Forgotten (22 page)

“
Nice to meet you; Are you
staying for supper?” she asked, shaking his hand.

I groaned. I knew they’d met the night
I ditched Jace at Circus and had to crawl into my bedroom via the
old tree house. They were both god-awful liars.

“
Of course he is,” I said,
unable to think of any other reason why he’d show up at this
particular hour.

Jace held his jacket up to me once
more. I grabbed it and shoved it on a hanger inside the closet.
When I walked past them, Jace reached for my hand. It stopped me
dead – not because I was having an adverse reaction to touching
him, but because it felt completely normal. My cheeks instantly
warmed. I looked at my feet and was pleased that I’d worn my hair
down. It hid my rosy cheeks.

Martha led us throughout the house and
pointed out the different rooms – a mini house tour. John and Elsie
busied themselves in the kitchen, following whatever direction
Martha dished out. She refused to let Jace or me help, so we sat in
the dining room pretending the situation wasn’t awkward.

“
You know holding my hand
isn’t necessary,” I whispered.

“
I’m just playing the
part,” he whispered. He squeezed my hand. His voice sounded like he
was promising me the world, instead of pointing out the obvious
problems with our choice of alibi. He had every reason to be
touchy-feely.

“
You were supposed to come
over just for the police records. There was nothing in our
agreement about you staying for supper,” I said.

“
You’re the one who invited
me.”

“
A mistake on my part,” I
said, even though my skin warmed; it was like I could physically
feel that he was delighted to know he annoyed me. I groaned. The
definition in his face changed. A smirk grew on his face as he
shrugged his shoulders. He released his grip on my hand, and a wave
of pure utter loneliness washed over me. The longer he’d been
around me, the colder I felt whenever he left. I clenched my hands
together to stop myself from subconsciously reaching for
him.

“
Well, if you don’t think
it’s necessary for me to stay, I’ll just grab your homework notes
and eat something from Mickey Dee’s,” Jace said loudly.

“
I haven’t let anyone leave
my house hungry in over two decades. I’m not about to start now,
especially if fast food is the other option,” Martha said, bringing
a few side dishes into the dining room. The smell of fresh-made
bread followed her. She gave me a not-so-subtle pinch on my arm
before leaving to bring in the rest of the meal.

“
Thank you, Mrs. Thompson,”
Jace said humbly, and scooted his chair closer to mine.

Elsie brought an extra glass and
plate. They rattled the entire way from the kitchen to the dining
room. She set them on the table by Jace and then hurried around to
the table’s other side. She nearly knocked over Martha who was
carrying in green-bean casserole.

“
So how did you and Winnie
meet?” John asked casually as he carried the lasagna to the
table.

“
Art class,” Jace said
without hesitation. “Apparently, someone sat in someone else’s
seat, and she wasn’t exactly receptive - but fell madly in love
shortly after.”

“
Actually, we met at the
bowling alley,” I said. “And you struck out that night.”

“
But it didn’t stop me from
winning you over, dearest,” he said and reached for my hand under
the table.

I wanted to slam it away, but that
would have looked bad being that Jace was acting as my boyfriend.
He took my hand in his and brought it to his face. The moment he
kissed my hand, my mouth went dry. I bit my tongue to bring myself
back to sanity. I barely heard him whisper a phrase in another
language. Listening to the captivating sounds of his voice, made it
difficult for me to breath. The familiar words drew me closer to
him, which was exactly why I pulled away. I simply didn’t trust
him, or myself for that matter.

“
Your fervor beckons me,”
Jace whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

A scarlet petal fell from
the sky like a feather. It drifted back and forth. Someone behind
me blew it lightly, making it twirl in the air. One after another,
petals rained around me. I laughed, loving the shower.

“
Close your eyes,” the
young man whispered. His voice was strained like he was having a
difficult time controlling himself.

I obeyed and waited
eagerly. Using a single petal, he caressed my lips with it. It felt
as smooth as Jace’s lips on my hand.

It was a perfect moment I’d eventually
get around to living… someday I’d be blissfully happy. I was about
to strike up a conversation about anything mundane, like school,
when the vision of my death shook my concentration.

His chocolate brown eyes
didn’t radiate with vengeance as he pressed a knife to my chest.
They glistened with tears. His dark brown hair shimmered, like gold
had been melted into each strand. The sight would’ve been utterly
breathtaking if sand and sweat hadn’t dried into his hair as well.
A bloody gash under his left eye interrupted his otherwise
perfectly tanned skin.

Burnt oranges, soft
yellows, and deep reds surrounded the sun as it neared the horizon.
My time was quickly slipping away. A hint of scorched wood
piggybacked the wind while smoke crawled over the blood-soaked
dirt.

I reached up with my
gnarled, weathered hand and gently stroked his face. Hiding in the
sheer beauty of his eyes rested his tortured soul – screaming for
forgiveness. His tears trickled onto my aged skin as he shoved the
blade deeper through my chest. I struggled to breathe. My vision
darkened at the edges.

Jace squeezed my hand twice like he
was trying to bring me back into the present. I looked around me.
Martha was holding a plate of food out in front of me. I took it
from her and hoped no one had asked me a question. Once I set the
plate down, I reached for my glass. I took a drink. Lemonade
moistened my dry throat.

He reached for my hand again. I
couldn’t think of any good reason not to let him hold it. His thumb
brushed over my skin. I could about see the thoughts running
through his mind. He pulled my hand into his lap. His thumb rolled
over my wrist and another vision stole me away from my
reality.

