Meeting Destiny (Destiny Series)

by Nancy Straight

  “But that’s just it: I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “Your skills are even sharper than I gave you credit for; very impressive the way you kept Paul from leaving today.” Rewsna had switched subjects so quickly, I had hardly noticed.

  I couldn’t help but ask what I’d been feeling since it happened, “You knew I was going to meet him, didn’t you? That is why you wouldn’t let me follow you off the bus earlier?” She didn’t answer, but for the first time since I had met her, I was able to read her the way I could everyone else, and that was exactly why she made me stay “on my path,” to the mall.

  “Your love,” again she had the tiles L-O-V-E “for the others around you will,” she moved the tiles and added an additional E-V “evolve to meet your destiny.” E-V-O-L-V-E was staring at me from the tabletop. None of what she was saying made much sense.

  I looked back at the tabletop to see her playing with five new tiles. Before she could give me any new message, her lips didn’t move but her voice was clear in my head, “Lauren, you know what you must do. I know you will figure out how. I wish you luck, but I don’t believe you will need it. You do not have to seek me out; I already told you, I will be watching you.”

  “Rewsna, I feel so strange, as if you are the only person I can ask questions. If I share any of this with anyone else I know, they’ll think I’m nuts.”

  “Precious Lauren, you are more sensitive than any soul I’ve met. You see things clearly that others wouldn’t notice if it reached up and slapped them in the face. You don’t need me. The answers to your questions are inside you and with your soul mate. Make him understand the question, and he will give you the answers you seek.”

  I knew that our meeting was over, so I thanked her, out loud, of course, and stepped out of the cafe. I hadn’t really learned anything new, but my feelings were confirmed. It’s as if everything is predetermined, but free will results in different outcomes. I looked at my watch and realized it was already two o’clock. I was supposed to meet Max at three, so I made my way to the bus stop across from the library.

  The bus let me off right in front of Max’s apartment complex. I was the only one getting off, and no one was getting on. I made my way out the back door and onto the sidewalk. I felt someone watching me immediately, but the indicators of danger or fear didn’t accompany the sensation.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I looked across the street and there was Max, walking in my direction. I picked up my pace, so we wouldn’t do some sappy greeting in the middle of the street like something from an old movie.

  We met in his parking lot and embraced, heat welling up within me, his touch just as electric as yesterday. “So tell me, why is it that I wake up, turn on the news, and see a picture of you being broadcast to the world again? You’re the lead story on all the local networks, did you know?”

  “I’m what? Oh crap! I forgot to warn my parents. They’re going to be ticked off if television news crews park outside the house again!” I reached into my pocket and called my house; Mom picked up the phone on the second ring.

  “Lauren, where are you? What happened?” From the panic in her voice, I wondered what the news agencies were saying? It really wasn’t all that impressive. As far as I knew, Rachael and I hadn’t been in any imminent danger. I relayed the events of this morning to her as calmly as I could, trying to downplay my role. “Rachael is fine and the guy was arrested hours ago. I’m at Max’s apartment. I’ll be home after he goes to work.”

  “All right, but trying to get to the front door will be as bad as Toys ‘R Us on Christmas Eve.”

  “Wonderful. Tell Dad I’m fine.” We hung up and Max was staring at me.

  “So you caught a murderer this time?” Max’s tone was thoughtful, but his eyes were full of excitement.

  “Can we go inside?”

  Max spun around, took my hand, and started walking.

  As we made our way into his apartment, Max sounded exhausted. “I should be angry with you; I dreamt of you for hours and woke up feeling not so very rested.”

  I could feel my face flush. I leaned my lips to Max’s ear and whispered, “I’ve missed you. I hope all your dreams weren’t rated-G.” Now it was Max’s turn to blush.

  “No, not all of them. You know, I was much more put together before I met you.”

  “What?”

  “I’m worthless. I burned my toast. I forgot to put grounds in the coffee maker. I put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher full of clean dishes. Do you want me to go on? I’m so preoccupied with you that I can’t function anymore. Here I was hoping you were just as much of a blundering idiot, and I turned on the television, only to find out you helped catch a murderer!”

  “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

  “Right, because all three news stations ran out of interesting things to report?”

  “It’s been a slow day.” We had only been together for less than forty-eight hours, and I already could hardly remember him not being a part of my life. Maybe because he had been a remote part of me for years? I’m sure that my dream that I’ve had, the restaurant, the hospital, meeting Rewsna were events that were really all supposed to happen just the way that they did. Rewsna told me I was the only one who could unlock Max.

  I remembered watching a show about patients with amnesia, in which their doctors and family members just talked to them about what they liked and disliked, to help unlock memories tucked away. “Max, what’s your favorite thing about me?”

  That gigantic smile that I love took his entire face, “Honestly?”

  “No, lie to me. Of course, honestly!”

  “The way it feels like I am holding an electric fence when we touch.”

  “You feel that, too?”

  “I feel it, but more than that, I’ve felt it enough times now that I anticipate it. But I’m much more interested in your adventure at the mall today. What happened?”

