The Grasp of Nighttide (14 page)

Anna usually presented what she cooked quite well, even if it was just hard-boiled egg. But now the baked fish lay crooked on the plate and some of the French fries landed up on the table. Multitasking had never been in her forte- Making sure Derek hadn’t left to see 
Alice 
again, checking her appearance in the front camera of her phone and plating at the same time was hectic. While she bent back to look at Derek again, the bowl in her hand tilted and a bit of white sauce fell on her dress. 

Don’t panic. You have not ruined the best dress of your wardrobe. 
She took a deep breath and tried to calmly wipe the small stain off her Valentino silk dress- something she had preserved for a special occasion- but ended up wearing today, mainly for Derek. Lucky for her, the stain came off in no time. 

Finally relieved that he was still there, she returned to the living room. Derek had a business magazine in front of him. He was wearing the black shirt she had picked from his closet yesterday, suggesting he’d look really handsome. He’d also added a white T-shirt underneath, and left the first two buttons of his shirt undone. And he looked so good that she hated the way she was feeling right now. The urge to have him, to kiss him, to mess his perfect hair was overwhelming.  

“Looking good,” he said, taking the plate from her. He was smiling at her, and looking him smile always made her smile. “And wow, the fish is too.” 

“Had a nice day?” she asked, taking a seat a little closer to him than usual. She almost rested her head on his arm. 

“I really did,” Derek smiled to himself. “Alice and I were...” 

Anna sat up straight and took a deep breath. 
Right, Alice. How on Earth did she forget about her?
 

“Nice to know,” Anna’s voice came out arrogant and hurt. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I am. It’s just college.” 

“Is someone causing trouble?” he asked on a serious note. And the look he gave, Anna was sure he was ready to teach a lesson if she gave a name. 

Anna laughed, “It’s just class.” 

“You are taking so much trouble to cook for me,” he said pouring some more sauce. “Tell you what, take a break tomorrow.” 

Sure he had a plan to take her out, Anna went through the restaurants in her mind. There were no new places here in Castle Pines but she knew a new Chinese place not too far. “I know where we can go,” she said excitedly turning towards him. “There’s this...” 

“Actually,” Derek interrupted. “I’ve thought to spend the day with Alice. Before I return I need to know that she’ll be alright.” 

“You’re spending a lot of time with her,” Anna said with bitterness that Derek didn’t register.  

“That’s okay.” 

“I need to ask you something.” Anna bit her lip. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you want Alice to… l mean like you?” 

“In a friendly way,” he concentrated on his plate. “So that she can call me anytime she has a problem.” 

“She could call me,” Anna suggested.  

The suggestion faded as Anna’s phone rang. It was Bell. 

“Hey, Anna. Calling in to say I’ll be late.” 

“Alright.” 

“I know that bastard is there, don’t take this as an invitation to keep him longer.” 

“Uh-huh,” Anna said. “Bye Bell.” 

“What did she say?” Derek asked. 

“She’ll be back late.” 

“Okay. Need to go. Thanks for lunch.” 

“Why don’t you stay?” she grabbed his hand and almost pleaded. “Stay.” 

“I could but I need to think.” 

“We can do that together as we did all these days,” Anna said, hopeful.  

“This time I need to do it myself,” he smiled to her and looked at her hand that still held on to him. “So are you letting me go or am I captive in your house?” 

“No,” she pulled her hand away instantly. “I understand.” 

“You always understand.” 

Anna faked a smile. He wasn’t going to stay and what she had imagined wasn’t going to happen. But at least she wished his words came with a kiss. 

Things were changing. She was trying to get his attention, to make him spend time with her but these days it wasn’t working. Her friend, Jenny was right; she would lose him if this went on. But her heart had hope that her future with Derek was a possibility. 

From the moment the moon came up, Alice dreaded to think about sleep. It was scary how her dreams coincided with reality. And also thinking harder she could faintly remember a man dying the night before that- but that could be her, creating a new fake memory. Still the possibility that she was there couldn’t be avoided. Not dreaming, perhaps more like sleep walking as she found herself to be out of bed these days. Sleepwalking didn’t fit in exactly either. But going along with her instincts was necessary tonight. The thought of being outside and encounter the black person or black creature, terrified her. Night was a dangerous time to be outside. The lame theory of the road demon had freaked her out now.

She could nap in the morning but she was already fighting sleep. This hour was way past her bedtime. And also she needed someone to check on her later. Against her better judgment, after the vows she’d secretly taken to keep distance from Derek all evening, Alice reached for her cell phone and typed in the number Derek had left on the table. He had written below it- ‘I know you wouldn’t ask but here is my number anyway.’

“Hey Alice.” Derek answered groggily, making Alice realize he had already stored her contact. “What time is it… 2am? Are you alright?”

“I’m pulling an all-nighter,” she half-whispered, not knowing why.

