The Grasp of Nighttide (16 page)

No one in the world could disagree that Anna looked hot, but Derek didn’t want her. But he didn’t want any other gu
ys
to dance with her eithe
r
. He was sure that the ones who had come with a date would not approach
,
but there were some guys, especially one, who eyed her dress and heavily studded sapphire bracelet, ready to pounce on her like there was some invisible tag- Beauty with money. One of his friends, okay ex-girlfriend, in Philadelphia, who was much like Anna, had been drugged at a party like this.  He wasn’t sure it would happen but he had a bad feeling. So he tagged with her until she left- after commenting for what seemed the hundredth time that he had to wear something more suitabl
e
for tonight
-
with her friend Jenn
y.

He sat at the bar, not wanting a drink, just plain water to cool himself off. It was a relief to finally give his foot some rest. Steph came and occupied a seat next to him.

“You alright?” she asked. “I’ve been watchin
g,
something’s off”

“Hey Steph,” he spoke his mind at the momen
t
.
“
Do you remember what dad said about Rosalie?”

Steph’s expression turned serious. The topic of Jacob and Rosalie had come out of the blue. “What are you talking about?”

“How special he felt about her and how he knew she was the spark of his life.”

“Yeah, you mean the vows,” she said.

Stephanie remembered everything.  Derek could count on her to recall small details to
o
. It was a gift she had
.
He was sure she could relate it word by word if she likedbut that wasn’t the poin
t.

“I have that spark of my life in front of me, but I can’t get to he
r
.
”

“Is it Alice?”

“Yeah,” Derek said. “Twisted relationships are getting me nowhere. It is getting me more mixed up. I’m leaving tomorrow Steph. I will meet you in a few days; I h
a
ve somethin
g
to sa
y
, more like
a
favor I nee
d.
There is no one who can do it for me except you
.”

“Why not tell me now?” Steph sounded surprised. “What’s the matter?”

“This is not the right time or mood,” he muttered.
“
I do not want to los
e
those I love the most.”

“Boy, you are mixed u
p.
You sound drun
k
,
”
Steph added.
“
I’ll call you tomorrow. Now let’s leave.
”

As they got up and Derek walked ahead, he winced with pain from the glass shard that had pierced into his foot earlier.

“What happened to your foot?”

“Just some glass.”

“Glass?” she asked, already bending down to take a look. “Show me.”

Reluctantly Derek removed the bandage and allowed her to see the place where at least half inch of glass had stuck to his foot
.

“This hasn’t healed yet. You can get an infection.” She said and whispered. “Let me heal this.”

“No,” Derek jerked his foot away, troubled with what she said. “You what? You shouldn’t!”

“Or maybe I should,” she pulled him to Cloud which was parked ahead of all the others ther
e,
being guarded by a group of teenager
s.

“Thanks Wil
l
,” Dere
k
smiled handing a handful of money to a guy with blonde hair andwide blue eye
s
- Will Richards
.
“For you and your bu
d
dies
.
Go enjoy the part
y
.
”

“Anytime Derek.” He said following his group to the doo
r.

“Still giving hand-outs?” Steph asked. “What’s his story?”

“Orphan. Lives with his uncle who owns a small repair shop.” Derek mentioned. “And I pay for services. Nothing more.”

“Very generous payments for
your
service
s
,
”
she grinned before getting into the car. “Come on.”

“Steph please
!”

“Show me your foot.”
S
h
e
demanded. “Now don’t lecture me that I shouldn’t be doing this.”

Derek wanted to do just that. Stephanie had once before healed him when they were younger. He wanted to attend a birthday party but a fall left him with a cut on his face. Steph had taken him to a corner saying that she would heal him. She had- quite remarkably- but it left her in great pain and Derek looked after her instead of going to the party at al
l.

“Let me help,” Steph kept her palm on the arch of Derek’s foot which now rested on her lap. “Just relax. This might sting a little.”

Derek could feel the pain in his foot subsiding and at the same time as the change in Steph’s expression. She was done in a minute. She then let go of his foot and rested her head back on the seat.

“You heal yourself without effort but why this pain when you heal others?”

Derek had seen it in fiction, people healing others, and it only left those ‘healer
s’
drained of energy not hurt as in the case of Stephanie. But that was just ‘fiction’ it seemed, real life was more complicated and extra-ordinary powers were off the chart.

“Maybe because it goes against demon’s natur
e
- Grasp nature,” she winced. “I mean helping humans
.
I should be going.”

“I’ll drop you.” He hesitated before continuin
g
, trying to not sound over-protective. “And I’ll stay until you feel alrigh
t
.”

“That’ll be nice.” She said much to his surprise. “But my car.”

Derek caught sight of Will who hadn’t entered the party yet. “Give me the keys. I’ll ask Will to drop it off after the party.”

*****

Derek woke up at a little past nine, thanks to a nightmare of falling off a cliff, but still there were more pressing matters to look into today. He pulled on his shirt, and threw his bag over the bed. He had to get away from Alice; he needed to leave as quickly as he could.

He couldn’t let her know what he felt about her. They weren’t meant to be. Before everything would be destroyed, he had to leave because his feelings were getting the better of him.

After getting his laptop and accessories he rose to leave. He didn’t have to pack everything and that would save him time.

