Remember Me (Weaver Series)

by Dena Nicotra

  “Look, I can tell you right now that I do not intend to sit by and let you mess with my head. That might work on other girls Kess, but it isn’t going to work with me.”

  “If that is true, then why were you kissing me last night?” He wagged his eyebrows up and down. I could have slapped the smirk right off of his face. How I kissed him was beyond me. What a cocky jerk! I didn’t have time to think about my next move, it was as if my hand had a mind of its own. My right hand met his face with a snapping sound. His head crooked to the side and then he turned back at me. I had a moment to regret my actions before he grabbed me by the shoulders. “Don’t ever do that again Joey.” His grip was firm and I could not move despite my attempts to break free of his grasp. I thought for sure he was going to hit me. I squished my eyes shut tight and braced for the blow, but he regained his composure and dropped his arms with a sigh.

  “What do you want from me?” I asked in a shrill voice. My resilience was breaking down. It seemed like he was everywhere and that scared me. No, it was more than that. As much as he pissed me off, there was still something about him that made me jumpy. Like the cool guy at school that made you grin like an idiot when he glanced at you, and then you’d trip over your own stupid feet and make a dang fool of yourself. He made me jittery. I had the sudden urge to bop right out of there and weave myself back to my bayou spot. Instead I just sat there with my face in my hands sniffling like a big old baby.

  Instead of getting angry, he pried my hands away from my face with his own and uttered something about women before kissing me on the tip of my nose. I looked up and directly into his dark eyes. The depth there threatened to pull me in as I fought to regain my composure. Kess sat silently returning my gaze. The quiet was broken only by me catching a ragged breath. And then without warning, he leaned in and kissed me squarely on the mouth. It was a soft kiss. The kind that sends that shiver down your spin like someone just walked over your grave. I didn’t stop him, but I jumped to my feet so that he couldn’t do it again.

  “You have no business snooping around my family Kess.” I paced around and tried to appear as annoyed with him as I was a minute ago.

  “Oh, I wasn’t snooping. I told you, I was looking for you. The way you disappeared on my last night I figured you might be upset. Or in trouble,” he added hastily. You did have a lot to drink.” He laughed. “Besides, I feel responsible for you as your mentor and all.” I looked down at his snakeskin boots on my coffee table and the cool way he put his hands back behind his head. It was sexy, but it still bugged me.

  “Yeah, well I am perfectly fine as you can see” I spread my arms to indicate my obvious wholeness.

  “You are more than perfect.” He whispered, and I got the distinct feeling he did not mean for me to hear that. “Just promise me you won’t disappear like that again without at least saying good-bye, okay?”

  “Kessler, you are not the boss of me and I can come and go as I like, let me make that majorly clear with you right now.” I moved in front of the coffee table, thinking that the distance would help me to be firm.

  “Okay little weaver, easy.”

  “No, you take it easy!” I snapped.

  “Alright, alright! I surrender. I’m just not used to my women being bossy.”

  “Okay, that does it! I am NOT your woman!” I shouted the “not” a bit louder than I meant to, but seriously. What an ego! Even though hearing him refer to me as his did give me another one of those stupid shivers. My mind wandered off and I found myself imagining him without a shirt, that dark hair spilling over one eye the way it did…oh hell! What was I thinking? My heart was a magnet for Kalan and here I was mentally undressing another guy while he babbled at me!

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  “What?”

  “I said, there’s a carnival this Saturday night at the peer, and I’d like to be your escort.”

  “My escort?”

  “Well, I won’t say date because I don’t want you to freak out and disappear again.”

  “I don’t know.” I stammered.

  “Okay, well just think about it.”

  “Fine.” I mumbled.

  “Fine. He reiterated. “I’ve got to get to the club. Will you be coming by later?”

  “Not tonight. I-I have something to do.”

  “She’s cute by the way.” He said.

  “Don’t even go there Kessler.” I said sharply.

  “I didn’t mean like that, gimme a break.” With that, he tipped his black hat and vanished.

