Trapped (4 page)

“I’ll think about it,
” I replied smugly. H
e has
to
learn
to treat me with the respect I
now k
now
I
deserve.
I will demonstrate
my power tomorrow
night
with Carlos
.
Saturday
afternoon
I called him
from the den.

“Carlos, are you here
yet
?” I asked
excitedly
.

“Wow, are you ever eager,” h
e joked.

“When are you coming to get me or whe
re should I meet you?” I asked.

“How about you call me
tonight, after
your
dinner?
I haven’t even landed yet.
I know Hayden
is heading out for a job so give me a call once he leaves
. I don’t want him to
know I’m taking you out, okay?”

“I’m not worried abo
ut ‘what Hayden thinks’ anymore,
” I replied dryly.

“Don’t be too hard on him Nat
,
he
has your best interest
in mind,
”
he sighed.

“How can you be on his side? You don’t ev
en know what is going on.” I felt hurt
by Carlos siding with Hayd
en so quickly.

“I’ll talk to you
about it
later
. I have to go
,
”
he said quickly, then hung up.

I spent the
day studying for
my exams. I confidently closed m
y books, feeling good about going into them next week.
I deci
ded to go out for some air to try and
clear my head of
Hayden and Carlos. I must
remain calm.
When I returned from my wa
lk I noticed Hayden sitting
on the sofa
,
he seemed to be
waiting for me
.

“Hey,
” I said as I walked in and took off my coat. I hated myself for feeli
ng so angry towards him. I love
him.
I gu
ess I felt
hurt and
jea
lous of this S
eeker he
spen
t
so much
time with
instead of me
. I wanted Hayden all to myself ag
ain, and I wanted to be his pa
rtner like we
talked about. I couldn’t understa
nd why he changed his mind.

“Will you talk to me Natalie?”
he ask
ed seriously.

“Sure, I guess, yes,
”
I stammered. I could feel the tension in the air and I felt
slightly afraid
by the tone of his voice
.

“I know Carlos is
on his way
here,
”
he simply stated.
I felt defensive immediately
.
I have done nothing wrong by wanting to spend time with a
friend, a
lthough Carlos i
s
more than just a friend. H
e not only trained me and gave me the confidence I
needed during my
transition aft
e
r
being given
the light, he was
there for me when I lost my fam
i
ly.

“
So?
” I said, trying to hide my surprise
that he knew
. I didn’t t
hink
Carlos wanted him to know he
was coming here
.

“I really don’t want you to go out at n
ight,
”
he said
,
finally looking up at me. I rolled my eyes, trying to think of why he would say such a thing.

“That’s nice, but I think I can make that decision for myself, thank you,
I’m a big girl
now
,
” I
said through gritted teeth. I
tried
re
ally hard not to scream at him.

“I really didn’t want to tell you this
Natalie
, but in order to try and salvage our relationship, which I
do
cherish, I have no choice. I just hope you can
somehow
forgive me. I love you with all my heart Na
talie, you have to believe that
before I say anything more
,
” he
said as he
looked away from me
again
. I have never seen Hayden speak
so unsteady. I wanted to hold him so much.
I am
so
foolishly stubborn. I felt m
y
pride
ge
t
t
ing
the best of me
but
I needed
him
to
explain himself before I could touch him
.

“Tell me what?
” I said, trying to sound as composed as possib
l
e
.
He held his hand out for me and
then
gestured for
me
to sit
down on the
couch
beside him.
I didn’t refuse. I closed my eyes as I slipped my hand in his. I didn’t realize how much I missed him
until I felt his touch
. I wanted so much to feel his arms wrapped around me. I sighed as I sat down beside him. I shook my head quickly to rid my mind of though
ts of losing him. I held
back
my
tears as he sat
so
close
beside me.

“I am hunting a spirit
that I
really
did
n’t
want you
to know
about. If Clive and
I
could have been faster, you wouldn’t be so
mad at me right now and I wouldn’t be sitting here wishing I didn’t have to say this
,” h
is chest heaved h
eavily as he looked down
. This i
s serious. Hayden is
actually
afraid of what he has
to tell me.

