Flutter (The Discover Series) (29 page)

“Don’t act like you’re not happy to see me Sara.” He accused softly.

“What
are
you doing here?” I whispered.

I was only slightly aware that Andres’s bedroom was just down the hall, and he was a light sleeper.

“I came to see you,” He answered honestly. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“At one in the morning? Couldn’t you have just stopped by in the morning? Wait, how do you know where I live?”

“It is the morning,” he answered, ignoring my last question, “and I needed to see you now.”

“Why?” I whispered. “Why now?”

“I don’t know, I can’t explain it. I just needed too.”

I decided to steer us away from the intense conversation.

“Are you going to serenade me?” I wanted add ‘again’, but I wasn’t completely sure it was
again.

He laughed loudly, and I shushed him while throwing a glance at my bedroom door. I could have sworn I heard him mutter ‘coward’ under his breath, but I couldn’t be sure.

“I could if that’s what you want.”

I shook my head. “You’ll wake my uncle and I’m fine,” I added. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I wish it was that simple.”

“Why isn’t it?” I asked curiously.

“Because things are rarely that simple.”

“I don’t understand.” I hated all the riddles. “Why can’t you just explain it?”

“I will. I promise Sara.”

I loved the way he said my name.

“I don’t even know your name.” I told him.

He didn’t say anything for a long time, and I thought he wasn’t going to answer me. “Adan,” he finally whispered. “My name is Adan.”

“Adan.” I whispered. It was beautiful.

“Sweet dreams Sara.”

He whispered, and then he was gone.

Flutter

Ten

Unexpected visitor

I stretched leisurely in my bed, and smiled to myself.

             
I rolled over, and looked at the alarm clock. Holy cow I don’t remember the last time I had slept in until ten on a Sunday!

I sat up slowly, and rubbed my eyes until I could see clearly. I hid a yawn behind my hand, and frowned to myself becoming more alert. I couldn’t remember sleeping in until ten on a Sunday because since we had been back, Andres had insisted that I start working out and that’s how we had spent every Sunday morning since then.

So why was today different?
I asked myself.

I listened closely, expecting to hear Andres busy in the kitchen making breakfast or in his room across the hall, but I couldn’t hear anything. There was a very eerie silence; there were no noises in the house, outside-

I noticed my window was open and my heart sped up. I remember opening it last night to talk to Adan, and I could remember closing it, but did I remember to lock it?

I was suddenly very aware that I was dreaming again. These weren’t like ordinary dreams, I was aware of them, but there was nothing I could do to wake myself up from them, and that was terrifying. They ended when they felt like ending, and I had no control over them.

I threw my legs over the end of the bed, and pushed off the floor until I was standing. I walked cautiously over to the window and peeked out, half expecting the thick black fog to jump out at me, but nothing was there. No creepy shadows, no deceiving dragonfly. I knelt on the bench below my window and reached out to pull in the doors of the window, but hesitated briefly. The tree that stood a few inches from my window had changed colors as fall was ending, and the brightly colored leaves hun
g
motionless from their stems. I realized nothing moved outside; there was no breeze, no sounds. There was nothing to prove that anything I was seeing was real.

I quickly shut the doors and locked the window. The click of the lock was loud inside my noiseless room. I turned around on the bench, and sat there looking around and waiting for something to happen. Something had to happen right? Wasn’t that the point of dreams? I sandwiched my hands between my pajama pants and waited. My room was chilly, thanks to the cool October morning, and I tried to warm my hands against my still slightly flushed skin.

I had gotten use to the still silence, so when I heard the clatter down stairs I jumped and my heart nearly burst through my rip cage. I heard my name, and I wanted to sigh in relief.

“Sara?” Adan called.

I jumped up and raced toward my door, flinging it open, and nearly falling down the steps as I flew down them. At least I wouldn’t have to face this nightmare alone. He would be here to hold my hand through the awfulness of it all. I didn’t know how he knew I needed him, but he was here, and that was all that mattered.

“Adan?” I called when reached the living room. “Where are you?”

“Sara!” I heard him shout again, but it was muffled. I turned toward the kitchen, and could see his silhouette just beyond the backyard.

