Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (28 page)

I couldn’t catch my breath and felt myself panicking. My ears were ringing and my heart was racing. I felt myself shaking as tears clouded my vision. This wasn’t real. I was dreaming again and Dean would wake me any minute. I felt myself drifting…

A loud shrieking rang in my ears.

I pulled my head away, but heard a familiar swooshing sound. I opened my eyes and was face to face with Red. I looked around and remembered I was still tied up in the dirt hole. Red was on one of the large roots sticking out of the side of the hole. It was brighter now and the sky was pale blue so I knew it was morning. I nodded my head at Red and he flew up out of the hole, landing on a tree branch where I could just barely see him.

I rolled onto my back and slowly sat up, waiting for the pounding in my head to return. The pain came rushing back and I had to close my eyes to keep from falling back over. I thought back to what my father had said. Easton and Dean were brothers. I had to get out of here before he came back…if he came back.

I waited several minutes before I tried to open my eyes again. It was still relatively dark in this hole, but what little light was shining seemed to pierce my eyes. I squinted and tried to focus on the rope again. I could feel that it was loosening. I pulled against it with everything I had left in me. I let out a loud scream as pain shot from my wrist and from the back of my head, but this time I was able to wiggle my right hand free, then my left. Blood was streaming from my torn flesh. I knew there would be scars, but I’d have to survive in order to care about the scars it left behind. With my hands free, I was able to untie the rope around my feet. I was free now, but had no idea how I was going to be able to climb out. I didn’t want to start screaming in case my father came back and stopped me.

I stood, leaning against the wall for support. I grabbed the largest root I could find sticking out of the wall and tried to pull myself up the wall. I discovered quickly that plan wasn’t going to work. The roots were strong enough to hold me, but I didn’t think my body was able to make the climb. I thought back to that ditch over four years ago. I was weak and could barely cling to the weeds waiting for someone to rescue me. They finally came, but not in time to save those I loved. I refused to be that helpless girl again. I would get out of this hole if it killed me.

I stepped back to get a better look at the walls. One side was completely covered with roots that were long and thick. That was the only option. I grabbed a root and pushed off with my foot. I was barely able to pull myself up. The roots were thick enough for me to lean into them and rest. I could feel the blood as it pounded in my head and made me dizzy, but I knew I had no time to stand here mid-air, holding tight to a tree root and waiting to pass out. I thought of Dean and used the strength he gave me to pull myself up to the next root. I was getting close. Only a couple more pulls and I’d be at the top. I gripped the edge and could feel grass. With every last ounce of strength I had left, I climbed over the side of the hole and dragged myself to a nearby tree.

The sun was bright so I used my arm to shield my eyes. I was breathing heavy and I started to feel nauseous. I tried to look around, but my head didn’t want to cooperate and my neck was stiff. I couldn’t see anything but grass and the trunk of a huge tree that helped block out the sun. I heard footsteps crunching the grass next to me.

“Well maybe you’re stronger then I give you credit for. I never imagined you’d be able to climb out, especially after that nasty wound on the back of your head. Violet didn’t even move again after I hit her, but you seem to be more of a fighter than I imagined.”

“I should have known you had something to do with what happened to Violet.” My words came out slurred.

“Yeah, I thought that bit of information might take a little wind out of your sails. I’ve been waiting for the exact right moment to tell you, and I think this is the perfect time.”

“Why? Why would you kill Violet?”

“She couldn’t stay out of my business. She wanted you to be a part of her family so badly that she was doing everything possible to have you taken away from me. I finally informed her that she’d already been near her other grandson for years before he got himself killed in that tornado. Of course, that was right before I hit her over the head with this exact tire iron right here.” He waved the tire iron back and forth in front of my face. “I think it’s kind of poetic that you and your boyfriend are gonna die by the same instrument that she did.”

“Don’t you touch Dean!” I yelled, but quickly grabbed the sides of my head to try and stop the sharp pain it caused.

“If I had my way, he’d already be dead. But he’s out with the Sheriff right now looking for you, so that part of my plan didn’t work out very well. Good thing I hid you out here in the middle of nowhere - they’ll never find you and eventually they’ll give up. His time will come, just like yours has.”

He pulled me by my ankle away from the tree. I screamed when the sun hit my eyes and I squeezed them shut as hard as I could. I was digging my fingernails into the ground, trying to find something to hold on to. He finally stopped and dropped my leg back to the ground.

“Well, Lily, it’s been a fun ride, but I think it’s time for you to leave now. Tell your mother I said hello.” He laughed loudly.

