“This was all in my dream. All of it!” She said.
Nick looked at Sarah, confused. “Sarah, I... “
“Did my aunt have long, black hair?”
Nick nodded slowly.
“I’ve been dreaming about her, Nick.” Sarah was visibly shaken.
Nick didn’t know what to make of it all, but instinctively reached out to comfort her. “I think... we need to get out of the house for awhile. It’s musty and hard to breath down here. Come on.” Nick again took Sarah by the hand. This time he lead her back up the stairs.
“Nick, I…” Sarah started.
“No. Let’s get you some fresh air. It’ll help.” Nick closed the basement door behind them. “Go grab a jacket. I’m taking you fishing.”
Sarah shot a surprised look his way, and then went upstairs and grabbed her coat. She didn’t object. She was excited to get out of the old house.
●
Nick and Sarah sat on the grassy bank of an evergreen encircled lake, fishing. Nick pulled on his line, setting the hook. Sarah just watched him. She couldn’t help but stare at him as he confidently reeled in another fish.
“Bluegill.” He smiled at Sarah and held up his catch, before dropping the fish in the worn, white pale with the wire handle, and casting back out into the lake. The weather was getting colder and hints of ice were starting to form on the lake’s surface.
Sarah’s mind was already miles away from her aunt’s house, her dreams, and the sleepless night that had preceded this new day. Instead, she found herself thinking about the man in front of her. He was so far removed from all of the guys she had ever dated, and that was a good thing. He was a true gentleman and a man’s man, who fished, and used tools and got dirty. Not at all like the LA pretty boys she had dealt with for so long. The air wasn’t the only thing that was refreshing that afternoon.
“You’re right, Nick. The fresh air is definitely making me feel better.”
“Good. I knew it would.”
Nick’s line tugged. He pulled it out of the water and with it came another fish. “One more for me. This one’s a Perch.” He unhooked the fish and tossed it in his bucket.
“You’re kinda kicking my ass,” Sarah said.
“Yup, what’s the count now? Nick five, Sarah... “
“Hey, easy. I don’t remember us deciding on an official score keeper. Plus, I’m a city girl. I don’t fish. “
“Well you’re not in the city anymore, Sarah.” Nick said with a big smile. “This, my dear, is Nebraska.” He extended his hands in the air and kind of spun in a circle to emphasize the countryside.
Sarah laughed and then jumped up to her feet to join him. They both spun in circles like little kids out on the playground first discovering the new sensation of feeling dizzy. They laughed and they spun and laughed and spun- watching the green hills and blue lake whirl around them- until with what from the outside would look like a coordinated effort, both collapsed into the long grass next to the water’s edge.
They both laid on their backs staring up at the blueish grey sky, watching the sun try to fight threw the growing cloud cover. Sarah felt the impulse to roll over and kiss Nick. This is the perfect moment! Her mind screamed at her. But she fought the powerful urge and waited. Instead she rolled to her side, propping herself up on her elbow and sent the man next to her, her best smile.
“Maybe I should challenge you to a real contest then... my choice?” Sarah winked at Nick. She felt good. It was a wonderfully new feeling.
Nick looked up at her. His blue eyes seemed to sharpen as the sun moved out from behind the large cumulus clouds above them and he laughed. “Ok you’re on.”
“Loser buys dinner.”
“Even better.”
Sarah sat up and quickly stuck out her hand for Nick to shake. “Deal?”
“Deal.” Nick smiled as he shook her hand.
●
Nick stared in amazement as Sarah knocked one ball after another into the pockets of the pool table. Pool, surprisingly had just never been his sport. Sure, there had been the one time after Mary Hughes’ wedding where he’d beaten the pants off of some his former high school classmates. But he’d been in, and beyond, a Jack Daniels’ haze that particular night and he wasn’t planning on repeating any of that with this girl- not Sarah. He still couldn’t process just how beautiful she was when he looked at her. In fact, he’d been trying to avoid looking in her direction for much of the night, as he could feel that his eyes were now starting to betray him, and she would know how he felt.
“Can I wave the white flag now?” He tried to hide his smile behind his beer bottle.
“Oh come on, take it like a man. 8 ball…corner pocket.”
Sarah pulled back on the wooden cue slowly and then it shot forward in a rapid strike. The cue ball flew across the felt top of the table and grazed the 8 ball, which dropped obediently into the corner pocket just as prophesied. “And game! You really aren’t very good at this, Nick.” Sarah winked as she put out her hand. “Good game.”
“Good game.” Nick shook her hand and shook his head. “Can I get you another beer?”
“Sure, but don’t think you’re getting off that easy. You still owe me dinner.”
“Hey, a deal is a deal. I’m a man of my word.” He laughed and headed over to the bar.
Sarah took a long drink from her beer bottle and watched Nick walk away. Enjoying the view, she thought and with that thought, wished Emma was around to share her jokes with. You need to call her tonight, her mind reminded her. It had been a few days since she’d checked in with her best friend. A few days! That had never happened before. Sarah pulled out her phone with the intention of texting her friend, but something distracted her and made her lose her train of thought- a feeling.
