Swift

by Heather London

  I nodded, knowing that he was just saying that to be nice, because he would have not had a chance to hook up with any girls if I were hanging around with him. Because as weird as it sounds and as much as it grossed me out just thinking about it, Roger and I could pull off being a couple. I mean, anytime you see a guy and a girl hanging out together, your first thought is they must be together, right? And it didn’t hurt that we were so comfortable around each other and could talk to one another so effortlessly. But if you really paid attention, you would easily hear us making fun of and bashing each other the first chance we got.

  For a moment, there was a break in our conversation. I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. My thoughts drifted to Blake. It was strange that I was sitting there with my best friend, and I couldn’t get my thoughts away from Blake.

  “What is up with you?” Roger asked, his voice teetering on a thin line between curious and worried.

  I tilted my head to look at him and saw that his right eyebrow was arched, meaning that he was really stumped. “Nothing. Why?” I quickly answered, sitting up and crossing my legs. He knew me too well. I should’ve known he was going to see right through me.

  “Not buying it. Something is up. You’re hiding something. I can see it in your eyes.” He nodded his head like he knew he was right.

  “Well, look at you, Mr. Observant. Why don’t you tell me, if you’re so sure?” I snapped back sarcastically, hoping it would make him back off.

  “Ha, ha. You are not getting off that easy, Mer. Tell me what’s going on,” he pressed.

  But just as I was about to begin, just as I was about to tell him I was starting to have feelings for Blake, a large thunderclap made us both jump.

  “What the heck! I didn’t know there was a storm coming tonight.” He groaned.

  “Ugh, me either. That’s just great. I guess we’ll be ordering in?” I predicted.

  But when I turned to look at him, I didn’t like the way he was shaking his head. “No way. I’m taking you out. You aren’t scared of a little rain, are you?”

  He pulled me up by my hands and then pushed me out the door. Before I knew it, we were in his Mustang and headed into town. It didn’t take long for us to drive to the waterfront, where restaurants lined the streets.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We pulled up to Atlantic Pizza Company, and my mouth began to water the moment we stepped inside. I hadn’t eaten all day and hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the smell of pizza hit my nose. As we approached the hostess stand to be seated, the brunette on the left winked in Roger’s direction. I shook my head, knowing she was probably one of the many girls he had hooked up with in the past few weeks. The hostess on the right, who had red hair and was way too dull to peak Roger’s interest, sat us down in a back corner table.

  “Man, it’s just now dawning on me that you will be leaving town soon. All these years you’ve been talking about leaving Marblehead, and now it’s just a few weeks away,” Roger said as we both glanced over the menus.

  “It’s just now dawning on you, genius? We’ve known this for months now. And to think you got into Harvard. Man, it speaks volumes for the place,” I joked.

  He rolled his eyes. “What am I going to do without you next year? You’re the only one who gives me crap. I think my ego may double in size without all your sarcastic remarks putting me in place.”

  “I’m glad I won’t be around to see that.” I smiled.

  “So have you nailed down any plans yet?”

  “Um … kinda. But I haven’t bought the plane ticket yet,” I said, tripping over my words.

  “You’re not getting cold feet are you?” He looked at me, mouth gaping.

  “No,” I replied confidently. “Just still trying to decide on all the details. So, what’s good here?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Well, you can’t go wrong with the Classic, but the Supreme is good, too. Depends on what you’re in the mood for, though.”

  “Right now, anything sounds good.” My stomach gave a low rumble.

  Just then a guy walked up to our table. He and Roger exchanged some sort of strange handshake, fist-bump thing, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

  “Meredith, this is Ethan. Ethan, Meredith.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  “Well, well. Where have you been hiding all summer?” He smiled, and his white teeth sparkled against his dark tan complexion.

  This time I couldn’t stop myself. I rolled my eyes and looked back toward Roger. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “She’s actually my best friend from Marblehead. She’s just visiting.”

  “All right, man. Best friend’s a hottie.”

  They did another handshake, fist-bump thing, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. “I have to go to the restroom. Be back in a few,” I said, not interested in hearing them fight over which bartender was hotter.

  “It’s back behind the bar. Hang a left!” Ethan shouted to me as he saw me walking in the wrong direction.

  “Thanks!” I yelled back. All of the tables were empty so I began to navigate my way through them toward the back of the restaurant. In the back corner, I saw the sign for the restrooms pointing to a hallway.

  Just as I rounded the corner and began my walk down the hall, someone from behind me grabbed my arm. He whipped me around so that my back was up against his chest and began pulling me down the hall. Just a couple seconds passed before I heard him kick open the side door and drag me outside. Before I could think to scream or run, he whispered in my ear, “Keep quiet. No sudden movements, and this will all go a lot smoother. We don’t want to involve your friend Roger in this, now do we?”

  I swallowed hard, my heart began to pick up speed, and I held my breath. The entire time I was panicking on the inside, trying to search my mind for things to do in a situation like this. But my mind was blank with fear.

