Julia's Journey (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter
Sixteen

Julia

I’m sleeping so well and just want to snuggle down in this
heavenly bed and keep on at it, but I can’t, because there’s this annoying
sound.
Tap….scrape. Tap…scrape
. The
sound is repeating slowly over and over. I crack an eye open and find Greyson
propped up on the bed beside me, working his way through a bowl of oatmeal.

“What…” I stutter. “What are you doing?” Greyson never beats
me awake in the mornings.

“Sleep stalking you for a change. I thought I’d give it a go
since you seem to enjoy doing it so much.” He pauses to swallow another bite.
“I have to admit, you are quite adorable when you drool.” He grins, shining
that mouth full of perfectly polished teeth.

“I don’t drool,” I say as I wipe the corner of my mouth to
be sure. No sign of spit. Good. “Why are you up so early?”

“There’s somewhere I would like for you to accompany me,” he
says formally as he polishes off his breakfast. He gets up and places his bowl
in the sink and this is when I notice it’s still dark out.

“The sun isn’t even awake yet. What time is it?” I slowly
sit up, but all I really want to do is go back to sleep.

“A little before sunrise.
We need to leave in about ten minutes or we are going to
miss it.”

“Miss what?” I grumble.

“You’ll have to wait and see. I’ll even escort you on my
moped.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and I have to laugh because Greyson Stone
is not normally a morning person. He’s clearly excited about whatever he’s
found for us to do.

“Ugh. You expect me to be ready in ten minutes?”

He looks at his watch that he rarely wears. “Eight minutes
now. Come on,” he says as he pulls me to my feet. “You’re wasting time. Just
brush your nasty teeth and slap some clothes on.”

“Wow, Stone. You really know how to sweet-talk a lady,” I
say to his back as he quickly heads outside. I hurry to the bathroom and do as
Mr. Bossy Pants has ordered. As I brush my teeth, I listen to the familiar
sounds of the compartment opening on the back of the RV and the moped being
rolled out. After I finish with my teeth, I pull on a pair of jeans and a
scooped neck shirt. With the time constraint I opt to roll my long hair in a
low, messy side bun. I top it off with one of Greyson’s tan fedora hats, before
sliding on a pair of flats and heading out the door. Greyson is already perched
on top of the moped, waiting on me.

“Always picture perfect,
Thorton
,”
he comments.

I hop on behind him and place a quick kiss on his adorable
cheek before I think to stop myself. “Thank you. Now lead us on, sir,” I state
in mock enthusiasm, causing my driver to chuckle.

Greyson races us along in the gray darkness of early
morning. I can tell we are driving up an incline so I guess we are heading up
to check out another mountain. He pulls up several minutes later to what I’m
guessing is the side of a mountain and parks the moped. Without a word, he
grabs hold of my hand and leads me through a small patch of woods. We emerge to
several rows of long wooden benches. Visitors are already seated and facing
towards a large wooden cross that seems to be balanced on the side of the
cliff. Greyson seats us near the middle. As the benches fill, I sit here and
try to figure out how all of these people would know to congregate here. And I
wonder how on earth Greyson finds all of these goings-on, for that matter. We
sit in this silent group for only mere minutes before a whisper of a song works
its way through the crowd. I look around for a song leader, but there is none.
The song just seems to happen all on its own. I could barely hear it at first.
The group sings about a healer setting them free. They say they could sing of
his love forever. Words about opening up your heart and being set free repeat
over and over and it’s magical.

Greyson quietly joins in and I wonder how he would even know
the lyrics to this song. I know I don’t, but then I remember he is a part of a
church family and this must be one of those universal hymns. The group
continues to sing and as the sun slowly emerges, their voices continue to grow.
As the grays are replaced with bursts of oranges and pinks, the view becomes
magnificent and the cross seems to be soaring in the new day’s sky. I gasp
loudly at its beauty.

I don’t know when it happens, but I find myself singing
right along after a while with goose bumps continuously rising along my arms
and my heart hammering away.
It’s such a feeling that I can hardly describe. Tears prick my
eyes and find their way down my cheeks as I sing the verse -
And I will
open up my heart. And let the healer set me free.
To be free…
How would that feel?