“What happened
,
Hayden? Who are you hunting
?” I asked
trying to sound calm
. This is going to be very personal, I thought.

“I couldn’t catch him Natalie. I
tried, I really did. Clive even expressed his
shock by this ghost’s unbelievable
escape. We underestimated him. He is smarter, even in death
the
n we thought. I am so sorry,
” H
ayden explained with
tears in his eyes as he looked
over
at me.
I sat motionless
, waiting for him to continue
.

“Your father is still out there,
”
he whispered.
I stoo
d
abruptly.
Shock over came me
. Of all the things he could have told me, I would never have
guessed this. I tried to breath. I attempted to ask how
this could possibly have happened
.

“What
do you mean he is still out there
?” I gasped
.
I tried to put the pieces back together
from when I heard my family
died.

“I thought you were in
Argentina
when I planned
the
ir
funerals?
”
I asked.

“I did go to
Argentina
but I delivered
someone
else
,
” I really didn’t lik
e the way he said this. I don’t think I can
handle anything
else
but I knew he had
more
to tell me
. I sat back do
wn, my knees grew weak.
I couldn’t stand anymore. I looked over
at him
, waiting for him to continue
.

“Who
did you deliver
?” I whispered. He held
my hands tightly
in his
.
I couldn’t control my
shaking.

“I’m
so
sorry Na
talie. I didn’t know until I landed
in
Argentina
that I didn’t have him.
Som
ehow he managed
to trick me. It h
as never happened before. He must have been
playing on my
emotions.
He knew I
worried about you
tremendously
and I guess I
lost my
focus
.
I am so sorry I have let you down. I have been trying for these last few weeks to catch him, but I
realize
d
I couldn’t d
o it alone so I called for help,
”
he explained, still squeezing my hands.

“Who did you bring to
Argentina
?” I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks
because I knew
the answer.
I just needed to hear it from him.

“Ann
e,” h
e simply stated, holding my hands tighter
still
.
I stared
at my hands
in his
, not feeling anything anymore.
I didn’t know she
stayed be
hind. I didn’t feel her presence in
the house.
I thought she
moved on.

“Did
she
seem
ok
a
y?” I needed to know if she was
afraid. I wis
hed I could have been there for
her.

“She appeared
completely
calm and so p
eaceful as soon as she realized we were helping her go. She loved you. She loved her entire family. She felt everyone’s pain and she ma
de it her own but s
he wanted to go,
”
he said th
is like he knew her. I
walked to the den
slowly
. I needed to be alone. I lied down on the bed and felt the pain of losing her all over again.
My throat hurt and my stomach ached.

When Carlos called late
r in the day
I told him I
wouldn’t be able to see him. I’ll have to
explain
it to him
later. I spent mo
st of the night awake
. When
ever I closed
my eyes I could see
my father’s
angry and tormented face
looking up at me
from the basement stairs
. Why didn’t Hayden tell
me this sooner? Maybe I could have helped
. I can catch him
, I thought
. He is not as smart as Hayden seems to think
he is. As I finally drifted
into sleep
in the early morning
hours
, I felt a sense of calm wash over me.
I am
going to
be the one to
deliver my father
to his final resting place.

I awoke later that morning and wrapped myself in Hayden’s robe. When I realized he
left early
I curled up in the window
seat
in his bedroom
and looked out upon the busy city below
.
How did all of this happen? I have lost m
y family, as volatile as it had been
, they wer
e still my family. I
have
lost Adam. I
just
hope
d
I
wouldn’t lose
Hayden
.
I could never be
too confident.
Why have I been so
mean to him? He has been out there every night looking for my father and
when he comes home
I give him the cold shoulder. I have to make it up to him. I look
ed
up at the painting of the woman hanging on the wall and
I
realize
d
I want
ed
to be her again. I have to grow up. I have to be strong. I can’t let little things get to me anymore. I have a job to do and I need Hayden
in my life
.