  “Shh, it’s all going to be okay,” he whispered again, dragging me out and into the dark alley. I quickly noticed the light rain falling onto my trembling body. I looked down toward the ground, searching for something—a glass bottle, a stick, anything to defend myself with. But nothing but darkness covered the ground. I held my head steady, remembering what he had said about no sudden movements. I reached my eyes right and saw nothing but street lights a few blocks away, a couple dumpsters, and a brick wall with graffiti on it.

  My heart stopped. I was having a major case of déjà vu—but even worse. This was the vision I had had at the Harpers’ the afternoon I helped Abby choose paint colors.

  “Ahh, much better,” he said as he whipped me around to face him. Fear gripped me. The moment our eyes locked together, my heart thudded loudly in my ears. I knew that I was in a lot more trouble than I could have ever imagined. It was not some stranger that had pulled me out into the shadows; it was the man that had been haunting me for weeks now. He was there, in the flesh, no longer a figment of my imagination.

  “Now that we are all alone, allow me to introduce myself. I think it’s about time we were properly introduced, don’t you?” His evil eyes narrowed and bore into mine. “My name is Isaac, Isaac Waters.”

  My arms, legs, and feet felt numb. The only part of my body that seemed to be operating was my brain, and it was only flashing images of my nightmares over and over. I tried my hardest to focus, to try and get my brain to signal to my mouth to scream for help. Just open your mouth and scream.

  But before my brain got the signal to my mouth, he spoke again. “No need for an introduction on your part. I am well aware of who you are, and I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Meredith Martin. How are you feeling? A little paralyzed, maybe?” He laughed a sinister laugh, tilting his head back slightly while still keeping his eyes fixated on me. “I just can’t believe it’s working.” He marveled at me as he lightly caressed my cheek, his evil smile growing larger. "You really have no idea how long I have waited for this moment.”

  My breathin
g was becoming shallow and rapid. I felt like I was suffocating. I tried to focus on screaming for help. It felt like if I could just open my mouth, the scream would come out. But I was paralyzed, just like he said. I couldn’t move my mouth or any other part of my body.

  Then slowly I began to feel tingling in my toes, and then the feeling spread up to my legs to my torso and then eventually up my arms and neck. He was still staring at me, caressing my cheek like I was some sort of prize that he had just won.

  Then just like a switch had been turned back on, I felt like I could speak again. “H-how do you know my name?” I asked, cold sweat spreading across my hairline.

  The two corners of his mouth curved downward, like someone had just snatched his prize out of his hands. Then his face turned to pure anger. “Oh, I know a lot more than just your name. We’ve been searching for you for a while now, but you were hidden under one big protection spell,” he said, twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers. “Oh, the plans we have for you, my dear. Now, I’m not sure how you just broke through that binding spell, but it just means I have to do this quicker than expected.” He laughed another sinister laugh that made every hair on my body stand on end.

  Then out of nowhere, he stopped laughing and pulled me back toward him, suddenly on guard for something. “Damn! Well this complicates things. But I must say, I was a little disappointed that it was ending so easily. I knew you could not go down without a fight.” He spit through his teeth as he stared out into the dark alley.

  I wondered who he was talking to. He whipped me around, facing me toward the darkness, gripping me even tighter. I searched the dark alley, but saw nothing. My eyesight was adjusting to the darkness, but I was still only able to make out outlines of large objects. Then my eyes caught something moving. The person was still far away, but I watched as he got closer, growing larger and clearer. I let out a silent gasp, realizing who it was: Blake was standing about ten feet in front of me, staring at the man who had me in his grasp.

  “Let her go,” Blake demanded as he stood with his fists clenched, his eyes focused on Isaac.

  The evil laugh that had shot goose bumps all over my body was loud in my ear. “Now why would I do that? All this work, and you just expect me to give it all up? I’m so close. Actually I should give you a round of applause for finding her and keeping her safe for so long. But as you see, my hands are full.” Isaac squeezed me tighter, and I could feel my breath getting more and more shallow. “That was some protection spell you had on this one. It took me a while to figure out how to break through it. But it would not be much fun if there were no challenge, now, would it?”

  I stared at Blake. His eyes darted quickly upward, and I followed their gaze. There on the roof above us stood three statuesque figures. I tried to focus and make out their faces, but it was too dark.

  “Does it have to be like this, old friend?” Isaac growled as he gripped me closer to his chest.

  “We are nothing to each other, least of all friends,” Blake snapped.

  “Oh, I’m sorely disappointed to hear that. Alexander will be, too.”

  “Where is Alex these days?” Blake asked.

  “Oh, he’s around, my friend.”

  A small grin spread across Blake’s face. “So it seems that you are doing Alexander’s dirty work now. He was not brave enough to come here himself, so he sent you?”

  Blake’s condescending demeanor was making Isaac angrier. I could feel his grip getting tighter with Blake’s every word.

  “Let her go, and I may just let you live—for now,” Blake warned, his voice full of rage.

  “You will pay for this, you know. I will have her again. I have to.”

  He released his grip on me, but I was still too scared to move a muscle.

  “Meredith, please walk toward me.” Blake spoke calmly as he held out his hand. He kept his eyes focused upon my captor.

