Chapter 10 ~ Sam
My alarm clock blares out an angry song in my ear. I wince as the pain from my head throbs to the beat. I smack the snooze button. My whole body aches with agony. I feel around my scalp trying to find the source of my tender head. I find a small scab on the back of my crown. It was very tender and I knew I didn't want to touch it again. I blink my eyes trying to focus on my surroundings, wondering how I got into bed. I was still in my dress from last night and as I sat up to get out of bed, my head swam causing me to grip the nightstand. Once I regained my equilibrium, I made my way to the bathroom. I glanced in the mirror almost scarring myself at the horror that stared back at me.
I peeled my dress off and examined the bruises on my ribs, arms and wrist, the dried blood under my nails. Was it Sam’s? The dark circles under my eyes. I tried to remember which ones Sam gave me and which were from an unseen force. The claw marks on my legs had already almost healed. Had Will healed my body some last night? All I know is I should be in much worse shape than I am. It was all a bit hazy. I turned on the water and hoped a bath would ease the soreness in my muscles. I scooped a handful of bath salts from the glass apothecary jar and dumped them in the water. I eased into the steaming tub and closed my eyes.
What was I supposed to do about Sam? I can't be sure but I believe he was possessed. I know he would never intentionally hurt me. If this would have happened before I learned that there are supernatural ethereal beings in our world then I would be calling the police right now. But the fact is, I do know what horror lies among us. I was attacked by a demon last night and I have the gruesome handprint bruised onto my torso to prove it. And now I have a new keeper named Will, who better be giving me the same privacy that the previous one did. My anxiety level is still on high alert. I jump at the slightest noise. I miss Elijah so much. I am so scared without him here to protect me. I keep imagining all of the details of our last night together.
I emerge from the tub still sore but feeling much better, like I can possibly even face the day. I pick out a sea green cashmere sweater hoping to hide the bruises on my arms and a white bohemian skirt. I slipped into a tan riding boot. I meander into the living room, afraid to appraise the damage done last night. I see the six foot crack in the sheet rock where Sam was crushed. I don't know how he was able to run out of here last night. I turn and examine the place where I hit. A frame is missing off the wall but there is no broken glass anywhere, I suppose Will had something to do with that. I glance at the sofa and recoil at the thought of what almost happened there. A wave of nausea sends me to the bathroom. I empty the bile and rinse my mouth out. I need some fresh air. I grab my keys and take the top off of my car. I wind my hair into a bun and secure it with a pencil. On this cool morning, the fog will linger well into the day. Traffic is light and I pull into school with time to spare. Time I use to construct enough courage to go inside, afraid to face him. How will I ever look at him the same?
I sit at my desk in first period wondering if Sam is going to show up and what will I say to him if he does? I guess I need to find out what he remembers. If he wasn't possessed then I will be pressing charges, he had to be, I recall his words about the fire and worry that his words could have just as easily come from a jealous boyfriend gone too far over the edge, or a demon. I mean I have only known him a couple of months. It wouldn’t be unfathomable that his family moved here to Norfolk just because he was a wanted fugitive in Texas. He could have followed me home, seen me with Elijah, set my house on fire in a fit of rage. No that thing last night knew Elijah was a keeper. The bells sound, and still no Sam. Maybe he is on the run. I sigh. I am desperate for some answers, not that I could talk about it here anyways. Even though he injured me last night I can't help but worry about him. I mean if a demon had taken over his body then it wasn't him that hurt me, he may not even be aware of anything that happened, he may even be lying dead in a ditch somewhere after the beating Will inflicted on his body. That guy was so strong; he took down Sam as easily as flicking dirt from his fingernails.
I wonder how Elijah would look in the heat of battle and it warmed me from the inside out. I feel like he is still in existence somewhere in some alternate plane, or where ever he is from. I think our souls are connected somehow and I have the overwhelming sense he is trying to communicate with me.
In Government I was elected president and today. I have to give a speech about my proposed immigration policy the only problem is that I never wrote the speech. I walk up to the podium and stare at the blank cards before me. I take a deep breath and the words flow effortlessly from my lips. Fifteen minutes later the class is applauding and I don't even know what I just said. I smile politely and sit back down. Why did I even come to school today? After class Mr. Potter asks to speak with me for a moment. I stand at his desk while the rest of the class spills out of the room.
“Ms. Hale with your permission I would like to recommend you for the internship award with the governor’s office this summer. Your ideas are refreshing and well thought out. I will be sending a DVD of your speeches along as well. I think the Governor will be impressed.” Okay how the heck did I pull that off? Maybe I should ask to review the video first because I honestly don’t know what I said.
“Mr. Potter, thank you that is very kind of you. Do you think I stand a chance, at my age?”
“I recognize potential in you, and without doubt the Governor will see it as well. Good luck, Brennen.”
At lunch, Emily joins me under the tree. I bite into an apple as she asks me how Sam took the news last night. I chew the fruit slowly so I can delay my answer and so I can pass the food over the large lump growing in my throat.
“I think he took it kind of hard, but at least I said what I needed to. He just needs some time to accept it.” It sounded like how things would have went down had Sam actually been a part of the conversation. I wonder at what point he became possessed last night. Before I get involved in anymore lies, I change the subject.
