Cursed Fate: Cursed Series #4

by t. h. snyder

  Reaching out to Linc, I grab his hand and step out of the car. As we walk up to the front porch of the house, I’m flanked on either side by my support team, my boys. Both of them have their arms intertwined with mine and if I couldn’t feel the fact that my legs were moving, I’d imagine that I’m floating. I know I couldn’t be doing any of this without them.

  My nerves are shot, my heart is racing, and my palms are a clammy mess. I’ve been chanting silent prayers in my head ever since we boarded the plan and now it’s go time.

  Steve steps forward and rings the door bell, my heart in my stomach. The door swings open and there he stands. My eyes scan his appearance starting with the floor beneath him. He’s wearing a fitted red tee-shirt, low rise jeans hanging from his hips, and a backwards black baseball cap. His brilliant blue eyes stare back into mine, his glorious dimples teasing my emotions as he smiles. I feel as if my world is moving in slow motion and I’m in a dream. My mouth is completely dry, I can’t utter a syllable. Good lord, he is a beautiful sight to behold. I can’t fathom that he’s really standing here before me; I’m over taken by my thoughts and emotions while I stare, at the love of my life.

  My legs feel weak as Linc and Steve grab a hold of either side of me and my world goes black…again.

  Chapter 15

  My hold on Etty gets stronger as I feel her body start to go limp between me and Linc. Damn this girl, she’s prepared herself for this moment for months and she passes out on him. Pulling her up to her feet, Linc and I raise both of her arms to support her tiny frame.

  With a quick movement, Dault steps out of the house and lifts her into his arms, taking Etty away from both Linc and me.

  Cradling her against his body, he moves into the house and gestures for us to follow. I take a quick glance at Linc, who shrugs his shoulders.

  “Well, at least his instinct was to help her…that’s a start, right?” Linc asks, taking a step ahead of me.

  Once inside, I shut the door behind us and move into the living room where Dault is now laying Etty onto the couch.

  “Does she pass out like this a lot?” He asks kneeling beside her.

  Shaking his head, Linc moves in closer to the couch.

  “No, not usually, your whims seem to affect her, Dault. She’s been through a lot the past few months and her emotions are all over the place right now. Our girl has been devastated since the day you flew back here to Charleston. You have to remember, her world was revolving around you, us and Cursed Magic. All this time, she’s been living day in and day out without any of it. It’s been hard on her. She’s a tough woman, but even she can only take on so much before she’s going to break.”

  “I’m sorry, really, Linc. I’m so sorry.”

  “You have nothing to feel sorry for, Dault. We’ll get through this. She’s here for you just as we all are; it’ll take time and a lot of patience. But we’re not willing to give up on you, no matter what, we will help you remember the life we all shared together.”

  “I don’t get it. I can remember our childhood, growing up and playing baseball, graduating high school and getting ready to move. After that, it’s gone, as if I’m still an eighteen year old anxious and ready to start a new life away from this place.”

  “At least you remember that much, that’s a good sign that you’re entire life isn’t a complete blur.”

  “I suppose, but in my eyes, you’re looking like an old man now. You were much better off as I pictured you ten years ago.”

  A laugh pulls from my belly as two of my best friends banter between each other like no time or amnesia has separated us.

  “At least you haven’t lost your wise ass sense of humor,” Linc says while he smacks Dault on the back of his head and lets out a laugh.

  God damn it, if he can remember Linc, the memories of everything else they’ve shared have to come back sooner or later…right?

  Standing back from the scene playing out in front of me, I’m once again pained with guilt. Fuck me, the accident…my stupidity. Had I done things differently Dault and Etty would be together, none of this would be happening.

  “Steve, go with Dault in the kitchen and get a cool wash cloth, we need to wake her ass up.”

  Snapping out of my shell, I nod my head and follow Dault through the living room into the kitchen. Leaning up against the counter, I watch as he gets a towel, running it under the water of the kitchen sink.

