“You can’t keep a job. You spent the rent money.” She shifted, and the baby girl on her hip watched them argue. “What do you expect me to do? I can’t take care of you and Addie. Someone has to be the adult.” She shook her head. “And obviously it’s not going to be you. You say you love us, but enough to work hard and support a family? Do you even want to be here?”
Her question made my younger self cry, and she shushed her, kissing her head to comfort her as I watched, connecting dots. She didn’t see the pain on the man’s face, as he heard what I’d heard. My mom didn’t want him there. He’d made life hard for us, and she was tired of supporting a man that couldn’t give her what they needed. She didn’t love him, not like she loved the baby girl in her arms.
“You’ve answered your own question, Diane. I’m not a perfect man, not by any means, but I can do the right thing, on occasion.”
He walked away as tears slipped from her eyes, a mixture of pain and relief reflected on her face.
“Something will happen here, and we have to figure it out!”
The shout drew me to another image, and as much as I wanted to resist, it drew me in.
Wade stood there, a harsh expression on his face as he waved a drawing at me.
“I don’t know what will happen.” My exasperation was clear. Wade had stormed in with a sketch in his hand, needing me to tell him what had happened at the place he’d drawn. I didn’t have an answer for him, but he wasn’t accepting it.
“But something will.” He was determined, and I lifted my hands helplessly. “We can go there, look around, see if there’s a clue. Maybe one of us will have a vision.”
“Wade,” I paused, understanding his pain. There was nothing quite like the feeling of losing someone you loved, and he was desperate to feel the hole his Grannie’s passing had left. It didn’t help that she’d been the only family he had.
“Don’t say it.” He turned away, shaking his head impatiently. “I keep dreaming of this place. I’ve sketched it dozens of times. Something about this place … it’s important. I’m not avoiding my feelings. I’m doing what she would have wanted. What you used to want to do, until you lost your ability.”
“I haven’t lost it.”
“Really? Because it sure seems like you have.”
The scene blinked away, but I still felt the fear. The fear I’d felt when he’d said what everyone else had been afraid to say, when he said it out loud. Lost my ability. The thought made me feel as if a limb had been torn from me, a piece of me gone, and I wondered if this was my future.
“Addie. I’m scared now. It’s been too long. The doctors don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense. I know you can hear me. But you’re not listening. Addie. Wake up. Addie.”
The words cut through my fear, tugging at me, and I wanted to answer him. He was waiting for me, and I’d promised him. I fought, determined to follow his voice this time. A pinpoint of light became my guide as I struggled against the darkness holding me.
An image raced toward me. Any attempt to avoid it was pointless, as it hit me, sending me tumbling into another scene, one I didn’t want to see.
I stood in what appeared to be a park, the scent of freshly mown grass tickling my nose. A gravel path wound under my feet, encouraging me to follow it. I walked for a distance leaving the path, my head ducking under a low limb instinctively, as if I’d done it many times before.
“Addie.” My head turned at the sound of my name being called, but no one was there. Suddenly, I could see what I hadn’t seen earlier, rows and rows of markers dotting the grass. I turned, finding where my steps had taken me, and felt myself fall as my legs gave out. The sight in front of me was impossible. I shook my head, earlier visions trickling through my mind. There was no way, absolutely not—this was not my future. My sobs choked me, each vision racing through my mind as I stared at the end, the finality of us.
“Listen. Follow it home.”
“Addie. Addie. I’m not giving up.”
“They’re possibilities, Addie.”
I stared up at her, not understanding how she could be standing with me in this place.
“Grannie.”
She smiled, the sight familiar and comforting.
“I warned you about the door.”
I nodded, inexplicably ashamed of failing her.
“Don’t be ashamed. You haven’t failed me. I warned you, but sometimes our best intentions aren’t enough.”
I blinked at her in shock, as she seemed to read my mind.
She smiled, understanding.
“A gift of the moment, child.”
I nodded, my gaze drawn back to the tombstone in front of me, seeing my name etched into the stone.
“Am I dying then?” I wondered if this place would be where I died, or if everything I’d just seen was nothing more than an illusion, and I was already dead.
“I don’t know. That’s up to you.” She sat down on my tombstone, patting it gently. “Possibilities. Everything you’ve seen here is nothing but a possibility. The future is what you make it.”
Her question broke through the fear I felt, releasing a ray of hope, and giving me strength. If what she said was true, then I’d seen what my life could be, the future we could all have. I gazed up at her, my eyes hopeful.
“You can change it, but you have to get up.” She glanced around, and as I looked up, I could see the sky wasn’t blue, but instead I saw the black void, images flickering like stars. “This place is dangerous, but sometimes we have to see what the future holds, so we can know what is important. What’s worth fighting for, even in the darkest of hours.”
“Addie.” My head jerked toward the voice, my eyes focusing on a light brighter than the images.
“Follow it home, Addie.”
I glanced at her one last time, her face as unlined as a child’s, and she began to fade, her smile one I would never forget.
“Tell Wade I love him.”
“ADDIE!”
“ADDIE!”
