Omniscient Leaps (18 page)

My energy level was waning as I moved slowly through the woods. I saw the house in the distance and I lengthened my strides. With a quick look in the window I spotted my dance ticket. I had returned to the same day, but not the same time. What had happened exactly?

My mom was in tears when I swung open the door. I imagined I looked like hell, but I was too tired to go into a long explanation. There would be a lengthy interrogation unless I found a way to calm my mom’s troubles. She clearly hadn’t slept all night. I moved past her so I could get a large glass of water. When I was done inhaling it, I turned to face her.

“Kara, do you have any idea what I have been through over the last few hours? I woke up and you weren’t here. I stayed up all night calling people and no one knew where you could be,” she paused to look at me. “You look like you were beaten and left for dead. What’s going on?”

“Would you believe I just started sleep walking?” I knew it was a bad idea before I said it. Then once I saw her face, I regretted it instantly.

“Was it that loner man you’ve been hanging out with? I knew he’d be trouble.”

“No, Mom,” I shouted. “Luke had nothing to do with this. I don’t even know how to explain what happened.” The tears were already streaming down my face.
Never again will I take nighttime headache pills. Never.

“I need some clarification, young lady. This was the most terrifying night of my life and I deserve better,” she cried.

“Mom, I am exhausted,” I began. “If you will just open your mind for a second and think about all the times Dad did something unexpected and bizarre. I can’t get into it right now, but I’ve inherited some kind of metaphysical gift.”

Her face immediately paled and her eyes closed. “How long?”

“What?” I asked confused.

“How long has this been going on?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“I’m new at this, Mom. It’s probably the reason I messed up so badly,” she looked up at me with the most dismal expression. “It’s fine. Please can we talk about this later? I’ve been up for too long and as you can see I desperately need a shower.”

“Fine.” She leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “But we’re going to talk about this eventually. Your dad might have been able to keep the details to himself, but I am your mother and you owe me.”

“I know. And thanks, Mom.”

She stood up from the table, left the room and came rushing back. “Happy Birthday by the way. Although you’re legally an adult,” she paused to narrow her eyes accordingly, “technically you are not.”

“Right,” I laughed as I took the box from her. I opened it and found a stunning heart shaped locket. It was just like the one she wore. “I love it.”

I jumped to my feet and gave her a hug. “I thought once you found the right person you could keep him close to your heart always. Now go get your shower and get to bed. I just called in sick for the first time in years and I plan to get some well needed rest.”

My shower never felt so cleansing. Not only did I feel like I was washing away the soot and blood from my physical body, but I could feel the pain and disgust from the experience fading. It was a traumatic event and I should have been in shock. Instead, I felt the need to let go and it was a well-deserved release.

I quickly towel dried my hair as I stared at myself in the mirror. Battered and bruised was how I’d describe it. I needed a miracle to be presentable by Friday night. I hurried to my room wrapped in a towel.

I tripped over a pile of clutter as I entered my room and my towel slipped ever so slightly. A gasp resounded from an unexpected male figure standing in the corner of my room. My immediate reaction was to scream. My hands continued to tremble while I tightened the towel’s position under my armpits.

“Kara, what’s the matter?” Mom showed up in record time.

I filled the doorway with my body so there was no chance she would see in. “Spider. I’m a little jumpy tonight. Sorry.” She kissed me once more, shook her head and departed for her room.

“I called school and left a message so they won’t be looking for you. Goodnight or morning.” She disappeared behind the door to her room.

I closed the door and took a deep breath. Then without a moment of hesitation I crossed the room and wrapped my arms around Luke. “How is this even possible?”

His heart was pounding and when I glanced up at him I realized he had lost all coloring to his face. “Kara, do you think—”

Realizing that I had almost flashed him and then greeted him in a towel, I tightened my towel and moved towards my closet. “Just give me a minute.” I closed the closet door and quickly rummaged for something cute and appropriate. I settled on a long tee and some sweat pants. Then I opened the closet door.