We keep singing the lyrics over and over until it reaches a
crescendo and then the volume slowly turns back down. As quietly as the song
began, so it concludes in the same manner. I am in awe at what I have just
encountered and don’t know what to think about it. No one says a word. They
just depart in a reverent silence. Greyson and I follow suit, not even
muttering a word until he is parked back at the campground. When we get settled
inside, I dare to ask him what that was.

He looks over at me thoughtfully with his green eyes
glittering with emotion and simply says with reverence, “That was a worship
service.”

This sends the goose bumps shivering all over me once again.
It truly felt like I was blessed to participate in something beyond my
understanding. We spend most of the morning in an amicable silence and the
spell eventually breaks as we head over to the pool and frolic around like two
goofy kids until the sun sets.

I actually
look forward to our nightly routine of journaling together outside. I’m always
curious as to what little jewel Greyson scribbles in mine for me to find.
Tonight, he doesn’t disappoint.

I find Psalm
46:1-5,
God is our
refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though
the
earth give
way
and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
 
though its waters
roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God
is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at
break of day
.

I’m
amazed each time at how profoundly these verses affect me. I read the verses
several times and have that same overwhelming sensation as I did this morning
on that mountainside.

~~~~

I awake this morning in a completely different mood. It’s
like a switch has been flipped and my insides are crawling in frustration. I
know right away that no peace will find me today. With trembling hands and my
heart squeezing painfully, I hope beyond hope I can survive this day and not
wreck things with Greyson. I don’t have a lot of confidence.

I hold it together for breakfast and the packing up for
another day on the road. Greyson is in such a great mood. He looks so healthy,
too. At breakfast he boasts about being able to wear his pants without a belt.
They still droop on his bony hips, but they are well on their way to getting
back to normal. I smile when I think I should and try to answer his questions
when they present themselves, although I’m really a million miles away inside.
We stay busy with loading up and that helps me combat my jitters.

Now that we are on the road, with nothing to do but sit and
think, I’m in trouble. I rub my hands often, trying to work the trembling out.
I see Greyson is picking up on it, too. He keeps eyeing my hands with concern,
but remains quiet for a time. But I know Greyson and I’m certain he is going to
call me out on it if I don’t get a grip.

Miles pass and billboard after billboard taunts me. The one
we just passed offers free wine samples at a wine specialty market. The urge is
so strong that I can almost taste the sharp liquid on my tongue. I hurt from
wanting a drink and yearn for the warm numbness I know it promises. This is the
one day of the year I always designate as a day to forget and to do it with any
means possible. But this year I am stuck in a flipping RV and can do nothing
but remember. This is a day tarnished in shame and regret.

I shake the nightmare off and try to set my sights on the
Smoky Mountains, but billboards keep zooming by, begging my attention with
their advertisements. The newest sign is an authentic moonshine distillery
offering tastings. I’m literally in pain from the want of forgetting. I sit on
my hands and try to calm my breathing.

Greyson reaches over and places his hand on my shoulder
briefly to get my attention. “What’s the problem,
Thorton
?”
Concern laces his voice.

“Today is the day… The anniversary of…” I can’t say the word
out loud, but I think he gets it. “It haunts me.” My voice comes out all choked
and strained. I’m trying to be straighter up with him on things, but it’s not
easy for me.

Greyson’s eyebrows pucker in angst but he says nothing, just
keeps driving. But he looks like he’s working through something. I go back to
looking out the window and the billboards keep up their enticements. Not much
time passes when I start hearing Greyson grunting. I look over and his face is
twisted in pain.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

He’s leaning in an unnatural angle in his seat. “My back,”
he grumbles out in a strained voice. “It’s caught a kink and it won’t ease up.”

“What can I do? You need me to rub it?” I go to take off my
seatbelt, but he stops me.

“No. No. Just. Ugh. Ouch. Just find us a rest area.” He
keeps sucking breaths between his clenched teeth and it makes me nervous. I
don’t see how he is able to drive through the pain. I find us
a rest stop just miles
away and he navigates us there.

Once he is parked, Greyson climbs out of the driver’s seat
