Shadow Heights

by E. N. Goeking

  “How long have you been in here?”

  “Only a couple minutes.” I turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack.

  “Do you think that makes it any better? Couldn’t you use the bathroom downstairs?” The door flew open, bringing in an ice cold draft, and I screamed. I wrapped the towel around my body as fast as I could while glaring back at him, my whole body shaking in rage.

  “You can’t fight what we’re feeling for each other.” He moved toward me and I backed into the corner of the shower, almost slipping in the process.

  “Chad, you’re mistaken. I don’t have feelings for you.” I shoved him away before stepping onto the floor.

  “I’ve seen the way you look at me.” My eyebrow rose at his assertion.

  “You’re crazy,” I huffed.

  “Am I?” He inquired, moving ever closer to my bare flesh.

  “Where is everybody?” We suddenly heard Jaden’s voice carry up the stairs.

  “Up here,” I shouted back. “Get out of here now,” I insisted and gave him a quick shove with my hand. Chad inched himself to the door, trying to block me from leaving the room but I opened it anyway.

  “Jaden’s not good enough for you. He’ll only end up hurting you in the end and Mina—I don’t want to see that happen.” I tried to push past him but he wouldn’t budge.

  “I thought you two were best friends,” I commented in abhorrence.

  “We are but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a violent person.” I heard Jaden’s boots slow down their pace as he approached the top of the landing. Chad leaned forward and kissed my lips, surprising everyone in the room—me more so than anyone.

  Jaden grabbed hold of his shirt and shoved him into the hallway. “What the hell are you doing?” he ordered but Chad refused to respond. I thought it best that I stay out of it and wrapped the towel tightly around my body while watching from the doorway. Jaden’s eyes were livid, his eyebrows raised and tendons strained. The muscles in his face went tight and I could feel a surge of heat pouring out of his body like someone had just opened an oven door.

  “Sorry man. You can’t blame me for wanting to look,” Chad finally admitted. Jaden grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall, glaring at him with fury. I flinched with his quick move, flashing to a memory of him holding my father.

  “She is mine!” His voice grew tighter with each word. The house was still all around us and his words clamored against the walls.

  “It’s a free country,” Chad managed to choke out. “I was only looking.”

  “If you were only looking, why did you kiss her?” Jaden’s hand gripped his throat tighter, causing Chad’s face to turn purple and I ran over to stop him. “Don’t try to deny it. I know how your tactics work and this shit has been going on for weeks.”

  I grabbed onto Jaden’s hand, hoping to release some of the tension. My hand burned like fire when it touched his skin and I screamed out in pain. Jaden immediately dropped Chad and looked over at me with noticeable concern. Chad gasped for air as he fell to the floor, clutching his throat.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, inspecting my hand. I shook my head as the pain subsided. He stroked my face and stared deeply into my eyes with regret. His blue irises seemed to be dancing within his eyes, vibrating at a speed that seemed impossible. “I'm sorry, darling.” Chad got up to his feet and stared at him with deep resentment.

  “I can’t believe you assaulted me bro. We’ve been friends since we were five. You’ve never once attacked me over some stupid chick. Maybe you did cause that lady’s death.” Jaden took two quick steps over to Chad, his face practically pressed against Chad’s forehead.

  “Try saying that to my face.” Chad’s confidence lowered and he didn’t utter a word. As Jaden walked back to me, he somehow found the courage to speak.

  “Why is this time so different?”

  “Because she means something to me!” he shouted. “She’s different. Can't you see that?”

  “Trust me, dude. They’re all the same and soon you’ll get tired of her, too.” I glowered at Chad and his eyes seemed to be avoiding mine. Jaden let go of my hand and started to approach his friend yet again. I held onto his arm to keep him from doing something he'd regret and Chad lifted his hands in an admission of defeat.

  “Fine, I can see how important my friendship is to you Jaden. I’m out of here.” He trotted down the stairs.

