Vindicated

by Keary Taylor

  Alex’s face fell, his shoulders slumping. “I’m so sorry,” I said as I put my arms around him.

  “I was stupid for thinking I could get her to clean up on my own,” he said as he laid his cheek on the top of my head. “I should have just checked her into rehab the second we got home.”

  “You’ve been doing the best you can. And it’s not too late. We could still try and get her some help.”

  “As long as we can find her,” Alex said as he stepped away from me. I then noticed he had changed into his work clothes. He sighed again as he grabbed his truck keys from off the hook by the door. “Well, I’ve got to go to the rental house. All the trim is supposed to be delivered in about an hour.”

  “Okay,” I said as I laid a hand on his arm and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Are you okay? You seem really down. Especially considering you just got engaged.”

  He gave a half smile, his eyes still sad. “I just want everything to be perfect. This just isn’t how I had hoped everything would happen.”

  “As long as there’s you and there’s me, it is perfect,” I said as I held his eyes. “That’s the only part that matters.”

  “You’re right,” he said, pressing a kiss to my lips again. “That’s all that matters. I’ll call you in a bit, okay?”

  “Alright, have fun,” I chuckled and closed the door after him.

  I found one of the dozens of bridal magazines Amber had left behind and took it out with me onto the upper back deck. Still in my pajamas, I settled onto one of the reclining chairs. I had flipped through a dozen pages before I noticed him. A man with shoulder length hair, perfect complexion, and dark eyes, watching me.

  And he was standing on Cole’s back deck.

  My heart leapt into my throat and I nearly fell off my chair as I sat up straighter. But by the time I righted myself and looked back again, the man was gone.

  Cole’s house had sat empty and untouched since he had killed Alex. It had never been sold or placed on the market. There shouldn’t be anyone creeping around it.

  I’d changed into some denim shorts, pulled on shoes, and was walking down the street in less than sixty seconds. My palms felt sweaty and my stomach was in knots. My heart threatened to hammer out of my chest as I stood in front of Cole’s front door. Pressing my lips into a tight line, I knocked three times.

  I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not when no one came to the door. Very quietly, I turned the doorknob and cracked the door open. “Hello?” I called.

  When no one replied, I stepped inside. The house smelled stale, abandoned for too long. After checking the main floor, I determined there was no one inside. I found the deck clear too.

  Maybe I was seeing things.

  But the feeling of fear and dread settled into my stomach, a feeling I was far too familiar with. I closed the door behind me, trying to shake it, and walked to Sal’s house. I found her lying in her bed, her sheet pulled around her head.

  “Are you alright?” I asked as I sat on the bed next to her.

  She just shook her head. “I’m tired. I didn’t sleep last night. I didn’t want to see Roger.”

  “Oh, Sal,” I said, my heart aching. “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  She just shook her head.

  “Do you want me to make an appointment with your doctor? Maybe she could help.”

  Sal shook her head again. I sat there silently, unsure of what to do or say. “Sal,” I said cautiously. “You haven’t seen a new neighbor have you?”

  “No, just Alex’s scary mom.”

  I chuckled, feeling the shift in Sal’s mood. “I’m hungry,” she pronounced, climbing out of her bed suddenly. I followed her up the stairs into her kitchen. She proceeded to pull out the makings for a BLT.

  “Do you want one?” Sal offered.

  “That’s okay,” I refused politely. “I’ve got some errands I have to do. Do you want me to get you anything at the store?”

  “Umm, some socks, and a jar of honey.”

  “Alright,” I said as I walked to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sal.”

  The knot in my stomach wouldn’t release as I closed her door behind me and started back home. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder.

  X

  Blackness wrapped around me like the coldest blanket that ever existed. I groped around me, searching for a surface to orient myself, but there was nothing. Wherever I was, it felt empty and void of anything.

  Jessica, a voice whispered through the dark.

  I whipped my head around, my eyes searching wildly for the source of the voice.

  Jessica.

  “Who’s there?” I demanded.

  They’re watching you.

  That time the voice was unmistakable.

  “Cole?”

  They know something’s wrong. Four times now they should have had you before them and yet they haven’t.

  “What are you talking about?” My heart was hammering in my chest. My eyes searched wildly through the dark, seeking Cole’s familiar face.

  Don’t let them see for themselves what has happened to you, Cole’s butter smooth voice said through the dark. I suddenly sensed a presence next to me in the dark. It is the only advantage you have against them to save him.

  “To save Alex?” I repeated quietly.

  You must be more careful. They will try to take everything from you.

  “What am I supposed to do?” I asked, panic rising in my throat, threatening to claw me from the inside out. “How do I stop them from taking Alex?”

  The air suddenly seemed to be shifting, growing warmer by the second. The ground beneath me started to vibrate.

  “Cole?” I said, my voice panicked. “How do I stop them?!”

  They are watching you.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Cole!” I gasped, sitting straight up in my bed.

  “Whoa!” Alex jumped next to me in the bed. “Jessica, it’s just me. Cole’s gone, remember?”

  I placed a hand over my eyes, trying to catch my breath. My heart was still racing. I forced my breathing to slow.