She looked up from her phone. The bar was starting to fill up with the locals. It was Saturday night after all, but that feeling of being watched, of hidden eyes peeling away at her made her wish Nick would just hurry up so they could leave. They could go someplace quiet. Someplace away from here.
“I was hoping I’d get the chance to meet you.” Came a low voice from behind Sarah.
She turned quickly and found herself no more than two inches away from the sour smelling, red and grey peppered beard of a tall man in army green coveralls. Sarah immediately recognized him from the parking lot outside the market from the day before. His eyes were an ugly, dark brown and she could feel them tracing the curves of her body. She wanted to scream, but she’d couldn’t. It was if she had lost control of her body. And that’s when she felt the breath on her neck. It was the other man. He was behind her.
“You’re not from around here.” The man behind her whispered. His hot breath brushed across the back of Sarah’s neck. “She looks like a city girl to me, Wright.”
“Yeah, I think that’s it. Is Mr. Morris right, Miss pretty?”
From behind, Mr. Morris, a stocky man in a hunter’s orange beanie, stepped in even closer to Sarah. He inhaled deeply, smelling her hair. Sarah could feel the gooseflesh rising all over her body. She hated it.
“Excuse me!”
Sarah, finally breaking her paralysis, whipped around to protect herself. She crossed her arms in front of her body in a fleeting attempt to shield herself.
Wright stepped in closer to Sarah. “Manners, man. Come on. I’m sorry about my friend. He gets too... excited, sometimes.” The tall man gestured with his hand for Morris to back up. “So, what brings you to our little town?”
“I’m just checking some things out.” Sarah replied coldly.
“Well, we’ve been checking you out, strutting about town... and we like what we see.” Morris laughed. His eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of old, dying ditch weed.
Sarah was cornered between the two men and the pool table. Her eyes frantically searched for Nick at the bar. There was now a crowd of people surrounding the one loan bartender pouring stiff drinks and popping bottle tops. But Sarah couldn’t see Nick in the crow
d, and it seemed no one in the crowd could see her. They might as well be a world away, her mind informed her.
Wright followed her eyes. “Who you lookin’ for? We’re right here, baby.” He grabbed Sarah’s chin, his boney fingers gripping her flesh, and turned it back towards his face. “I said, I like what I see.”
“Don’t you touch me!” She swatted his hand away.
Morris let out a loud belly laugh, and Wright, after the momentary flash of anger slipped from his face, joined in.
“Oh, she’s feisty!” Wright whispered and then he suddenly stopped laughing and this time grabbed Sarah’s arm. His fingers dug into her skin as he pulled her next to his rigid body. He smiled a big, yellow, toothy smile at Sarah as he pressed up against her. “I like that.”
And that’s when the shattering beer bottle exploded a beautifully violent cloud of brown glass on the wall behind Wright’s head. It sounded like a gunshot.
“Get your hands off her!” It was Nick.
He stood on the other end of the room with his arms at his sides. His eyes were cold and expressionless, but his right hand was opening and closing repeatedly. At that moment, Morris and Wright’s expressions changed. The confidence seemed to spill from their faces and onto the floor. Their hands were no longer on Sarah, but instead up in the air as if to say, hey it wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything.
“Sorry brother... we didn’t know she was with you...” Morris fumbled over his words.
“Now you know. Apologize.” Nick stood there not moving and barely breathing.
“I, I’m sorry.” Wright said quickly.
“Yeah, sorry, lady.” Morris repeated.
The two men quickly turned and backed away from Sarah- their hands still in the air. Once they were past the pool table they quickly made their way to the exit and out the door.
Sarah was amazed at how quickly they left. It was like the two men had just almost stepped on a poisonous snake, and expected it to strike at any minute.
Nick moved to Sarah, his expression softening. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I was only gone a minute. Did they hurt you?”
“No. I’m okay. Just shook up I guess.”
Nick wrapped his arms around her. “Are you sure?”
Sarah looked down at her arm. She could still feel the tall man’s cold fingers on her skin, but no bruises, no scratches.
“I’ll be okay.” She looked at Nick. His eyes were watering. She could see the red anger behind the tears. “Nick, it’s really okay.”
Nick nodded and looked back towards the exit. His right hand was still opening and closing into a fist- opening and closing.
“Do you know them?” Sarah asked.
“Don’t worry about them. They won’t bother you again. Promise.”
“Ok.” Sarah said as she reached down and placed her hand in his. She squeezed his hand. “Nick?” In response, Nick closed his fingers around Sarah’s hand and looked away from the exit. “Thanks.” Sarah said with a smile. She forced the smile- that was true, but she was regaining a calmness holding Nick’s hand, and she was thankful for that. “You’re my hero.” She whispered and squeezed his hand.
Nick smiled. “Are you hungry, Sarah?”
“Starving.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
●
Nick and Sarah sat across from each other in a booth at Saint Paul’s Restaurant. Paul Robinson wasn’t really a Saint, but his food was the best in town, and when you go all in on a bet, there’s no going cheap. Nick’s Dad had taught him that- one of the few good things he’d learned from the old man. Nick hadn’t predicted getting into a conversation about his late father with Sarah, but judging by their little unexpected run in at the bar, nothing was going to be predictable tonight.
