I froze when I recognized my attacker sitting hunched over a cup of coffee, reading something on his cell phone. I stared at the familiar face, a face that I would likely never forget: C.W.
My mind told me to run. My dad did too. In my head, that is. This man had attacked me and held me at knife point. I needed to get as far away from him as possible. I should be terrified. Afraid for my life. I should be calling the police.
But I wasn’t afraid.
I hesitated, measuring my true feelings. With growing confidence and a rushing surge of adrenaline, I realized that I had never been afraid of him—or of any of them for that matter. Anger replaced fear as I moved toward the blond man.
This was my opportunity. I hoped, maybe, just maybe, this was the truth that Ian had told me to look for.
“Hey, I know you,” I cooed.
As his blue eyes looked up into mine, shock flitted across his face, followed by fear.
Why would my attacker be afraid of me? I smiled, feeling that this meant I had the upper hand at last. I pulled out a chair to join him, setting my roll and drink on the table. He shot to his feet, his chair scraping the concrete floor.
“Sit down,” I hissed, then smiled again, flashing my teeth. “I just want to get to know you, that’s all. Please?” I purred, repeating the same line he had used on me.
He frantically looked around, searching for anyone to help him, but there was no one.
“I wouldn’t draw attention to myself, if I were you. And I don’t want to cause a scene. We’re not in an empty parking lot anymore.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice was anxious, almost wild.
“Don’t lie to me.” I could feel the blood run hot to my face and made an effort to calm my rising temper. “What’s your name?” I asked. I didn’t really care, but he didn’t need to know that.
He stared at me, unwilling to answer my question.
I laughed. “I know it starts with a C. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not going to turn you in for what you did.”
He glanced around the room again. After realizing there was no help to be had, he slowly sat down in his chair. “I didn’t do anything,” he said through clenched teeth. His nails dug into the soft Styrofoam cup he held in his hand.
I looked at his eyes. They were bloodshot, but with exhaustion instead of drugs or alcohol.
“You’re clean and sober, I see. That’s probably a good thing, considering your recent past.”
“I didn’t—”
“You attacked me. In a parking lot. At Cactus Bar and Grille.” I leaned over slightly. “And I have your knife to prove it.” I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. I watched as his resolve broke and crumbled into pieces around him.
“It wasn’t me.” He shook his head multiple times, his foppish blond hair waving side to side. “It was me, but it wasn’t me. I promise.”
I clicked my tongue in disgust. “So you are drunk then.”
“I am not! I will never touch the stuff again. As long as I live. It wasn’t me… it… it came to me. It heard your name. At the bar.” Suddenly the man, my attacker, burst into tears. “I was drunk… so drunk that I didn’t realize it had pushed me out until it was too late. I couldn’t stop it.”
Shocked, I watched as the man I was supposed to fear turned into a blubbery mess in front of me. And in front of everyone else.
“What do you mean?” I asked, but he cried even harder.
I hissed my annoyance as I looked around for something to aid my brutal attacker. I got up and grabbed a napkin from a table a couple of rows away.
“Here. Just—”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement as some of the students at the bakery poked their head in and around the corner to see what the commotion was.
This interrogation had not gone the way I planned.
“Can we talk about this somewhere else?” I asked, embarrassed by the whispering group of onlookers.
“No! I’m not going anywhere with you!” he shouted, jumping to his feet again, knocking my hot chocolate and cinnamon roll to the floor. I quickly backed away to avoid the burning liquid and threw my hands in defeat.
“Okay! Okay, just… just go.” I sighed heavily, gesturing to the door and moving out of the way.
He rushed past me and out of the coffee house without as much as a backward glance. I looked over at the group, now commenting on the scene, and shrugged. “I didn’t even know the guy,” I lied.
I looked down at the mess now covering the floor—my sadly uneaten and now spoiled breakfast—and bolted out the door.
It took a few miles of driving, distancing myself from the humiliating scene, before I could overcome the feelings of extreme embarrassment. It took an even longer time to get over my frustration.
I had him! I was given the perfect opportunity, and I blew it. I lost him because I came on too strong and too fast!
“Dang it!” I shouted, slamming my hand down on the steering wheel. My palm stung from the blow.
I turned off my now-bothersome radio and tried to think. What could be learned from that meeting? I rehearsed the events in my mind. The blond man had acted like a scared lunatic, spouting lies that it hadn’t been him. Or that it was him, but it wasn’t him… as if he was possessed.
I inhaled sharply. Possessed.
The word passed through my mind, a ring of truth behind the thought.
He had been possessed.
I said it aloud, waiting for my instincts to reject it, but they didn’t.
It sounded so foolish one moment, then a moment later it made perfect sense. My attacker had been possessed. My attacker… my attackers. Had that been the case with all of them?
The randomness of my attacks had never made sense to me. But now a new light sparked and illuminated a once-dark question. Maybe the “Why” could be explained by my new friend? He had been so intoxicated that he had allowed something in.
The truth has been kept from you, but it cannot stay hidden much longer.