  I struggled with how much to tell Max. At what point would it be sensory overload or would he think I’m a head case? I settled on, “Before I go into all that, can I tell you something that is a combination of hard to believe and borderline crazy?”

  Max nodded without apprehension. “That night of the shooting, was there any recognition at all when you saw me?”

  His expression was puzzled. “I don’t know how much of the ride in the ambulance you remember, but you asked me that night if you looked familiar to me. The truth is I felt like I knew you, but you really didn’t look familiar to me. Why, did we meet before?”

  “Yes and no. This is the part that sounds a little crazy, so hopefully you can keep an open mind.

  About four years ago I started having dreams, very vivid dreams. I never shared them with anyone. They were kind of my little secret because they seemed so impossible to believe. Max, I’ve dreamed of you.” I certainly didn’t want to go any further; this information alone would be enough to scare away nearly every guy on the planet.

  Max seemed to take my confession in stride, “What kind of dream? You mean like déjà vu?”

  “A little, but not exactly. It was kind of a weird one where you told me that we would meet after I had done something courageous. I know it sounds crazy, and I wouldn’t bring it up at all, except that I met someone today who knew about my dreams. I never told anyone any of this; I want to know what you know about me, about us?”

  When Max looked in my eyes, I wanted to melt. Please don’t let him think I am a lunatic. “Lauren, I dreamt about you today - a lot. While I was away for those few months, a day didn’t go by that I didn’t think of you, but I didn’t have any vivid dreams of you before we met. The person you met today - that was the murderer?”

  “No, this was before the mall. Her name was Rewsna. She knew all about you and me, the shooting, and even made me go to the mall. She told me to keep to my path.”

  “You mean like a psychic?”

  “No, she was more than a psychic. She knew about the dream I had about meeting you. S
he talked to me like I should know more about you than I do. She said all the information I needed was locked away in your mind, and I just needed to unlock it. So without sounding anymore crazy than I already have, how do you suggest I unlock your memories?”

  “Unlock my memories of what? I don’t understand. How would I have memories of us from before we met? What all did she tell you?”

  I relayed a condensed version of both conversations to Max. I didn’t think, no matter how amazing he was, that Max could stand to hear that he was my soul mate on day two of our relationship, so I edited that part out. He nodded enthusiastically when I told him about the different roles each of us has.

  I shared with him what Rewsna had said about Seth and how he had confused his role with me, which made Max laugh. “Lauren, you can’t blame him for trying. I can’t imagine another person on earth who would hold a candle to you, maybe neither can Seth. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably rail against the powers of the universe as well.”

  “That’s just it, everything she said made perfect sense. Someone committing to the wrong person doesn’t make the world come to an end, it just makes them miserable. She talked how people weren’t seeking out the people they were supposed to be with.”

  “So this Rewsna told you we were supposed to be together?” I could feel his eyes on me, but I was too nervous to look at his expression. I wasn’t sure if I could take another rejection from Max, and I knew that if he didn’t believe what I knew to be the truth, it would feel like a rejection. Rather than answer his question, I tried to make light of it, “I said we’re supposed to be together; Rewsna said I should try to unlock your memories.”

  Max ran his fingers through my hair. We were both sitting on the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t know how I can have memories for you to unlock if we’ve only just met?”

  “But you said I was familiar that night in the ambulance. What was familiar about me?”

  Max looked puzzled, “I don’t know, I guess the way you looked at me, maybe your voice.”

  “When we talked in the ambulance, what’d we talk about?”

  “You mainly just kept asking me to come with you. That’d never happened before. And then your heart just stopped.”

  “Then what?”

  “Lauren – your heart stopped. There wasn’t much conversation after that.”

  “So the only reason you came and checked on me in the hospital was…?”

  “I wanted to be sure you were okay. I wasn’t expecting . . . I’m exhausted and I’ve only got a few hours before I’ve got to go to work.” I could tell he had purposely changed subjects. He pulled me in front of him on the couch, wrapping his arms around me. “Maybe if I sleep with you in my arms, my mind won’t be so distracted.”

  What wasn’t he expecting? I was teetering on the verge of sleep when he whispered into my ear, “I didn’t think it was possible to feel this way about someone I hardly know.”

  Feel what way? Should I push my luck and ask him how he feels? There was no doubt in my mind, this was where I was supposed to be. Max completed me. I hadn’t been tired when I arrived, but his sweet words felt like a lullaby, his warmth encompassed me, and I quickly fell asleep. Maybe my day had been more tiring than I realized.

  I woke up to a note on the coffee table. It was dark outside, Max was gone, and I was alone. I picked up the note and read the words Max had left me.

  Dear Lauren,

  I couldn’t wake you up, you looked too peaceful. I phoned your parents and told them you were asleep on my couch. The keys for my truck are on the kitchen counter. You can take it home. Your mom told me that the television crews were relentless, so she recommended you stay. I would love to come home tomorrow and see you here.

  Love, Max

  I stared at the, “Love, Max,” and I felt giddy. I somehow wished I could hear him say it, but reading it was a thrill, too.

