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The next week flew by. The wedding plans were overwhelming, but it made the days and nights pass quickly. I couldn’t believe when Jack and Aunt Rose actually pulled it off. They were somehow able to plan a wedding and have it go off without a hitch in just a week’s time. Aunt Rose was beautiful in her cream silk gown, and Jack cleaned up well, too. The wedding took place on the beach my family and I had used to picnic on in the summer. It was a small ceremony with just a few of their friends and afterward a nice dinner at their favorite restaurant. Soon enough Aunt Rose and Jack were off on their honeymoon, and I had the next few days to myself.

Normally, being alone for that long wouldn’t have bothered me, but Ms. Donaldson had shut down the library for a few days due to a convention in Boston, so work would not be there to keep me busy. And I needed to keep busy. Blake was on my mind constantly. Even though I had not seen him since dinner the previous week, I got the weird fluttery feeling in my stomach all day every day, like he was always around me. A part of me wanted to see him, wanted to see how things felt between us. I knew I missed him and yearned to see him again. But even though I knew there was something special between us, I was convinced it would just never work out.

It was clear to me that in order to stop these thoughts of him, I had to find a distraction. So I decided to call up the only person I knew who could get my mind off of things.

“Roger?” I asked. For some reason, it hadn’t sounded like him when he had answered. Maybe it was because we hadn’t seen or talked to each other much over the past few weeks.

“Hey, Meredith, what’s up? Sorry I haven’t called.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? You promised to call me,” I huffed.

“I know, I know. How ’bout I give you one free shot next time you see me? Then we’ll call it even.”

“Deal.” I smiled, already feeling a little more at ease.

“What’s going on? Anything crazy happening in Marblehead?”

“Not really. I just wanted to talk for a while. You busy?”

“Just getting ready to go out with some friends,” he answered.

“Oh. Well, never mind, then. I won’t bother you.”

“
Stop
. What’s going on with you?” he pressed me. “You sound a little strange.”

“It’s just, Aunt Rose and Jack left on their honeymoon today, and—”

“
What
?” he shouted into the phone.

“Oh, yeah. Aunt Rose and Jack got married.”

“Go, Jack! About time that dude asked her.”

“Anyway … They’re gone, and Ms. Donaldson shut down the library for the next few days, so I just wanted …” I trailed off, not knowing what I really wanted.

“Why don’t you drive up?” he said, as if it were a no-brainer. “We can go out, and I will show you a good time in Rockport.”

I sat there for a minute, contemplating my choices. Either I could sit there for the next few days and feel sorry for myself, or I could be in the company of my best friend in under an hour. “Okay, I’m in. But are you sure your dad won’t mind me staying there?”

“Not at all. He’s always liked you.”

“I mean, since I’m a girl.”

“Seriously, Meredith, he knows you’re my best friend, and it’s not like that. Besides, we have a great spare bedroom, so there won’t be an issue.”

“I will leave here in ten minutes. What’s your dad’s address?”

I threw some clothes in my backpack then packed up my toiletry bag. It took me just five minutes to be fully packed and downstairs rummaging through the key bowl next to the door. Aunt Rose had told me she had left the keys in case I needed to make a trip to the grocery store. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about me going all the way to Rockport, but I didn’t care too much. I was desperate. After finding the keys to the Grand Cherokee, I jumped in the car, feeling anxious and excited as I pulled out of the drive, knowing the next few days would not be as horrible as I had expected them to be.

The forty-five minute drive flew by. I turned the radio up loud and tried to think of nothing but the music. Luckily, Roger’s dad did not live too far off the highway, leaving me only a couple turns before finding his street. As I pulled up to the house that matched the address I had written down, excitement gripped me. I couldn’t wait to see Roger.

“Meredith! Man are you a sight for sore eyes,” Roger shouted as he opened the door, yanking me inside and squeezing me so tightly that I felt like my eyes were going to pop out.

“Missed. You. Too,” I squeaked out with each small breath I could find.

When he finally let me go, we headed back to his room. He plopped down on his twin-sized bed, and I chuckled when his head hit the headboard. His feet still hung a full foot off the end. Seeing there was no room left for me, I fell down onto the black beanbag next to it and faced him. I leaned back and got comfortable as he spent the next couple hours talking about how much fun he had had so far that summer and how much he had wished I had been there.

I nodded, knowing that he was just saying that to be nice, because he would have not had a chance to hook up with any girls if I were hanging around with him. Because as weird as it sounds and as much as it grossed me out just thinking about it, Roger and I could pull off being a couple. I mean, anytime you see a guy and a girl hanging out together, your first thought is they must be together, right? And it didn’t hurt that we were so comfortable around each other and could talk to one another so effortlessly. But if you really paid attention, you would easily hear us making fun of and bashing each other the first chance we got.

For a moment, there was a break in our conversation. I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. My thoughts drifted to Blake. It was strange that I was sitting there with my best friend, and I couldn’t get my thoughts away from Blake.

“What is up with you?” Roger asked, his voice teetering on a thin line between curious and worried.

I tilted my head to look at him and saw that his right eyebrow was arched, meaning that he was really stumped. “Nothing. Why?” I quickly answered, sitting up and crossing my legs. He knew me too well. I should’ve known he was going to see right through me.

“Not buying it. Something is up. You’re hiding something. I can see it in your eyes.” He nodded his head like he knew he was right.

“Well, look at you, Mr. Observant. Why don’t you tell me, if you’re so sure?” I snapped back sarcastically, hoping it would make him back off.

“Ha, ha. You are not getting off that easy, Mer. Tell me what’s going on,” he pressed.