Was this the truth I was looking for? Why couldn’t Ian have been more specific?
My fuel gauge came on. I pulled into the next gas station and began fueling my car. I leaned against the hood and watched as people entered and exited the store.
There was no one else to interrogate. There was no way of finding my attackers from the years before, and there was no way I could ask my dad. In fact, he was the absolute last person who could know what I was trying to figure out.
So, what now?
I grabbed my phone and pulled up the Internet. I typed in evil spirit possessing humans.
What came up was more discouraging than helpful: websites containing articles listing the signs and symptoms of possessed people; spiritual forums preaching religious doctrine of repentance and exorcism; movie clips, personal videos, drawings, pictures, and instructive courses. They all informed people of how to allow or avoid possession.
I quickly dropped my cell phone in my bag and finished filling my gas tank.
As I got back into my car, my phone vibrated. A message from Elisa lit up the screen.
Do you have plans tonight?
I chuckled softly as I responded.
Plans? Do I ever?
You do now. Dinner, 6pm. Movie after. Would Cheryl want to join?
Cheryl had told me that morning that she would be visiting friends. I let Elisa know. I drove home thinking how great it would be to actually set her up with Laith’s dad. I had forgotten to tell Cheryl about the birthday party. She would be incredibly jealous to find out she had missed one of Dr. Raymond Stevens’s stories.
As I was walking up to the front door of Cheryl’s house I stopped. The Heralds! Ray’s story!
I did have someone else to interrogate, but this time I would ask nicely. Who better to question about this strange business than someone who already knew and believed in the supernatural, and what sounded like angels.
I ran into the house a
nd jumped into the shower, all the while trying to formulate a plan of how to broach the subject to Ray.
14
Date Night
Around four-thirty, the doorbell rang. Laith and Elisa stood waiting at the front doorstep.
“Sorry we’re early, but we didn’t have anything else to do so we decided to come over.” Elisa looked apologetic.
“You’re fine. Come on in.” I peered over their shoulders expecting a third party. “Is Ray out there waiting?”
“No, Ray didn’t come. Since Cheryl wouldn’t be able to make it, we didn’t ask him. He’s going out with some colleagues,” Laith explained.
“Oh.” My chest caved with disappointment. “Let me just grab my bag.”
“I’ll come with you,” Elisa said.
“Can I use your restroom?” Laith asked.
“Of course. First door to the left.”
Elisa followed me down the hall, but didn’t enter my room. I turned to see the two of them standing fixed in front of Ian’s room. Elisa nodded to Laith.
Laith looked at me with a strange, guarded smile I had never seen before. “Would it be inappropriate to glance inside?”
“Please?” asked Elisa.
“Um…” This was uncharted territory. Would Cheryl mind if I allowed someone else to enter Ian’s room? I knew they wouldn’t be disrespectful, and I didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“I think that would be fine.”
Laith stepped aside and let me lead the way. I opened the door, walked toward the far corner of Ian’s room, and turned to watch their expressions. Their eyes were wide as they scanned the room.
“Do you feel it?” Elisa breathed in Laith’s ear as she passed, an almost silent whisper. I narrowed my gaze as I watched them.
Laith nodded imperceptibly.
“Did he go to all of these places? The Parthenon. The Great Wall of China?” he asked.
“No. These were all the places he dreamed of visiting.” I glanced over at his favorite one: the picture of Machu Picchu.
“The Basilica of Saint Peter was one of my favorites,” Laith said, studying the print.
“You’ve been?”
“I’ve been to all of these places,” he said.
I heard Elisa draw in a shallow breath. Saving my questions, I turned to Elisa and thought I caught a tear in the corner of her eyes. “I remember his picture at the funeral and thought that he had a beautiful smile, but these…” She gestured to the photos covering his wall. “Laith, look at all of these.”
Laith walked over and, bending from the hips, brought his face a mere foot away from the images Ian had pinned up. The expression on his face was blank.
I sat down on the bed and watched their reactions. They kept their arms folded across their chests, admiring Ian’s décor as if they were in some sort of museum. It didn’t bother me; it just wasn’t necessary. I knew Ian wouldn’t care that they were here. Ian wasn’t a private person. He had no secrets to keep.
Laith raised his hand and started to gently lift the pictures on the corkboard to peek at the photos buried underneath. Elisa noticed the framed picture of me and Ian on the dresser.
“Sarah, you were so happy here. How long ago was this?” she asked, picking it up.
“Last summer. August.”
“So recent,” she whispered.
Laith looked down at Elisa then at the picture she was admiring. He reached over and took the frame from her.
“You look better here,” Laith said matter-of-factly.
I was a little taken back by that comment. “Gee, Laith. Thanks,” I said.
“Laith,” Elisa warned, but he ignored her.
“Look at your face. You’re glowing. We’ve never seen you like this. I’ve never seen you this happy.”