I felt dirt beneath my hands; I picked up a handful and threw it in the direction of his voice. I didn’t wait to see if I’d hit my target. I scrambled backwards while trying to get to my feet. I heard my father yell and felt the tire iron hit my legs, knocking me back to the ground. I opened my eyes and the sun wasn’t as bright.

I saw my father as he rubbed one of his eyes. He had the tire iron in his other hand so I scrambled back toward him and gripped the wrist of his hand holding the tire iron. I shoved the heel of my other hand into his face and aimed directly for his nose. He dropped the tire iron and placed both hands over his nose. I snatched the tire iron from near his feet and backed away quickly.

He sourly laughed. “You’ve been learning. I bet that boyfriend of yours has been teaching you lots of things. Are you a whore like your momma was?”

“Stay away from me! I’ve learned some things and I will defend myself. Just get in your truck and leave.” I could barely stand and didn’t know if I’d be able to hit him again.

The wind was picking up and rain was starting to fall. The cold rain felt good on my skin, but the water was making it harder to hold onto the tire iron since my strength was fading. I saw Red fly close behind my father’s head. He flew over to a nearby rock and landed. My father used my distraction as an opportunity to try and take the tire iron from my hand, but he missed and was holding my hand instead. I knew exactly what to do. I leaned away from him, lifted my foot up and brought it down on the side of his knee. He started to fall to the ground and I was able to pull away from him. He barely hit the ground before he lunged at me and I swung the tire iron, connecting with the side of his head. His momentum carried him right into me, sending me flying backwards.

My vision was going black, but I saw my father’s limp body lying on the ground barely inches away from me as the blood poured from the side of his head. It was the first time in years that I felt safe. Red landed on my chest. I could see him squawking at me, but all I could hear was a whooshing sound.

I felt rain falling on my skin and I heard thunder echoing. I tried to open my eyes, but a thick sheet of rain blinded me. I heard a loud ringing in my ears, like a siren. Red was seeking shelter under the branches of a nearby tree, so I crawled toward him and he flew down to land next to me. We sat still for several minutes, just staring at each other. He finally spread his wings and flew into the sky. He hovered overhead, then started moving off into the distance. I crawled after him, away from my father’s lifeless body.

Red never left me far behind. He would fly into the distance and then circle back to see where I was. I walked and crawled after him as best I could, moving more out of sheer instinct than anything else. I finally discovered where he was leading me. Sunflower Beach. I had reached the place that held more good memories for me than anywhere else in this world. It was only fitting that if my life was going to end today, it would be here.

I followed the trail and rolled down the incline to the beach. When I stopped at the bottom, I saw Dean running toward me.

“Lily. Oh God! Lily.” He picked my face up out the sand and held my head. “What did he do to you?”

I reached behind me and pointed to the back of my head. The expression on his face turned grim as he saw where I’d been hit.

“You hold on, I’m going to get you help.” He gently lifted me into his arms. “Don’t you leave me! Do you hear me? Don’t you dare leave me.”

I felt my life slipping away. I tried to hold on, but no longer had the strength. Dean was safe and that was all that mattered. I looked into his frantic eyes one last time before my world turned black.

1 year later.

I heard her scream echo through our tiny apartment. It immediately made my hair stand on end and chills run down my spine, but my heart rate no longer increased and I didn’t run to answer her pleas for help. I’d grown accustomed to her nightmares over the past year. Thankfully it had stopped occurring multiple times per night and had become more of a weekly disturbance. I liked to think this was a sign of her healing.

I finished reading the sentence I was on and crawled off of our thrift store couch. I didn’t rush because I knew she’d need to reach a certain point in the events that haunted her dreams to be able to sleep peacefully the rest of the night. Her subconscious was still working through the events of that day…slowly, but surely. We both saw how this process was gradually evolving, but that didn’t make it easier on either of us. I hated seeing her so terrified, over and over.

I carefully opened our bedroom door, trying my best not to wake her. She was curled into a little ball in the center of the bed. The covers were hanging over the edge and threatened to fall to the floor. The only pillow still on the bed was mine and it was exactly where it should be, our fat cat Max slept soundly on top of it. This was the usual scene when her nightmares made an appearance before I got around to coming to bed.

“Leave Dean out of this!” she shouted, startling Max. He jumped about a foot into the air, looked straight at Lily, and gave her an annoyed meow before turning around in a circle and lying back down.

I knew she wasn’t far into her dream yet. She had several horrendous events to get through before it was over. I sat on the floor at the foot of the bed and waited for it to end so I could help tuck her back in for the night. While she dreamed, I couldn’t help but think back to that day when I almost lost her forever.