Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (27 page)

“Shit,” I said,
grabbing Emma’s hand. We ran as fast as we could until we flew through the
trees.

Once we were
hidden, we turned to see if we were noticed. Logan’s car was in the driveway,
but he was nowhere to be seen. “Okay, let’s go.”

The walk back
didn’t take as long, but we were walking faster, afraid someone would catch us.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to Emma’s
house, a blue-sided bungalow with a covered porch that wrapped around the
front. “Thanks, Emma, this meant a lot to me.”

She nodded her
head, and a small smile appeared. “No problem. Now that it’s over, I gotta say
it was kind of fun. You’re not going to tell me what you took, are you?” she
asked taking her seat belt off and reaching for the door handle.

“No.”

She groaned.
“Fine, but he’s going to notice the picture missing.”

“He won’t care.
The book is another story. He’ll notice it, but I’m not worried.”

“Whatever you
say.” She pushed the door open and stepped out.

I waved as I
drove off.

When I arrived home, my mom told me that my
manager had called, wanting to know if I could take over Marcy’s shift, since
she went home sick.

I called to
tell them that I would be there as soon I could. “Mom, can you drive me?” I
asked when I hung up the phone.

“Sure, but your
dad will have to pick you up. I have to go to the office for a while.”

I ran up to my
room to put Lucas’ journal away. I placed it and the picture up on the top
shelf in my closet, beside the rock. I didn’t think he would come looking for
it, but just in case.

“Okay, I’m
ready,” I said when I went back downstairs.

She put her
work down, and we left.

The sun had disappeared, dark clouds
hovered above, and the wind whipped through me as I rushed to the car. The
whole drive to the theater I waited for the rain to start, but it wasn’t until
I stepped out of the car that the sky opened up and big fat rain drops poured
down, soaking me instantly.

Stepping inside
the warm building, I was wet and cold, and when I heard Marcy had been on
concession, I regretted agreeing to work.

It wasn’t until
my shift was almost over that I had finally dried off. A loud thump on the
counter beside me made me jump. I looked away from the man I was serving to see
Lucas standing on the other side of the counter. Crap, he noticed already. My
God, he looked good. He wore a black leather jacket I had never seen. His hair
was getting a little long, curling around his ears. It glistened with rain,
making it hang longer than usual. His jaw was tight and his eyes were fierce, a
sure sign that he was angry. He looked dangerous and sexy.

“What’s your
problem?” I scowled at him as I collected the money from my customer. The
movies were starting, so it was clearing out.

“Where is it,
Sarah?” he asked, balling the hand he had slammed on the counter into a fist.
Oh yeah, he was mad.

“Where is
what?” I asked innocently.

“You know
exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I really
don’t. Why don’t enlighten me?” I took a cloth from the shelf and started to
wipe off the counter. I deliberately focused on what I was doing, afraid that
if he looked into my eyes, he would know I was lying.

“How could you
break into my house? What’s gotten into you?” His breathing was controlled,
trying to stay calm.

“Someone broke
into your house?”

“Cut the crap,
you suck at lying, remember?”

The amount of
lying I had done lately would suggest otherwise; of course, I’d keep that to
myself. “Look, will you stop this and tell me what happened?” I tossed the rag
back onto the shelf.

“Someone used
the key from the back deck to get inside my house. They took some things from
my room, just, my room. You’re the only one who knows where the key is.”

“Oh, I’m sure Logan has shown some of his girlfriends.”

“They wouldn’t
want what was taken.”

“And what was
that?”

He sighed in
frustration and shoved his hand roughly through his hair. “I’m not saying
what’s missing because you know, you took them.”

“Was this
today?” I asked, and he nodded. “Well then, there you have it, I worked all
day.” I leaned against the counter with my arms crossed in front of me.

“That’s
interesting, since they don’t open until noon.”

I pushed off
the counter and leaned forward. “Well, this has been barrels of fun, being
accused of theft and all, but I think it’s time for you to leave.” My voice
held irritation, but in truth I was glad to see him. Since he stopped
pressuring me, I’d missed seeing his face.

“Please, Sarah,
you can keep the picture, I wanted to give you a copy anyway. But I don’t want
you to read what is in that book.” His desperate plea was so genuine I almost
gave it back to him. Before I could give in to that urge, I remembered why I
took it in the first place. I needed answers.

