Practice Run (Mount Faith Series: Book 5)

by Barrett, Brenda

  Marcus grimaced. He did sound a bit ungrateful, but he had no recollection of the accident. Maybe if he did and knew what brought him up here, he would be thankful.

  "Oh, praise the Lord." When he looked up at the door, his mother had her hand at her mouth and a wide smile on her face. "My baby is awake."

  Marcus resisted the urge to roll his eyes and to correct his mother that he wasn't a baby, but she looked so happy.

  Behind her was Tiffy, who was looking at him anxiously.

  He gestured to both of them with his hands and his mother almost ran over to the bed. She was smothering him in kisses. "When Deidra told us you were awake this morning, I could barely contain it. His mother kissed him on the forehead. God has indeed answered our prayers."

  "I will call you, man," Kirk said getting up. "Now that you are awake I can go back to Kingston. You are in good hands up here."

  "Bye Kirk," Marcus said, and focused on his mother, who was tucking him in and kissing his face every chance she got.

  "Who's Deidra?" he asked.

  "You don't know who Deidra is?" Tiffany asked cautiously. She had been standing at the foot of the bed through all his mothers fussing and he wondered why she was being so stand-offish.

  "No." Marcus frowned. "She was here this morning at my bed. Who is she? And what am I doing up here at Mount Faith?"

  Tiffany looked at his mother, who stiffened. "The doctors warned us not to feed you any information," Tiffany said.

  "Can you at least tell me what am I doing up here?" Marcus asked frustrated. "The last thing I remember was packing to go to the Miami meet."

  "You won the race," Tiffany came to his other side, "and you went to Europe and won those too. You won the Diamond League trophy and prize for the quarter mile, your event."

  "Well that's good news, I guess. Did I go to Africa for that sponsorship trip?"

  "Yes," Tiffany said softly, "and then you came up here; maybe you were missing your folks…"

  "O.K., Tiffany," his mother cut off Tiffany. "Remember that we aren't supposed to feed him information."

  Marcus looked at his mother and then back at Tiffany. "Is Deidra the girl who sent Micah to jail?"

  "Yes." His mother said. "She lives with us."

  Marcus remembered the girl who had been in his room earlier that morning with her books sprawled out on his bed, a soft look about her. Why was she in his room though?

  A feeling of tenderness embraced him out of nowhere when he pictured her face. She had been so happy when he opened his eyes. Did he know her as more than just the girl who sent Micah to jail?

  He frowned. "So what happened in the last couple of days while I was in coma. Can you at least tell me that?"

  His mother happily obliged him, but his mind kept straying to the girl named Deidra. He might not remember her but his heart knew her somehow.

  Chapter Eleven

  Deidra could barely stay awake through her Integrated Design exam. Last night, instead of studying she had been thinking about Marcus. He had been awake for two days now, but she had refused to go to see him.

  All the family had gone, of course, and Kylie had been faithfully reporting his progress to her, but she couldn't face him, not after he looked at her with that blank expression in his eyes. He had asked for Tiffany. It was Tiffany that his mind remembered and loved. For all she knew, he might never remember the last six months of his life. It was as if they never happened, as if he never loved her. That accident had taken care of his Tiffany vs. Deidra dilemma.

  They deserved each other, Deidra thought resentfully. Tiffany and Marcus sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G… The childish rhyme kept repeating in her head and now as she sat in the exam, all the letters on her multiple-choice paper spelt Tiffany and Marcus.

  She took a deep breath and tried to refocus her mind. She was grateful that Marcus was alive. She remembered that breath-stealing moment when she had thought that he had died, when she saw that puddle of blood around his head.

  So what if he lost his memory? He had his life. He had his leg. It was going to mend. But he was going to have to meet her all over again.

  She shifted in her chair and stared at the exam paper again. What was the meaning of Marcus losing his memory? Is it (a) Because Marcus and Deidra were not meant to be together. (b) Marcus and Deidra were not supposed to have met (c) Deidra was not supposed to have been with Marcus this summer while he still had a girlfriend (d) all of the above.

  Deidra shook her head again. Okay she was losing it. She refocused on the paper and barely finished the test on time.

