by Nancy Adams
With that, she turned and walked away. Leaving Eli standing alone, watching his missing puzzle pieces slip between his fingers.
No!
Eli was not going to let that happen. Not again.
He leapt over the edge of the counter and ran after her. She was almost at the end of the pier when he reached her, but when he did he grabbed her and spun her around to face him. Her eyes widened in shock, but he didn't wait for her this time. He pressed his mouth against hers. Hard, powerfully, passionately. The same choir that sung the night before was in perfect harmony again, but this time even louder and more glorious. When he thought he had made his point, he pulled back and said to her, “Abby, I am so lucky to have found you. And I would be a fool to let you go without a fight. If you don't feel anything for me then fine, tell me now, and I’ll leave you alone. But if you’re just scared, or feeling like you're not enough, then you’re mistaken because you are enough. You make me want to be better. You’re the missing piece in my life I thought I could never find, and as long as you want me and there is breath in my body, I will fight for you, Abby. I’ll stop at nothing. I love you, and all I ask is that you give me a chance to show you the depth of that love. The choice is yours. What’s your answer?”
She looked at him a moment, still wide-eyed. But what she did next surpassed even Eli's wildest dreams.
She wrapped her hands around the back of Eli's neck, and pulled herself in to him. Kissing him as passionately as he had ever been kissed in his life. Time and place meant nothing anymore; it was just him and her. One person, one body, one soul.
fifteen
ABBY STILL FELT LIKE SHE WAS RIDING on the clouds. Weightless, in a dream she never wanted to end.
Eli had immediately told Ricky he was leaving, and that he could call Kirsten if he needed help. Ricky had just grinned, and told him not to worry about a thing. Abby herself was so excited she didn't even feel bad about ditching Molly at the café. She would explain later if Molly wanted, but honestly her friend probably wouldn’t even care by morning.
Abby now sat in the passenger seat in Eli's truck, riding to the sand dunes to the right of the water. Eli had told her they were spectacular, and wanted to show her firsthand. But Abby honestly would have gone anywhere as long as she was going with him.
The sun shone down on the town in its fullest glory, heating up the city perfectly. Not too cold, and not too hot. Abby gazed at Eli as he drove, noticing the dancing reflection from the sun in the waves behind him. It only added to his enchanting good looks.
Further on, Abby could finally see the vast landscape of the ever-changing sands. Constantly forming and reshaping themselves, the sand dunes were truly a sight to behold. Abby never thought something so barren could hold so much beauty, but she'd been wrong more than once in her life.
They turned off into a tiny, empty lot. Abby smiled. Going on an adventure was almost always more fun when there was no one else around.
Eli put the old Ford into park, and they hopped out and headed onto the sand. Abby pulled off her shoes and socks, then pushed her toes into it.
Glorious, she thought.
The sun’s heat kept the sand warm, but not unbearably so. Eli ditched his shoes too, and they walked together, hand-in-hand, with virtually no direction or purpose other than soaking in the landscape and enjoying the beauty that surrounded them.
After a few minutes, Eli turned to her. “Do you want to try something fun?”
Abby nodded, and he led them off toward the top of one of the sand dunes. When they reached the peak, Abby took a moment to appreciate the beauty before her. Miles upon miles of untamed coastline in both directions. Treasure Rock was just a pebble, at this distance, but still spectacular. Eli pointed behind them up to the right.
“That’s where we were last night.”
Now that he’d shown her where to look, Abby could see the tip of the lighthouse, too.
“And if you think that's cool,” Eli said, “just wait.”
Just as soon as he finished speaking he took off running, full speed, away from the ocean. Abby couldn't for the life of her figure out what he was doing. Then, without warning, he leapt into the air and disappeared as he fell into thin air.
Abby rushed towards the edge, half expecting to see a crumpled corpse at the bottom of the dune. But he was only 30 feet below, half buried in the side of the steep embankment. Before she could ask if he was okay, he yelled up to her, “What are you waiting for?”
Abby stopped.
Surely he doesn't want me to jump?
“Come on! Don't be a wimp! I promise you'll love it.”
His reassurance didn't help, but the insult spurred her on.
I'll show you a wimp. Abby backed up, giving herself room to get up to her maximum speed. Then she took off, and didn't look back. Running through the hot sand felt incredible, and the breeze at the top was glorious, but as soon as she was able to see the edge everything inside her wanted to stop. Wanted to give up and go home. Where it was safe, and she wouldn't have to worry about jumping off the side of an incredibly steep mountain of sand to her probable death. But she kept running. She closed her eyes, and jumped.
Left, right, left, jump!
She flew through the air, weightless. That old free-fall dread filled her stomach, and she knew she going to die. Time slowed. And then her feet hit the sand and kept going, the soft dune a perfect cushion for her landing. When she looked up, heart hammering, she was only a few feet behind Eli, buried to her thighs in sand just like he was. He laughed, and gave an approving nod.
“Fun, right?”
She smiled. “Surprisingly, yes. Even if I did fear for my life.”