But just as I was about to begin, just as I was about to tell him I was starting to have feelings for Blake, a large thunderclap made us both jump.

“What the heck! I didn’t know there was a storm coming tonight.” He groaned.

“Ugh, me either. That’s just great. I guess we’ll be ordering in?” I predicted.

But when I turned to look at him, I didn’t like the way he was shaking his head. “No way. I’m taking you out. You aren’t scared of a little rain, are you?”

He pulled me up by my hands and then pushed me out the door. Before I knew it, we were in his Mustang and headed into town. It didn’t take long for us to drive to the waterfront, where restaurants lined the streets.

Chapter Fourteen

We pulled up to Atlantic Pizza Company, and my mouth began to water the moment we stepped inside. I hadn’t eaten all day and hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the smell of pizza hit my nose. As we approached the hostess stand to be seated, the brunette on the left winked in Roger’s direction. I shook my head, knowing she was probably one of the many girls he had hooked up with in the past few weeks. The hostess on the right, who had red hair and was way too dull to peak Roger’s interest, sat us down in a back corner table.

“Man, it’s just now dawning on me that you will be leaving town soon. All these years you’ve been talking about leaving Marblehead, and now it’s just a few weeks away,” Roger said as we both glanced over the menus.

“It’s just now dawning on you, genius? We’ve known this for months now. And to think you got into Harvard. Man, it speaks volumes for the place,” I joked.

He rolled his eyes. “What am I going to do without you next year? You’re the only one who gives me crap. I think my ego may double in size without all your sarcastic remarks putting me in place.”

“I’m glad I won’t be around to see that.” I smiled.

“So have you nailed down any plans yet?”

“Um … kinda. But I haven’t bought the plane ticket yet,” I said, tripping over my words.

“You’re not getting cold feet are you?” He looked at me, mouth gaping.

“No,” I replied confidently. “Just still trying to decide on all the details. So, what’s good here?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Well, you can’t go wrong with the Classic, but the Supreme is good, too. Depends on what you’re in the mood for, though.”

“Right now, anything sounds good.” My stomach gave a low rumble.

Just then a guy walked up to our table. He and Roger exchanged some sort of strange handshake, fist-bump thing, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

“Meredith, this is Ethan. Ethan, Meredith.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Well, well. Where have you been hiding all summer?” He smiled, and his white teeth sparkled against his dark tan complexion.

This time I couldn’t stop myself. I rolled my eyes and looked back toward Roger. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“She’s actually my best friend from Marblehead. She’s just visiting.”

“All right, man. Best friend’s a hottie.”

They did another handshake, fist-bump thing, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. “I have to go to the restroom. Be back in a few,” I said, not interested in hearing them fight over which bartender was hotter.

“It’s back behind the bar. Hang a left!” Ethan shouted to me as he saw me walking in the wrong direction.

“Thanks!” I yelled back. All of the tables were empty so I began to navigate my way through them toward the back of the restaurant. In the back corner, I saw the sign for the restrooms pointing to a hallway.

Just as I rounded the corner and began my walk down the hall, someone from behind me grabbed my arm. He whipped me around so that my back was up against his chest and began pulling me down the hall. Just a couple seconds passed before I heard him kick open the side door and drag me outside.  Before I could think to scream or run, he whispered in my ear, “Keep quiet. No sudden movements, and this will all go a lot smoother. We don’t want to involve your friend Roger in this, now do we?”

I swallowed hard, my heart began to pick up speed, and I held my breath. The entire time I was panicking on the inside, trying to search my mind for things to do in a situation like this. But my mind was blank with fear.

“Shh, it’s all going to be okay,” he whispered again, dragging me out and into the dark alley. I quickly noticed the light rain falling onto my trembling body. I looked down toward the ground, searching for something—a glass bottle, a stick, anything to defend myself with. But nothing but darkness covered the ground. I held my head steady, remembering what he had said about no sudden movements. I reached my eyes right and saw nothing but street lights a few blocks away, a couple dumpsters, and a brick wall with graffiti on it.

My heart stopped. I was having a major case of déjà vu—but even worse. This was the vision I had had at the Harpers’ the afternoon I helped Abby choose paint colors.

“Ahh, much better,” he said as he whipped me around to face him. Fear gripped me. The moment our eyes locked together, my heart thudded loudly in my ears. I knew that I was in a lot more trouble than I could have ever imagined. It was not some stranger that had pulled me out into the shadows; it was the man that had been haunting me for weeks now. He was there, in the flesh, no longer a figment of my imagination.

“Now that we are all alone, allow me to introduce myself. I think it’s about time we were properly introduced, don’t you?” His evil eyes narrowed and bore into mine. “My name is Isaac, Isaac Waters.”

My arms, legs, and feet felt numb. The only part of my body that seemed to be operating was my brain, and it was only flashing images of my nightmares over and over. I tried my hardest to focus, to try and get my brain to signal to my mouth to scream for help.
Just open your mouth and scream.

But before my brain got the signal to my mouth, he spoke again. “No need for an introduction on your part. I am well aware of who you are, and I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Meredith Martin. How are you feeling? A little paralyzed, maybe?” He laughed a sinister laugh, tilting his head back slightly while still keeping his eyes fixated on me. “I just can’t believe it’s working.” He marveled at me as he lightly caressed my cheek, his evil smile growing larger. "You really have no idea how long I have waited for this moment.”

My breathing was becoming shallow and rapid. I felt like I was suffocating. I tried to focus on screaming for help. It felt like if I could just open my mouth, the scream would come out. But I was paralyzed, just like he said. I couldn’t move my mouth or any other part of my body.