“So how are things with Chris? You two seem happy.” She takes the bait and spends the rest of lunch giving me all of the mushy details of their romance. I nod and smile in all the right places but my mind has left the conversation. The smells of fall are in the air, the leaves already changing and the air is cool and crisp. It reminds me of the wine Elijah and I shared and I let my thoughts drift to the memory.
“Brennen?” I hear Emily ask in an exasperated tone.
“Hmm?” I open my eyes.
“Um are you going to class, the bell rang like two minutes ago.” I glance around and notice the crowd trafficking their way to class. She grabs my hand and pulls me up. I wince as the pain in my wrist rings alarm bells under my sleeves. I think she notices, I retract my hand back and turn to pick up my bag. She turns and walks off, never saying goodbye. I like the way Emily puts up with my crazy. She never calls me on it but ever so subtly shifts my focus to a more sane behavior.
***
I park my car in the garage and make sure the door is closed before getting out. I am still petrified about what happened last night. What if one of those things comes back to finish the job? What if Sam does? I feel isolated in this small house with no neighbors on either side. In fact there are few residents who live here year round on this block. Most have left for the winter by now. I go to the bedroom and take out all of my books. I have a lot of work to do. It is my only coping mechanism. Thank heaven for my A.P classes. They keep my brain hostage for hours on any given night. The wind kicks up around the house and it starts to poor buckets of rain outside on the metal roof. The noise makes me on edge. I pull my ear buds from the night stand and listen to my slow songs and sing along to Yellow. The music ebbs my fears away and helps to brighten my mood marginally.
It's after two a.m. when I finally crawl under the covers. I find a picture of Elijah on my phone and fall asleep looking into his eyes. I wake with a start, it’s still dark out, but in the darkest corner of the room, two yellow eyes blink back at me, like the ca
ution light before the railroad crossing. I blink in response, and widen my eyes, and then they're gone. I sit up and turn the lamp on. The room is empty. Diaphanous white curtains blow in the wind, and I realize the window is open. The storm is still raging outside. My heartbeat kicks in gear, hammering raucously in my ear. I reach under my bed to pull out the baseball bat I keep there, and then I remember I’m not at my home. Suddenly afraid that the yellow eyes may belong to someone who is now under my bed, I snatch my empty hand back up as the image of it being sliced off haunts my thoughts. I look at the window knowing I want to close it, but what if it is waiting for me?
“Will! Elijah! One of you better get your soul keeper-CIA butts in here and fix this, now!” I wrap my arms around my legs and wait. “I mean it!” The wind gusts through the curtains blowing them into billowing flags. “Fine, you know what? I am going to close the window and if they want me, they can come and get me. I am tired dang it.” I pad over to the window and use one hand to close the window, the other to hold back the wet curtains. I try to go back to sleep but it is futile. I keep seeing the sulfur yellow eyes, so full of hate it poisons the very blood that runs through its veins.
What could be so important about my destiny? I don't get it. Elijah thinks I will become president, which I doubt, but even if that's true I don't believe that any other presidents had demonic encounters and assassination attempts on a routine basis. Other than being highly influential, the president doesn't have that much power. It's basically like being a glorified cheerleader. The President has no control over the elected members of the House and Senate, whose majority approval is required, to enact any public policy. Therefore, the most effective President is one who possesses the political skills to persuade (i.e. -cheerlead) the House and Senate that his or her policies are worthy of enactment.
I get out of bed and go down stairs to start caffeinating myself; I am going to need it. It's only five in the morning and dark as night out. I wonder if Sam is coming to school today. I still wonder if he is dead in a ditch somewhere. He did do me the courtesy of checking on me the other night when my house burned down. I am going to do the same. I trod to the bedroom and throw on jeans and a tee- shirt and tie up my hair into a ponytail. I brush my teeth and grab my purse and book bag and head out the door.
Sam lives northwest of me. I was supposed to meet him here the day that Elijah got taken, and well that never happened. I wonder what his surprise was going to be. I don't know what I am going to say to him, I just need to know if he is alive and if he is the one who attacked me. The dawn is breaking and the sky turns from navy to lilac. I reach the address and pull into the iron gates slowly. It is a very long tree lined drive way that curves delicately to the front of the house. Yard after yard of fenced in pastures make up the majority of the east and a large stable sits high on a hill in the west. There are already farm hands milling about, and I hope I am not waking up the entire house. The house is a large colonial style home with red brick and large white pillars adorning the front. The landscaping is lush, one hundred year old oak trees dot the scene, which creates quite a picturesque setting.
It's about six a.m. when I ring the doorbell. Sam's father, a handsome older man answers the door. He is wearing a stiff white shirt and a black Stetson, the epitome of what Sam will resemble when he ages.
“Brennen, what brings you by at this hour?”
“I apologize; I don't believe he was expecting me.”
He smiles, warming me with those same dark chocolate eyes, and shakes my hand. He opens the door and shows me to the living room.