Warm, brilliant red liquid
seeped into my pink blanket. I was a young child, an infant.
Lightning flashed the night sky while rain pelted the roof only to
stream down the window beside me. My screams competed with the
thunder. But no one listened to me, not even the wrinkled old man,
who held a bloody knife in one hand and a cane in the other. Blood
gushed from a young girl next to me. My pink blanket turned red.
Colors blurred until everything melted into a shade of
gray.

I sat in silence wondering if I was
ever a good person, or if my morals simply turned south the longer
I lived. I wondered what the man in my vision meant to me, while
Jace struck up a conversation with John about who’d win the Super
Bowl this year.

Stroking his thumb over my knuckles,
Jace relaxed me until my haunting thoughts dissipated. His comfort
was so utterly soothing I almost thought I’d been drugged. I went
through the motions of eating, while Jace entertained my foster
parents. Elsie and I were two peas in a pod; we barely mumbled a
word.

Martha had tasked Elsie to be the
official dish drier, while John washed. She refused to let Jace or
I help. It begged the question – how charismatic had Jace been over
supper to forbid him from cleaning up afterwards?

“
Feel better?”Jace asked,
after supper ended.

“
You drugged me somehow,
didn’t you?”

“
You were in distress,”
Jace said, unapologetically. “Are you upset that you couldn’t hide
your anxiety, or that I helped you overcome it?”

“
I’m concerned with how you
did it.”

“
I told you, I’m a
Healer.”

Before I could question him further,
the front door opened and slammed shut. Max started barking
insanely. I heard Martha tell the person that I was in the dining
room with Jace. They stayed in the kitchen.

“
Oh I forgot Jace was
coming over tonight!” Bree exclaimed. “It must have slipped my
mind.”

She was a terrible liar.

“
Winnie had me going that
he was the furthest thing from her mind. Isn’t he just to die
for?”

Elsie giggled. She whispered that Jace
kissed me. I wanted to shout out that it wasn’t like we’d been
making out; that it was just a little peck on the hand, but I
controlled myself. Bree immediately demanded details. She didn’t
attempt to hide her disappointment when Martha said that Jace had
been a perfect gentleman. What did she expect the guys that I’d
bring home would do – ravish me in front of my family?

“
He kissed her hand just
like in the movies!” Elsie squealed. She made it sound as
significant as it would have been had he asked me to marry him or
run away with him.

“
You know I can hear you
both, right?” I called out.

“
I’m just dropping off our
daily
Lit.
homework. I finished the even questions, and left the odds for
you. I would’ve done more if you’d let me know you were having
company tonight,” Bree said, peeking her head into the dining room.
“Found this flyer on your door. Coupon for a spa day. Maybe we
could go sometime.”

“
Good evening, Bree,” Jace
said.

“
I hear you’re quite the
prince charming, Mr. Eatros,” Bree said. “If only someone could’ve
predicted that…” The deeper my cheeks reddened, the louder Jace’s
laugh became. “Details – about your
homework
– tomorrow, before
class.”

I knew it was code telling
me I’d have to spill every little detail about
Jace,
rather than homework. From the
way she said it, Jace would have to have been brain-dead, to not
have picked up on her comment.

When the others settled down in the
living room for the evening, Jace stayed in the dining room to work
on “homework.” I went upstairs to grab the files. Digging deep in
my closet, I found the police records Jace asked to see. They were
tucked safely under my blood-stained blanket. I sat down on the
wooden floor and closed my eyes. This was all that was left of my
family. The few folders were the skeletons in my closet.

“
Just let go,” I whispered
to myself. “I have to give him pieces of my past, if I want any
chance of understanding it.”

A faint whimper echoed in
the darkness. I didn’t know why the girl was crying, but I
recognized her lovely voice. I walked toward her. A fragment of
light began to gather around me. It reflected off the broken glass
shattered on the ground. I carefully stepped around each piece,
looking for the crying girl. When she clasped her hand around mine,
I jumped. A dirty, young girl sat on the ground; scissors in hand.
Cuts littered her skin. Her vindictive smile hid her true feelings
– she was overjoyed to see me and felt nothing regarding her
wounds.

The reflection of another
young woman with beautiful, wavy brown hair shone in the shattered
glass. The girl lying on the shattered glass screamed into the
night, and then laughed so viciously it sent shivers down my spine.
She stood suddenly and opened her arms to us.

“
The unseeing past and
unspeakable future are once again surrounded in death’s
embrace.”

The moment the three of us
touched, three distinctive sensations had come over me. Rage
erupted inside the young woman. Derangement tore at the girl’s
sanity. Calmness encased my soul; I had to be patient if I was to
find my revenge. I closed my eyes and reflected on my life
experiences, my memories. The past would repeat itself… it always
did, in one form or another. I only hoped to see something in my
memories that I’d missed before, so this tragedy would never repeat
itself.

I heard myself whimper. It sounded
similar to the dirty girl sitting on the shattered glass. Their
essence tugged at my soul. The vision scared me. Not because of the
images I’d seen, but because I hadn’t understood them. Before I let
myself feel anything else, I grabbed the old police files and raced
down to the dining room.

“
You’re in distress,” Jace
said, when I handed him the files.

“
Clutching your family’s
murder files will do that.”

“
But you smell like old
blood… and lilies.” He rattled off half a dozen phrases I didn’t
understand. His white silhouette blazed. My eyes burned. He grabbed
my cheeks when I closed my eyes, forcing me to look at him. “Stop
hiding from me! I’m catastrophically sick of arguing with you about
the matter of your memory.”

A tingling sensation shot through my
face before he loosened his grip. If he wanted something from me,
he had enough muscle to force me to tell him…. So why did he relax
his grip?

“
Deino, I’m worthy of
knowing what you’re thinking.”

“
Name’s Gwyneth,” I said,
only after he released me. Rubbing my jaw, I glared at him. “I dare
you - lay one more finger on me.”