Parallel (Prophesied a spirit within,Book I)

by Cheryl Doucet-Surette

Chapter 12/Calm before the storm

  Selah woke the next morning with a dry throat feeling as if she had been run over by a tank, she had a strange taste in her mouth, she saw she was in her pj’s and wondered who had done that hoping it was Daniel. Memories of all that had happened came crashing down on her, she had never thought it was possible in such a small town to be a victim of such a thing, she had been oh so wrong. And Daniel had become her knight and shining armour, it felt right somehow she didn’t know why but it felt right like he was supposed to protect her. He had been as fierce as a lion, he hadn’t hesitated even slightly he was beautiful to watch. He had done it all so gracefully, except the part with Colby but she felt no remorse for what had befallen that jerk.

  She made her way to the bathroom, her head was pounding she searched the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol or Advil; she had escaped another close call by the skin of her teeth this time.

  As she made her way downstairs wondering what her dad would say when he saw her.

  Peter took one look at Selah and immediately went and held her tight to his chest, if Daniel hadn’t went to save her…well he just didn’t even want to think about the consequence. He wished he would have prevented her from going, especially after his gut instinct had told him Colby was a major douche bag the night before.

  Like Selah he had no idea these things were taking place in their small town, last night he has made sure he called the principal making him aware of the situation. Now he had to ask Selah if she wanted to press charges, they could bring her to the hospital and have her tested to see what they had actually put in her drink. As he asked Selah what she wanted to do, she was crying and apologizing all at once.

  As Peter pulled her away from him for a second trying to console her telling her “It’s not your fault, never think it was your fault ok.”

  Selah knew she had done nothing to provoke Colby if anything she had been frigid and mean to him the night before. Just wanting to have the night done with and go home. “I know dad it’s just…I thought I was a goner, then Daniel was there…I really should talk to him. Did he say anything to you last night?”

  Peter had talked a long time with Daniel while he iced his hand he had been still full of rage and Peter had talked him down, reassuring him he would make sure those boys didn’t get away with what they had done.

  Daniel’s hand was badly messed up and he had persuaded Thomas to bring him to the hospital, it looked as if he had broken it or badly bruised to say the least.

  He had talked to him this morning and found out that he had had a cast put on; he had a few broken fingers and a dislocated knuckle, and wouldn’t be able to play the guitar for a while.

  Selah listened to her dad telling her that she should go to the hospital to get thoroughly checked out. As she agreed, she was adamant she didn’t want to press charges, she didn’t want things to have to go to court or something, besides Daniel had given them quite a lesson.

  Colby was the one she disliked the most, and her dad had heard that he had a broken jaw and nose along with quite a few missing teeth, she hoped that alone would teach him a lesson, at the hospital they requested a blood test done to check for drugs, they found a few bruises on Selah arms where he had grabbed her a few times, but Selah remembered those had occurred even before he had drugged her. She was glad the whole experience was over.

  She needed to talk to Daniel, she had a huge headache all day, and no amount of pills took it away, a possible side effect of what he had given her, when she got home she saw the principal was waiting at their house to hear her side of the story.

  She told him all she remembered and asked him what would happen to Colby and his friends? Selah didn’t even know all of them, but her dad having called last night had the principal at his house to question him and had turned up all the culprits still sitting there as people arrived after the dance wanting to party, Colby had been drunk enough that he didn’t feel the effect of the major beating he had gotten, yet.

  Selah tried calling Daniel and got no answer, she had to work tonight and she couldn’t cancel, it was the monthly open mic night and most of the girls were working because it was a really busy affair. She hoped no-one questioned her on last night, she had heard that it was booked up solid for open mic a comic, some poetry reading and there was something special planned for last, as long as it passed fast was all that mattered to Selah tonight.

  It was packed like a can of sardines in the café. There were even some people standing or all scrunched into a booth that usually fit 6 people with barely any room, tonight they had 8 stuffed in there, and others were standing. She saw that there was also a line to get in, and the regulars were being rushed to drink their coffee and not hang around as per usual.

  They girls all seemed to be in a great mood; as soon as Selah had come in she had seen a chair and a guitar leaning against the wall, she was told it was for the last act, some guys were gonna sing a song.

  Her shift began at 6 and the open mike began at 6:30 until 9 or so, before she knew it the first person went up and began telling jokes. He must have practiced for a while because he would laugh at his own jokes, even if they weren’t very funny.

  Selah did catch joke about a little boy who had gone to visit his grandparents and woken up early to make them coffee and happily brought it to them in bed, the grandfather took one sip and realized it was the worst coffee he had ever tasted, but being a good sport decided to down the cup getting the experience out of the way as fast as he could. When he got to the bottom he discovered a little green army man sitting in the bottom of his cup. He proceeded to inform his grandson “Thank you that was good, but tell me why there was a green man in the bottom?” the grandfather was confused and wondered.

