her eyes squinted.  “No, it’s not safe.  It’s something dark, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Um…okay,” I said. My goodness! What the fuck was she talking about? 

Mike’s laughter broke the spell.

“Well, that sounds awful!”  he said with a laugh, reminding me that none of this was to be taken seriously.  I shrugged off her ominous warning, and smiling politely, I stood up and thanked her.

“Well, thank you, ma’am.  I appreciate your time,” I said, as Mike pulled a huge wad of cash from his wallet and handed a hundred dollar bill to her, twice what the sign said. 

Lady Sylvia looked at us without smiling, nodded gravely, and tucked the money into her bra.

“Remember child, after the darkness comes the sun.”

“Yes, ma’am…thank you,” I muttered as I turned away.

Mike grabbed my hand and we walked away.  We both waited until we were outside of earshot before we burst out laughing.

“Holy shit, Daisy.  Sounds like you’ve got a juicy past.”

I hit him lightly in the arm.

“Oh, please.  I’m sure it’s not any juicier than your own,”  I said.

“Well, whatever it is,” he said, his expression turning serious. “I hope you know you can talk to me about it anytime, if you want.”

I gazed up into his kind eyes and smiled.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.  “I will.”

He leaned down, planting another quick kiss on my lips before we began walking back the way we came down the boardwalk.

“Let’s get that drink, shall we?”

“Yes, that sounds great!” 

“I know a place not far from my house that I think you’ll love,” he said, as we walked back to his bike.

I banished all thoughts of the old woman’s premonitions from my mind, not wanting to invite anything dark into my life.  Even still, as I found myself on the back of Mike’s bike again as we drove to the bar, a little seed of fear planted itself in the back of my consciousness, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t shake it.

When we pulled up to a tavern off Highway 101, I took a look around.  It was rugged and a little run down, but as soon as I saw the beach behind it I fell in love instantly.

Once again leaving our helmets on the bike, we wandered in and found a booth to sit in.  Mike went to the bar to order after asking what I wanted.  When he returned, he did so with his most charming smile and two cold, bottled beers.

The tavern wasn’t too crowded, but there were a few dozen people there.  Some playing pool, some sitting at the bar and a few couples scattered around in different booths having drinks and dinner.

“So, tell me more about Mineola,” he said, his smile relentlessly melting my insides.

“Oh, there’s not much to tell, really.  Like I said, it’s a small town with a small town attitude.  Not much happens.  At least not much that anyone talks about,” I said.

“Yeah? I can see that.  I’d imagine a lot gets hidden behind closed doors in a town like that,” he said.

“You have no idea,”  I said warily.

“So you were a teacher there, too?” 

“Yes. I taught first grade. I loved it.”

“It must’ve been difficult to leave if you loved it so much,” he said.

“Well, yeah it was difficult to leave my students so abruptly.” 

“Abruptly?”

Shit.  I was giving away too much, too soon, I thought.  But I knew I would tell him eventually, so it was probably best to just get it over with now.  What did it really matter?

“Yes.  I had to leave quickly,”  I said, my voice dropping.  “I was um…well, I was fleeing an unsafe situation.”

“I see. Are you safe now?” he asked.

His question caught me off guard.  Was I?  I thought I was, even with the possibility that Todd might find me, if he came looking for me, that is.  It was also possible that he hated me so much at this point, that he would hopefully never want anything to do with me again.  Unfortunately, I was expecting the former, and hoping for the latter.

“I think so, yes.  At the moment, I am.  I was in a relationship…with a cop.  A Mormon cop, actually,” I paused, watching for his reaction. 

He smiled, looking at me calmly across the table, not flinching or reacting at all. 

“Are you a Mormon, too?” he asked.

I laughed. I hadn’t been to church once since I left, and I had absolutely no desire to go.

“Hell, no.  I only went to church for the food.” 

“So what happened?” he asked, laughing with me.

“Things went south pretty quickly after we met, and I stayed way too long, but one night - well - um…,” I stopped, the memories flooding in.

“What happened, Daisy?” his brown eyes darkened again, and I saw his grip tighten on his beer.

“Well, Todd has a temper.  I was used to it.  When he got angry, he would threaten to hit me, raise his fist to me, that sort of thing.  But he never hit me, in all those years.  Until the night before I left.”

“The fucker hit you? Doesn’t sound very Godly to me,” he said, traces of rage in his usual gentle voice.

I sighed.  Out with it, Daisy.

“Yeah.  He almost broke my nose.  I waited until he left, and the next morning I got in my truck and drove away.  I never looked back.”

“I see. That’s good that you left. How long ago was this?”

“Just a few months,” I replied quietly.

“And have you heard from this asshole since then?” he asked, the rage in his voice clearly escalating.

“No.  I changed my number.  Didn’t leave a note or anything, I just disappeared.  I did call my school and tell them, and they were wonderful, but I didn’t tell them where I was going either.  I’m sure by now they know, since the school here had to contact them for a reference.  But ever since I left, things have been peaceful.  No sign of Todd.  At least not yet.  He’s probably so angry with me for leaving that he doesn’t ever want to talk to me again.”

“I doubt that. Most men like that don’t take too kindly to being deserted.”