  He looks exactly as I remember him, he hasn’t changed a bit. With his short sleeved tee-shirt, I can see the many images that I marked onto his skin. We are a fucking family. How can he not see everything we’ve all been through? A large part of our lives together are inked on his flesh.

  I’m beginning to get angry and the rage is building inside of me. I wish I could just fucking punch him in the head and jog his memory back to normal…if only it was that easy.

  As I try to calm myself, I take in slow steady breaths and close my eyes counting to ten. There’s nothing that anger will help right now. Even if I did punch him in the head, it wouldn’t help anything…although the image of it playing through my mind is quite entertaining.

  Focusing on the here and now…not beating Dault to shit, I watch as he turns from the sink, handing the wet rag to me.

  “It’s good to see you again, Steve. I know we didn’t get much time to talk before I left the hospital, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for Etty and Linc. I swear I’m trying…I’m fucking going nuts trying to regain even a hint of what my life was like with y’all. It’s just so damned hard.”

  I can see the pain pouring from his expression. He’s hurting and there’s nothing I can do…fuck that, no wait. I have to make this right. No matter what I have to do, I will bust my ass helping Etty to bring back Dault’s memory. We are not a full crew without him, he will remember and I will help him if it’s the last thing I do.

  “You have to try harder, Dault, and that’s why we’re here. How can you expect to remember a life when you’re not a part of it? We need you back in Birmingham. You need to help make our crew whole again so that you can remember how we all used to be.”

  Looking back to me with sorrow in his eyes, he runs his hands through his short hair.

  “You don’t think I know that, Steve. I’m bashing my brain at these stupid counseling sessions. The doctors have run a million tests on me. I’ve sat and stared at photos of my past…fuck, I’ve even tried being hypnotized to bring back some of my memory. Nothing is working. Do you realize how hard it was to just look Etty in the eyes and not remember a single moment I’ve spent with her? She’s a gorgeous woman and I guarantee she was at one point the love of my life, but now…she’s just a stranger. When Linc and Jo were here last week, all I wanted was to wake up and recognize two of the people that have been such an essential part of a life I can’t fucking remember.”

  His expression on his face has drastically changed, he’s angry…no, he’s fucking pissed off. Slamming his hand down on the counter, I flinch.

  I get that this is hard on him, probably a lot harder than it is on all of us, but we still have to try.

  “Steve…Dault, she’s waking up,” Linc’s voice booms from the living room.

  Pushing past me, Dault rushes into the other room.

  I watch as he gestures for Linc to move away from Etty and crouches down beside her.

  The sight before me is one that pulls at my heart strings. God, if he loved Etty half as much as I love Ashley, he has to remember…he needs to find what they shared in his heart and come back to her.

  He cups her face in his large hands, moving loose strands of her blue hair from her face. As her eyes begin to open, she gasps.

  “Oh shit, umm…what happened?” She asks trying to move into a seated position on the couch.

  “Whoa, Etty, relax, take your time. You passed out on us and I carried you in here to be more comfortable.”

  Slowly backing away from her so that she can sit up, he moves to sit next to her on the couch.


  “You carried me,” she asks in a whispered tone.

  “I did,” he replies taking her hands in his.

  “Thank you,” she remarks, her cheeks beginning to turn a light shade of pink.

  Linc stands along side of me as we watch the two of them together. He’s the missing piece to her lifelong puzzle and she is to his…snap out of it man.

  Silence echoes through the large space as we take in their chemistry that fills the room. If only he could look into her eyes and see it, see everything that she’s given to him and is willing to give him for the rest of his life.

  Hell, I’m not even part of their connection and I can see it, I can feel it.

  Linc nudges my arm and nods his head for me to follow him into the other room. Glancing back at Etty, a smile is spread across her face as she gazes into Dault’s eyes.

  I think she’s good to go…for now.

  Walking the short distance back into the kitchen, I’m presented with an exhausted Linc standing up alongside of the kitchen counter.

  “You doin okay, man?” I ask.