  “You want to talk about it?” Alex asked, placing a hand on my arm.

  I let my hand drop to my lap, blinking my eyes hard to try and clear the sleep from my head. “No,” I lied. I shook my head. “It was just…”

  “A nightmare,” he said quietly. “It’s okay. You’ve seen enough in your life to still have them every once in a while.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered, resting my chin on my shoulder, not quite looking him in the eye. For some reason I didn’t want to tell Alex what I had just dreamt about.

  “Don’t apologize,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

  I gave him a sheepish smile, slumping back against my pillow. “Still no traces of your mom?”

  Alex shook his head, his lips tightening. “No, and I looked everywhere I could think yesterday. She doesn’t seem to want to be found.”

  The house felt oddly silent as I extended my senses. I then remembered that Amber was gone. “So…” I dragged out the word. “We have the house to ourselves again?”

  A crooked smile worked its way onto Alex’s face as he looked down at me. He shifted his body on top of mine, his lips greeting mine. I traced my hands down his back, enjoying every rise and fall of his frame, my fingers brushing against his raised scars.

  One of Alex’s hands slipped behind my back, nearly lifting me off the bed as he pulled me closer to him. His lips trailed down to my throat, his other hand working its way down my stomach, and then slipping down my thigh.

  “Three weeks and you’re mine,” he said in a rough voice against my skin.

  “I’m yours already,” I sighed, my eyes closed.

  “All mine,” he said quietly as his lips moved further down my chest.

  “Hey, now,” I said as I fought everything my body was telling me. “We’ve made it this long. Let’s not blow this streak just weeks from the big day.”<
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  Alex let out a growl, pressing his lips one more time to the skin at the edge of the neckline of my tank top. “Soon,” he growled.

  “Finally,” I said in mock exasperation.

  “Hey, now,” he repeated, raising an eyebrow at me as he propped himself up on his forearms. I just chuckled. “So,” he moved on. “I’ve got an idea.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Uh huh,” he nodded, a smile starting to spread again. “Now that we have the house to ourselves, and we’re going to be inhabiting it as a married couple soon, I thought maybe it was time to act like real grown-ups and move into the master bedroom.”

  I glanced around my current bedroom, memories attached to every corner of it. The basement apartment had been a solace for me. When my life was at one of its lowest points, I had felt protected within these walls.

  “Moving on?” I said quietly as I lifted my head from the pillow and pressed a kiss to Alex’s lips.

  “Moving on,” he repeated, giving me a soft smile.

  “And if Caroline ever comes back, she could use the apartment,” I said as Alex rolled off of me and stood. I couldn’t help but smile as I took in his half naked form.

  “If Caroline ever comes back, she’s going straight to rehab,” he said in an exasperated tone.

  I actually felt excited as we started moving things around, clearing out the few things Amber had left behind, switching the mattresses, boxing up my things and carrying them up. I had been waiting to move on with Alex for so long, and now it was finally happening. I had the ring, and even though we had been living together since basically the first day we met, it actually felt like we were making the choice to do so.

  As Alex started taking all of my clothes out of my dresser he held something up against him, a smirk crossing his lips. “What do we have here?”

  “That,” I said as I snatched the black lace out of his hands, my face blushing instantly. “Is for the honeymoon.” Butterflies filled my stomach.

  “And this one?” he said as he pulled another red item out of the drawer.

  “Okay, I think it’s time I took over the dresser!” I said as I walked over and pushed him away from it, grabbing the red lace from his hand.

  “You haven’t been shopping since I proposed,” he teased as he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. “Were you preparing for something else? You dirty, dirty girl.”

  “Out!” I yelled with a laugh, chucking a pair of underwear at him.

  “And now she’s throwing panties at me,” he said in mock shock, dodging the blue fabric. “Where does she draw the line?”

  I just shook my head as he winked at me and grabbed a box off of the floor, and headed upstairs with it.

  Well that was embarrassing.

  “So where do you want to go on the honeymoon?” Alex asked, already walking back into the apartment.

  “I guess I hadn’t really thought about that part,” I blurted before I even thought about it.

  Alex just chuckled as he stood in the doorway. “And what part were you thinking about?”

  “Shut up,” I just chuckled as I finished emptying the dresser.

  “I’m just saying,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, we should probably book something soon considering that we’re only a few weeks away.”

  “Wow,” I said with a sigh as I leaned against the now empty dresser. “There’s so much to do. I still have to get a dress, we’ve got to get a cake. All that stuff.”

  “Whatever you want,” he said as he crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. I closed my eyes as I leaned into him, his familiar scent filling my senses. “I’ll make it happen for you.”

  “I just want it simple I think,” I said quietly. “Nothing fancy. Just us, Sal, Emily, Amber and Rod. Rita and Austin. Caroline if we can find her.”

  “And your parents.”

  “And my parents,” I said with a sigh.

  “You’ll survive, I promise.”

  I swallowed hard, knowing that I could survive anything physically. “Let’s just finish moving stuff. I’ll deal with that when we get there.”