and stretches out on the floor of the RV. He’s still moaning. I don’t know what
to do for him, but kneel beside him and watch him wither in pain. He eventually
makes it to all fours and stands slowly, going to the cabinet filled with
prescriptions. “I’m
gonna
have to take a muscle
relaxer. It just won’t let up,” he mutters as he pops a pill into his mouth.

“Is there anything I can do?” I ask, nearly exasperated just
watching him in this pain. I pray silently on the spot without realizing it.
Please God. Please don’t let it be cancer
.

“I’m going to need you to drive,” Greyson says cautiously as
he stands hunched at the shoulders.

“What? No. You don’t want me driving this. That’s not a good
idea. Let’s just wait here.”

“Here?
At a rest stop for six hours?”

“Well, when you put it that way… Can’t you just drive?”

“No. That pill makes me groggy. You don’t want me driving.”
He doesn’t wait for my reply. He settles stiffly in the passenger seat, leaving
me no choice.

I sit down and find my heart pounding fiercely in my ears.
“I’m just not so sure about this.” I put my seatbelt on and make sure Greyson has
his on as well.

“You got this. Just put it in drive and go.” He tries to get
settled, grunting with every move.

I take my time adjusting the side mirrors and try to get a
feel for looking at the computer monitor for the rearview. This is definitely
out of my comfort zone. This RV is a hundred times bigger than anything I’ve
ever driven. Taking a deep breath, I place the beast in drive and ease out onto
the ramp and squeal out in sheer terror as I merge onto the interstate. I think
I’m going to have a heart attack.

“You can’t go forty miles an hour on the interstate, Julia.
You’ve got to speed it up.”

I look over to find Greyson watching me as he adjusts his
seat all the way back. “How will I know where to go if you fall asleep? I could
get us lost. This is hillbilly country. That won’t be good.”

He has his phone in his hand typing away. “The GPS won’t let
you get lost. I’ll program it to a nearby campground.”

I glance at the road then back over at Greyson. His face is
looking angrier than anything. He must be in some excruciating pain.

Chapter
Seventeen

Greyson

I’m so angry I can hardly stand it. Julia isn’t doing so
well. I hate that some nothing of a man has done this to her. And there’s
absolutely no way I can rid her of it. I’ve watched her decline throughout the
morning. She was about to fall apart right here while we were on the road. I
knew I had to think fast as to how to snap her out of it.

Just last week I watched her demeanor nosedive one evening
while we sat outside. Just out of nowhere. One minute everything seemed normal
and then the next thing I knew, she was fidgeting and her breathing got all
labored. It was like she couldn’t stand being in her own skin. I thought fast
and remembered some sick water guns my buddies gave me as a parting gift. I had
no idea what I would do with water guns by myself, but I threw them in one of
the side compartments anyway. Well, they ended up coming in handy. I got up and
retrieved them and filled them with water behind the RV without Julia noticing.
I came back around the corner and doused her down before I tossed her one.
First she was stunned, then got over that real fast and got in on the action.
It worked, too. We ran around the campground like two kids until we could
barely stand.

That worked last week, but I very well cannot pull out a
water gun at the moment. So yeah, I faked a backache. I sent all the anger I
have for that man in hell into the act and Julia seemed to buy it. I popped an
extra vitamin and not a muscle relaxer for show. I’ll call this whole act off
if Julia can’t handle driving. I think it’s worth a shot though. I look over at
her gripping the steering wheel for dear life and I see that it is working.
There’s no way she can focus on anything else but keeping this big boy in our lane.
This is a sweet ride and practically drives itself. It even has these sensors
on the sides and back to warn you if you are getting too close to an object. So
I’m pretty confident she will be just fine.

An hour in and I see she’s gotten the hang of it but still
looks scared to death. I’d let her drive the rest of the day away, but that’s
just not plausible. I’ve been thinking of something else to distract her mind
and I think I have the perfect thing. I’ve found us a downright creepy spot for
the night. I had run across the website a while back while my mom and I were
planning this trip out. I had nothing but time on my hands while I was laid up
in the hospital, so lots of hours were spent searching the Internet. I have it
saved on my laptop in my room, but I cannot leave Julia up front alone. I
search my phone until I finally find it again and book reservations. Moments
later the email pops up with the confirmation. I program the GPS and it says we
will be there within the hour.

This place is called The Witching Woods. It’s got Blair