  “Yeah. I’m fine, just overly hopeful that his seeing her in the flesh would help pull back the slightest memory.”

  Taking a seat on a stool along the breakfast bar, I rest my head in my hands.

  “You and me both, Linc. I basically just told him that he needs to get his ass back home with us. He says he’s trying, but I said he needs to try harder.

  “He does and he knows it, he wants to remember as much as we want him too. It’s going to take time; I’m not expecting it to happen overnight, Steve.”

  Moving my head from my hands I look up to him.

  “It’s been months, Linc. How much time does it take?”

  Shaking his head, he hops up onto the counter.

  “Hell if I know, the doctors said his memory could come back at any time. Until then, we wait and hope for the best.”

  “Do you think he’s ready to come home?”

  “After spending some time with him, his Aunt, and the doctors last week, I’m pretty certain he’s willing to try anything. He’s tired of sitting around this house doing nothing. He’s a busy body and needs to be kept active, it’s who he is…you know this. Once we get him home and back to the shop, I’m sure things will start to look familiar, it’s all I can hope for right now.”

  “Then why wait, let’s get back on a plane and gets things moving,” I say standing up from the chair.

  “We have to wait at least until tomorrow; he has another appointment with the neurologist in the morning. Once he gets the referrals to some physicians and therapists in Birmingham, we can go home. His aunt is all for it and promised that she’d come to visit as soon as she can get some more time off of work.”

  “It’s all falling into place, Linc. This is going to work. I can feel it.”

  “Me too, Steve, me too.”

  Feeling a bit more hopeful, I step down off the bar stool, walk through the kitchen, and back out to the living room. I pause for a moment to see that Etty is curled into Dault on the couch. He has his arm wrapped around her, pulling her in tightly to his side. Her face is filled with pure bliss and her hands are intertwined with his as he rubs in a soothing motion over her knuckles.

  Watching the two of them together, he has to feel it—feel the love they shared…I can fucking feel it just standing here before them. Hope floods my senses. Now to get our asses back to Alabama and start on the next stages in all of our lives…BOOM, this is happening.

  Chapter 16

  Walking out of the shop, I’m completely exhausted. Jo, Cliff, and I have been busting some serious ass working to get Cursed Magic in better condition than it was when I was here the other day. Who knew that an empty shop could get so dirty and musty without much movement in the past few months?

  As we make our ways back to our cars, Cliff stops and turns to face me and Jo.

  “Good work today, girls. We make a good team.”

  “We sure do,” Jo beams with excitement spread across her face. “They are going to be so happy when they come home—it’ll be like no time has passed at all. By the time we are done with this place, Etty’s plan for a grand reopening will be in the bag.”

  “I knew she was clever, but I didn’t know that we’d be able to really pull it off,” I reply with a huge grin.

  Cliff takes a step forward and raises his hand to us.

  “I’m not here to be a Danny Downer, but we’ve only just begun our end of the plan. There’s still a lot to do in a short time. I think we can pull it off, if we keep our heads together. We still need to get you in a chair, Ashley, and start working.”

  A lump forms in my throat, shit, I totally forgot about that part of Etty’s scheme.

  “I haven’t held an ink machine in my hands in years, Cliff. What if I can’t do it anymore?”

  “Pfft, Ashley, it’s like riding a bike. All you need are some willing subjects and a bit of practice. I told you I’d be honored to let you ink me. No worries, doll face, I got your back.”

  “Yup and you can work on me too. I’m always up for a new tattoo,” Jo mentions with a wink.

  “Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick,” I say leaning forward, my hands on my knees.

  Jo moves along my side and rubs her hands up and down my back.

  “You got this, girl. I’ve seen the work on Steve’s arm and back. You’ve got skills and in no time you’ll feel one hundred percent comfortable in your chair.”

  “But the grand reopening is next weekend. How the hell will we get everything done and find time for me to practice?”

  “There’s twenty-four hours in a day. We’ve got plenty of time before they head back home and we open up shop.”