“I don’t have
it, now leave.” I pointed to the exit.

He looked
defeated. I felt awful.

“What’s going
on here, Lucas?” We both turned to see my dad walking toward us, looking angry.
“Haven’t you done enough? You broke her heart, and believe me, I know. I’ve
watched her pulling away from us more each day. And now you come to her work
and harass her. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Lucas stepped
aside as my father strolled up to the counter, and faced him. “I’m sorry, Mr.
Samson, I never meant to hurt her, but this isn’t what it looks like. She has
something of mine, I was just asking for it back.”

“I heard her
tell you to leave; I suggest you do what she asked.” The tone of his voice left
no room for argument.

“Fine,” Lucas
said, obviously giving up. “But Sarah, I want it back.” He pointed to me as he
walked away.

“What was that
about. Do you have something of his?”

I smiled
innocently. “I don’t think so, but I’ll look tonight. I’ll be right back, Dad,
I’m just going to sign out.”

At home, as I rushed upstairs to read the
journal, my phone beeped, letting me know I had a text. There were two
actually, both from Lucas asking me please not to read the book. He didn’t want
me to know what was inside. I was so confused. I needed to know what was going
on, but he made me feel so guilty.

I opened Lucas’
journal and started to read it. Did I know it was wrong? Yes. Did I care? No.
It was the only way to figure out what was happening. He might be willing to
sit back and let someone ruin our happiness, but I wasn’t.

The first page
was dated February first of our first year in high school.

It read: “
I
saw her, the girl I’ve been dreaming about on and off since childhood. Her hair
was shorter than it was in my dreams, but it was her, she had the same
beautiful face. I’ve decided I should document everything since a girl I
thought I had imagined, actually exists.

I was in my first
period math class this morning when Mr. Monroe announced we had a new student. She
had transferred from a private school after her mother received the vice
principal position.

I was
absorbed in the pages of The Catcher in the Rye instead of listening to the
lecture; the novel was hidden inside my math book. I didn’t look up when the
teacher called our attention.

The girl,
apparently named Sarah, walked by me, accidentally rubbing her arm against
mine; it felt like an electric shock that vibrated up my arm. I looked up at
her as she sat down in the seat across from me. I gasped out loud when I saw
her, the face that had occupied my mind for as long as I could remember. Mr.
Monroe asked if I was okay. I was a little shaken as I asked to be excused.

In the
bathroom, I splashed water on my face and stared at myself in the mirror. Was I
crazy? Had I really seen her, maybe I imagined it?”

I put his
journal down, in shock at what I had read so far. Had he been dreaming of me
since he was a kid? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know how he could have kept
it to himself all this time. Why didn’t he tell me? I picked it up and
continued to read.

“I went back
to class trying to avoid looking at the girl named Sarah. I didn’t trust myself
not to freak out again. She was also in my last class, so when the day was
over, I rushed home to document my dreams.

I had the
first one when I was thirteen. She was younger then, and she seemed to grow in
my dreams as I did. I didn’t know who she was, but I didn’t mind, she was
beautiful. Her hair was a stunning dark chestnut; it was smooth and silky as it
flowed down her back. Her skin had an olive tone, and her eyes were the darkest
brown I had ever seen.

At first I
thought it was cool dreaming of a beautiful girl I didn’t know, until I began
high school, and I started having them once or twice a month. Sometimes I would
only see her face, others, we would be sitting in a backyard on a swing set, or
dancing in the moonlight. They were mostly romantic and sweet until one day they
turned dark. While we were dancing in the now familiar back yard, after I’d giving
her a single red rose, a guy in a hooded shirt came up behind me and stabbed me
in the back. I fell into her arms while she screamed “Nooo!” My soul floated up
above and watched the rest of the scene. After he stabbed me, he stalked over
to her and shoved the knife into her chest. She fell on top of me, the rose
still clutched in her hand.

I woke up in
a cold sweat, terrified that it really happened, even though I didn’t know who
she was, I worried for her. I also woke up knowing her name, as I had awoken
screaming it. Katie.”

I knew he’d
called me Katie those two times he denied it. There was something very strange
going on, and I was going to find out what it was. I decided to only read a few
more pages. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel as guilty for having read it at all. I
skipped forward some and started again.