  It took surprisingly little time to move all of my things into the master bedroom considering that I had lived in this house for over two years now. It felt so strange to see all my things in the large bedroom, my personal things spread about the master bathroom. I felt so grown up all the sudden. Like I had a real life.

  The next two days passed in a blur. Alex and I booked tickets to Costa Rica and a little house right on the beach for a full week. Alex decided he wanted to brave the wedding cake on his own. I couldn’t complain, no one would do a better job.

  I told Austin the news, and to my surprise he didn’t get worked up about it. He had been happy for me. It was nice to see that he was losing interest in me.

  Sal continued to get little sleep and I could only hope that she would not decline while I was gone to visit my parents. I let Emily know what to expect while she was taking care of her.

  No sign of Caroline was found and I felt both angry and sorry as we packed to leave for Ucon. It was so unfair of her to leave Alex again, after everything he had done for her. She was just going to keep sinking deeper and deeper until she was gone. Until she stood before Cole.

  With not a cloud in the sky, the four of us threw our bags into the back of Alex’s truck and loaded in. Considering the fact that Alex no longer required sleep, he and I had decided to make the trip overnight. With no major airports close to Ucon it was easiest to drive.

  I still wasn’t looking forward to the thirteen hour drive. It only prolonged my dread.

  “Have you talked to mom or dad since I told him we were coming?” I asked Amber as Alex pulled out of the driveway.

  “No,” she said with a sigh. “I think he’s still pretty mad I didn’t tell him sooner about the engagement.”

  “Sorry, babe,” Rod said. “Guess I should have thought about it for two seconds and asked permission first or something.”

  “It’s not too late,” I said as I glanced over at Alex and raised my eyebrows at him.

  He chuckled. “Okay, I got the hint. We’ll do it together, Rod. He won’t be able to shoot the both of us. I’m pretty sure I’m faster than you so you can be my shield when he pulls out the gun.”

  “Thanks, man. You’re a great friend.” The cab broke out into laughter. It felt good to finally laugh.

  The sun started to set behind the trees as we drove south on I-5, casting the sky in a summer orange.

  “I was thinking we could go dress shopping with Mom, maybe,” Amber said quietly. “What do you think, Jess?”

  “You’re serious?” I asked, turning in my seat to look at her. I saw from her face that she was.

  “Moving on, remember?” Alex said so quietly only my ears could pick up on his words.

  I didn’t say anything for a moment, looking at Amber’s face blankly. “We’ll see how things go.”

  “I’m thinking a big ball gown,” Amber start to rattle on. I gave a few nods and uh-huh’s to let her know I was half-listening as she continued to ramble. She was talking but I wasn’t hearing her. All I could think about was the tone of my mother’s voice as she told me over and over that the nightmares weren’t real, that I needed to get over this phase.

  My insides felt hollow.

  As we neared one in the morning, Amber laid her head in Rod’s lap, who had crashed not long after she started talking about wedding stuff, and fell asleep herself. I sighed as the truck became quiet, scooting to sit closer to Alex, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

  “How you doing?” he asked quietly, placing his hand on my knee and giving it a squeeze.

  “I’m kind of freaking out, but okay, I guess,” I said.

  “I’m really proud of you for doing this, you know. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

  “It’s not. She said some really terrible things to me. I wanted her to believe me but she didn’t.”

 
“Did…” he trailed off for a moment as he formed his thoughts. “Did she ever see your scars?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I was really young when it all started but I was obsessive about keeping them covered up.”

  “Maybe you should have shown them to her.”

  “Maybe,” I whispered.

  I barely saw the glint of the headlights on its eye before it jumped in front of the truck. A doe bounded across the road, pausing right in front of us. Alex slammed on the breaks, the truck skidding to a stop as the deer jumped into the brush on the other side of the freeway and into the open country.

  As I watched it prance away, I saw him, long blond hair blowing as he stared back at me with dark eyes. Watching me from the side of the road.

  “Alex,” I whispered. As I blinked, he was gone.

  “I saw him,” Alex said in a low voice, his eyes staring at the place the man had been standing.

  “He’s…” I trailed off. Somehow Amber and Rod were both still asleep.

  “One of us,” Alex said quietly as he started the truck forward again.

  I fought back the shaking that started in my hands. Cole’s words flooded back to me.

  They are watching you.

  “Alex, I have something to tell you,” I barely whispered.

  “What?”

  “You remember a few days ago, when I had the nightmare about Cole?” He nodded. “Cole was talking to me. I don’t think it was just some dream. He said ‘they are watching you’.”

  “Who’s ‘they’?”

  “I think… I think it might be the council,” I said with a shaky voice.

  “Why you? What would they want from you?”

  “I don’t know,” I lied. Cole’s other words came back to me. They know something’s wrong. Four times now they should have had you before them and yet they haven’t.

  They were realizing their mistake.

  “Is this about Cole?” Alex asked, his voice suddenly terrified sounding.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. They have Cole back.”

  I felt Alex’s form relax slightly, a breath crossing his lips. “Maybe I can try and talk to him, see what he wants.”