“With whom?” Derek asked and Alice shook her head thinking of what to exactly say. “Is it someone you know?” he asked troubled.

“By myself,” Alice cleared.

“Ah, by yourself,” Derek said. “May I know why Ms. Reed?”

Alice smiled.  It was too late in the night to be engaged in such meaningless talk.  Fortunately, Derek did not push her to come to the point. She imagined him resting on his pillow, half nodding off to sleep, half smiling...

“Well, I’m pretty sure I sleepwalk,” Alice told him. “Could you come over at five?”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ll get some sleep when you arrive. Then you can check on me for a few hours to see if I really do sleepwalk”

“You want me to watch you while you sleep?” Derek laughed.

“It’s not funny,” Alice said.

“Of course it’s not,” Derek sobered up, realizing his mistake in mocking her. “Why don’t I come right now?”

Keys sounded from the other side; Derek was serious.

“No, don’t,” Alice protested. “I’m awake now and I can go on for another three hours.”

“What do I get in return?”

“Anything,” Alice said and the next moment knew what was coming.

“So we’re spending the whole day tomorrow,” Derek said.

Alice tried to suppress the smile. “If you don’t show up on time, I’ll call it off.”

“Aye, aye Alice. Goodnight.” He was chuckling as he hung up the phone.

She had to kill more time before sunrise. She first took up a home improvement book- ‘
Spruce up your home on a low budget
’. There were some projects she could take up to fill in the obvious emptiness of the place, but now reading made her sleepy. So she typed in some funny kids’ videos on the net and watched. There was a video with a little girl reciting rhymes. It was so cute with all the actions. There was one- ‘
Pop goes the Weasel’
, that caused Alice’s mind to trail off to a dark scene, where a little girl floated around in circles in the dark. When the word ‘pop’ came, she fell to the floor. Alice slammed close her laptop and held her head. She was messed up with lack of sleep. She made her way to the kitchen and drank coffee like one would take down alcohol. She wished there was alcohol with her. It could help her calm down- suppressing all the worries in the world- letting her sleep in peace without having to worry what will happen. But becoming an alcohol addict was dangerous- not only did it risk her revealing her state to people, it would also leave her broke. Considering her job and the money she had left, only the most basic lifestyle was affordable. She even would have to let go of the house if it was not paid for.

Derek arrived when it showed two minutes before 5: AM on her phone. She felt her way around in the dark up to the door; when she finally found it, fumbling with the lock, until by some miracle, she had unlocked it.

Derek looked stunning. He smelled so good that the whole aura captured the scent. She collapsed in his arms, smiling, almost asleep now.

                                                                      *****

Derek caught her, lifted her effortlessly, and carried her to the couch. He lay her down gently, propping her head on a small pillow and covering her with a light throw he found stuffed in the corner of the sofa.

His first thought was to look inside her closet- but he had and come up with nothing yesterday.  Then a box he realized was below the table. He quickly pulled it out like a kid excited to have found treasure. It had the letter she had shown him earlier and then some coins in a glass jar. There were also the documents her mom had mentioned to have given in the letter- fake ones saying she was Alicia Reed. Nothing else ending Derek’s search there.

The kitchen he knew was useless to check, but still gave it a try. Even the kitchen at his dad’s place had not so many dishes or plates as there were there. Alice had no guests but still kept so many. He even found an identical looking diner set to the one his mom owned. She had used up so much money for all this instead of more important things- such as saving to set up a heating system. But with the heater that stood in her room- he didn’t want to impose to buy her something. At least not yet. He’d be happy to but was unsure how she’d take the gesture- maybe something similar to how Steph had, by frankly telling him she didn’t want help and could take care of herself. After all he was just a friend. Wasn’t he?

He read the home improvement book and laughed at it. He loved only the beautiful home décor magazines which had nothing to do with hard manual labor. Later after a lot of sitting around with nothing to do, he decided to grab the tin of paint he’d seen in the garage. With that he started covering up the red stains on the purple wall- that looked nothing like paint. He didn’t know why Alice would do something like that with blood. After concealing the red with the paint- which turned out to be a different shade than that the wall was painted with- he didn’t like the outcome. The dark purple ‘X’ looked bad and so it seemed a better idea to transform it into another shape. After a lot of thinking he knew what would fit. While he was perfecting the strokes, the phone he had left on the dining table rang out loud.

Derek rushed to cut the call, and was relieved that Alice didn’t awaken with the sound. Anna’s name displayed on the screen.

Lil busy text you later.
He typed.

The phone beeped.
What are you wearing for the party tonight? I’m wearing blue!

Without replying, he went back to finishing the perfect shape on the wall. Alice slept soundly for the next two more hours. She never moved.
She must be exhausted
, he thought. Derek watched, her soft, rhythmic breathing confirming her peacefulness.  Derek later browsed on his mobile phone, occasionally looking up. He caught her smiling in her sleep one time, causing him to smile.