  I looked into Blake’s eyes, not knowing what to do. None of it made sense.

  He nodded as if he knew what I was feeling, and I began to walk forward to his outreached hand. As I walked away from Isaac, I could still feel his presence at my back. His eyes were boring holes into me. It felt like at any moment Isaac would grab me and pull me back into his tight grasp. Finally, my hand reached Blake’s, and our eyes met for a split second, before he shot his gaze back toward Isaac.

  “Meredith, I will explain everything later. I just need you to trust me now,” Blake whispered so softly that I could barely hear him.

  Trust him? It seemed like a strange request, since I had no idea what was going on. But I had no reason not to trust him. He had just saved me from the crazy person I had thought existed only in my mind.

  I nodded my head, and then Blake was shouting at me. “Hang on tight to me and close your eyes. Now!”

  With only that warning, before I could question or object to what was happening, I was thrown into what felt like a mix between a washing machine and a wind tunnel. The whirling feeling was overwhelming, and my already-mangled stomach began to feel nauseous. The sensation of spinning and whooshing through the air lasted what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality it was probably just a few minutes. Next thing I knew, I was standing on my own two feet again, but my body still felt like it was spinning. I stumbled backward, and then Blake caught me just before I hit the ground.

  “Meredith, Meredith, are you okay?” Blake shook me lightly. “Just a few more seconds, and the dizziness should pass. Just breathe,” he encouraged me.

  Easy for you to say, I thought to myself. What about the nausea? I felt like asking but was too afraid to open my mouth in fear that it wouldn’t be words to come out. I kept my eyes closed to try and still my spinning head. A few moments passed, and although I couldn’t be sure, it felt as if Blake had lifted me and was carrying me in his arms. I was too scared to open my eyes to tell.

  After a few minutes, I was finally able to open my eyes and focus again. My first sight was Blake’s concerned eyes, staring at me. My previous thought had been correct; he was cradling me in his arms.

  “What?” was all I could mumble, but I really wanted to scream out, What the hell is going on?

  “Please, just breathe. I will explain everything once you are feeling better.”

  I began to look around the dark room. My eyes adjusted just enough to realize we were in a very large, circular room. Squinting, I tried to focus in order to make out more of my surroundings, but I realized it was an impossible task. Blake knelt down and placed me onto something velvety-feeling. I felt him move away from me, and I begin to pat the space around where I was sitting. Beyond the soft material Blake had laid me on, there was a cold, hard surface.

  Suddenly, Blake struck a match, and my eyes were drawn to the light. The glow of it shined on Blake’s face as he slowly guided the match down to a candle. The flame filled the room with just a faint beam of light, but it was enough for me to see my surroundings a little better. Windows encircled us, and I looked up to see that the ceiling was endless as it rose and faded into the darkness above. Blake crawled toward me and came to a stop a few inches in front of me.

  “Are you feeling better?” he asked, his face full of apprehension.

  “A little,” I lied. But of course I wasn’t better! I had just almost been kidnapped, hurt, or even worse by a man who had been stalking me in my mind—and who I had previously thought was just a figment of my crazy imagination. Then out of nowhere, Blake, the guy who I was starting to fall for, comes out of the darkness to save me. The words that came to mind to describe how I was were scared, freaked out, terrified, and confused. Not better.

  “What happened? How did we get here? Who was that …?” I rattled off questions as they popped into my head, and it soon proved to be too much. I could feel my chest beginning to constrict and my breathing becoming erratic.

  “It’s all going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Blake murmured, quickly wrapping his arms around me to comfort me. “I let him get t
oo close. That was never supposed to happen. I’m sorry.”

  And as confused as I was about all of this, and as much as I wanted to fight Blake off and demand answers, I couldn’t find the strength. It was difficult to accept that being in his arms made me feel safe, but just then it did, and that was all that mattered.

  I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, there was light trickling in from the windows. It took me a minute to realize where I was and remember what had happened the previous night. Soon enough the memories came back to me. Trying to be discreet, I tilted my head down, seeing Blake’s arm wrapped around my waist. Swallowing hard, I lifted my left arm and placed it on his arm around my waist, preparing to gently lift it off. But just as my hand made contact, Blake unwound his arm, and I immediately felt the lack of warmth from where it once had been.

  “Sorry, I was trying not to wake you.” My voice was just above a whisper.

  “I’ve been awake,” he answered back in the same soft tone.

  “Oh.”

  “You slept soundly all night.” His voice sounded pleased.

  “You were up … all night?”

  “You must want a hot shower and change of clothes,” he offered, totally ignoring my question.

  There were so many things I wanted. The main one was answers to the millions of questions that were floating in my head. Like, who the hell was Isaac? And how did he know where I had been? And where were we? And many, many more. But before I asked all those questions, a shower and change of clothes did sound nice. A toothbrush wouldn’t hurt, either.

  “Yes, that would be nice.”

  He nodded as he began to gather the candle and matches, pushing them into a brown leather backpack. I stood, picking up what I then could see was a beautiful quilted blanket made of purple velvet fabric.