The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: The Curse of the Gifted (43 page)

“Well, don’t bite off my head. I was just commenting on the lovely weather.” Dad took a swig of coffee, quickly picked up the paper, and buried his head in the sports section. He continued, “I’d think a person finished with finals and finally graduating in two days would be ecstatic, and a person about to get another car for graduation would be happy, too.”

Her mood suddenly swung when she heard the words -
another car
. Aimee had been waiting
for what seemed like forever to get another car after her Prius got totaled. She whipped around from the kitchen sink and stared at Dad. He kept his eyes glued to the paper, but a huge grin was spread across his face.

“For real?!”
she shrieked.

Dad finally put down the paper and looked up at Aimee and nodded. She shrieked again and leaped over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” spilled excitedly from her over and over. Finally, Aimee let go of his neck and sat down in the chair next to him. “So, does that mean they finished the investigation and settled the claim?”

Dad took another sip of coffee, then got up to get his toast from the counter. “Well, the claim was settled weeks ago, but with me a little incapacitated I didn’t feel up to helping you look for another car. Anyway, Levi told me they are getting close to finishing their investigation and you will need to go into the station for a lineup, or to look at photos, or something like that before they make an arrest. I told Levi you’ve been under a load of stress lately, and whatever they could do to minimize the ordeal when they finally bust this punk would be appreciated.”

Aimee's excitement over the new car was a bit tarnished with the news about the criminal case coming to a head. She knew who wanted her dead, and they probably knew they were about to be busted which would explain why the crank call came last night after such a long period of silence.

“Hmm, does news about the case bother you?” Dad asked. He always read Aimee like a book. It was kind of creepy how he could almost always pick up on her feelings.

“No...well, yeah, I guess it does,” she admitted.

Dad reached over and put his hand on her arm. “Aimee, this asshole almost killed you. Whatever he has coming won’t be harsh enough. I wish they would let me take care of the sonofa…”

“Dad!” Aimee blurted out cutting him off. “Chill out. I know I could have been killed, but I’m okay. Don’t get all stressed out over this. You don’t need to get your blood pressure up. Let the cops take care of it. All right?”

Dad picked up the paper and popped it open angrily. “Yeah, I guess. But if I have any say-so, this dude will hang.”

She narrowed her eyebrows into a tightly knitted line and gawked at Dad. She was positive he could feel her stare while he intently pretended to study something in his newspaper. Finally, Aimee slowly slid her earbuds into her ears, clicked on some music, and turned to leave out the backdoor. Dad had one more thing to say, and obviously he didn’t really want her to hear it, but the music wasn’t loud. Dad, on the other hand, was loud enough for her to hear over the music flowing into her head.

Dad muttered, “Yeah, the young punk is gonna wish he had never messed with you, Amos.”

Aimee shivered. She knew Dad was protective, but she had never seen him quite this upset. If this person was bold enough to try and kill her for Dylan’s ex, and most likely also involved in defacing Paul’s car with a death threat, no telling what he would do if he thought he was about to be
trapped like a cornered animal.
Geez, one more thing to worry about.
The list kept growing.

She quickly headed out the back and down the driveway. Aimee needed a good shot of endorphins to keep her mood in check. As she rounded the front corner of the house, Aimee's mood immediately lifted. Parked against the curb was a black FJ, and leaning against it all decked out in his running shoes, basketball shorts, and t-shirt was a Greek god; Dylan. A big grin lit up his face as soon as he saw Aimee.

“It’s about time,” he teased while he started walking towards her.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here?” Since they were finally through with classes she figured she wouldn’t see Dylan until later in the day.

“Well, I thought I would surprise you. I need to start getting in shape again before preseason workouts. I hear they try to break you the first week so I want to be ready. Besides,” he began, then grabbed Aimee's hand and pulled her to him, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I really can’t wait until Saturday night.” His lips were an inch away from hers, and his intoxicating sweet breath seized her thoughts.