  I walked over to the couch and sat down hard. I hated that he was so sure of himself. I hated that he got to me. I even hated the stupid hat he wore. Well maybe not the hat. I stuck my bare feet on the coffee table and stared at my toes. Stupid cowboy boots. I hated those too.

  I grabbed the remote and clicked through the channels. I stopped at an infomercial that caught my attention. A middle-aged man in a dark suit with a cheesy smile was talking about “the power of believing” and how “our thoughts shape our outcomes.” I had to laugh out loud. “Like it’s that simple! You have no idea what you are talking about buddy.” I said to the screen. I had to change the channel. The only thing worth watching was a movie I had seen a hundred times and I couldn’t get my mind to relax.

  After a while of sitting on my rump and mouthing the words of the movie I knew way too well, I decided the only way I was going to feel better was to talk to Kalan. I wanted him. I needed him to be right here with me. I went to my bedroom and spread out on the bed, then pulled the blanket over my head. “Kalan, can you hear me?” I said out loud in my blanket tent. There was no reply. I needed to prepare for a battle against Railey, solve the problems of things I didn’t begin to understand, and retain my sanity in the process. Sadly, I had no idea where to start so I curled up in a fetal position with the blanket still over my head until it got too hot and stuffy. Starring at the ceiling, my mind bounced between the sweet cedar scent of Kalan’s hair and the dark, sultriness of Kess and the haunting way he looked at me. My body was as tired as my mind and eventually I gave in and drifted off to sleep.

  I woke up to the sound of a woman screaming for someone to “call 9-11” and jumped straight out of bed. I was half awake, so I bounced right into the door jamb like a drunk. I was still trying to shake that sleepy slowness as I dashed to the window in the living room. I pinched the curtains so that I could control my peeking. For a moment I thought I dreamed it because I didn’t see a thing. It was a little after two o’clock in the morning and it was very quiet. I was about to give up when I spotted someone downstairs by the pool. Aqua colored water danced in the light casting spider-web shadows against the opposite wall. I swallowed and tried to shake the feeling of disorientation that spread through my bones. Maybe I’d only heard the screaming in a dream after all. Just as I started to move from the window, I heard a man’s voice. It was so loud it echoed through the building. “He’s not breathing!” He shouted. Then I saw a woman hunched over a small shape. She started to scream hysterically and I realized that there was a little boy lying on the ground beside them. I flashed back to the first day I moved in and remembered seeing him climbing the stairs with his mother. His tiny little hand in hers and his skinny little legs. She was the same woman who was screaming at the top of her lungs now. I concentrated on the boy and pulled his name from his mother’s mind. Nicholas. Nicky…I dug deeper into his mother’s mind. He’d wanted to learn to swim. The kids had teased him at camp because he didn’t know how. He had sat with his feet hanging over the side, toes splashing in the water, and while his back burned in the sun, he had watched them all swim. His floaties remained hidden under his towel. He’d made the decision to teach himself…I drew back. In my mind I saw him climb down the stairs with a towel draped over his small shoulders. He meant only to wade in the shallow end and practice his dog paddle.

  I pressed my hands against the glass window and threaded without thinking. I pushed back into his mind and reversed the events o
f his day. I saw a freckled brunette boy (the instigator). I heard his spiteful teasing, and whispered expressions of encouragement to replace them. Those words flew into the events of the day like the seeds of a dandelion. In a brilliant flash I saw behind my closed eyes that Nicky learned how to swim. He also made a new friend. I lingered in the moment like the ghost of Christmas past; relishing their pool-side giggles. Then I opened my eyes and smiled as Nicky’s mother chastised him for attempting to swim in the evening, alone. How dare he? The small boy covered his bottom and made a dozen promises in short-order then the two of them scurried out of the pool area and up the stairs to their unit. Once their door closed, my eyes went back to the water below. There, standing near the deep end was Railey. Her green eyes glowed and she smiled up at me. Evil radiated from her like heat waves.

