Devil Creek

by Bond, Casey L.

  Her breath hitches and her eyes close. Gabriel’s hands move from the sides of her waist to the small of her back before traveling over her behind and down the back of her thighs. Her legs quiver in response and she prays that he doesn’t notice.

  “Mac?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You feel so damn good.” He breathes words out almost as if they are one.

  “Mmmm” At some point, my mouth and brain will link back up, but right now, the only thing I can do is make unintelligible sounds.

  She bends forward slowly, silently and brushes her lips against his. He lets out a soft gasp at the contact, having not expected it. She leans forward again and kisses him lightly, but reverently. His fingers find the back of her head and thread through her hair pulling her toward him again. He claims her mouth, softly but with strength she hadn’t expected. A moan tears from her throat. She needs to get closer. Soon, she straddles his lap, their tongues lashing and lavishing one another. Their kisses are punctuated with frantic hands that grope and feel with urgent softness. Her heart bursts with passion for this man.

  All too soon, he pulls back and shakes his head. “Damn it.”

  “Don’t Gabe. Don’t pull away from me. I−──”

  “No. Aislin. Don’t. I can’t do this. I shouldn’t have…-listen, you can’t be with me. The doctors are pretty sure my vision is gone, Mac. You can’t be with me,” he admits softly before his words harden before her ears. “And I don’t want to be with you.”

  His harsh words hang in the air as he lifts her off of his lap, stands and retreats for his room. The next morning she finds the bed made, his things gone and a note that he will stay at Parker’s and that Parker will be taking him for his follow-up Friday and then back to his parents’ house. Tears stream down Aislin’s face as she reads the note and re-reads the cruel words. What in the hell is so wrong with her? Why can’t he love her back? She crumbles the note and it drops the hardwood floor below.

  Chapter 10

  Julia Church stands on Rick Peterson’s front porch wearing a bright white smile. Her hair is pulled back into a small bun and in her hand she holds a brightly colored flyer announcing a charity “bachelorette” auction in Mingo County. Julia explains that she and her husband and son will be traveling down to participate and contribute. She wonders if he and Edith might want to go to support Aislin as she is being auctioned.

  Interesting. Rick smiles and accepts the flyer and says he will discuss the event with his wife and that they may attend as they haven’t seen Aislin in ages. It would be nice to catch up with her. After all, she and Declan had been with them for so long. “It’s like she’s mine,” he laughed heartily with her. Julia smiles and heads back to her house, but Rick is the happy one.

  An auction, huh? He has to go. Has to see her. Has to win her. That would guarantee an evening alone with his princess. The nickname is as fitting now as it had been back when her breasts began to bud and her body filled out with feminine curves. His mouth watered with memories of her tight body parading around his house with short boxers and tank tops. Her body would have been his if it hadn’t been for her brother. Anger slices through him and curls one side of his upper lip. But, now the brother was dead. Never had been good for anything. Declan had only gotten in the way. In fact, he’d only agreed to take him because the State refused to separate them.

  Edith had stopped responding to him sexually long before the pair moved into their home. Choosing to drink herself into oblivion instead of please her husband, the thought sickened him. He needed Aislin to fill the void left by his wife. Rick needed a woman, he thought, and Aislin had turned into a damn fine one.

  He remembered her trying to put a brave face on when he approached her at the Church’s last week. Jutting her chin out and demanding that he let her go. Yes, this would be fun. He liked her fiery side. Feisty would be a challenge. A challenge would be fun. Welcome.

  Rick contemplates his options, while sitting on his worn floral couch, the cushions dingy and long-sunken in. He cracks the top on a can of cheap beer and pulls a long draw. A smile creeps onto his face as he gazes at the flyer. A masquerade. Perfect. He could disguise himself and make the highest bid. She would never suspect him to attend. Seeing her reaction would be wonderful. He’d been in a constant state of arousal since seeing her womanly body last week and needed to satisfy that craving. Only one princess would do, and he would drain his savings account to have her, even for only a night.