“Please dear, make yourself at home. I'll get my boy.” I take a seat on the plush leather sofa. The house is decorated in a traditional style that is both timeless and worldly. I see two blonde heads peeking from the stair rails upstairs and I wave at the girls. They run off giggling in unison. My knee begins to bounce from the flood of nerves welling inside. The night plays back in my head causing me to shudder.
With the help of his father, Sam makes his way down the stairs one agonizing step at a time. Wearing only pajama bottoms, his ribs are wrapped in bandages and his neck is an ugly shade of eggplant.
“Brennen, what are you doing here?” he says in a barely audible whisper. His neck must be so sore. I cringe just looking at it. Mr. Montgomery leaves us alone.
“I just needed to know you were okay, I can go.” He takes my hand, wincing as if that slight movement was unbearable.
“No, I don't want you to go.” I can feel four tiny ears straining in the distance to hear our words.
“Is there someplace we can talk?”
“Yes.” He leads me outside to a tree that shades a beautifully carved bench and we sit.
“What happened the other night Sam?” He looks off at the house with his face full of anguish.
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“What do you remember?” I ask. He lets out a sigh and then takes a deep breath.
“One minute I was helping you in the kitchen and the next some guy is beating the shit out of me. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I must have blacked out. I woke up in the cab of my truck to my dad banging on the window. He had to take me to the hospital. I have three broken ribs and a severely bruised trachea. What happened? Who was that guy?” He swallows, and I can tell it's with great effort. I notice how he takes short breathes between every few words.
I think about what I should tell him. I don't want to put him in anymore danger than I already have. I also don't want to hurt him anymore than I already have. When I look at Sam, I still see that rage filled monster that tried to hurt me in the worst way possible. The tender bruises on my ribs bear his hand print. I remember the violation I felt when he almost... ugh I can’t even think of it. Yet here I sit next to him, like I still care about him. Because I know that wasn't really him, it was a demon, an evil bastard sent to suck any hope I have left from my soul. My sweet Sam is not capable of even an ounce of malice. He is the most charming, kindest, lovable, gentleman I have ever met.
“Sam I don’t know how to tell you this but that guy that beat you up, was protecting me.”
“Brennen, what do you mean?” Confusion fills Sam’s eyes. I have to tell him a least a partial version of the truth. He may not even believe me. But I can’t keep lying to him.
“Do you believe in God?” He nods his head. “Well then you need to know that there are also angels and demons.”
“Sam, the reason you don’t remember the other night is because you were possessed.”
“Bren that is not even funny to joke about.” He gives me a pensive stare. I pull back the sleeves of my sweater and reveal the bruises. I lift my shirt and take his hand in mine. He sees the ugly hand shaped bruise on my ribs and splays his own fingers to an exact match. He sucks back a breath and tears fill his eyes. He makes a fist and clutches it to his lips. “No, I would never hurt you,” he says and I shake my head.
“It wasn’t you Sam, I know it wasn’t you. I know you would never hurt me.” Tears spill over my lashes. I hate this. I hate hurting him with the truth.
“What did I do Brennen? Please?” I shake my head again as tears fly off of my cheeks. I wipe my face with my bare hands. I don’t want to tell him, it is too awful. Sobbing breaths take over my voice.
“Brennen, please tell me I didn’t hurt you.” Sam is crying out. I can’t say it. It will cause an irreversible chasm between us, forever severing any hope of a friendship.
“Will, arrived just in time to help you. He is in the CIA and is sort of protecting me.”
“Hang on, do what?” Sam asks as he wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.
“I haven’t told anyone this, not even Emily but I am under surveillance and being protected by the CIA. Will’s father knew how to perform exorcisms and talked Will through it.” Sam rubs his hands through his hair as he leans over his knees. I realize I have just dropped two bombshells on him and it may take a moment for him to process. He probably thinks I am crazy
.
“How do you know I was possessed? And second, why do you need the CIA?” His accent comes out even thicker after he cries.
“After Will did the exorcism, the demon that was inside of you, picked me up and threw me against the wall. To answer your other question, it is classified but has to do with my father’s death.” Sam mouths an expletive after the first revelation. He gently takes my wrist in his hand and examines the bruises.
“I did this? I am so sorry Brennen,” Sam says as he breaks down in tears again. I lift his chin up with my finger.
“You didn’t do anything wrong Sam. You didn’t put these marks on me, a demon did.” I know he is torn about what to believe. That is about all the truth I can give him for today. I can’t break his heart all over again by telling him about my feelings for Elijah, at least not today.
“I have to go. I have a few tests today I can't miss. Get some rest okay. I'll be by later to check on you.” He walks me slowly to my car and I let him kiss my lips one last time. It makes me feel even worse. Why couldn't I just stay invisible?
Chapter 11 ~ Repercussions
I make the short drive over to Dr. Kennedy's office after school. I enter the large glass building and press the elevator button. When the doors open, a few people filter out and I get in, and press three. My doctor has a cozy office with a beachy cottage theme running through her décor. From the sand colored sofa to the turquoise glass seahorses on her desk, she has it covered. Her receptionist greets me with a warm smile and buzzes the doctor.
My Soul to Keep (The Soul Keeper Series - Young Adult Paranormal Romance) Page 12