  In that moment, I was unwillingly connected to her in the most uncomfortable way. To my horror, I realized that she’d somehow actually climbed inside my head. It freaked me out so badly that I fell backwards, hitting my head on the table in the process. Having someone rooting around in your head like that is impossible to describe. It’s as if your thoughts are not your own. No, that’s not quite right. It’s more like watching someone try to rob you. She was after something. I placed my hands on both sides of my head and rolled on the floor like a helpless child. I had to do something. In a desperate instant, I weaved. I threw myself to the bayou and prayed she wouldn’t know how to follow me to that secret place. I felt my back hit the ground before I realized what was happening. She was on top of me. Her expression was wild and her breath was ragged.

  “Did you really think that would work? You are a sorry, trailer-trash piece of shit!” She screamed and then slapped me so hard that it made my brains rattle. She also caught my ear in the process; which immediately began to ring. I tried to fend off her constant blows but she was connecting more than I was fending.

  “Get the hell off of me you fucking demented bitch!” I screamed, and shoved her with all of my might. She wasn’t any bigger than me, but she was really strong. I thought my life was going to end right then and there. Then I thought of Kalan and I got mad. This was our place! How dare her follow me here. I wrenched a thick handful of her black mane and jerked hard to the left. “I may come from the south honey, but don’t think for a second that that means I am any less of a lady. Clearly, your city roots do not equate to class.” I slammed her head down. It was enough to distract her for a split second and I was able to position myself better.

  I scrambled to my knees, but before I could reach a standing position she was back up and kicked me hard in the head. I felt the mossy ground beneath my cheek but I couldn’t move. Instead, I lay there taking in short tattered breaths. She was over me now. Something told me the next blow would be the last. I closed my eyes and tried to brace myself. At the same time I whispered good-bye to Kalan.

  “You are not worthy of the gifts that were given to you!” She kicked. Then everything went dark and silent.

  I could hear the faint drip-drip-drip of water in the distance. I guess I came to, but I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that it was very dark, my head was hurting, and the smell of stagnant water and dirt made me feel like I was going to be sick. I tried to lift my head but it felt too heavy. My throat was burning, and I started to cough. Presently something moved in my peripheral vision which made my heart race. I instantly imagined that Railey was coming back to finish the job. I tried to concentrate on my apartment but it was no use. I hurt too much. I couldn’t conjure an aspirin let alone get myself out of here. I started to cry. What else could I do?

  “Oh don’t cry Joey. I know it hurts, but just lay still and try not to move okay?” It was Pepper. She was unloading an arm full of sticks and small logs which she was now positioning to build a small fire. I shivered and felt a small spark of relief when she finally lit it.

  “There, that’s better already isn’t it?” She sat Indian style in front of me and patted my arm. “Sorry I can’t do more, but at least it’s something.” The glow of the little fire was just enough to allow me to make out a low ceiling above us. We were in some kind of cave or tunnel from the looks of it. There was no natural light coming in at all.

  “Where are we?” I whispered, surprised at how weak my voice sounded. Pepper stoked the fire by adding a few more twigs and then she shrugged her shoulders.

  “Well, to be perfectly honest, I don’t really know where we are.” She added a small laugh as if she were trying to make light of that small fact.

  “What do you mean Pepper?” I tried to sit up, but again it was no use.

  “Don’t try to get up, you’re hurt pretty bad. I doctored you up with some water that’s dripping from a crack over there.” She pointed into the darkness, but I couldn’t get up so I really couldn’t see much. My mind raced with a million questions.

  “You thirsty?” My new best friend shoved a bottle of water in front of me and I took it gratefully. The liquid was warm and slightly salty but it quenched my thirst.

  “Don’t try to drink it all at once.” She chided.

  “How long have we been here?” I asked, and gulped again.

  “Well, see that’s the thing that I have been trying to figure out. I’m not really sure, but I think about three days.”

  I choked and spat water on the dirt floor. “Are you serious?”Pepper nodded her head slowly and I realized that her face was filthy. Her white t-shirt was stained and the bottom of it was torn. “Have I been out the whole time? I finally managed to sit up and handed her back the bottle.