  “I’m tired of this game,” Jaden hollered. “We’re not in high school anymore.” I heard the front door slam and he was gone. The energy in the room began to change and it was calming to my shivering body. I still hadn’t dried off from the shower and the cold water from my hair was running down my back.

  “I don’t even know how to apologize for something like that.” He was hoping for my forgiveness but I didn’t think he needed it. I placed my hand in his.

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault but you do need to control your temper.” His face went soft as he muffled a laugh.

  “Don’t you think I’ve been trying to do that my whole life? I do exercise a lot of self-control. More than you know. But whenever you're involved, I find it harder to restrain myself. I will not allow anyone to take you from me.”

  “I don’t know whether to be frightened or happy by that.” His lips came at me like a jet engine and I was too shaken to run away. We shared a heightened moment of affection but when he departed from my lips, he appeared riled once again.

  “What irritates me the most is that he saw you naked before I did.”

  “Well his seeing me doesn’t count because I didn’t want to be seen.” He lifted his eyes to the ceiling as he thought about my answer, his fingers pulling at his goatee.

  “Yeah, that doesn't help at all. Why didn’t you tell me Chad was hitting on you?”

  “I was trying to deal with him on my own.” His eyes studied my face. Did he actually believe that I would lie about it? I thought he knew me better.

  “If I hadn’t been here today, would you have still shoved him away?” He slipped his hands into his pockets.

  “Yes!” I yelled, pulling at his shirt. “I don’t have feelings for Chad just like I don’t have feelings for Greg.” My voice cracked when I said Greg’s name and his body went stiff. “I need to finish getting ready.” I let go of his hand and walked into the bathroom, glancing behind me one last time before I closed the door. His eyes drilled into me and I found it a little intimidating, like I needed to be on guard as well.

  I took my time getting ready, paying special attention to the details. No one ever really noticed but I was an observant person and it was a tick of mine. I put loose waves through my hair, shaping it around my face, slightly tousled. My outfit was entirely black and I used special eye shadow to create smoky evening eyes.

  When I stepped out of the bathroom, he was leaning against the wall waiting for me. I smiled as I analyzed his appearance, a single white rose in his hand. He wore his hair down which looked and felt shiny like satin. His dress was preppy again but not without his uniform black dominating his look. His outfit looked well-coordinated, in varying shades of dark colors.

  “You’re very beautiful,” he whispered. He reached across with his arm and grabbed my hand, treating it delicately. His soft lips brushed against my skin. “My lady.” He handed me the rose and I inhaled its sweet scent.

  “Good sir,” I replied, trying to play along.

  I grabbed my purse from the floor and hooked my arm into his as he led me down the stairs. When we got out to the car, he held my door open for me as usual. Jaden was an old soul and every action he did showed that cordial side of him. We headed out of town in the setting sun of the sky, heading directly west into Thompson.

  Chapter Thirty

  “I talked to my mom and told her I’d be staying another night,” I revealed to him on the drive. He grinned and rubbed his hand up my leg, lightly squeezing my thigh. I still didn’t know how to explain the bruises on my face to my
parents. They were still as apparent as the day it happened. Maybe they would be less noticeable tomorrow.

  He pulled up in front of a bar and grill that had a line out the door. Oh man. We’re gonna be waiting forever. He must’ve sensed my apprehension because he inquired if I was comfortable in my surroundings. I said I was but I was quite nervous. I wasn’t good with crowds, finding myself agoraphobic at times.

  He took my hand and led me through the crowd of people, pushing our way to the front. It was so noisy inside I couldn’t hear anything. Music was playing loudly, people were getting drunk, and ballgames were displayed on the television screens at deafening levels. After seeing how busy it was inside, I was surprised when the hostess showed us right to a table.

  She led us to a table near the front of the restaurant, secluded in its own little cove. A hurricane lamp was lit in the center of the table and a bottle of champagne was sitting in a silver bucket getting chilled. He pulled my chair out like a perfect gentleman.