  She stumbled out of the lecture theatre wearily and almost ran into Kylie.

  "Hey," Deidra said, "were you waiting for me?"

  "Yes," Kylie looked at her hard, "it gives me great pleasure to tell you, that you look less than perfect."

  "Jeez, thanks," Deidra snickered. She looked down at her clothes. She had slept in it last night or earlier this morning and had just rushed out of the house to get to the exam.

  "I need help," Kylie said briskly, "you are my maid of honor."

  "Oh yeah," Deidra said lightly, "I would be disappointed if I wasn't."

  "I don't want a bachelorette party," Kylie said primly, "I don't want anything fancy either. I was thinking of getting married in Portland, on the beach. Maybe at Blue Lagoon. Gareth is all for it too, but I have doubts because he got married on a beach before. So I was thinking maybe in a church so that it is as far away from his first wedding as possible. And I am not going to invite Jackie. Not for a second. What are your thoughts?"

  Deidra looked at Kylie blearily. "Girl, when is the wedding. In your speech you forgot to inform me, the maid of honor."

  "Day after Christmas, Boxing day," Kylie said, hunting in her handbag for a sheet of paper. "December 26."

  "Boxing day?" Deidra opened her mouth and then closed it. "That's three weeks away!"

  "I know," Kylie said, grabbing Deidra's arm urgently. "First, there is the dress, that I was thinking of and I don't know if I want bridesmaids, but Gareth is asking his friend, Clay Lipschitz, from Portland to be his best man, and I was thinking that maybe I should have his wife be a bridesmaid and if his wife is a bridesmaid then I have to ask Jessica to be one. She is my only sister, and then of course, my cousin, Arnella, is coming to stay for the holidays so maybe I should ask her to participate too, and then there is Cathy—I like her. What do you think?"

  Deidra felt a buzzing in her head. She was sleep deprived, and she had hardly processed a thing that Kylie said.

  "I think," she slurred her words slightly, "that the dress should be simple and elegant, just like you. We can go get it together. Bridesmaids in such a short time span, not necessary. Who on earth is Arnella?" She stopped in front of her car.

  "Arnella is Daddy's niece. His brother, Uncle Oliver, died a couple of years ago and he has two children. My cousin, Vanley, is studying up here, at the seminary. He hardly comes by but you must have seen him."

  "Oh yes," Deidra said, “that studious looking guy. He looks more like a lawyer than a pastor if you ask me, but then again, he told me the other day that Jesus loves me."

  "Yup that's him. He's very connected to God. Sometimes it's intimidating," Kylie said, straightening up Deidra as she slumped against her car, wearily. "Arnella is a little on the wild side; she has run away from home several times in the past. She left high school a year ago, and her mother is vainly trying to get her to come to college, maybe hoping that a Christian institution can reform her."

  "That's why my father initially sent me up here, to reform me as well," Deidra said. "Well, good for Arnella, I hope things work out for her."

  Deidra slowly angled her way into her car. "Now back to you and your wedding plans. I am going to sleep. I have two exams tomorrow and two at the end of the week, and then I will plan your wedding for you. All you have to do is show up."

  "Oh thanks, Deidra," Kylie said with a sigh. "I really don't know how to do these social things."


  Deidra leaned on the door tiredly. "Yes, I know. What's your favorite color?"

  "I was thinking of having an all white wedding," Kylie said, "it would look good with Blue Lagoon as a backdrop."

  "Are you sure you don't want to do this?" Deidra asked.

  "That's my only contribution." Kylie held up her hand. "Gareth wanted us to do it at the Registrar General Department, but my Mom would freak out. Oh, and one other thing: Marcus is going to be released from hospital next week. I don't know if he wants to travel all the way to Portland to my wedding, but I don't want to leave him out."

  Deidra's eyes perked up at the mention of Marcus' name. "What did his doctors say? Can he travel?"

  "I didn't ask. Since you are the planner, do you want to ask him if he's up to it?"

  "He's your brother," Deidra sputtered. "You should ask."

  Kylie shook her head. "I can't Dee. I have too many things to see to before the wedding."