Luke was picking up different things off my dresser and examining them. My heart fluttered, still in disbelief that he was standing in my room. “So are you going to answer my question?”

He turned to face me and although he was technically older than me, he appeared to be as nervous as a young child. “I don’t know how I came to be here. I haven’t visited what you would call ‘the real world’ since I left it over a century ago. This is surreal. And then when I found that you weren’t here anywhere and your mom was frantically calling people, I felt helpless. I thought maybe I was sent here to explain something to her. I thought maybe you didn’t make it.”

His eyes had swelled with tears and I wasn’t sure if it was because he doubted his own faith or if he truly thought I had died. “So tell me, where were you?”

“Luke,” I reached up and brushed the dampness from his face. “I flashed back and I was standing in the forest. I don’t know how I got there. Maybe it had something to do with the sleeping pill. I must have leapt with my entire being like we discussed.”

He leaned forward, pulled me towards his chest, and held me tightly, almost desperately. “I am just glad you are home safe and reasonably unharmed.”

When he finally released me I moved away from him to switch off the light. Even with him present, exhaustion weighed heavy on my soul. I climbed under the covers and convinced Luke to sit beside me until I drifted off. I stretched my arm until it rested comfortably on his stomach. I didn’t know how long he would stay, but I was grateful he was even here.

“Did your mom say it’s your birthday?” Luke whispered quietly.

“Yes. I am finally eighteen. Does that mean that we can talk about
us
now?” I teased.

I could feel Luke’s chest shaking below my arm. He’d actually found my comment to be amusing. It was progress at least. I propped myself up briefly on my pillow and stared at him. His eyes met mine and for a moment I thought he might actually kiss me. My heart fluttered wildly.

“I want to kiss you, Kara, but it’s not going to happen right now,” he finally said.

“Why not?” I replied softly as I moved my face closer to him.

“Because you need to get your rest so you can heal. And besides,” he paused. “I don’t think this is the appropriate place.”

“Because in your time you probably never stepped foot in a woman’s sleeping quarters?” I teased. I knew he was too moral, respectable and God fearing to do anything besides comfort me with his reassurance.

“Kara, you almost dropped your towel. As it is, I’ve never seen a woman’s bare skin before. I’m feeling a little ashamed of myself.”

“What? My bare arms?” I said, sitting up. “That was accidental. I’m a klutz. It wasn’t your fault that you happened to be facing me when it happened.”

He turned to face the ceiling. “It’s not the fact that I saw you. It was what I was thinking after the fact. You’re beautiful Kara, never doubt that, but I can’t cross the line here.”

“But you
want
to kiss me?” I said, between heavy breaths.

“Yes. Now go to sleep, please,” he begged.

If he was considering kissing me, then he had definitely made progress. I placed my head down on my pillow, but kept my eyes focused on him. “I’m going to say one more thing and then I’m going to go to sleep, I promise.” Luke raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’d be here in my time, a place you haven’t seen in over a hundred years, if God didn’t have some kind of plan for
us
. That’s just my thought, but you can lay there and consider the possibilities while I drift off to sleep.”

A large exhale escaped Luke followed by a grandiose smile. He reached over and put his hand over my eyes and closed them. “Go to sleep.”

“Good night, my sweet Luke,” I whispered.

His hands touched my hair in light strokes and I melted into my pillow. I didn’t want this day to end, at least not my time with him. Then, like a soft blowing gust of wind, I swore I heard him whisper
I love you
. It was the last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep. I couldn’t be sure it was for real, but I knew I wanted it to be.

When I finally awoke, Luke was gone and it was dark outside. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning. I leaned over to the pillow beside me and inhaled. It still smelled like Luke. I smiled to myself as I realized I hadn’t been dreaming. My birthday had ended before I had even gotten a chance to celebrate it, but Luke had given me the best present of my life. He had been here with me.

I flicked on the light and walked over to the mirror. The bruises on my face had already yellowed and the cuts were almost healed. It was miraculous really. Makeup would be able to conceal any of the imperfections left on my skin. It looked like I would be able to attend the dance after all.