  “Did you set all of this up?” I asked. His eyes glowed in the candlelight.

  “I might have.” I found his hand under the table and squeezed it tightly.

  “It's very romantic.” I don’t know if he heard me or not since the restaurant was so noisy. I felt like everything I said was at a yelling volume.

  “I’m sorry it’s not very private but this was the most vegetarian-friendly restaurant.”

  “Aw, how thoughtful of you.” He held my eyes to his and when the waitress approached she spoke loudly to get our attention. We still needed a few minutes so she left us to ourselves.

  He pulled out the chilled champagne and squeezed the top carefully. It popped loudly but it didn’t go flying since he held it securely in his hand. He poured us each a glass and hundreds of tiny bubbles shot up the sides, indicating to me that this was a superior bottle.

  We raised our glasses and I said, “To less chaos.” He chuckled and clunked his glass against mine. It was dry champagne, and I preferred that over the sweet. He didn’t stop with one drink. He finished the entire glass before setting it down, filling it once again while I brought my attention to their menu. I scanned over everything. I hadn’t eaten yet and I was starving at the moment, my stomach rumbling just at the mere thought of food.

  “Do you know what you want?”

  “Uh,” I scanned my choice over one last time. “I’ll get the mushroom risotto with the steamed vegetables.” His face scrunched at my bland choice and I laughed out loud. When the waitress returned a few minutes later, he ordered for both of us, a very old fashioned action for a man, but I wasn’t a feminist so this didn’t bother me. He ordered a medium rare steak and the thought of it made me sick. Even when I did eat meat, I never ate it rare. It looked so unappetizing and I could never get myself to eat it.

  I drank the rest of my champagne and had another glass while we waited. “So, what were you out doing all day?”

  “I had to drop something off at this guy’s house and go to city hall.”

  “City hall?”

  “Yeah. It was for business reasons.” I eyed him suspiciously as I took another drink, wondering if he went there to defend himself against their accusations.

  “You had more of an exciting day than I did—watching daytime television.” He chuckled, brushing his hair away from his face. He held up the bottle, offering me the rest.

  “Are you sure?” He nodded his head stiffly.

  “I need a beer. This has too many bubbles.” I held up my glass and he poured the rest in, filling my glass to the brim. I had to sip it before even setting it down otherwise it would have spilled. We engaged in small talk while we waited for our food. He asked me about school and that sort of thing, being careful not to mention anything that happened in the last few days. It was nice to have an evening alone together without any drama or hysterics, where we could pretend that all was normal. When in reality, nothing was farther from the truth.

  Our food arrived soon after. He asked the waitress for a draft beer and water for me. I unrolled my silverware and placed the napkin on my lap. I chuckled to myself while I watched him eat. He was the typical guy in that aspect. The meat and potatoes male persona. I never found a guy in my life that liked vegetables, let alone ate any of them. I could never understand this because even as a child, I loved all vegetables even exotic ones with ripe smells and interesting textures.

  I watched him cut into the meat and a small pool of blood spilled out onto the plate. I turned away and looked down at my food before I lost my appetite. I ate a few pieces of broccoli while I stared off into space. The risotto was mildly flavored, with a hint of something I couldn’t put my finger on. I assumed it was an herb I was unfamiliar with.

  “Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events.” He lifted up his beer and took a long drink. He was staring across the room at something and as I followed his gaze, I saw my parents standing outside the window waiting to get in for a table.

  Shit. I ducked my head down and covered my face. If they were to look over in our direction, they would have definitely seen us. His hand lightly massaged my leg, trying to calm my nerves but I glanced up at him with worry in my eyes.

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Well you should’ve been honest with them.” He didn’t know my parents very well; that would’ve been the last thing they allowed me to do. Even though I was eighteen and in college, they still liked to rule my life.