As Alice was waking, Derek went into the kitchen and fixed a pot of coffee. He came back with two cups. Alice was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, smiling sheepishly.

*****

“How long was I out for?” Alice asked, taking the cup Derek was holding out to her.

“You’ve been out for two days,” he jested. He had trouble containing his smile.

“No way!” She was awake now!

“Just kidding, love. You slept soundly, and I mean
soundly
for five hours. You didn’t turn over not even one time.”

“Really?  You mean I don’t sleepwalk?” This should have been good news to her, but for some reason, it was somewhat bothersome.
Can’t deal with that now
, she thought.

‘So, you promised me the day,” Derek reminded her. “How ‘bout if we take the Vespa and explore around a bit? You’ll have to dress warm, though. It’s rather cold outside, and riding the Vespa will make it even colder. What do you say? Are you game?”

“You’re on.  Let me get dressed properly and we’re on our way,” Alice took a long sip of her coffee and smiled, it had the right amount of sugar for her.  She realized that Derek was truly a
good friend
, agreeing to help her in any way he could. She looked at him again and wondered,
am I falling in love with him? Or are we really just good friends
…? The thought trailed off without an answer.

*****

They drove around with no place in mind for hours, taking back roads they had no idea where they would lead, passing farms with sheds that had long been abandoned.  There was not a single cloud in the sky, the air was crisp, at times cold as they passed heavily treed areas, but the sun and wind felt good on their faces. 

They laughed and talked the whole time. She let Derek drive.  At one point, they had to stop in the middle of nowhere to let a mamma duck and her babies cross the road. Alice snapped a photo of them with her cell phone. They passed an old gristmill that seemed to be working. Alice had never seen such a large waterwheel before.

The route took them to Castle Rock. Though it wasn’t far at all, Alice hadn’t ventured outside Castle Pines ever.

“I could do this tomorrow too,” Derek said. “This is fun.”

“Are you jobless?” Alice laughed. “What do you do by the way?”

“My dad owns this company I work at. I’m a software analyst there.” He said.

“It might be awesome working for your dad.”

“He’s not the most enjoyable person to work for.” He stated.

“He loves you.”

“Maybe
now
,” he uttered in anger. “After ruining my life.”

“What?” Alice tried to analyze what he meant.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” His voice was hard and as she caught his expression from the mirror it was a mix of anger and sadness.

Although Alice was curious, she respected his wishes and remained quiet about the matter. The view was beautiful and she didn’t want to ruin the moment. A meadow came into view and at once Alice fell in love with it.

“Stop stop stop,” Alice almost jumped off before the Vespa came to a halt. “I want to lie on the grass and stare at the sky.”

“What are you talking about? I thought the fresh air will clear your mind not turn you insane.”

“Come on,” Alice found a nice patch of ground and lay on the grass. The sky was clear and she tried to make out the shape of the clouds.

“The last time I came here was during high school,” he sat down next to her and pulled out a weed. “Bell used to pull me and Anna for trekking. Both I and Anna aren’t into such adventure. We had bikes rented out, and though Anna was managing to keep up, it was hell for me.”

“Wish Anna could come,” Alice said, wondering of what he would say to that. She was tired of suppressing her feelings. She loved this stranger whom she met days ago, and there was no explanation why. Why did she trust a person she knew very little about? Why did she feel so happy around him? Why did she come alive, with him stepping into her life? Whether she had her memory or not this feeling she had towards him had to be love.

“She has college,” he said as a matter-of-fact and changed the subject. “Alice you must promise me that you will not go back to how you were living before. I must go back and I’ll stay in touch, but you... you must make friends. Socialize.”

“Date?” Alice asked in a most casual sense.

“No,” Derek blurted but quickly covered it up. “I mean you don’t want that. You want to go back to Lance.”

But Alice’s questions were not over yet. “Do you want me to go back to Lance?”

“I guess we got to get going,” he stood up and dusted off his pants, ridding them of dust. “It’s going to be cold around here.”

For half the time it took to return, they didn’t talk at all. But when Derek brought up the topic of how pleasant the weather was, the awkwardness blew away with the conversations that took its place.

                                                                      *****

Back home, Alice quickly shed her heavier clothing and returned to the living room in time to see Derek setting a bottle of expensive-looking wine- one Derek had fetched from Cloud- on the dining table, Derek raced to the kitchen to find some glasses.

“At the back of the cabinet beside the fridge,” Alice called out, anticipating his needs.

The cabinet plopped open and then there was a momentary sound from the running water as Derek rinsed the glasses.  He returned with two wine glasses in each hand. Droplets of water formed dew inside the glasses. When Alice nodded towards them, Derek flipped the glasses upside down and gave them a hard shake in a futile attempt to jerk the glasses dry, sending both crashing to the floor.

“I am so sorry,” Derek apologized. He carefully knelt beside the transparent pieces of an impossible puzzle.