Laith brought the frame within inches of my face. I swiftly grabbed his arm and moved it back so I wasn’t staring at it crossed-eyed. It had been a while since I really looked at the picture. I knew what it was and where it had been taken. I remember the memory in vivid detail, but still I glanced at the couple. Ian was just as I remembered him and now nothing about him would change. His body would be forever perfect, forever beautiful, and forever young. I was glad for that.
I was glowing: my smile genuine, my eyes bright. My skin was warm from the sun, and my dark hair blown about by the costal breeze. I frowned and pushed the picture away.
“Yes, well…” That was then.
Elisa put her arms around my shoulders. “Sometimes he doesn’t think before he speaks.”
Laith sighed. “I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just upset, I guess. I didn’t realize how sad you were. Not until today. I gathered that you were going through a difficult time, even before the night of Elisa’s birthday. But I never would have guessed this.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand. I’m not any different. This—” I pointed at the picture Laith still had in his hand, “—is the exception. Some of the best times I ever had were with Ian. He was the only one to show me what life outside mine could be like. He was my first, true best friend.”
Laith seemed taken aback by my admission but then he glanced back down at the picture. “Then I am thankful to him.” Laith took a final glance around the room. “And I don’t think he’s done being your best friend.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.
“He’s still around, watching over you and Cheryl. You can feel him. His energy.”
“Energy?” My thoughts went to the day I lost consciousness. Could Laith tell that Ian had once visited me in this room? Is that what he and Elisa felt?
“Most people send off a certain energy—an aura if you will. If you’re paying attention, that energy can tell you a lot about a person.”
“Sarah, all Laith is trying to say is that you can tell he was a great guy.”
Elisa narrowed her gaze at Laith. Once again I knew there was more to the conversation then what was being said.
“He was.” I took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m hungry, you guys. Can we get something to eat?”
Maybe I didn’t have to find a moment alone with only Dr. Raymond Stevens. Something told me that Elisa and Laith were keeping important information to themselves, but not knowing just how to ask, I decided to keep my suspicions private until I could figure it out.
“Of course.” Elisa hugged me then together we left.
Laith and Elisa put our name on the restaurant’s guest list and went back outside to wait the fifteen to twenty-minute waiting time. The restaurant was at the end corner of a rather long shopping plaza.
“Oh look, Laith. That’s the place where they sell my body spray.”
Laith leaned over and took a sniff of her neck. She giggled and rubbed the place on her skin that he had just inspected with his nose. I felt as if I were witnessing something private.
“Love Potion, right?” He inhaled deeply, as if savoring the fragrance. “Nope. I don’t think it works.”
I laughed despite feeling marginally uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you two go in?” I offered.
“What?” Elisa looked confused.
“It might be closed later on. We have at least another ten minutes to wait. Why don’t you two go?”
Elisa peered at me for a moment. I could tell she wanted to, but I could also see that she didn’t want to leave me alone. I would have to be more forceful. I reached into my pocket and took out a twenty.
“Here.” I shoved it into Laith’s hand. “Would you mind picking up my favorite body lotion. I’ve been out of it for a while now. It’s called Beautiful.”
Laith reached out and grabbed my arm and proceeded to sniff.
“Oh, will you stop it.” I laughed again and pulled my arm away from him. “Go. Hurry. If I’m not here, look for me inside.”
Elisa grabbed Laith’s hand. “Beautiful, right?”
I nodded then together they turned around, disappearing into the store.
I found a less crowded place on the sidewalk and stood near a lone couple. It was farther away from the restaurant door, but still close enough that Laith and Elisa could easily find me. I pulled out my cell phone to check if anyone had called, but that was mainly an excuse to appear busy. I was starting to feel out of place, like a third wheel. Now that I was alone, I felt even more awkward.
The woman standing next to me moved away to the other side of the sidewalk. The man glanced at me and followed suit. My face burned at the apparent snub.
“Do you still dream about me, Sarah?” The voice came from directly behind me, causing me to jump and inhale sharply at the same time.
Several people chuckled at my reaction but turned when they saw me notice. I looked back at Jonathan. He seemed repentant.
“Sarah, I—I truly didn’t mean to scare you.” He whispered so that no one would hear. “I do apologize.”
“Jonathan?”
He hadn’t changed a bit. Even though I had begun to forget what he looked like, seeing him again brought back all the same strange feelings I had around him. I was angry with him, couldn’t stand him, hated that he had seen me here and that he had the nerve to even talk to me; but at the same time, I was glad to see him, happy not to be alone, and I couldn’t seem to pry my gaze away from his perfectly gorgeous face.
His lips twisted into a small smile. I grimaced.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as his eyes roamed over my features. I fought to cover my chest with my arms.
“I’m eating dinner with friends. What are you doing here?” I asked, looking to see if Laith and Elisa were returning yet.
“Me? I just had dinner with some friends down at that bar.” He pointed to a pub just a couple places down. “It’s a nice place, but it was getting a little too busy for my tastes. I’m actually glad I ran into you. I’ve been thinking a lot about you.”
“Oh?” I tried to sound indifferent, but I don’t think I managed it.
Personal Demons Page 12