  The little boy with much enthusiasm showing in his little eyes answered in an excited voice, “Well grandpa, it’s like they say on the commercial, the best part of waking up are soldiers in your cup!”

  The crowd in the café all laughed and he ended his skit on the applause, as young girl all dressed EMO like in black from top to bottom was the next. She recited a very dark poem about death and suffering, the mood changing quite somber after.

  Selah hoped there were more comics, but she was so busy refilling cups and getting orders, she saw a few people leave after the girl had received not too many applause it wasn’t this crowds cup of tea obviously.

  Then there was a bunch of young boys who asked to have a portion of the floor cleared away as they began to do a hip hop dance while they beat boxed some bass to dance to. Everyone stopped and watched they were pretty amazing, one of the boys looked no older than 10, some people had so much talent, she noticed the crowd kept changing as different acts finished, having brought their own fan base she assumed.

  Emma was working as she must have been single again because was flirting with every half good looking guy over the age of sixteen Selah couldn’t help but laugh at her.

  She told Selah she had split up with her boyfriend because he was too conceded, he thought his ass looked so good he was gonna get a w tattooed on each butt cheek so when he bent over it would say WOW cause it looked that good, Selah busted a gut over that, Emma had been serious but she laughed too it was so ridiculous, it had given her a good reason to break up with him, but she agreed he did have a sweet little butt. But WOW really!

  They next few acts were good; a pretty young girl sang a slow ballad while she played the guitar. Selah hardly contained her surprise, when she saw Jacob entering the café with her dad in toe.

  She went over to them “What cha doing here?”

  ‘We thought it was time for dad to have at it with his guitar”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup, got to work out my stage fright.”

  ‘Wow, I never realized you were getting that good,” she saw them to a table.

  “Nothing like a vote of confidence from my daughter!” Peter looked down pretending disappointment.

  Selah looked at t
he clock it was already 8:30 if all her shifts went by this fast it would be awesome. She saw another girl go up and she read a really beautiful poem about her best friend, it brought mostly everyone there to tears. She had put so much emotion in her words, it could have easily been a song, Selah wondered if she would become a songwriter one day.

  Then Selah saw her dad go up and grab the guitar he was taking his time preparing he began by saying a few word first, Selah listened and was confused with what he said.

  Peter was nervous he hadn’t wanted to play tonight but since Daniel had broken his hand the night before it had left him no choice, the plan had been for Daniel to serenade Selah all on his own, he was glad he could help thought otherwise he would have had to cancel the whole thing.

  He began as Daniel had asked him to “This is for my daughter, she means the world to me and this song is going to help her clarify any confusion she might have about things, trust me honey, and listen to all the words ok.”

  Selah stopped in her tracks and listened she heard her dad begin playing his acoustic guitar, she felt her knees quiver as she heard a different voice, a beautiful voice singing.

  She saw Daniel come towards her from the back of the café and these were the words he sang to her…it was a Jason Mraz song which she loved.

  When I look into your eyes, it’s like watching the night’s sky

  Or a beautiful sunrise, there’s so much they hold

  And just like them old stars, I see that you’ve come so far

  To be right where you are, how old is your soul

  I won’t give up on us, even if the skies get rough

  I’m giving you all my love, I’m still looking up

  And when you need your space, to do some navigating

  I’ll be here patiently waiting, to see what you find.

  Cause even the stars they burn, some even fall to the earth

  We got a lot to learn, but god knows we’re worth it

  No I won’t give up

  I don’t want to be someone who walks away so easily

  I’m here to stay and make the difference that I can make.

  Our difference they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools we got

  Here, cause what we got, we got a lot at stake

  And in the end your still my friend, at least we did intend for us to work

  We didn’t break we didn’t burn, we had to learn how to bend

  Without the world caving in I had to learn

  What I got, what I’m not, and who I am

  I won’t give up on us, even if the skies get rough

  I’m giving you all my love, I’m still looking up

  I’m looking up; well I won’t give up on us

  God know I’m tough enough, we’ve got a lot to learn

  God know were worth it, I won’t give up on us

  Even if the skies get rough I’m giving you all my love

  Even if the skies get rough, I’m still looking up.

  Selah was mesmerized by Daniel and the words he sang, as he came right before her sequestering all her attention, there was no-one else there just the two of them, she felt the emotion in each word he sang, and knew he was singing with his whole heart, it was beautiful. She felt the tears linger in her eyes as she was filled with raw emotion, his feeling for her running through her very soul, everything he had done for her in the past twenty four hours alone came crashing down on her, she felt the enormity of him, she was blessed to have him.

  Daniel wished he could have played the guitar and done everything for her and only her. When Peter had suggested singing for her, as he had done for her mother years ago Daniel had to admit it was an amazing plan.