I ran to the double doors that led to the patio and pushed them open. I could seem him standing there, smiling and holding out his hand toward me, and I smiled. Bounding off the deck steps, I ran toward him bare foot, not paying attention to the loose dirt and debris that left imprints on the bottom of my feet. The tall trees of the forest towered over us, and my running came to a slow halt. I could see it moving between the trees swallowing them in its darkness, as it emerged from the forest.

Adan stood there unmoving, the same smile planted on his handsome face, and his outstretched hand calling me toward him. I heard him call my name, and that’s when I realized he hadn’t moved his lips. There was no way the sound had come from his mouth. I wrestled with myself for a moment; the urge to run to him, and save him from the fog that was about to grab him, was so tempting that I had to remind myself he wasn’t real. I backed away slowly, the fog flowing closer to the edge of my backyard. With one last look toward Adan’s statue, I turned around and ran toward the house. Halfway there I turned to look behind me, just in time to see it cover Adan’s body. It moved swiftly, now free of the tall trees that had slowed its movement.

“Sara!” I heard Adan’s muffled call, and I tripped a few feet from the deck.

Of course!
I though sourly.

I flipped around, and watched as the enormous black cloud drifted toward me. Scrambling on my legs and hands, I pushed myself up toward the deck. I felt the steps of the deck, and climbed up them backwards until my back stopped against the glass doors. I wanted to turn around and grab at the handle, but the smog was moving so fast now that I knew if I turned around for a second, it would get me.

My hand crept up and fumbled against the molding of the door until I felt the round handle. Twisting it once, the doors opened and I spilled inside the kitchen on my back. I pushed myself into the kitchen. I could see the black hand as it emerged from the thick shadow, crawling its way toward me. I turned around on my hands and knees, and moved an inch; before I felt the hand grip my ankle and pull me back. I plopped onto my stomach, and clawed at the wood floor as the hand pulled me out of the doors. The hand that gripped me was firm. I yanked as hard as I could, with a loud grunt, and the pressure was gone.

I flipped my head around and it was gone.

I was breathing hard, still sprawled out face down on the kitchen floor. There was no sign of the shadow, no sign of Adan.

“Sara?” I flipped around. Andres stood over me looking concerned.  “What are you doing?” he asked, and knelt down, offering his hand to me.

I took one last look behind me to make sure it was gone, before I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring his out stretched arm. He dropped it, pretending not to notice.

“I had another dream.” I said.

He frowned, his whole face clouding over. “Are you okay?” He pulled out a chair and pushed me into it gently.

“Yeah, I think so.” My skin was crawling where the hand had grabbed me, but other than that I was fine.

Andres sat down across from me, watching me closely. “Was it the same as last time?”

I shrugged. “More or less.”

“I’m sorry Sara.”

I looked up at him. “Why are you sorry? You’re not the cause of my dreams, right?” I was daring him to lie to me yet again.

“Go on and get dressed,” was all he said. “Our workout will help take your mind off things.”

He got up and walked away before I could reply.

It didn’t take long to get ready, once I was back in my bedroom. Feeling drained and tired, I quickly changed in to my workout clothes. In the bathroom I brushed my teeth and put my hair into a pony tail. I examined my face in the mirror, and frowned at the dark circles around my eyes, how sunken in my cheeks were, and how defined my cheek bones looked. My skin looked a shade too light, and its natural glow was gone; instead it looked dry and brittle. Splashing cold water over my face, I dried it off, and put on a head band to keep stray hairs off my face and hit the light switch.

I grabbed the black hoodie off of my chair in the corner, and pulled it on; it was the only thing I had kept from that night. I brought the sleeve up to my face, and inhaled the sweet scent of My Wolf. I cast a glance at myself in the mirror. I was wearing black capris, a purple tank top, and running shoes, it was as good as it was going to get. I zipped up my hoodie and left my room, heading into the kitchen.

I walked into the kitchen. Andres was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, looking lost in thought. He looked as bad as I did.

I walked around the counter and grabbed an orange. I watched Andres as I peeled the orange; he was absorbed in whatever he was reading.

“You look like an old man, sitting there with your coffee and discarded paper.” I commented, nodding toward the folded newspaper in front of him.

He grunted and pressed down the folds of the paper, until it lay flat against the table.