The light grew with the sound of my name being called, until it finally blinded me, as my eyes blinked open.
Chapter Fifteen
His face was the first thing I saw, and the most welcome one.
“Jake.” My voice was raspy with disuse, my throat painfully dry, and I felt weak as a kitten as I tried to reach up to him.
“Shh, you’ve been out for a bit.” He leaned down to kiss me, careful not to hurt me, and I did hurt. The realization came over me as I became aware of my body. The darkness had captured my mind, leaving me weightless, and hiding the fact that I was bruised.
“What happened?”
“A lot. But I need to get the doctor and your mom.”
He swayed as he straightened, and I could see the shadows under his hollowed eyes. He was exhausted and drained, and I wondered how long I’d been out of it. It didn’t look as if he’d left my side.
“Ms. Michaels,” he called out the door, and I heard her quick footsteps. She came around the door, the relief on her face overwhelming.
“Addie!” she cried, running to my bed.
She hugged me, the movement sending pain through my head, but it didn’t matter. We both needed the hug. “You’ve got to stop doing this. I can’t keep getting calls that you’re in the hospital, because of some police thing. What were you thinking?” Her question drifted through me, the answer gone before I could grab it.
“I love you,” I answered her, knowing she needed to hear it.
“I’m going to get the doctor.” I heard him step out, giving us privacy, and my mom frowned at the door where he’d been.
“He’s the reason you’re in here.” Her mouth was tight, anger lacing her words, and I shook my head.
“No, he’s not. Trust me. It’s just as much my fault.” She glared, unwilling to let her anger go, and I took her hand. “So much I need to tell you.”
“You need to get well. You had a concussion from being hit in the face. You’ve been in a coma,
and the doctors couldn’t figure out why.”
A knock on the door interrupted us, and the doctor stepped in.
“I’m glad to see those eyes open. You had us worried.”
He asked me questions, going through a list of things to check that I was all there. My eyes were heavy, exhaustion pulling at me, because even though it appeared I’d been asleep for days, it felt like I hadn’t slept at all.
“Sleep. Heal,” Mom murmured to me, as the need for sleep overtook my resistance.
“We’ll be here.” Jake smiled encouragingly, and I wanted to tell them both to get some sleep as well, but couldn’t form the words as sleep overtook me.
It was dark when I opened my eyes again, and fear jolted me. The beeping sounds of the machines hooked to me helped me to remember where I was and slow the racing of my heart, as I realized it was only the room that was dark, and I wasn’t trapped in the black void any longer. A void I’d had reason to fear, one that had given answers, while raising new questions.
“Are you awake?”
I smiled at the voice, glad he was here.
“Yeah. Where are they?”
“Your mom went home to check on your grandfather and hopefully to get some sleep. Jake is sleeping on the lumpy-ass sofa they call a pullout bed.”
“And you?”
“Reporting for guard duty.”
My breath huffed out in a small laugh, and I saw the white of his teeth as he grinned.
“You gave us a scare. He hasn’t left your side. Talking to you nonstop. Determined you would wake up, even as the doctors scratched their heads over your coma.”
“How long?”
“Three days.”
“What day is it?”
“Tuesday. You’ve been out since Friday.”
A thought wriggled into my brain, causing me to smile.
“Happy Birthday.”
He chuckled, his hand warm around mine.
“Trust you to be the first person to wish me happy birthday in years, and you just woke up from a coma.”
“It wasn’t a coma. I’m not sure I was asleep,” I whispered, my voice cracking as I attempted to use it. He handed me a cup, the straw sliding as I caught it with my lips. I sucked, the cool water easing the ache.
“The door?”
“Jake told you.”
“Yeah, kinda pissed me off you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Yeah, not really a good enough answer.”
“I’m sorry. Truly.”
“Yeah, guess I shouldn’t be fussing while you’re lying in a hospital bed.”
“Ha, I would expect nothing less from you.” He squeezed my hand extra tight, and I gave a small groan. “What happened?”
“That’s a long story.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“True.” He took a deep breath. “We’d thought we’d gotten all the bad guys, had APBs on the ones who weren’t there, but we missed one. The one that came after you.”
I nodded, remembering the little psycho man.
“He kidnapped you and Carly, and brought you to the ship that was supposed to take the kidnapped girls overseas. We rescued them in the nick of time, by the way. We’d messed up his plan, so that’s why he went after you, and Carly just happened to be there.”
“Is she okay?”
I felt his pause.
“She’ll be okay. Physically, she’s fine, but emotionally … I think she’s going to need time. A lot happened.”
“Danny.” I knew that betrayal would be difficult to look past. He’d hurt her physically and emotionally. She’d watched him come at me, after hitting her. It wouldn’t be easy to live with that.
“He was doing his job.”
“I know. He made it a point to ask me a question. I saw the truth even as he knocked me out. But Carly didn’t know.”
“Yeah, and he’s beating himself up over both of you. He didn’t want any of that to happen. But he didn’t have a choice. They didn’t trust him and only used him, once we’d arrested half their damn goonies.”
“He was Jake’s backup plan.”