  He couldn’t think of any reason she wouldn’t enjoy it, but as he found himself before her in the moment, the magnitude of what they were creating between each other sank in. He knew she belonged to him and no other, he saw it clearly in her eyes, the very window of her soul. They had come full circle, their time was now.

  As the song ended he put the microphone down and embraced her, Selah kissed him, holding onto him dearly, having missed him so much. Overwhelmed with emotions she kissed him completely unaware of the hooting and hollering of the crowd of people in the café, there was only one person and he loved her and forgave her stupidity, it was all that mattered.

  He whispered in her ear “Do you forgive me?”

  Selah could barely contain her joy at having him back “Yes, Yes I forgive you, I missed you so much, and I love you, and Happy Birthday Daniel.”

  “Thank you for making this my best birthday ever, you’re the only present I have ever wanted, or will ever need, I love you so much Selah,

  The next few weeks were magical for Selah and Daniel they were inseparable, he picked her up from work, they watched movies together, made meals, he watched the hockey games with Jacob. They had enjoyed spending a lot of time together during the March break and they looked forward to a wonderful spring. She was the happiest she had ever been.

  She even brought him to meet her mom in the void, he was very courteous and Selah felt as if things were complete, no holes, Daniel showed her things about the void that she never imagined were possible, he was a water sign. He had shown her everything he knew about making weaves of power, she tried but with difficulty to create different items, and he had the ability to pull water up from the earth where there was none to be seen, he was more talented at fighting though which didn’t take her by surprise after what she had witnessed at Colby’s.

  He practiced fighting stances while she worked on her elemental skills, he showed no surprise how talented she was with all the elements. She slowly got stronger as he got quicker. His hand took a long time to heal, he didn`t complain about it once, Selah remembered, but did say he was enjoying the little bit of extra pampering she bestowed upon him

  He had taken out his motorcycle with the nice weather, as soon as his cast was off. Selah had been scared at first never having been on one, but after her first ride she saw what appealed to him so much and being able to hold onto him tightly. While having the feel him, smelling the leather in his jacket and having such a powerful vibrating machine in between her legs, well did she need to say more. The fear and exhilaration was additive and she wanted Daniel to teach her how to drive, he had agreed after much coaxing on her part.

  Daniel told her they would when the weather was a bit more predictable, there was still a lot of cold weather, and it had been extremely nice for April, even warm.

  Daniel had just dropped off Selah as he made his way home on the bike. It had turned colder as the night came upon him and he soon regretted taking it out so soon.

  His fingers feeling the bite of the wind even thru his leather gloves, his breath was coming out in puffs. He thought back to his strange encounter with Selah in the void so long ago when she had talked to him of motorcycles and how she had told him about an accident that he had been in.

  It had been so confusing for him since he had never had an accident. Suddenly he understood and knew he was in trouble and she had been warning him about what was about to happen. But fear was not anything that hindered him; he had always pushed it in the back of his mind. He knew what was going to happen, but it was as if he was in the void already watching it take place.

  As he sped up wanting to shorten his time by a fraction of a second he saw the black glare on the road coming up but didn’t hesitate until he was directly upon it, black ice; he braced himself for the impact, expecting to skid a bit.

  He felt the front tire spun out and the front end became loose, the engine revved up trying to compensate for the loss of momentum. It happened it a flash in one second he was flying through the air, completely disconnected from the bike, his mind flashed for a quick second knowing he was beginning a chain of events that would catapult him and Selah directly into their future, for better or worse it was now in her hands.

  The young woman who had been following the motorcycle had her heat on
full blast frozen from the short walk to her car, so she was shocked to see someone on a motorcycle, the guy must have been crazy she thought, he sped up and went out of he sight. So when she came upon the mess in the road and saw the bike all crumpled up on the side, she stopped and immediately called 911. She jumped out of her car forgetting the cold and searching frantically for the driver of the bike.

  What she eventually found left her trembling the guy was young she thought but it was hard to tell as a large part of his skin was scraped off his face, she dared not touch him, she instead took her glove off and put her fingers under his nose and felt for any signs of a breath, she felt warm air on her fingers, suddenly relieved he was alive. She spoke to him asking if he could hear her, but received no response. She looked him over his arm was twisted maliciously and she saw bare skin at quite a few different areas, he had been scraped from the pavement she wondered how far he had flew, he was a good 30 feet from his bike.

  What seemed like an eternity passed before she heard the sound of sirens, a RCMP showed up and began questioning her incessantly. A few minutes later she saw the ambulance pull up, she watched as if in a daze as the scene enfolded before her, she hoped he would be alright, she knew it didn’t look good, he had been wearing a helmet but she saw it had a huge crack running down the side when she had examined him closely.