It took all of her willpower to refrain from latching onto him while they stood in her front yard. Aimee closed her eyes and shook away his spell. She kissed him quickly, then pulled away and bolted into a sprint down the sidewalk. She looked back over her shoulder and shouted, “First one to the end of the street gets whatever they want.” With all the power she could muster, Aimee slid into a full throttle run. She peeked back and Dylan was close behind, looking like he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. He had a devilish smirk. She turned back and tried to run harder, but her legs were going as fast as she could push. Dylan rounded her left side, and glanced over. He still had that damn grin plastered on his face, and he winked. They kept tied for the next twenty yards, then about twenty-five yards from the intersection, Dylan easily pulled ahead and left her in his dust. By the time Aimee made it to the intersection, her mood shifted from rosy pink to a sinister black.

“What?” he said and smiled. “You’re the one who made the bet. Hey, don’t be such a poor sport.” He immediately could tell by the surly look on Aimee's face that he probably should have let her win, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of gloating. She glared at him when she passed, then pushed through the intersection and kept on jogging. A short minute later, Aimee heard Dylan right behind her, and then without moving her eyes from straight ahead, she felt him right next to her. He kept in pace with Aimee and continued looking over hoping her iceberg disposition would thaw. After running a long minute without talking, he broke the silence. “Look, Aimee...I’m sorry....I didn’t mean...to piss you off. I...was just trying...to be funny…and win the bet.”

Without looking at him, Aimee slowed a bit so she could talk without stopping. “Yeah...well...you won...fair and square, and...I’m not one to...squelch on a bet.”

She stopped abruptly and Dylan quickly stopped, too, and turned to face her. Both were breathless from their race. Dylan leaned over and sucked in a couple deep breaths before talking. With her hands perched on her hips, Aimee stood on the sidewalk glaring at him with an annoyed look, waiting for him to tell her what he wanted for winning the bet. After a minute he rose up and grabbed her hands. He looked intently into Aimee's eyes and asked, “So I won, huh?”

Aimee nodded.

“Well, then I’ll tell you what I want,” he started, then paused and took a long breath. “I want you. Nothing else matters. I don’t know how to explain this, but you are the only thing I can think about. I’ve tried to figure out why I need you so much, but I can’t make sense of it. You’re like the oxygen I need to breath.” She shoved her eyebrows together, then pulled her hands from his and backed up against a tree along the side of the curb. Dylan paced back and forth in front of Aimee a couple times as if he was in front of a jury carefully selecting the right words in a closing argument, then suddenly he turned and stared deep into her eyes and continued, “Anyway, I know you probably don’t feel the same, but I
want to, and I…I…
need
to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Aimee must have had the look of a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi because Dylan instantly asked, “Hey, are you okay? Aimee, say something so I know you’re okay.” He snapped his fingers a couple times in front of her face, and finally she came out of her trance. She couldn’t speak. Dylan put his hands on both of her shoulders and gently squeezed. “Hey, I’m not talking about marriage, well, not now anyway, but later when we both get through school. It’s just that I need to know you are in this with me for the duration. Aimee, I’m totally, completely, insanely, in love with you.”

“Whoa, Dylan,” Aimee said pulling away from his grasp, “first of all, back up. I’m not pissed about losing to you. You won, fair. And second…well...I love you, too. I’m friggin’ crazy about you, but geez, Dylan, we’re so young, and we’ve only been together six months, and…and…”

“And what?”

“And we haven’t even
BEEN
together yet, you know,
BEEN
together! How do you know you want me
forever
when we haven’t even slept
together? You’ll probably find me terribly boring and want someone else. You hardly know me. I mean
really
know me.”

Dylan chuckled and reached up and tenderly swept away some hair from Aimee's sweaty forehead. “Well, a person doesn’t have to see heaven to know it exists. You’re my heaven. I know you’re the most beautiful person alive…”

“But, Dylan…”

“No buts. I believe, no, I
know
we were meant to be together…forever.”