  He walks into the kitchen and opens the cabinet, rifling through his wife’s prescription bottles until he lands on one. Ambien. A sleep-aid. He shakes a few of the pills into his palm and grabs the bottle of vodka—Edith’s favorite. He slips them in and shakes it up to dissolve the evidence and hides the bottle. He will offer it to her Saturday before he slips away.

  Chapter 11

  Gabriel groans into his hands as they stretch over his bandaged eyes. Parker is spread out in a nearby bench seat at the ophthalmologist’s office in Huntington. An elderly woman with bright pink lipstick keeps smiling at him over her magazine. Soon, she strikes up a conversation, which thoroughly entertains Gabriel. For a moment, it takes his mind off of the train-wreck his relationship with Mac has become.

  “Are you married, young man,” bright lips asks. Her hair is dyed a strange and unnatural burnt-orange color, as Parker whispered.

  “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

  The woman giggled. “Well, of course you are. You are so handsome. A young strapping buck like you is certain to drive all the girls wild. Why, if I were a few years younger, I would be in line, too.” She fans herself while she wets her bright pink lips. Parker whispers to Gabriel that it’s fifteen minutes past his appointment time, which earns a hearty laugh from Gabe.

  A door opens and a middle-aged woman with short blonde curly hair and glasses, wearing purple scrubs, announces, “Gabriel Church,” in a voice that is way too loud for only three persons present in the waiting room.

  The nurse goes over Gabe’s health history and gathers the details of his accident. She looks over the documents faxed from the hospital in Washington, moves to the door, and begins flipping colored tabs from the wall. Gabriel hears her place his chart in the clear box that sits outside of every doctor office he’s ever been in and settles back into the chair. He had told Parker that he was welcome to go keep his new friend company in the waiting room. Parker had vehemently refused.

  “No way in hell, man. I’m staying with you. Like it or not.”

  The doctor, a short, stocky, dark-haired man with skin the color of café au lait and an accent to match his foreign name, entered the room with a friendly greeting. Gabriel felt the man grab his hand and he returned the shake.

  “Okey Dokey, Mr. Church. Let us get these bandages off and have a looky at your eyes, hmmm?” Holy Shit. He talks like a cartoon character.

  “Okay.”

  He feels the fingers of the man peel back the tape from his forehead and temples and cheeks. The gauze bandages and domes that covered his eyes for the past week come off next. Gabriel blinks as he is instructed to. The first thing he sees is light. He can see that it is light in the room. Then, extremely blurry figures appear in front of him. He can see motion but cannot focus on anything. He sees color, but nothing is defined. He can make out the dark hand of the doctor against his white lab coat as he waves his hand back and forth in front of him.

  “Do you see anything at all, young man? Light or dark, shapes, colors?”

  “Yes. I can see light and color and I can see very blurry images.”

  “Okey Dokey. That is good. I expected you to be completely blind. We may be able to work with this. No promises, though, okey dokey?”

  “Yep.”

  After being examined, multiple drops placed into his eyes and another follow-up scheduled for the following week, Gabriel leaves the office in much the same physical shape as he had entered. His eyes are newly covered and his head wrapped in gauze bandages. Mentally, he is on
cloud nine, or maybe ten. He had expected darkness, only to find light and color, although blurred. It was better than nothing at all. Hope blossomed within his chest. He wanted to call Mac. To tell her that he could see something. To tell her how happy he is. To tell her that he’s sorry. He’d been such an ass.

  †

  Friday at 4:00pm Ella’s blurry smile appears on Aislin’s computer and then the screen adjusted clearing the image.

  “I so hate layovers. But, on the bright side, you will see my smiling face live and in person tomorrow. I’ve missed you so much!” she squeals, oblivious to the heads turning in her direction with strange looks. Leave it to Ella to make a scene in an airport. Aislin grins at her friend.

  “I can’t wait to see you, too!”

  “Oh! Ais, I have three surprises for you. And, don’t buy anything for the auction. I’ve got ya covered.”

  Aislin laughs, “Figures, Diva.”

  “Don’t knock it. You’ll thank me tomorrow, girl.”