  I looked at the clock across the room. It was barely 9:00. on a Sunday, and classes were suspended tomorrow – some quarterly staff meeting for the faculty. I began replaying my meeting with Rewsna. It was clear that I was Rachael’s protector. Without Rewsna even mentioning it to me, the events of today made it very clear. The way my body reacted to danger had to be uncommon. I rarely feel the prickly feeling on my neck, but today it felt like thousands of tiny needles protruding from it. I couldn’t have ignored it if I had tried.

  I’m not anybody else’s protector that I am aware of, maybe Melissa’s? She was definitely in harm’s way, and I got her out of the way before there was any real danger, but the sensation with Melissa was more calculated. Rachael’s admirer elicited concern, not an absolute danger. I tried to do the same thing with Rachael as I had Melissa and just get her away, but Rachael proved to be much more difficult to persuade. Maybe my ability to protect them was directly relative to the amount of danger they were actually in?

  Rachael seemed to be so charmed by Paul that it was as if all our history was meaningless at the time. If Paul were a temptation for Rachael and not an anarchist, would she have actually been in any real danger? How could I know the difference?

  If Paul were a murderer, he would be someone’s anarchist, but to Rachael he might be merely a temptation. I wonder why? He was definitely trying to impress her with the car; maybe there was something about the car? Would offering her a ride in a stolen car lead to anything? If he wasn’t there to actually hurt her, what was he doing? It seemed as though everyone’s roles had an underlying significance, but I didn’t understand this one. Maybe I didn’t understand because Paul wasn’t one of the souls that was supposed to have an impact on me, so I wasn’t able to get a vibe from him except for what was required to protect Rachael. It sounded strange, but I was at a loss for a more plausible explanation. I needed to talk to Paul to find out what he was trying to do, but how in the world was I going to talk to him?

  In my back pocket was the card from Officer Keith Johnson. He told me I could call him for an escort home. I wonder how he’d feel about giving me an escort into jail? Without giving myself enough time to talk myself out of it, I called the number on his card. He answered the phone on the third ring, “This is Johnson.”

  “Hi, Officer Johnson, this is Lauren from the mall today.” I hoped that his friendliness at the mall wasn’t phony, and he really would help me.

  “Hi, Lauren.” His tone was very comforting, “Is everything all right? Did you give my academy idea any more thought?” He seemed at ease talking to me, and I was hoping his greeting wouldn’t change to irritation when he found out why I was really calling.

  “Actually, I’ve been kind of preoccupied all day, but I did want to call and ask you for a favor.”

  “Civilians don’t often get a chance to catch a murderer – I understand being preoccupied.” His voice didn’t sound like he was concerned with me, a perfect stranger, asking for a favor. “What kind of favor were you looking for? My supervisor drove by your house earlier to check on you. Your dad told him you were at a friend’s house.”

  “I am. Well he’s at work now, and I was going to go home, but before I face my parents, I was wondering about that guy you arrested.”

  “Paul Stratford,” Officer Johnson stated the name flatly. In all the news reports I’d seen on television, his name hadn’t been released, so I was pleased that he would so openly share his name with me. It didn’t even require me to press him, so I felt encouraged that he would help arrange a meeting with Paul. “What about him?”

  “Is he really a murderer like the news reports are saying?”

  “It looks that way from the evidence at the scene and the fact that he was driving the victims’ car, but he isn’t talking.”

  “If I wanted to visit him in jail, how would I do that?”

  “Visit him? Why would you want to do that?” His tone was accusatory, as if this was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. I hadn’t thought this call through long enough beforehand to come up with a plausible reason for wanting to meet
him, at least not one that a normal person would understand.

  My pause was significantly longer than it should have been, “I don’t know why I want to talk to him. I just do. Do you know how I’d go about it?”

  “Lauren, going to see him is a really bad idea. The City Attorney would have a heart attack if he got wind of this. Besides, you’re a key witness against him. Just meeting him and giving him information about yourself puts your life in danger from any number of accomplices he may have.”

  “I’m sure he knows exactly who I am. I’ve noticed the news stations are protecting his identity, but my picture shows up every fifteen minutes. I’m not a key witness to anything, other than to him driving a stolen car. I don’t feel like I’m in any real danger; I just feel like I need to talk to him. Will you help me?”

  “Nobody’s protecting him, Lauren. We didn’t release his name to the media. I don’t mind sharing his name with you for a couple reasons. One, you were instrumental in his capture, and two, you are obviously not a publicity hound. I never even saw you interviewed after the shooting. But meeting with him - it’s a bad idea and no, I can’t help you.”

  Nothing. I couldn’t be upset with him. I couldn’t even be annoyed by his protectiveness. Then it occurred to me, maybe he was one of my protectors? Maybe he had more of an impact on me than I was giving him credit for. That’s just silly! Not everyone I run into has a special mission - some are just decent people who don’t want others to get hurt. “If you won’t help me get in to see him, where could I call to get the visitor information, like hours and rules?”

  “Lauren, I don’t like this. It’s a bad idea. What can he possibly say to you that you need to hear? That he’s sorry, that he never meant to hurt your friend? Will that make a difference?”

  “I just need to talk to him. I obviously foiled whatever plan he had, and it’s going to make me crazy if I can’t at least ask him what that plan was.”