He laughed at that, and so did she. And it felt good not to have a care in the world. Not to be stressed by something she needed to do, or had done wrong. It felt good to be away from constant distractions and just be… free. And the more time she spent with Eli, the more free she felt.
Eli pulled himself out and climbed toward her. He offered his hand and pulled her up out of the sand, leaving a crater behind. As she emerged, the sand rolled off her body, though some of it was wet and clung to her skin. She did her best to wipe it off, but it was a lost cause. Eli was already looking at her when she looked up, and she gave him a questioning smile.
“What? Do I have something on my face?”
He smile was warm. Admiring. “No,” he said.
He was staring at her again, and Abby blushed, turning away. She’d never felt she was beautiful, not like some of the girls she grew up with, but with Eli it was different. The way he looked at her was different. It made her feel different. She felt appealing around him—good-looking, even. She hadn’t felt like that in a long, long time.
“Race you to the top,” she called, breaking the tension.
“You don't have a chance!” He grinned, bending down like a sprinter with one hand firmly on his knee.
“We'll see about that, big shot. Alright, ready.... set....” She bolted.
Eli took off after her, already behind. “That’s not fair!” He made up a lot of ground, but Abby’s head start was too much, and she beat him. Barely.
“You cheated,” he said, smiling.
“Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”
Eli's raised an eyebrow in challenge, then he rushed over and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing at all.
The scar! Abby thought.
“Eli, put me down! Put me down!” All the joy was gone from her voice.
Eli immediately let her down, and Abby was quick to pull her shorts down, making sure to cover up the grotesque mark. Eli's face was filled with both shock and concern. Obviously feeling horrible, but also confused what he’d done wrong.
“I'm so sorry Abby! Did I hurt you?”
His concern almost moved her to tears. She hated lying to him. She had to tell him.
“No, it's just....” She struggled to find the words. “It's just that
....”
“It's just... what?” he said, after a long pause.
“It's just, I hurt my leg a little from the fall. It cramped up just now and I freaked out, that’s all. Sorry.” She didn't have the words. She didn't know how to say it. She couldn’t tell him, not now.
“No, I'm the one who's sorry,” Eli said gently. “I never meant to hurt you. Do you want me to take you home?”
“No. No, it's fine.”
He looked at her. Still not convinced.
“Really,” she said, reaching out to touch his chest, reassuring him she wasn’t holding a grudge.
He took her hand in his and kissed it. Shivers ran down her spine, right through to her toes and into the warm sand underfoot. “How you can be this gorgeous, and no one had snatched you up?” he asked, looking into her eyes. It was enough to make her melt. Rather than trying to speak, she simply smiled at him. “I know I've only known you for a little while,” he said, “but I feel like I've known you forever. I never want to spend another moment without you.”
Abby couldn't take it any more; she gave in to his beautifully spoken words, and melted into his arms.
Neither of them said a word for a long time after that. She wasn't even sure if any time passed. It was just him and her. Standing. Or were they floating? Gazing into one another’s eyes. Holding, searching, admiring one another’s beauty. The brush strokes that made them who they were, beautifully crafted piece by piece. Made for each other, perfectly matched in every way.
The sun met the horizon in a wash of red and gold as they kissed passionately atop their fragile castle. Wet sand coated to their arms and legs, but love poured from the hearts, raw and intense. This was their love growing bold and true.
Interlude five
Six Months Ago.
UGH, WHERE AM I?
Abby woke groggy, confused, her eyelids heavy and stuck together with sleep. She squinted at white walls, white tile floors, even a white table just to her right. A TV hung from the wall in front of her, and a fan circled slowly overhead. There were all sorts of tubes and wires plugged into her wrists and the backs of her hands. Bags of clear liquid hung from a cold steel brace above her head.
Before she could gather her thoughts together, the door opened and a young Asian women walked in. She was neatly dressed—also all in white—with a pen in one hand and a clipboard in the other.
“Oh good, you're awake!” the woman said brightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Uhh... good,” Abby said thickly. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, sticky and sour-tasting. “I guess... a little tired.”
“Don't worry, that's completely normal!” She had a very upbeat personality. Like someone who could never show sadness or anger to the outside world. There was no way she could really feel that happy all the time. Especially working in what Abby now assumed was a hospital.
“Wha... what happened?” she asked.
“You are a very lucky young lady! You fell over and knocked yourself unconscious. Tipped over some candles in the process. I'm sorry to say that your house has seen better days, but I wouldn't think about that. Just think about how incredibly lucky you are to be alive!”
She kept saying that word. Lucky. Was Abby really lucky? What happened last night, anyway?
“Ah!” A sudden sharp blast of pain jolted her back to the present, immediately releasing her from any lingering grogginess. She clutched her left hip, where the pain had originated, but touching the area only made it worse.
“Easy! Easy honey... you don't want to be fiddling with that now. We just changed the bandages. Here, I’ll give you a little more morphine.”
The nurse walked over to where the bags of fluid hung, and adjusted some things before heading back to her. “There, that ought to do it!”
Her smile wasn’t doing a thing to ease Abby’s discomfort. She still had no idea where she was, or even what had happened last night. Was it the drugs? Or, they did say she hit her head—was that it? All she could remember was the vague memory of a fire, and an image of her hand against the concrete steps of the house.