  “Yeah, off and on. You’ve called out for Kalan a few times, and I’ve fed you a few bites here and there.”

  “What have we been eating?” I felt stupid asking, but I honestly had to wonder what we could eat if we were in this dark hole with no way out.

  “I’ve been weaving food for us as best as I can. I’m not very good at it, but I did manage to create some good chicken soup, and a little bread. Oh, and I’ve gotten pretty good at weaving wood and matches,” she said this last part with a bit of pride, but since I knew what she was thinking, I was aware that she felt horrible about not being able to get us out of here.

  “Thank you Pepper. I’m lucky to have you here to help me.” I said this sincerely. I don’t believe I would have survived without her.

  “So what’s the last thing you remember?” She asked.

  “I recounted my memories of the boy by the pool and the fight with Railey. Pepper couldn’t remember anything before her last shift at work. She explained that she went into the freezer to grab a bag of ice and then she was sitting on the ground next to me here. I tried to remain patient as she talked about missing Marty, but honestly, I wanted to scream. There were more pressing issues than her thirty-something year old boyfriend. Not that I disliked like Marty. I didn’t even know him. I just wanted to focus on getting out of this hole.

  “Have you tried to weave us out?” I asked, gearing the conversation back to the present.

  “Well yeah.” She picked up a twig and absently drew circles in the damp dirt.

  “It’s no use Joey. I told you, I am not that good at weaving. Peter was the good weaver, I’m just not that talented. The only reason I could get the fire and the soup is because of you. I told you I can’t weave for myself.”

  “You sell yourself short Pepper. Concentrate. Think of someplace else, anyplace else.”

  “Oh I have seriously tried. You don’t know how bad I tried to weave a bathroom!” We both laughed at this, though it hurt like hell for me to do it. I didn’t even want to think about what I had been using while I had been unconscious. As if she read my mind, Pepper added, “I also managed to weave you and your clothes clean.”

  “Seriously Pepper, thank you.” She smiled and added another little log to our fire.

  I leaned my back against a large rock and took a deep breath. My ribs hurt and I was sure that at least one of them was broken. Next, I gingerly touched my scalp. Pepper
had used the bottom of her shirt as a make-shift bandage but I could tell that there was dried blood in my hair. Railey had kicked me more than once. I winced remembering the evil that radiated from her green eyes. It was hard for me to believe she was related to Kessler. Even harder to believe that I was sitting here thinking of him. What I really needed was a hot shower, and Kalan’s arms around me. I tried mentally to call out to him but I was still too weak. It was the equivalent of picking up a disconnected telephone to make a call. It just wasn’t going to happen.

  This thought led me to my next. My cell phone was still in my pocket. I pulled it out and Pepper just stared at me like it was the craziest idea she’d ever heard of. I was totally shocked that I had bars left, let alone a signal in this weird hole. I guess my luck was improving. “What’s the number for Kiss-Kiss?” I punched the numbers as Pepper rattled them and waited while it rang. When the voice on the other end answered with “Kiss Kiss, can I help you?” I paused for just a second. The voice was female but it was not Railey.

  “Can I speak with Kessler please?”

  “May I say whose calling?” came the reply.

  “A friend.” I answered. I was asked to hold for what seemed like an eternity and then Kessler picked up the line. I could hear music in the background but it was muffled so I figured he was in his office. “This is Kess, how can I help you?” I felt instantly better just hearing his voice. Not that I should because who knew how connected to this mess he really was. In the back of my mind I couldn’t help but recall Kalan’s words to be careful with him. Just the same, hearing his voice made my tense nerves relax just a little.

  “Kess, it’s Joey” I said.

  “Oh yes, I did place that order. Thank you for double checking” he said.

  “Uh, okay. I take it you cannot talk so I’ll make it short. Listen, I am in a dark hole and I need help.”I was vaguely aware of how ridiculous that sounded, but I did not care. I was in such a predicament that logic and manners didn’t matter anymore.