“Jared,” he said on his phone. “I’m leaving today.  I need you to make sure my stuff gets back home... Wait a minute.” He put the call on hold to pick up a second call. It was Franny.

“Oh, hi sweetie. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“No Franny. What’s up?”

“There was an accident last night.” Franny began to say and Derek’s heart skipped a beat at the words. “And Alice’s Vespa is parked here in front of the bookstore. The key is here but she isn’t. She is not picking up my call. I am worried. The accidents around here have left us all worried these days.”

“The mystery… accidents?”

“Yes. The same.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when I find her. Keep this matter low.”

“Okay.”

Then Derek got back to Jared. “I’m not leaving. I’ve changed my mind. Thanks.”

Derek slipped on his shoes.
Enough of running away, I will stand by her no matter what. I love her.

*****

Will was waiting with the Vespa on the driveway. He still wore the same teal shirt from last night, with shorts replacing the jeans. But it was not exactly a patient wait- he was pacing back and forth- and Derek guessed that he was worrying about his test the next day.

“I’ll let it be here?”

“Okay you can leave. Here you go Will. Thanks. I’m sure you’ll rock that biology test.”

Will’s eyes grew wider with the bills he saw. “Thank you Derek! Call me if you need anything else. Bye.”

With that Will strode away, letting Derek focus on the front door that was wide open. Where was she? Derek zipped his jacket, the cold was getting worse. He made it to Alice’s room which was freezing, he kicked the dead heater but it seemed of no use. Her closet was open, with the black dress to be the first on display. His eyes caught sight of the tag removed and feeling through the cloth there were signs of a tear near the waist and it looked a little muddy.

A loud splash distracted him, giving way Alice’s location.

“Insane,” he remarked, shaking his head, heading to the fence. Though he was sure that she was at the pool, he was surprised to see her in the bikini he’d seen with her clothes before. Alice ignored him.

“What are you doing woman?” he knelt beside the pool, uncertain of her reaction.

“Go away, you womanizer,” she shot back.

“Interesting,” he mused, staring.

“What?” She came closer to the edge in anger.

“Interesting that you plan to die in a bikini, die hot in the cold. Sexy choice, I must say.”

“You…..” Alice shot him ‘a bird’.

As soon as she was in reach, Derek held her firmly and pulled her out of the freezing water.
She’s going to die of hypothermia if I don’t get her warmed up
, he thought.

One moment she tried to pull away but the next moment she chattered, “Let...go,” she protested weakly.

Derek draped his jacket around her, but Alice couldn’t stand up, so he lifted her. He hardly looked ahead after his eyes caught the inscription on her thigh which he knew, instinctively, not ink.
What did it say?
I heart Lance?

The inside of the house was no warmer than outside. He lay Alice on the couch, lit the fireplace and pushed the couch closer to it. She held his hand, “Why… did you come...?” Her teeth were chattering from the cold. She was shaking, almost convulsing.

“I’ll get your clothes,” he said brushing her hand off. His sight caught the words on her thigh once more. He flinched again. Was it what the actual words said or just the fact that Alice
cut
them into her own skin? Or both? He would have to sort it out later, he thought.

He picked a pair of jeans and a shirt, plus her jacket and also a towel. It was freezing and without his own jacket now, Derek was going to turn into ice if he didn’t leave soon.

When he went back into the living room, Alice was staring blankly at the ceiling, still wet but not shivering anymore.

“Alice,” he called. She didn’t stir.

“Alice,” he raised his voice and she turned towards him. “Do you want me to help you put these on?”

“No, I’m alright,” she said softly, taking them from him. “I need to go to the church. I need to get help....”

“No you can’t do that.”

“But last night.”

“What about last night?”

“I was coming to the party,” she held her head. “The accident. A girl met with an accident. I was running… and Mrs Paul dropped me home… I woke up like this in the research area. Why can’t I remember everything?”

“Wait. Diane dropped you? She died at four this morning in Washington, Mr Paul informed me. She had gone there to meet her daughter Tiffany and died from a heart attack, so was told to him.”

“Mrs Paul,” Alice didn’t seem to be paying heed to what Derek just said. “Looked younger.”

“Shit,” Derek muttered to himself before talking to Alice again. “Now listen, you are messed up. Aren’t you sure that you were sleepwalking?”

“Vespa. I’d parked it near the bookstore. That could prove I had really left for the party. If so I will consult a priest. Is my Vespa there?” she asked hopeful.

“Yes, it is there.” Derek didn’t state the actual fact that Will brought it. “Mrs Paul wouldn’t have dropped you. There is a chance you didn’t go to the party at all.”

“I’m I going crazy? Is my black gown there? I wore that last night.”

“Let me check.” He went back to the room and picked up the dress. He threw it from the passage window and went back to Alice.

“I don’t see it there. You change until then I’ll fetch my phone from Cloud.”

Derek snuck outside and successfully hid the dress in Cloud’s trunk. When he went in, Alice was in her room, looking in her closet. Derek was worried about whether she saw him hiding it, but she didn’t after all.

“It was supposed to be right here. I wore it. Didn’t I?” She sighed. “Even if I didn’t, where is it? Why isn’t anything making sense?”