CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (24 page)

Tristan calls my name again, only it sounds
slightly twisted, like...like he can't breathe? I immediately know something’s
really wrong.

I silently head
up the stairs, Tristan’s calls are becoming more frantic, like he’s trying to
find me, but he can't. I want to call out to him, but a voice inside my head
tells me not to, that I shouldn’t alert anyone to my presence.

As I reach the
top of the stairs I scan the deck, I can’t see Tristan anywhere. As I look up
above me, I notice the sun isn’t shining like before, dark ominous black clouds
have covered it, pushing the blue sky away. The wind starts to howl, whipping
my hair around my face, and I can hear thunder in the distance. I look out to the
horizon, forks of lighting are lighting it all up, giving me a glimpse of the
coming storm.

I hear Tristan’s strangled sob as he calls
my name again. It’s like he’s got no strength left in him? I launch myself onto
the deck staying low to the ground, I need to find him. Searching the deck on
bended knee, I finally locate him.
No! Tristan!

He’s tied to the mainsail, his arms are
bound and bleeding, he can’t move at all, and his head is lolling from side to
side, blood oozing down the left side.

“Tristan,” I whisper trying to get his
attention. I call to him three times, then finally he groggily opens his eyes
and when he sees me; they widen with fear.

“Run!” He growls so menacingly I shudder
inside.

“What?” I frown back at him and take a step
forward holding my hand out to him.

“I said run!” He barks so loudly at me; it
makes me jump.

“Tristan,” I whisper. “What’s wrong?” His
eyes suddenly move from focusing directly on me to behind me.

“Behind you! Move!” He bellows.

I whip my head round just as Susannah hits
me across the head with something hard. As I fall onto the hard wooden deck, she
launches herself on top of me. She looks shabby and her hair is all over the
place, her lips pulled back over her teeth.

I can feel her hands crushing my throat –
Oh
fuck! I can't breathe!

“He’s mine!” She screams psychotically. “Mine!”
Her hands grip my throat even tighter.

I can feel I'm losing consciousness. I look
up into her black eyes, she looks totally deranged. I go for a couple of gut
punches, but each time I hit her, she squeezes even harder.

I can feel myself slipping under, and right
before I do, my very last thought is of Tristan, his safety and my love for him.
I look up at him, from my strange position on the deck, I see him upside down,
trying to free himself; he looks totally enraged –
Tristan
…

Finally, the blackness envelopes me...

I WAKE UP COUGHING
, choking
and gasping for air, gripping my throat instinctively –
What the fuck was
that all about?
Sitting up, I grab my water and take several long gulps
trying to clear my throat of the constricting feeling that’s still there. I
take several deep breaths and squeeze my eyes shut, trying my best to push the
nightmare away. I’m soaked in sweat, my heart is hammering against my chest and
I feel thoroughly shaken.

God that was freaky! I try to laugh it off,
make light off it, but something about that nightmare has got me feeling on
edge, like I should be wary of Susannah, that I should be careful. I lie down
and stare up at the ceiling. That’s ludicrous why should I be worried about
Susannah?

I figure it must be the fact that somebody
was outside my place last night, tried to get in, that’s got me all worked up,
on edge, add that to the fact that Susannah hasn’t exactly made a good
impression on her first day, and the fact that I'm missing Tristan like crazy.
Put them all together, and yeah, that’ll make a freaky dream. I should know, I
have enough of them.

Checking the time, I see it’s 6.10am, my
alarm goes off at 6.30am anyway so I decide to get up, get ready for my morning
swim, and forget about that haunting nightmare…

AS I HEAD BACK
to my
studio after my morning swim I can’t help wondering where Tristan is right now.
Is he still sleeping?
I picture his face, his soft breathing as he
sleeps, then I think he’s probably awake, working.
The man has
so much drive and ambition, which makes me think about my career choice and
whether Tristan is right. Should I be doing something different?

I push the thought away, I can’t think
about that right now, I have to get back, get ready for work and face another
day with Susannah. The thought makes me feel a little uneasy, especially after
that awful dream. She really does come across as a nice person, but she’s already
done some damage, and she’s only been with us a day.

As I reach my studio, I stand at the patio
door and stare through to the front door checking it’s still closed. Unlocking
the patio door, I step through cautiously, I hate that whoever was here last
night has made me feel like this, uneasy about coming back to my own place. So
I decide to put on some music while I get ready, it’s always guaranteed to pick
me up...

ARETHA FRANKLIN’S
You Make
Me Feel Like A Natural Woman is playing as I wonder out of the bathroom after
showering. I start singing along to it thinking how Tristan makes me feel like
that, natural, playful, womanly. With my hair wrapped in a towel and my robe on,
I walk over to the fridge and pour myself a large glass of vegetable juice.

My appetite has vanished again, just like
Tristan. So I figure if I drink lots of juice, at least I'm getting my vitamins
and minerals. Just as I'm heading back into the bathroom the track changes to Lonestar’s
Amazed. I dash back into the living room and press next – That song, those
words…far too heavy for this time in the morning. The next song starts, it’s
The Corrs, Runaway –
Yes!
This is how I feel about Tristan!

I start singing along as I walk back into
the bathroom. Then I take the towel off my head, and start slowly brushing my
hair in the mirror, thinking how poignant this song is, and how I would, given
half the chance, run away with Tristan…

My player flips to the next song, Whitney
Houston’s I Have Nothing starts playing – Hmm, maybe not such a good idea. This
song is making me realise that I really don’t have anything if I don’t have
Tristan – I’ve never felt like that before, about anyone, or anything. I
quickly push that thought aside. The song continues. Whitney is easily hitting
the high notes.

I stop singing, I can't reach that high, tittering
to myself, I grab my Coconut Oil and massage a little into my hair, flip my
head up, twist my hair and pin it into a bun.