Crawling. Why had she been crawling? To get away? Get away from… the fire? Or... Tucker. Oh. Tucker.
“Tucker. You said the house... my—my boyfriend, Tucker. Where is he?” She had to force out the word boyfriend; it stuck in her throat like an old bone. One she half wished was buried, when the woman’s face grew serious. Had he been injured—or even killed—in the fire? The one he’d caused while trying to rape her?
“Please tell me, what happened to him? Where is he?”
“I'm really not sure if—”
“Lady, please!” Abby caught herself, and softened her voice. What happened wasn’t this woman’s fault, and she’d been nothing but kind to Abby, even if it was getting irritating. “I'm sorry, really, but I have to know. I promise I’ll be calm.”
The woman sighed. “It’s an ongoing investigation, I think, but since you’re his girlfriend…. Look, just don't tell anyone I told you, okay? He was arrested for drug possession when the police went to tell him what happened to you. Apparently he was high when he answered the door, and they found a whole bunch of cocaine, and some other stuff, and now he's in pretty big trouble.” She hesitated. “I... I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, what with everything that’s happened, but your boyfriend’s in jail. And he’s probably going to be for a while.” The nurse grasped her hand tightly. “I'm so sorry,” she said, then finished checking the IV bags, and left.
Abby’s head was spinning so much, trying to process everything, that she barely noticed the nurse had gone. Her mind was foggy and unclear, though, and she could feel her body sinking back into sleep. Before she lost consciousness, one word drifted across her mind.
Safe.
sixteen
THE PAST TWO WEEKS HAD been incredible. Eli and Abby were inseparable. He’d been taking her out every day after work, and only once she stepped inside of his truck would they decide what to do that day. They lived spontaneously, and he loved it. But he’d love just about anything as long as he could do it with Abby.
The more he was with her, the more he returned to his former self. The happy, funny, spirited man he’d been when he first came to Treasure Bay with Hannah. The people around him started to notice—Kirsten, Ricky, even Rudy. The dog tagged along on some of their adventures, and loved every minute of it, always whining when Eli dropped Abby off at her grandmother’s at the end of the evening. Eli never intruded her privacy. He never asked if she wanted to come back to his place, or rushed things along. He knew that a lot of the things he missed having in a relationship were things Abby hadn’t even experienced yet, and he wasn't about to scare her off by forcing her into things just to put a smile on his face.
She was so beautiful. And she always denied it. He didn’t even mind that she smelled of fish when he picked her up after her job at Chuck’s Bait & Tackle; he’d lived next to the sea for years. His heart still swelled with the same love he’d felt the first day he saw her, and if anything that love was growing. It got to the point where he couldn’t imagine life without her—or rather, he could, and he never wanted to experience that hopeless pit of grief again.
Today Eli had done things a little differently. Instead of deciding what to do with Abby once they were together, he had already planned a little get-together for the two of them and Rudy. He had put together a packed dinner, and planned to drive out to Jericho Beach a few miles out of town. It was a bit of a drive, but that meant that the beach was empty, and the seclusion would give them both romance and privacy.
Abby didn’t object to any part of the plan. She just turned up the radio, then kicked her feet up on the dashboard, her silky brown hair blown wildly through the rolled-down window.
If he’d changed over the past few weeks, then so had she. When he first met her she’d been withdrawn and defensive, barely able to trust the ground beneath her feet. Now she was a lot more easygoing, and not nearly
as hesitant to try new things or go new places. She was finally enjoying life the way she deserved to. She was making him a better person, yes, but maybe he’d given her new hope, too.
At the beach they walked hand and hand down the shore, the water twisting around their ankles. There was no need to speak; their emotions did all the talking. Eventually they decided they had gone far enough, and Abby laid out the blanket above the high tide line. Eli brought out the food, and they sat together, eating and watching the waves come in. Nearby, Rudy hounded a group of seagulls until he tired, then trotted out to inspect the succulents growing just above the shoreline.
She had to be an angel, Eli thought, looking at Abby. An angel sent down just for him, to save him from the life he’d once given up on. Hannah's death, the safety on the gun, the rope breaking, even the events that took place that allowed him to save that family. He’d used to blame himself for so many things, but now he realized he’d been giving himself too much power. Everything happened for a reason. And if he could control his life, what was the point of living it? He hadn’t had any control over losing Hannah, to be sure, but he hadn’t had any control over meeting her, either—or meeting Abby.
Eli reached out and gripped her hand. The spark of adrenaline was just as intense as the first time they’d touched. He turned towards her and spoke the three words he never thought he would be able to mean again.
“I love you.”
He said the words freely, without needing her to repeat them back to him. They were a gift. He simply wanted her to know how she made him feel. But then she turned back toward him.
“I love you, too,” she said.
Eli stared at her, dumbfounded. It had been easy to say but, for some reason, it was difficult to hear. How could someone love me? He needed to see if it was true. Needed to test the limits of their commitment. He leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. Fireworks.