  “Any other suggestions?” I asked and he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t worried about the situation at all. “Fine, I hope they sit them on the opposite side of the restaurant.” I peeked through my fingers and could still visibly see them in the window. They were dressed rather nicely. It was Saturday night, I guess. They must be having another date night.

  I was only able to eat three-fourths of my meal but Jaden ate everything on his plate even to the last drop of blood. My parents were no longer standing in the window but they weren’t inside yet thankfully. When the waitress arrived with the check, Jaden asked her something in private. She nodded and pointed to the back of the building. He placed a few bills in the leather folder and downed the rest of his beer.

  “You ready?” He stood up from the table. He took my hand and we headed through the sea of tables, causing everyone’s attention to turn to us. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and my parents were standing in the center lobby. I placed myself in front of Jaden, allowing him to push me along the way but covering me at the same time.

  We walked through part of the kitchen and went outside before anyone came to question us. I admit, our behavior was a little suspicious but we did pay for our meal. When we got outside, we stood in a deserted ally with a few overflowing dumpsters and a stray cat playing in a water puddle.

  “That was close,” I said in relief but soon after he was shoving me against the wall with his bulging forearms pinned around me.

  “Your curves are driving me crazy.” His vigorous nature chilled me. His hands ran down the curves of my torso, pleasuring me at every stop, all while forcing me to look in his eyes as if it pleasured him more to witness my reactions. A line cook stepped outside with a bag of trash and whistled over at us, embarrassing me for a second but this seemed to enliven him further. Jaden continued with his hands and when the man turned to toss the bag, he kissed me with a strength that shot through the center of my thighs.

  I kept my eyes closed as he took my hand and led me to the front parking lot, ignoring the passion that had been ignited by danger. He stayed to the right of me, blocking me to viewing eyes inside. When we got behind his car’s tinted windows, I breathed a sigh of relief for not getting caught. He had saved me once again.

  On the ride back to Shadow Heights, he turned off onto a country road. He pulled a joint out of his glove box and lit it up. “I was wondering when you’d light something up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing really. I just hadn’t seen you smoke today and it surprised
me. I didn’t think you could go so many hours without smoking.” He glanced over out of unhappiness.

  “What are you trying to insinuate? That I’m a drug addict?”

  “No, I smoke just as often as you do. Why are you getting mad?”

  “I’m not mad. I’m just distracted. I have a lot weighing on my mind.” He reached over and squeezed my shoulder, leaving a warm spot where his hand was. I stared past him out the window, watching the stalks of corn slowly enclose us.

  We shared the joint, smoking the entire thing between the two of us in just a few minutes. I pulled down his visor to check my eyes since they were dried out and sure enough, they were fire engine red. I flipped the visor back up and for a second, all I could see was a pair of red glowing eyes in the distance. At first, I thought it was a reflection of my own but as his headlights reflected on the road, a man materialized dressed in a long trench coat and hat.

  What the hell? He was walking toward us in the center of the road but Jaden didn’t even seem to notice him. Why isn’t he stopping?

  I screamed in a mighty thrust as he increased his speed. We were approaching fast with no sign of stopping. As if my scream gave him sight, Jaden slammed on his brakes, veering the car off the gravel into a nearby ditch before we ran into this wandering stranger. We were both jarred from our seats and slammed back into them when we came to a stop.

  My hands were shaking as I looked back at the road. My eyes shifted to all points of entry in his car, hoping this stranger wasn’t trying to harm us like in the old campfire stories they tell to scare horny teenagers. But I couldn’t see him anywhere. “Where did he go?”

  I reached my hand over and locked both of our doors, my eyes jerking all over.

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve been paying more attention to the road,” he spoke in a calm voice.

  “Didn’t you see him?”

  “Him? I didn’t see anything. Your scream startled me.”

  “I know that’s a lie. You had to have seen him.”

  “There was nobody there!” he yelled, trying to prove it to himself more than me. I knew he was alarmed by what we just saw but he seemed more angered by this man’s presence than afraid. Had he seen him before?