Witch Project written all over it. The theme of the campground is haunted. The
whole thing is supposed to be very elaborate, yet all in good fun. And that has
distraction
written all over it. I
hope…

We pull up and Julia immediately sighs. She looks over at me
in relief. “I didn’t kill us or anyone else.” She smiles so weakly that it
doesn’t come close to meeting her lovely eyes.

“You did great,
Thorton
.” I hop
out quicker than I should and she calls me on it.

“What about your back?”

“Good as new. Sit tight while I check us in,” I say before
heading into the reservation office. I’m stoked that this place looks like an
ordinary campground. There are no signs advertising for what’s to come. Good. I
want Julia caught off guard. There’s a lot of this day left and I don’t want
her to have to seek out a bottle of liquor to get through it. The receptionist
asks if we want a quiet night or an adventure. I tell her adventure all the
way.

I trade seats with Julia once I’m back so that I can
maneuver us through the gates and place the RV in a holding lot. This big boy
is easy on open road, but a bit tricky to park.

“Pack an overnight bag. Nothing cutesy,” I tell her before
hopping out. She’s grumbling something, but I don’t wait to hear it. Pulling a
brand new tent out of a side compartment along with two new sleeping bags, I
then head over to a small compartment and pull out three flashlights for good
measure—testing each one and finding they all work. I like the outdoors, but
haven’t had the time to be outdoorsy since I was a kid. There’s a good chance
I’m forgetting something.

I head back inside to grab my own overnight bag. Julia has a
small pile of clothes laid out on my bed, while she’s plundering her drawers
for more. She’s still grumbling under her breath—it’s cute.

“Be sure to use a backpack.” I look her over. She’s wearing
jeans and a plain T-shirt just as I am so she’s good to go there. “Pack a
hoodie in case it gets chilly tonight, and wear your sneakers.”

“What are you getting us into, Stone?”

“We’re camping out tonight.”

This gets her attention and she looks up sharply at me.
“What?
How?”

“In
a tent in the woods.
How else?”
                                                                                     

She glares those gorgeous blue eyes at me with an arched
eyebrow. “What about your back?”
Oh
.
She’s on to me.

“No worries. It’s back to normal.” I don’t give her time to
start in on me. I quickly toss some clothes in my backpack and go grab my
toothbrush and stuff. I then load down the remaining space in the pack with
bottles of water and snacks.

I grab the night reservation paperwork off the counter and
look back over the details. Our ride should arrive in about ten minutes to haul
us into the woods. I slide a ball cap on and head outside to check things out.
Man, this place is glorious. It’s set in a valley of mountains. I look up and
am just amazed at how cool it is to be surrounded by these massive stone
beasts. The place is perfectly, naturally normal. I think that only adds to the
mystery of the fun that awaits us. The unexpected will certainly be, well,
unexpected. The lot has a good many vehicles, so I’m guessing we aren’t the
only ones in for it.

Julia makes her way outside and eyes the tent suspiciously.
“I’d rather stay in the RV.”

“Come on,
Thorton
. Where’s your
sense of adventure?” I pull her in for a side hug. “Be a good sport, will
ya
?”

Before she can begin whining, a horse drawn cart pulls up.
The driver looks gnarly with a long bushy orange beard. He’s dressed in beat-up
jean overalls with no shirt and this brown worn-out felt hat hides the
remaining face the beard doesn’t cover.

“Get in,” he says without looking at us as he spits a
substantial amount of tobacco-stained spit out onto the gravel. I want to snap
a picture of him and send it to my dad with the caption,
if you never see me again, he did it.
But I don’t think this dude
would appreciate a photo op. Instead, I refrain and do as he says. I toss in
the tent and bags. Then I help Julia climb up, before I jump in. Once we are
settled, he takes off without a word of warning. Julia gives me a look that
clearly conveys that I’m in trouble. My lips twitch from wanting to laugh, but
I hold it in.

The scruffy driver directs the horse and cart through a
narrow trail that seems to be looping around on itself, but I’m not sure.
Eventually he stops abruptly in what seems like the middle of nowhere and
points to a small clearing between two trees and mutters, “Get out.”

“Umm… Is this where we set up the tent?” I ask as I hop out
and help Julia down.

He spits more tobacco juice out and grunts out, “Yeah.”

I unload our stuff and give the small site a good looking
over. The only thing that resembles some form of a marker is an animal skull
sitting atop a wood stake. I notice Julia hasn’t spotted it yet. She’s too busy
trying to clean the dust off the back of her pants. I think that is going to be