  Their connection’s strength becomes strained and the two friends quickly exchange goodnights and disconnect.

  The next morning, Saturday, October 31st, Aislin wakes to a quiet house. She isn’t used to being alone in the mornings. She had gotten too familiar with having Gabriel with her for the past week, or at least part of it. It was comfortable and to her, perfect. She decides to start the day with some fresh coffee and a run.

  Lacing her Nike’s, she dials up her favorite playlist for running and sets her pace down the highway toward Parker and Amy’s house. Parker had mentioned a trail system that has a head leading into the very back of their yard and winds its way through the woods. One trail’s head ends at the main road, approximately one quarter mile from Aislin’s house. It would be the perfect route, assuming she could navigate it without getting lost.

  †

  Jeremiah lowers his binoculars and begins to climb from his perch on the deer stand. His boots cling to the metal steps drilled into the tree trunk. Aislin is running. He had followed her much of the week. Her and G.I. Joe. Gabriel Church had stayed the night in her house. The thought made him grind his teeth. Church is a problem, but not his biggest concern at the moment. Having followed Gabriel and his Aislin to the creek earlier in the week, he had heard Aislin tell Gabe of her past with Edith and Rick Peterson of Huntington, West Virginia.

  The thought of Aislin being assaulted by such a disgusting specimen as Rick Peterson filled Jeremiah with a rage unlike anything he had felt before. Yes. Jeremiah will deal with Peterson and then Church. Peterson, he just wants to beat to a pulp. But, he needs a different approach with Church. He needs to let Aislin see that he isn’t worthy of her love and affection. Drive a wedge between the two friends. A large one. Then, Aislin will be happy to belong to him. Indebted to him. Grateful, even.

  Tomorrow. He will worry about Church tomorrow, he decides as he cinches his bowtie. Tonight, he is attending a masquerade.

  †

  Aislin hears a car pull into her driveway and peeks out her window before rushing out her door, down the sidewalk and throwing her arms around Ella nearly knocking her to the ground. The two friends laugh and tears even escape from their eyes. Recovering from their emotional reunion, Aislin steps back from her friend, wiping the dark tracks of her tears away. Two doors of Ella’s rental sedan open and close, revealing two persons Aislin hadn’t anticipated. Ella’s cousin Cameron, who is tall, dark, very handsome, and unfortunately for the entire female species, very gay. No one would ever guess it, though, as he is very private about his sexual orientation. Aislin runs to him and as they embrace, he twirls her around in a circle, lifting her feet off of the ground. She laughs as her feet fly. He sets her down and her eyes fall on her other guest, Ty Anderson’s gray eyes smile back at her. She gives Ty an awkward hug and invites the trio into her home.

  “Is this okay?” Ella whispers as they drag her luggage up the walkway.

  “Yes. It’s great. The more the merrier.” Aislin means it. She is inwardly happy that she and Ty have not only managed to remain civil, but are secure enough to sort of remain friends. Cameron and Ella are taken to the guest room and Ty offers to crash on the couch. His duffle bag lands with a plop next to it. Cameron heads back out and returns a few moments later clutching a travel hanging-garment bag that has several hangers sticking out of it, bound with a rubber band.

  He removes his and Ty’s tuxedos from the bag and hands it over to Ella, who runs shrieking like a banshee back to Aislin’s bedroom. Aislin follows behind at a casual pace and steps into the room as Ella removes two dresses from the bag. One is short, very short, glittery and fades from a deep fuchsia to a hot pink, then light pink. At its bottom hem almost a pink champagne color emerges. Aislin panics at the sight and prays there is a longer dress to follow, one that she would be much more comfortable in.

  “Don’t worry, girl, this one’s mine,” Ella giggles, pushing her sleek dark chocolate hair back over her shoulder.