  "You are not fooling me with that innocent look," Deidra said. "You want me to go to the hospital and see him."

  Kylie sighed. "Yes, I do. I can't stand that Tiffany girl. Something is not right about her and she is hovering over Marcus like a hawk. Can you imagine Mom was thinking of asking her to stay at the house? I had to remind her that Arnella was coming by for Christmas and that Marcus would need his old room, so there would be no space."

  "I should probably move back to my place," said Deidra, "my father thinks it ridiculous that I don't live there."

  "No," Kylie shook her head vehemently. "That would leave room for weird Tiffany to wheedle her way into the Bancroft's space; that's all she wants to do."

  "The girl is possessive, not weird," Deidra said, starting the car. "I will ask Marcus for you though, but only when I have finished all my exams. I think I have taken up too much of my time thinking about Marcus since lately."

  *****

  "Tell me about Deidra," Marcus was itching to go outside and run or do something. He was tired of the bed. Tired of the hospital and tired of being inactive. Micah had come to visit him and had carried a bag of strawberries for him.

  "From my greenhouse," he said proudly.

  Marcus took the strawberries from him and then asked about Deidra. She hadn't visited him from that initial early morning when he had awoken from his coma; somehow, that bothered him. He felt uncomfortable without her there.

  "Deidra?" Micah shifted uncomfortably on his chair. "She... er... she's a girl."

  Marcus grinned. "I saw that, a very pretty girl. Have you ever slept with her?" He waited with a breathless impatience for Micah's answer.

  "No." Micah looked at him fiercely. "Never."

  "So why did she send you to jail?" Marcus asked. "I know she said you raped her."

  Micah chuckled. "She got it in her head that she had to marry me. I think she was bored or looking for some new distraction at the time. She was spoilt rotten, and I was the newest toy who refused to play, so she decided to punish me."

  Marcus frowned. "She didn't seem like that kind of person to me."

  "She's not," Micah sighed, "not anymore. She has since grown up. She's different. Very different. I sometimes admire that, and I am happy I never wrote her off."

  Marcus nodded. "She's pretty. Like seriously pretty."

  Micah cleared his throat. "That, she is. She used to be a beauty queen. I think she has since forgotten all about pageant life. She is doing a fashion degree, which for the record I think is ridiculous."

  Marcus shook his head, "That's not a bad degree. Fashion is big business. You have no idea living in the country here just how big."

  "And I don't really care." Micah snorted. "It's one of the reasons why I could never be with Deidra. We have very different tastes in life. We were not compatible in the least bit."

  Marcus nodded in relief. "That's good to know, I guess… I mean… You need to find somebody you are compatible with."

  "I am with her sister," Micah volunteered, "her step–sister, actually. We have loads in common."

  "So does she have a boyfriend?"

  "Who, Deidra?" Micah frowned. "You know, I have no idea. There was a guy who kept fooling around her. I don't know how serious it was with them. I saw them together at lunch one day. It kinda made me mad, but I have since gotten over it."

  "Who is he?" Marcus asked his heart beating faster—a surge of jealousy almost choking the breath out of him. It was swift and sudden and almost had him gasping.

  "Just a guy." Micah quirked his brow. "Handsome, muscular, popular, and rich."

  Marcus closed his eyes and swallowed. "So I guess it is hopeless to assume that she would come to look for me again, huh? I am practically crippled now and all, and I have no memory of six months of my life."

  "I don't know." Micah chuckled, not feeling an iota of shame that he was telling Marcus about himself, "but you have Tiffany, remember?"

  Marcus sighed. "I do, don't I?"

  Long after Micah had left, he sat up in bed, absently eating strawberries and watching the television in his room. Then the hook line in one of the scenes of a movie that he was watching grabbed him: “I miss you like the desserts miss the rain.” A wave of nostalgia hit him so fiercely that he stopped eating and closed his eyes.

  He could see himself, in his minds eye, missing somebody so badly that he couldn't breathe.

  Was that person Tiffany? He doubted it. She was always around, and he had never felt such intense emotions toward Tiffany. Since lately, she was around so much that he was growing sick of her. He found himself trying to convince her to go back to Kingston and that he could get along just fine with his family. He wasn't sure why he felt a kind of dislike, or distrust, for Tiffany.