Then I start on my make-up. As I'm putting
on my mascara, I think about seeing George tonight and telling him about
Tristan’s proposal. My stomach does a backward flip, and then swarms with
butterflies –
Whoa will I ever get used to that feeling?
I hope not,
it’s very heady and exciting. Then I think of Cindy and the second Hypnotherapy
session.

I really hope it works again and I'm able
to wear the dress. I really want to look nice for Tristan, but more than that,
I want to feel good in myself. I want to feel feminine and girly, I snort with laughter
at myself – If there’s one thing I’ve never been is girly.

As a kid I was always running round the
garden like a tomboy, even my favourite T.V shows were tomboyish – Knight
Rider, Black Beauty, Dr Who and Star Trek, not exactly girly programming.

With my make-up and hair done, I wonder
over to my handbag so I can put on some lip gloss. As I do, I notice my mobile
is flashing at me. Dropping the lip-gloss and picking it up, I punch in the
unlock code and it shows a new message. Flicking it open, I'm shocked to see I
have a message from Tristan.

*Morning Sweet Pea, hope you slept well. I
can’
t wait to hear your
voice.
Don’
t forget to call me ;-)
Love Tristan Xxx*

I chuckle at his
candor, and his wink. Then I check what time he sent it – 6.35am – just as I
was heading out the door to go swimming. I have never taken my mobile with me
before, for some reason I don't trust leaving it in a locker, but maybe I
should from now on?

I go to press reply, checking the time as I
do, and see it’s already 7.45am, I still have to get dressed and I’ll be
speaking to him shortly so I decide to wait and head up the stairs. Thankfully,
I picked up my dry cleaning yesterday, which I had completely forgotten about
over the weekend – I'm not surprised though, being with Tristan makes me forget
most things – so at least I have something decent to wear today.

Rummaging through the plastic bags, I find
my Light Blue fitted flares and my short sleeved, cream blouse. Once I'm
dressed, I slip my feet into my wedges and head down the stairs. Picking up my
handbag and my keys, I spray a little perfume and put on some lip gloss, which
I didn’t do earlier. That’s Tristan again, making me forget what I was doing.

I suddenly remember I need to ask him about
the suicide. I forgot all about it after what happened last night, I must
remember to ask him today. I don't like that Susannah knew and I didn’t –
That
pissed me right off!

I switch off the air-conditioner, smiling
as I recall the memory of Tristan buying it for me. Then I turn off my amp and
unplug my MP3 player, just as Beyonce’s Halo has started playing, pausing the
track, I attach my headphones and walk over to the patio door. I go to pull it
open and nearly fall over –
I locked it?
I’ve never done that before? Feeling
a little miffed that I'm being extra cautious, I unlock it, and pull the door
open. Stepping outside into another bright, blue skied, sunshiny day, I pull
the door shut and lock it, then check again that it’s definitely locked.

“Morning.” I jump a mile in the air.

“Oh hey Bob,” I say breathlessly.

“Blimey you’re jumpy today?” He says,
staring at me quizzically.

I nod and stare out at the boats bobbing on
the water. “Hey Bob, you didn’t see or hear anything strange last night did
you?” I casually ask.

He looks up from his morning paper and
frowns at me. “No why?” I walk over to his tiny table and sit in the chair
opposite him.

“I fell asleep on the sofa last night and I
was woken up, early this morning, someone was outside my front door. They tried
the handle…they tried to get in…” I sound frantic, and my leg is jigging up and
down. I’d better calm, down I don't want to worry Bob. But I have a feeling
that I need to tell as many people as possible.

“What?” Throwing his morning paper down on
the table, he grabs hold of my free hand. “Why didn’t you tell me, why didn’t
you wake me up?” I shake my head at him and stare out at the boats.
Like a
doddery old man could save me?

“Did you call the police?” he asks.

“Yeah, but whoever it was had already gone
so they said there was no danger and that they would come by today, I told them
not to bother.” I say, sounding glum.

“Why?” Bob questions.

“Well there’s not much they can do today is
there? I needed them last night!” I squawk in annoyance.

Bob rolls his eyes at me. “If they turn up
today, you want me to let them in?” he asks.

“Sure, why not,” I shrug.

“Anything ever happens like that again
young lady you come straight round to me, I’ll sort them out,” he says, showing
me his fist. I try not to chuckle. I really don't think Bob would do very well
against a burglar, if that’s what it was?

“I will,” I tell him sweetly. Because he is
sweet and kind, he’s like the Granddad I never had. Standing up I lean down and
kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks Bob, see you tonight,” I say.

“You’re not staying with that fella of
yours?” He asks looking up at me.

“No…he’s away all week.” I sound sad. Bob
nods once and goes back to his paper. “Well, see you later,” I say knowing the
conversation is over.

“Have a good day,” he says propping his
legs up on the spare chair.

I muster a smile, turn around, take a deep
breath, squaring my shoulders as I do, and put on my sunglasses. I take my
mobile out of my bag to call Tristan and begin walking along the concourse. It
rings three times, then it’s answered -
By a Woman!

“Hello Coral. I'm Karen.”
Karen?
I
try to think of the name, where have I heard it before? “I'm Mr Freeman’s P.A
in Leeds,” she tells me –
Ah of course!

“Your accent is awesome.” I tell her,
because it is.

She chuckles lightly. “Mr Freeman’s meeting’s
run over, he told me you would be calling him with an update and to say sorry
if he wasn’t back in time. He said to let you know he’ll call you at work.”
Work?
He can’t do that, Blondie will be there.

“Yes of course Karen, it’s no problem at
all. Say thank you to Mr Freeman for me.” It feels really weird calling him
that.