a lost cause, but don’t comment.

“Here,” the driver mutters and hands me a map. Before I can
say or ask anything else, he pulls off.

We are both watching him abandon us as Julia asks in a
whine, “Well, now what?”

“First thing we need to do is get this tent set up.” I toss
the map to the ground, unzip the tent bag, dig out the directions, and hand
them over to Julia. “Your job is to give orders and supervise.”

“I can handle that.” She goes to studying them as I pull all
the pieces out.

“I have no doubt about that.”

“You talk a big manly game all the time. I thought real men
don’t need directions?” She waves the paper around as she taunts me.

I know I’m manly enough to handle this without
directions—just so you know. But I need to keep Julia’s mind on something
productive.
So yeah.
We are going to use directions
just this once.

“Smart men use directions. So let’s get to it.”

We have it knocked out in under an hour. I’m drenched in sweat
by the time I’m done. I toss our belongings inside and look around for a few
minutes. I spot two conveniently placed logs on the other side of the trail and
roll them over to use as seats. I plop down on one to catch my breath. Julia
actually surprises me by handing me a bottle of water.

“Thanks,
Thorton
.” I take a long
refreshing pull from it and mop the sweat off my face with the end of my shirt.

“You’re welcome, honey.” She sits daintily on the other log
as she works her hair into a messy ball on top of her head. I have no idea how
she gets all that hair to stay up like that. I’m watching her when all of a
sudden she lets out a blood curdling scream. She jumps into my lap and points
at the skull.

“It’s just a marker for the campsite, Miss
Scaredy
Cat.”

“It’s staring at me.”

I try loosening the death grip she has around my neck so I
can breathe. “Well. You are staring at it too. Only seems fair.” This earns me
a slap on the arm.

“What have you gotten us into?” she asks sternly.

I scoop the map up off the ground and hand it over to Julia
while I continue to hold her. I should make her get up, but I don’t. I like her
right where she’s at. “Check this map out and let’s see what’s in store.” I
read it over her shoulder and can’t help the grin spreading across my face.
This is going to be epic.

“This can’t be right. I’m not trekking around in these
creepy woods.”

The map is very vague with minimal markings and directions
that lead us to what’s marked as the
Witches
Cauldron
. I tap the map marker of our site. “At least we know what type of
animal the skull used to be.”
Goat’s
Gruff
is scratched in dark red ink under a picture of the skull.

“I find no comfort in that.”

“I think that’s the point.” I check my watch and see it’s
time to get this adventure going. Tapping Julia on the thigh, I stand us up.
“Let’s head out.” I dump my bag and repack it with the flashlights, our
hoodies, and some water. “The hike is only a mile. We should knock it out
pretty fast.” I hand Julia the map and we head out.

The woods seem normal enough except for the occasional bone
wind chimes tied to low branches. They definitely don’t sound melodious in the
wind. The daylight is fading fast and everything all at once becomes more
eerie.

We come up on a bend and find a small overgrown garden with
rotted produce and a creepy scarecrow. And I swear that thing is watching me.
We give it as wide a girth as we can while passing by a little faster. I hear
some rustling behind us and the next thing I know the scarecrow sets out to
chasing us. Julia beats me with her fists in hysteria, drops the map and hauls
tail. And girl can flat out run. I grab up the map in a flash and it takes a
good bit of effort on my part to catch up with her. The scarecrow is long gone,
but we run the remaining trek until we reach a rusty dilapidated gate. I’m
laughing uncontrollably and Julia delivers another good whack on my upper arm.

“It
ain’t
funny!” she yells. She’s
so worked
up,
her southern drawl slips right out. This
makes me laugh some more. I’ve not heard
ain’t
come from those prissy lips
in quite a long time.

“Stop beating on me,” I say through labored breaths,
checking my arm over. “You’re going to leave marks.” I scoff and laugh some
more.

I have to take a few beats to catch my breath before pushing
the rusty gate open and motioning for Julia to go ahead.

“I think we should just go back to the tent.” She’s looking
in the new direction skeptically.

“You realize back that way,” I point over my shoulder, “is
where we left the scarecrow.”

“Good point,” she says as she hurries through the gate.

We walk down a broken cobblestone path until we come upon a
group of normal-looking people sitting around a fat black cauldron. It’s raised
several feet off the ground by a stone platform. It’s bubbling away from the
fire that’s licking up its sides. Whatever is cooking up sure smells
good.
It sets my stomach to growling. I’m ready to eat, but
Julia looks at it with disgust.