“So you started working with your father when you were only ten? That’s impressive, Nick.”
“He actually had me with him on job sites even before that, but that’s just because school was out and there was no one around to watch me.” Nick took a drink of his beer and slowly shook his head. “And I don’t know if being a carpenter’s assistant in Homewood, Nebraska is impressive or not, but it kept me out of trouble, and taught me a skill other than football at least.”
“Don’t be so humble, I’ve seen your work. You’re good.”
“Thanks. I enjoy carrying on the family business.”
“I’m sorry, Nick… about your Dad. You never told me.” She paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to go on. “How old were you when he passed?”
Nick looked down at his plate and then reached for his drink again. “To be honest, Sarah, my Dad was an asshole.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be… I was twenty. His heart wasn’t strong- just gave out on him one day.”
“It’s not ever easy to lose someone.” Sarah reached across the table and held Nick’s hand. Her fingers found a way to interlock his, it felt good.
“He wasn’t always an asshole, but a few years after my Mom was gone, he struggled.”
Nick thought about all the times as a child he spent sitting outside in the tangled branches of the oak tree in his father's backyard. He’d stare at the sky dreaming of a different life, something far away from the small town. “My mother left when I was seven,” he continued, “headed east somewhere. I never understood it. Dad did the best he could. Just sometimes he needed help, and the only friend he turned to was Jim Beam.”
Nick thought of the dark nights. His father coming home late from work, smelling of sawdust and sour booze, and either yelling, weeping, or pissing himself and passing out in their front yard. But then, Nick also remembered- it’s always funny how deep you can go once you start thinking about something- there were the other bad nights. On these nights his father would relapse into what Nick thought of as his father’s “outsider” state of mind. It had first introduced itself a few months after his mother disappeared. Furniture would break, bottles would smash, and his father would incoherently growl and scream like some kind of wild animal.
It was on these nights that Nick found himself out back in the oak tree. Climbing and climbing, until he couldn't get any higher. It was on these nights when Nick would dream of living in a big city somewhere. Somewhere, some city, where he could escape his life and maybe see his mom again. Somewhere, some life, where he could leave this town and leave behind the “outsider” who was wearing his father's plaid work shirt and ranting inside their small house. His father had scared Nick when he was like that, but even worse, he’d made Nick feel sorry for him. And Nick hated his father for that. It was something he could never forgive.
“Nick? Nick? Are you okay?” Sarah asked.
She could see that her new friend’s mind was somewhere far away, but there was something else too, something else she’d seen as she held his hand. It was behind his eyes. A grey fleck and then the image revealed itself inside her head. The feeling...She saw a young boy, maybe 9 or 10 years old, sitting in the branches of an oak tree. He was crying. His dirty face was streaked with tears. She could feel his sadness, but it was the fear that radiated from his being. And then the image was gone.
“Sorry, yeah I’m fine…” Nick said, but stopped as the waitress approached the table and motioned to his plate. “Sure. All finished.” He told the girl in the tight pony tail, but he was looking at Sarah when he said it. His eyes were clearing up, but it was time to go.
“We can take the check.” Sarah added as the waitress cleared both their plates. She quickly left to go get their check. “I’m sorry for bringing up old memories, Nick.”
“It’s okay, Sarah. We all have them. It’s good to talk about it, they say.”
“They do say that… well we certainly have had quite the evening. Thank you again for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. You earned it, remember?”
“Well to be honest, I’m not sure if the contest was fair, because… well, you really suck at pool, Nick.” Sarah laughed and Nick joined in as
the waitress dropped the check.
Nick reached into his back pocket and pulled out his brown leather wallet. “So there’s just one more thing I wanted to show you, Sarah... unless you need to get back?” He asked as he set five crisp looking twenties on the table next to the bill.
“It’s not my bedtime yet...,” Sarah flirted back.
●
Nick didn’t tell Sarah where they were going and Sarah didn’t ask. The truck ride over, other than the quiet country song coming from the truck’s speakers, was silent. It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence. Sarah and Nick stole a few glances at each other as the truck moved along another gravel road. Nick had referred to it as the North Roads, when they’d turned off the highway only five minutes earlier. Sarah didn’t know what that meant exactly. She assumed that they must be north of town now, but to be honest, she had been letting her imagination take her along on a story and she didn’t really care where they were headed. She was just happy to be going there with Nick. For a moment she thought of Emma and reminded herself that she’d better remember to call her later... or text her... or something. Emma was always solid when it came to boy advice. Maybe she can keep me from screwing this up, Sarah thought as a smile escaped her lips.
Nick looked over at Sarah and smiled back. “We’re almost there, but we’re going to have to walk here pretty soon. You okay with that?”
“I am.” She replied.
Nick slowly pulled his truck off to the right side of the gravel road. It got a little bumpy as they drove across the small ditch, but soon they were on the other side. Nick stopped the truck and got out. Sarah watched him, partially visible in the beams of the headlights, as he opened the wire gate in front of them. Soon he was back inside and they were driving again. They only traveled a little bit further and then they reached another fence.
Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller Page 7