“Yep. And it’s a damn good thing, even though I could kick his ass for hiding it from me and you.”
“Hidden lies,” I whispered, knowing he’d had to be very careful to keep his plan from me. It seemed redundant. A lie, by its nature, was something to be kept hidden, but that was a difficult task around me. He’d managed it, though.
“He wanted a guy on the inside. In case you couldn’t find anything. Plus, he was scared, scared of how terrified you were. The door, your reaction to the questions about the girls. It all had him pushing to make sure he had his bases covered.”
“I’m not mad. He was right. If Danny hadn’t been there ….”
“Yeah, I know. Trust me, the thought has haunted me, since we realized you were taken.” He cleared his throat. “Danny let us know as soon the guy kidnapped y’all. But we couldn’t move too soon.”
“There was a meeting,” I said, remembering the conversation between Danny and the psycho.
“Yep. An important meeting that we invited ourselves too.”
I could see his face more clearly now, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, ambient light seeping in from the hallway. His smile was wicked and a tad bit smug.
“We caught a lot of very bad guys at that meeting.”
“Good. I’m glad my kidnapping and getting beat up served a purpose.”
He chuckled, rubbing my hand with his thumb.
“It did. You do seem to have a talent for catching bad guys, even accidentally.”
“Accident? It was all part of my grand plan to save the world.”
“I can see that happening.” He hesitated, and I nudged his hand.
“Finish.”
“You’re going to need to talk to the captain. Carly told us about Lenny and the captain is blaming himself. He pushed you to reveal yourself and then you were kidnapped. He has a lot of questions and guilt.”
“Sounds like I need to talk to a lot of people.”
“What did you see, Addie?”
His question forced a heavy sigh from me.
“Too much.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“We’re here. All of us. We want to be here. And we’ll listen.”
“I know. I love you for it.”
“I should leave you to rest.”
“No, stay please.” I squeezed his hand, not wanting to be left alone. The darkness had scared me, and if my suspicions were true, Grannie was gone. Tears seeped down my cheeks at the thought of her loss, of Wade’s loss.
“Was what you saw so bad then?” he whispered, catching sight of my tears. I shook my head, remembering the sight of his shaking hands as he cut the umbilical cord. A trembling smile broke through my sorrow.
“I saw your son being born.”
A shocked happiness crossed his face, and he kissed the back of my hand. He leaned his elbows on the bed, smiling as he shook his head at me.
“How?”
He was asking how I knew, but also how it would happen. I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell him the how of any of it. I wasn’t certain what the darkness had been or why it had opened in my mind, but Grannie’s words echoed. There would be troubles ahead, and I would need to hold tight to the joy, to the visions of what the future could be, if I fought for it.
“I’m not sure I can explain, but trust me. He’ll be born. I promise you that.”
The next morning, I woke up to see Carly sitting next to my bed, both of her eyes bruised and a bandage on her nose.
I teared up, my emotions all over the place as I told her, “I’m sorry. It was my fault you were taken.”
“No, it wasn’t. It was the bad guy. Wrong place, wrong time. Now stop crying, or you’ll set me off. I’ve cried enough the last few days, wondering if you’d wake up. I’d rather not cry, now that you have.”
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, her eyes uncertain, but resolute.
“Yes. I will be.”
“And Danny?”
The mask broke, and I could see the pain she’d been trying to hide, her lips white as she pressed them together.
“He did what he had to, and I understand that. My head understands that.” She looked at me, her eyes watery. “My heart isn’t so sure. There’s a distance now, that wasn’t there. I don’t know what to do now. I don’t know.” Her words broke off, her pain piercing me.
“It’ll be okay. You’ll figure it out, and I’ll be here for you while you do,” I promised her, reaching for her hand. She gripped my hand, shaking her head.
“You’re the one in the hospital bed, and here I am crying over a boy.”
“Pretty sure he doesn’t qualify as a boy, and that’s what friends do.” She smiled at my words, and I squeezed her hand. “I saw the truth when he asked me the last question. He was trying to keep us safe. Remember that.”
She nodded. “I’m trying, and I know he was.”
“But?”
“I’m scared of him.”
Her fingers tightened around mine at the admission, and I knew then, it would take a long time for Carly to rebuild the trust she had in Danny. Fear wasn’t any easy thing to overcome, and it didn’t care about logic.
“I don’t want to be afraid. I don’t, but it’s how I feel when I’m near him or think about him. The terror of that room, being hit, watching you collapse and not wake up. It’s all tied to him for me.”
“We’ll get through this together. We’ll figure it out. You’re the most compassionate and forgiving person I know, and this is a bump in the road.”
“I’m glad you’re awake,” she sniffed. “I didn’t want to have to give the criminal justice presentation alone.”
I laughed, glad she was here to remind me I was alive for a reason. The visions I’d had while trapped in my own mind were etched inside of me. The last one threatened to drag me under, anytime my thoughts went near it. Seeing the name on the tombstone had caused my worst nightmare to become my reality. If it hadn’t been for Grannie, I might have stayed there forever, too lost to pull myself out.
Hidden Lies (The Hidden Series Book 2) Page 15