  Nothing like feeling the pressure of taking Linc’s spot in the shop…I almost wonder if the clients would be better off with a tattoo artist who has a bum arm over me.

  With fear surging through my body, I can only hope it’s as easy as he makes it out to be. I loved my work before when I was under the guidance of Cricket, but now…it’s been so long. Doubt and confidence race through my brain. I was good at what I did, if only I could just spend a few hours practicing, I’ll be good…yeah I totally got this shit. Ehh, I can’t worry about it now, there’s way too much other stuff on our plates to sort through first.

  “Ugh,” I moan while standing back up.

  “Come on, girls, let me feed you and then we’ll call it a night. We’ve got a jam packed schedule and lots to do in a short time.”

  My eyes scan to his with a look of panic on my face.

  “But you just sa…”

  Good lord, now I feel as though I’m going to be sick.

  “Hush now, girl, I need to feed you both before your men come back and kill me ‘cause I starved their women.”

  The three of us pile into the car, making our way to the local diner down the street. As we pull into the parking lot, my stomach lets out an atrocious sound.

  “Damn, Ashley, we need to get you some food before your stomach eats us all alive,” Jo says with a giggle.

  “Yeah, I guess skipping breakfast and lunch wasn’t a good idea.”

  “Yeah no…now get your tiny ass in there,” Cliff remarks while getting out of the car.

  As we walk into the diner, the hostess grabs up some menus and asks us to follow her back to a booth along the windows.

  “Is this okay?” She asks.

  Nodding, I smile back to her and slide onto the pleather seat.

  “God, I’m really starving, I could eat a horse,” I remark looking over the items on the menu.

  “Yeah, I doubt that very much. Let me guess, chicken caesar salad and a cup of the chicken noodle soup?” Cliff replies with a laugh.

  Peering over the top of the menu, I slant my eyes at him and give him a smirk.

  “Nope, I think I’ll have a bowl of the soup…not a cup.”

  “Whoa, Jo, you better come on over to this side of the table….she’s going
to expand fast.”

  Tossing my menu at him, we all start to laugh. It’s refreshing to banter with my friends after all the stress we’ve been through.

  The waitress stops back to the table for us to order our drinks as the bell chime on the entry door rings throughout the space.

  Ordering a glass of water with lemon, my gaze moves from the waitress to the front door.

  “Oy, don’t look now, but guess who just walked in?”

  Completely ignoring my request NOT to look now, Cliff turns in his seat toward the door.

  “Oh fuck no, that punk ass needs to find somewhere else to go. There’s no way I’m willing to put up with his pansy ass, I’m too tired for that shit.”

  Shaking her head and giggling, Jo places her hand on top of Cliff’s.

  “Relax, Hercules, he’s just here to eat.”

  As Cliff turns to face us, he has a questionable glare spread across his face.

  “You do realize he’s the one that tried to take Etty from Dault, or was I the only one around for that whole fiasco?”

  “Cliff, he did not try and do anything to Etty. He was being a good friend, she was in a vulnerable situation and he tried to comfort her. Who cares anyway, I think he seems like a nice guy.”

  “Bullshit, he’s a clown and we all know it. He’s psycho crazy and I for one will not allow him near any of the Pink Crew.”

  “What?” Jo shrieks batting her long lashes. “Who the hell is the Pink Crew and since when are you Mister Tough Guy?”

  “Oh, come on, y’all refer to us as the Cursed Crew so I thought it was only fitting to call you ladies the Pink Crew.”

  Jo nudges my arm and we look to each other. Together we burst into a fit of laughter looking back to Cliff.

  “Clever, Cliff, very clever. Maybe we should have tee-shirts made for the grand reopening that say “We’ve been cursed…we’ve fought for our crew.”

  “Hell yeah, Ashley,” she retorts, “and we should totally put our names down the back…ohh, squueee, we are so doing this.”

  Clapping her hands she brings out her cell and dials a number.