  He wished that he could remember the last six months of his life, but the doctor had explained to him, as simply as possible, that he had a severe swelling in the temporal region of his brain that seemed to be impairing his memory, which sucked because he couldn't remember Deidra, at least not in his head, but his heart was a different matter. His heart remembered her; it longed after her. His heart wanted Deidra to come and see him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Deidra took a deep breath as she approached the hospital's entrance—She unashamedly missed Marcus. It had been hell juggling her exams and missing him. Her last exam had been today and she had walked right out into the overcast day and into her car, determined to see Marcus. She could always use the excuse that she was planning Kylie's wedding and wanted to know if he was able to attend.

  She stood at the entrance of the hospital for a long time, but it was the incessant spatter of light raindrops that had her running for cover into the building.

  "There is a list of approved visitors for Marcus Bancroft," the nurse at the front said to her. "He dictated it himself today."

  Deidra almost turned around. He wouldn't want her visiting. He didn't know her now.

  She murmured, "Okay then." and was about to leave.

  "You are Deidra Durkheim?" the nurse asked, holding up the paper.

  "Yes." Deidra nodded.

  "Well, your name is at the top of the list," she smiled warmly. "I have been watching reruns of your Christian Gems program on MFTV. Keep up the good work."

  "Thanks," Deidra said in relief, as she headed to Marcus' room. Her name was on the top of the list. Did he remember her?

  She stepped into the room and was pleased to see that they had removed his head bandages. There was only a small bandage where he had hit his head. He looked more like his old self.

  "Oh, you look healthier already," Deidra said, when he turned his head to see who was at the door.

  "It's you." He smiled widely. "I was wondering when you would come and see me again."

  Deidra laughed uncomfortably, "I felt awkward coming since you don't know me and all… and I had exams."

  Marcus nodded. "I know you had exams. I asked Kylie about you. How did you do?"

  "Pretty badly," Deidra walked closer to his bed. "I was a bit di
stracted."

  Marcus veiled his eyes with his lashes. "You had somebody or something on your mind?"

  "As a matter of fact, yes," Deidra said. She sat down in his chair. "Today I had my last exam. I think I am going to sleep all day tomorrow."

  "What's his name?" Marcus asked looking at her. "My brother said you had been hanging out with a handsome, rich, and popular guy."

  Deidra grinned. "Which one of your brothers? Micah, I bet."

  Marcus shrugged. "Does it matter which one of my brothers? "

  "Yes," Deidra nodded. "It would be the one who would like for you to be jealous and would enjoy seeing you squirm."

  "I am not jealous." Marcus scowled. "I am just curious."

  "Then it's not important." Deidra bit her lip. "Why should it matter?"

  "Who is he?" Marcus asked, through gritted teeth.

  "Do you remember me?" Deidra asked, moving closer to the bed.

  "No," Marcus shook his head. "I feel extraordinarily jealous though. Sorry."

  Deidra nodded. "The guy was you. We hung out. Your doctor says we shouldn't give you any specific details; that's all I can say."

  Marcus sighed and closed his eyes. "Thank you for that. I was going crazy not really knowing if you had a boyfriend."

  Deidra smiled.

  "This rest thing is not all it's cut out to be," Marcus said, gesturing to himself. "I actually started hopping around on my good leg today." He sighed. "Believe you me, never take for granted having two working legs."

  Deidra laughed. "I kind of had that lesson lately too, not nearly as bad as you though. Had to retire my heels for flats."

  "How?" Marcus turned the full wattage of his brown eyes on her, and Deidra inhaled a little. "I was in an accident too, twisted my ankle."

  Marcus raised his eyebrows. "That's a coincidence."

  "Not that coincidental." Deidra shook her head.

  "Was it the same accident I was in?" Marcus asked anxiously, wanting to know how well they knew each other.

  Scrap “wanted to know”; he needed to know. She was sitting near him, and he felt as if he knew her. Like he had some sort of bond with her. The thoughts were bottled up inside him, in some part of his brain and wouldn't reveal themselves, but the harder he tried to remember, the more elusive they became.