I tiptoed towards the kitchen when I finally realized how ravenous I was—like I hadn’t eaten in days. Mom had unexpectedly left me a large sandwich in the fridge with a note attached. She informed me that I had been sleeping for days and she knew I’d need something hearty when I finally awoke. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t disturbed me.

“Days?” I said to myself. That meant it was already Friday, the day of the dance. No wonder my face looked much improved. Gosh, I had missed a lot of school and who knew what else.

I devoured the sandwich and found myself looking for more to eat. After stuffing my face, I turned to the bathroom and washed up. I was definitely ready for school earlier than I’d ever been before. It was nice to be able to take my time and relax as I got ready. Usually I was rushing around using every possible spare second available.

I glanced at the clock and noted that it was only five now. There had to be some way for me to pass the time and watching television would only make me sleepy. As an idea hit me, I reached for my computer and turned it on. We didn’t have internet service but our computer’s wireless capabilities made it easy to borrow service from the neighbors occasionally.

The events that unfolded years ago, actually days for me, must have been documented somewhere. My fingers typed efficiently as I considered the possibilities. There it was in front of me, a newspaper heading from the morning after. Fred Parker had died in the fire he had set. All the charges were included in the article and the townspeople had been more than shocked to learn the truth.

A momentary rush of depression overwhelmed me. Burning alive was something I didn’t wish on anyone. I hoped Fred had died from the smoke inhalation before the flames had reached him.  The first chance I got today I was going to find Gage and see how he was doing. I could only imagine the possibilities now that he had lived several years without his abusive father.

Mom was in the shower when it was finally time for me to roll out the door. Considering the conversation she was going to want to have with me once we were face to face, I decided I’d leave before she had a chance to corner me. I left her a short note on the kitchen table and headed out the door. I couldn’t avoid her forever, but I was going to trudge through the questions of my classmates before I had to answer the tough ones my mom was likely to present.

My nerves were shot as I stepped through the entrance to school. Although I had only changed a few things in the past, I was acting as if I were going to walk into a building populated by another civilization. Of course that didn’t happen. As usual, no one even noticed me trudging down the hall. I gave a sigh of relief as I moved to open my locker.

“Where have you been all week? You helped with those flower arrangements and then disappeared off the radar. Did you get the flu, chicken pox, what?” Jenna had caught me off guard and while she tried to act irritated, she really didn’t know the first thing about being harsh.

“Yes, I was sick,” I replied. “Really bad stomach bug. You wouldn’t have wanted to be around me.” I shut my locker. “So have you prepared yourself for Scott and his clumsy dancing.”

Her forehead crinkled in confusion. “Why would I care if Scott could dance? It’s not like he’s my date.”

“What?” Now it was time for me to be confused. I hope this wasn’t the part where she pulled off her mask and told me she was from another planet. I didn’t think I could handle that today. “He’s not your date anymore?”

“He never was,” she laughed. Her eyes were void of any obvious pain; in fact, they were twinkling like I’d never seen. It had to be a positive sign of what was to come. “That bug must have given you some kind of amnesia. I’ll be going with my boyfriend of the last four years. Geesh, get with the program.”

“Am I still going with Jer?” I whispered as I stood in a frozen state. I wondered what else had changed.

“As far as I know,” she replied. She now looked concerned. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Before I could answer, a contented male swooped in and planted a kiss on Jenna’s lips. “Good morning ladies. I bet you’re excited for the dance tonight.”

My mouth hung open as I tripped over my own shoes. I plummeted to the floor just in time for Gage to catch me. His smile was bold enough to light up a room and I couldn’t believe the flicker of joy reflecting back at me in his eyes. Thrilled beyond words, I wanted to cry. “You’re dating Jenna?” I croaked.

Jenna snorted as she tried to help me to my feet. “Just ignore her, Gage. Kara’s just a little loopy today. Her stomach bug seemed to do a number on her head.”