  Selah had told Daniel to call her before he went to bed so they could meet in the void. When she settled in bed and hadn’t received his call she didn’t hesitate to call him the phone rang and rang then she heard the answering machine pick up, she felt a strange feeling suddenly. She decided to try his home line and was surprised to hear no answer there also.

  Suddenly she heard her phone ringing she saw it was Daniel’s phone, but the voice on the other end was not his, a women was there, Selah confused and dumbfounded suddenly. As the women began explaining she had found the phone in the pocket of their accident victim, and could she please tell them who she had been calling, as he had no identification except for the phone on his person.

  Selah was speechless and had trouble understanding what the woman meant, accident victim, when it truly began to sink in Selah could do nothing but scream, and that was how her dad and brother found her, holding tightly to the phone.

  Peter took the phone from her and gave the information to the nurse; Jacob consoled Selah as best as she could, she was going into shock. They got dressed quickly and went straight to the hospital. Peter contacted Daniel’s mom knowing she worked at the hospital, on a different floor.

  As they sat in the waiting room on pins and needles anxious to hear anything on his condition. Selah said nothing just stared into space, her dad had brought her a cup of coffee and she just held it never taking a sip.

  The time past extremely slow, finally a doctor came out and asked “Daniel Evans family?”

  Cecile rose “I’m his mom.”

  “Right now he’s stable so that’s hopeful, his vitals are strong.” He looked at Cecile’s uniform and knew she understood what he would explain to her, he pulled her aside.

  “He was in a coma and there was a lot of swelling in his brain, they didn’t know if he would have any permanent damage, he could have visitors.” Daniel’s mom grabbed Selah’s hand as they went in to see him.

  She wasn`t mentally prepared for what came next, he didn`t even look like himself, most of the skin on his face was scraped off and it was very swollen, the nurse on duty reassured them “The wounds were superficial, his arm is broken and he might have a few scars where the pavement scrapes were slightly deeper”

  “He looks broken…” Selah barely got the words out.

  “He will be his normal handsome self soon enough, I’m sure.” They were mostly concerned with the swelling inside his head; they would have put him in a coma if he hadn’t been in one already.

  Selah said nothing and just sat down on the side of his bed her eyes wide, it seemed only yesterday she was here with her mom, head injury, she got to see her mom now. But she was definitely not ready for Daniel to only be accessible in the void he had to come back to her, she had been a mess from their breakup she couldn`t go through any more misery, he had to wake up and his head had to be alright.

  “I hate motorcycles,” she hadn`t realized she had spoken out loud.

  As Daniel`s mom said, “I kept telling him to be careful, to not drive too fast, at least here in Canada it’s against the law to not wear a helmet. Did you know there’s some places in the U.S. that they don’t, we wouldn’t be here looking at him if he hadn’t been wearing one.”

  Peter just shook his head in disbelief, trying to reassure Daniel’s mom, she looked at him wondering at once who he was, he extended his hand and gave her his deepest sympathies at what she was going through.

  Selah looked at Daniel’s mom for the first time really, she had Daniel’s piercing grey eyes, they were filled with a quiet intelligence, she was slightly shorter than Selah, and she had a petite frame. Daniel must have taken after his father Selah had just seen a few pictures of his dad, and he was built like him. She was pretty in a different kind of way; she was wearing nursing scrubs, with teddy bears all over them, as she worked the night shift on the pediatric ward.

  Luckily it had been a slow night and they could make do without her, she knew from Daniel she had never remarried and barely dated since his dad had died all those years ago, she said she liked being independent and his dad had been all she needed.

  She took Peter’s hand and shook it “Thanks, I’m Cecile, but my friends call me Cece, I’m sorry about your recent lost also, Daniel said she was a remarkable lady.”

  She looked at Jake; he just muttered a quick “Hi” and then looked down suddenly shy.

  She turned towards Selah, “How about you guys go home for now there’s isn’t much that can be done tonight, tomorrow you can come back, I’ll let you know if there’s any change at all,” she looked lovingly at her baby boy, he was all she had left. She got up and motioned to Peter to follow her, they had a hushed conversation in the corner for a few minutes.

  Selah looked at her dad wanting to stay with him, Peter agreed with Cece as he ushered Selah out of the room after they had given all their numbers to her in case one of them didn’t answer.

  In the elevator he looked at her and told her gently, “Selah it could be a long stretch, he could be in a coma for a while, besides the doctors said it helps him to heal, they will keep him under until the swelling goes down.”

  “ She asked if she could be alone with him tonight and I think it’s a good idea, we know he’s stable and it’s best if we try and get some sleep so we can be strong for Daniel and his mom both, ok sweetie.”

  “Ok,” were the words she said while she wanted to scream “I should be there with him” she would try to see if he was in the void, she remained quiet all the drive home, she could see him every time she closed her eyes she prayed he wasn’t in any pain.