This page was
dated in April of tenth grade: “
I brought my camera to school today; I knew
I shouldn’t, it was reckless and selfish. But I took her picture while she was
eating alone in the cafeteria, waiting for her friends. I had to; I needed a
picture of her face that had nothing to do with the dreams that haunted me. I’ve
seen the image of her death so many times now, I wanted to look at the photo
after I woke up in distress, which I always did. To see her beautiful face, to
prove she was alive and well. It will hopefully calm my panic when I awake from
the death dream, as I now called it.

I have
longed to talk to her, the girl I love, but do not know. I’ve decided and
changed my mind so many times over the last year of knowing who she really was.
But I cannot give in. I have to protect her from my dreams, which I now feel
are premonitions. Somehow I can see our future. I feel that the dreams are a
warning to never become involved with her, to keep her safe. Even if it kills
me, to walk past her every day, and say nothing.”

A tear fell
onto the paper making the ink run. I wiped it quickly, taking out a tissue to
wipe my eyes before any other tears could fall and ruin the pages.

I had no idea
how often he had that dream. I had it about six times, and I always awoke
screaming.

I also felt
guilty for the way I treated him, for all the times I turned away this past
month. He really believed he was protecting me from something that would happen
if we were together. But I had a different idea of what was going on. I decided
to only read two more pages, and then I would return the book to him and
apologize for what I put him through. I had been away from him for a month, and
was feeling more pain than I thought possible. And yet he had gone through so
much more, before we even met.

“Tonight
Sarah was almost hit by a car. I knew I shouldn’t have made contact with her,
but not to was killing me. Every time I walked past her in the hall at school,
I felt an invisible force pulling me in her direction, to walk away from her
felt like walking against a windstorm. I should have turned the other way that
day I saw her in the hall. I thought I could handle just that one encounter
when she thought she ran into me. I changed my mind quickly before she saw me. I
had no idea I dropped my book.

These last
few months of knowing her, and being with her, have been everything I had
dreamed it would be and more. I didn’t know she was so sweet, kind and fun to
be with. I should end it now before something worse happens, but I can’t. I
tried tonight, but she was so sure that what happened had nothing to do with us
being together. I know she’s wrong, and for now, I will pretend I believe. Leaving
her will hurt her, and I can’t do that. I will do everything in my power to
keep her safe. Hopefully it will be enough, if it isn’t I will have to do what
I dread."

The next and
final page I read was the night I was almost stabbed.

"It
happened, the one thing I had feared most of my life. She was almost taken from
me. I was almost too late, if I had gone to the store like I had planned, she
would be dead right now. Tomorrow I’m going to end it. It will be the hardest
thing I have ever done, but I must suffer, and be without her. Because I know
what will happen if I don’t leave, and the alterative is too unbearable to
think of. I know it will be hard, and she will hate me, but I must keep her
safe!”

That was all he
wrote. He was so sure he was doing the right thing that he didn’t question his
decision. I couldn’t read any of the pages since he broke up with me. I didn’t
want to hear how much I hurt him, every time I yelled at him for doing what he
was so sure was right. I had made it worse for him, but that was going to
change.

I picked up my
phone and dialed his number.

“Hello, Sarah? Are
you okay?” Even though his voice was panicked, I was thrilled to hear it. How I
longed to hear him whisper in my ear while he embraced me, as he had done so
many times when we were together.

“I’m fine. Are
you busy?”

“No, what’s
wrong?”

“Could you meet
me at the waterfall tomorrow? I’ll park at the back of the woods so no one will
see me. Okay?” He was silent, considering if he should risk it. “Please, I need
to see you,” I begged.

He sighed
heavily. “Fine, I’ll be there. But Sarah, please be careful.”

“What time do
you work?”

“I don’t, I
have the day off.” I heard the blare of the TV on his end of the phone. I
imagined him in the rec room punching the heavy bag while Logan lounged on the
couch watching cheesy action movies. I craved to be there with them, whining as
Lucas pushed me to punch the bag just a few minutes longer, as Logan sat back and watched, not bothering to hide his amusement. The vision appeared in my
mind before I could stop it, and the pain in my chest returned.