“I am old.” He countered,

“You don’t look old.” I said, and tossed my orange peel into the trash. Laying a paper towel on the counter I pulled my orange apart, licking the juice that ran down my fingers. I tore off a piece and popped it into my mouth.

He chuckled. “Well that’s good. How old do I usually look?”

I shrugged, and tore off another piece of my orange. “I don’t know…maybe 30?” I bit into the slice and sweet juice coated the inside of my mouth.

He barked a laugh and got up, taking his coffee cup with him to the sink. “That’s awfully sweet of you, but I’ll be 36 soon. I’m old.” He turned on the water, and rinsed out his cup before placing it in the dish rack.

“I hate to be the one to break it to Andres, but that’s hardly
old.
”

I finished off the orange and threw my paper towel away. “Excuse me.” I said, and waited for him to move out of the way so I could wash my hands.

“You know Sara, I think that’s probably the nicest thing you have said to me since…” He trailed off, but I knew what he was talking about. This was probably the longest conversation we had. It seemed ruined now, with the unspoken memory lingering between us.

I dried off my hands, and walked over to the open doubles doors stepping into the backyard. “I’m ready when you are.” I announced, and walked down the steps, stretching my arms.

I heard him sigh before falling me outside.

We did our routine workout, it was pretty simple, basic exercises
;
we stretched for 15 minutes, jogged a few miles around the paths in the forest. It was the same every Sunday. Today, every little noise had me looking around for the black cloud that I expected to see following us. The nightmares, the sleep walking; it all felt like it was going to get worse before it got better. When we were drenched and out of breath, Andres led us back to the house and grabbed of a few bottles of water from the fridge.

He sat down on the wicker couch, off to the side of the deck, and I sat down on one of the wooden end tables. I was usually tired after our runs, but today I felt like my arms and legs had I been carrying 10 lb. weights as we ran. I was exhausted, and I didn’t feel like doing any of our regular exercises. I was just about to tell Andres that, when he started to talk first.

“I have something else planned for us today.” He said.

I frowned at him over my water bottle. “What?” I asked, and motioned for him to give me another water. I felt so dehydrated.

“I thought it we could work on some kick boxing. What do you think?” he asked, handing me another water bottle.

“Why?” I asked, and unscrewed the cap to take a drink.

“I don’t know, I thought it would be a nice change.” He shrugged, and rested his elbows on the tops of his knees, holding his water loosely in his hands.

I knew he was lying, he was avoiding my suspicious gaze, and his answer wasn’t very well thought out.

“A ‘nice change’?” I scoffed. “Sorry Andres, but I’m done for the day. I’m exhausted and I just want to shower, and go lay back down.”

I got up to walk inside, but he stopped me. “Sara we need to do this. I think it’s important.”

“Why? Why is it important? What are you not telling me?” I demanded.

He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. “I just thought it would be nice if you knew how to defend yourself, just in case.” He added.

“Right.
Just in case
.” I mocked and rolled my eyes. “Why is it so hard for you to be honest with me?”

He didn’t say anything for the longest time. “I’m sorry Sara. I know things have been weird, and I know you’re still confused over everything that happened to us, but-”

“You’re not?” I accused. “How can you be done with that?”

“I’m not,” he said and stood up. “I need you to trust me. You have to know that I want nothing more than to keep you safe, and I promise everything will work out.”

“I’m sorry too Andres, but I don’t know how you can ask me to
trust you
, when you can’t even trust me enough to tell me what is going on. I know that you know more than you’re telling me, and obviously lying to me seems better than trusting me at this point.”

I pushed open the double door before he could respond, and jogged up the stairs to my room. I just wanted the day to be over with; I was too drained to deal with anything more today. After shedding my workout clothes, I took a quick shower. I dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, slipped on my hoodie, and left my room. I walked slowly down the steps, and peeked over the railing to see if I could spot Andres. I was in no mood for another confrontation with him, and I hoped to leave the house without having to see him again.

I heard the ceiling creak above me and glanced up, knowing he was in his room. I hurried through the kitchen and out the patio doors. Hopping down the patio steps, I nearly sprinted toward the path to the forest. You would think after my dreams today that this would be the last place I wanted to be; but Andres had a way of making home the last place I wanted to be, and if that meant going for a walk in the forest that had nearly tried to swallow me this morning, then so be it.