  Ella reaches into the bag and pulls out the most beautiful gown she has ever seen. It is satin, strapless with pleated fabric standing up above the right breast and its silhouette anticipates the curves of the female body in perfect precision. Aislin prays she can fill it properly. It deserves to hug curves intimately. The color, Ella describes, is the exact color of Aislin’s blue-green eyes. The back is cut into a deep v that will show much of Aislin’s spine. Flowing to the ground, it flares slightly at the bottom falling into a small train which will trail daintily behind her. Elegant. Beautiful. Perfect. Aislin is taken aback by her friend’s generosity.

  “Ella, this is absolutely amazing. It’s perfect.”

  Ella grins mischievously. “So, wanna know how we’re going to make your mask?” Aislin nods and Ella reaches into the bottom of the bag and pulls out a handful of perfect peacock feathers. Aislin smiles.

  The girls paint Aislin’s mask. It is bright green at the nose, fading slowly into the teal of the dress and navy at the edges. Peacock feathers and black fabric flowers adorned with matching black sequins are attached. The final touch is to adhere a black ribbon to the mask. It will allow Aislin the freedom of having both hands at her disposal, as opposed to the type of mask that one must hold by one hand.

  Ella’s mask is next. They paint her mask in varying shades of pink, fuchsia, and fading to light pink and champagne, just like her dress. Clear glitter is sprinkled over the varying pink shades, creating a shimmering masterpiece to match the dress perfectly. Feathers of bright pink, light pink and champagne are glued on artfully. She will be a pink flamingo, completing the look with hot pink heels that are so tall that when Aislin imagines walking in them, her arch begins to ache. Ella even plans to put temporary pink streaks through her dark hair before styling it.

  Make-up and hair products and styling tools are spread over the master bathroom sink. Sounds of a fall evening football game float upstairs, but are mostly drowned out by the music flowing out of the I-pod speaker beside Aislin’s bed. The girls sing along to Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Ella applies liquid foundation with a make-up wedge while she leans into the mirror. Aislin, foot propped up on the edge of the bathtub, rubs lotion into the skin of her legs and then moves onto her arms and chest. Ella twirls her finger around and says, “I’ll get your back. Maybe you’ll get lucky tonight, Ais! Maybe some mega hot guy will bid on you and you’ll never have to worry about him again.”

  A few months ago, she would have been talking about Ty. Now he is just a friend. She isn’t even talking about Jeremiah. Ella never even considered that real. No. She is talking about Gabe. Aislin offers a small smile, that doesn’t disguise her sadness from Ella. She knows her too well. “Don’t worry, Ais, he’ll come around. And if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

  When Ella finishes with her make-up, she is luminous and her eyelids shimmer with a bright, bold pink and coral, which stands out beautifully against her Italian skin. Aislin stands behind her, adding pink streaks through her dark brown h
air, before she uses a large-barreled curling iron to place loose waves throughout.

  Aislin puts on some new foundation that promises a dewy, photo-perfect finish, and doesn’t disappoint. Her pale skin is radiant, but the smattering of freckles on her nose is still visible. “Sit,” commands Ella. She puts a coral blush on before moving to her eyes. When she is finished, Aislin’s eyelashes are curled, false lashes are glued on, mascara is applied, and her eyes are shadowed dramatically. The shades begin lightly at the inner corner in a lime green and fade to turquoise in the center and deep teal fading to vibrant purple along the outer lid. The shading should follow that of her mask perfectly. Sleek black liquid liner completes the look and clear gloss highlights her naturally maraschino cherry-colored lips.

  Aislin is nervous about the gown. She has worn gowns a few times before, but nothing like this. Ella was practically raised in them. Back in New Jersey, her mother owns a bridal shop and Ella has modeled intricate fashions her entire life. She jokes that she was practically born in taffeta and heels. Ella enters the room donning her undergarments and shimmies into her glittery gown before turning her attention on Aislin. A few tugs and a very low zipper later, and Aislin dares to look in the mirror. The dress hugs her body like a second skin, clinging to curves she wasn’t even aware she possessed. She sends up a silent prayer in thanks that Ella had brought her the perfect low-backed black corset in her size with matching underwear, garter and stockings.

  “Okay, Ais. I’m going to run down and grab our shoes. The guys should be ready by now and we’ll head out.”