She stared at him, speechless, too confused to answer…too scared to commit. He didn’t know her. Not really. She wasn’t worried about the things he knew about her. She was scared to death about
the
one
thing he didn’t know about her. But she loved him, too, and she needed him, as much as the oxygen
she
needed to breath. So instead of telling him the truth she knew would drive him away,
Aimee lied. “Dylan, I’m a…uh…well, a complex person. I’m like a magnet for trouble. In the few short months we’ve been dating, I have had like how many weird things happen, like a half dozen or so, right? A couple even put me in the hospital. Look, I love you with all my heart, but I don’t think I’m the best person for you.”

He immediately put his finger up against her lips. “Shhh…shhh…don’t say that. You’re perfect, and besides, I don’t think I have a choice. I told you already. It’s like you’ve casted a spell over me. So see, no choice. I guess it’s you and me…forever…as long as you will have me.”

“But, Dylan, I’m warning you. I’m not sure you
should
love me.”

“Why not? Because you had a breakdown a few years ago that left you with a bit of a mysterious past? I can imagine it was pretty rough, and it’s hard to talk about. If you wanna tell me about it, I’m ready to listen, but nothing you tell me will make me change my mind or drive me away.” He propped his hand against the tree over Aimee's shoulder as he leaned into her, then studied her face waiting for her to spill her gut about her crazy past. Aimee shook her head, drew in a deep breath, and looked into his dark eyes.

“It is hard to talk about, and it
was
rough. Awful. Someday I might share what I can remember,
and I’m sure Dad or James could tell you their stories about that time. But there’s more to this than that. I’m just saying my life is, well, complicated, and I don’t know if you should love someone who has as much baggage as I do.”

Dylan took her hands. “Aimee, nothing that you have to tell me will make a difference. I wish you could believe me. I can’t change how I feel. I’ll deal with anything you tell me, as long as you love me.”

She looked into his eyes. He was waiting to hear the three words that told him how she felt. Nothing else mattered to him but those three words. Finally she said, “I love you.”

Dylan leaned in and kissed Aimee sweetly, tenderly, then softly replied, “I love you more.”

Aimee could feel the
Don’t look at me wrong or I’ll just cry
mood kicking in. She was so friggin’ happy.
Why do I want to cry?
She remembered the reasons…both of them. One she couldn’t let
him know, and the other she somehow needed to so he wouldn’t be so totally bummed late Saturday night when they got to the cabin.

“So, are you ready to finish our run?” Dylan asked as they started walking slowly. All she could do was nod and smile feebly. She would tell him later.

On the way back they had to pass by Chelsea's house. Aimee cringed. She hadn’t called Chels back yet. She guessed she was avoiding it because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her mood swings in check. Chels was packing, getting ready for the big move to New York. Aimee didn’t understand why she was in such a friggin’ hurry to get the heck out of Medford, but Chels was leaving next Wednesday to head to the Big Apple and start her totally awesome life working at some fabulous modeling agency and going to college. Aimee sighed heavily. Chels was going to experience the bright lights and fast pace of the most famous big city on earth. In a way Aimee was jealous. She was moving to Eugene, where it was dreary a lot, and certainly not as much to do as New York City, but she loved it in Oregon. And besides, Aimee wanted to be wherever Dylan was. So, as they were jogging past her house, Aimee glanced over and spotted Chels through the front bay window. Chels didn’t see her though, so she pushed a little harder and sped by. Their good-byes would come soon enough.

As they raced up the driveway, Dad was easing his truck into Reverse. He shifted it into Park and waited for Aimee. She and Dylan stopped at his window.

“Good run?” he asked.

“Dad, you should have gone with us.”

“Yeah, I should have. Well, maybe next time. I’ve gotta go. I’m gonna be gone until late tonight. I need to get as much done today since Lauren will be coming tomorrow. I’ll waste the whole day going to Portland and back to pick her up. Hell, I don't understand why she doesn't fly into Medford, or at least rent a car and drive down.”

“Well, probably because she doesn't have the money. Dad, I’ll go for you.”