I got home later than usual, but decided I should still call Karen to make sure everything was okay with her. It was quite unusual for her to leave a shift like she did. When I got the familiar beep of her voicemail, I left a message.
“Hey, Karen, hope you’re doing ok. I’m worried about you. Give me a call when you get this. Time doesn’t matter. Talk to you soon.”
I hung up and reluctantly went into my bathroom and turned on the shower. I was tempted to skip the shower and crawl into bed. I could hear the soft hum of Matilda, my English bulldog, snoring in the living room. If I had to place a bet, I was sure she was in her second favorite place right between the piano and the fireplace, also known as the chaise; her number one spot being on the bed with a freshly-fluffed goose down comforter.
I kept my portable phone near me in case Karen called while I was in the shower. Steam was rolling out of the bathroom pretty heavily as I was in my bedroom daydreaming about the family I met earlier in the evening. I was able to scrape together that the girl was the sister of the latecomer, and the other guy was her fiancé, but besides that, I didn’t get any further. I hoped they would be back in the pub before they left to wherever it was they permanently lived. I took all of my perfectly placed red velvet pillows off my bed and piled them onto the chest.
I pulled my flannel pajamas out of the drawer and carried them into the bathroom and put them on the counter. As I grabbed a fresh, red towel to hang over the shower door, the phone rang. It completely startled me, even though I was expecting a call from Karen.
“Hi, Karen.” I spoke into the phone louder than usual, since I could only hear the shower running.
“Uh, hey… This isn’t Karen.” A guy’s voice started. It was vaguely familiar to me, and I couldn’t figure out why. “I, um, I apologize for calling so late. I figured I would take the chance you were still up, since you barely got off work. Plus, I really couldn’t wait until morning.”
As the voice continued rattling off excuses, it dawned on me that it was the same wonderful melody that haunted me all night at the pub. The excitement was building into a full-blown explosion. “I hope I didn’t assume wrong.”
The tingling sensation in all of my extremities hit me again. How could a phone call do this to me too? I turned off the shower and walked back into my bedroom, completely stunned.
“No, not at all. I was about to hop in the shower.” Wait a second, why was I telling a complete stranger this? My heart started to beat quickly again, but now I wasn’t totally tongue-tied because I had the distance of the phone between us. I congratulated myself on this little feat, because I figured out that I might be able to actually handle myself. As long as I didn’t have to look into his eyes I’d be fine.
“How did you get my number? I know I didn’t give it to you.”
“I had to bribe one of the bus boys, and it wasn’t easy.”
“Easy enough, I see, if you are calling me.” I gave my best shot at sounding stern.
“Well, you can’t exactly blame him. The price offered was pretty tempting.”
I couldn’t believe he went to this much trouble to reach me. On one hand I was concerned, on the other, completely flattered.
“Why didn’t you ask me for my number when I was serving you?” I asked, trying to sound incensed but failing miserably.
“You weren’t exactly what I would call coherent during our time together earlier, if you remember. I really didn’t want to see what would happen if I did,” he laughed, his voice as soothing as I could ever hope for. “I thought the distance of the phone might work in my favor.”
It was like he was reading my mind. How very unnerved I must have appeared. A tiny bit of hope began swelling in the pit of my stomach, but it was quickly squashed knowing how out of my league he was. He truly was the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid my eyes on.
“You noticed?” I said jokingly. “Pretty astute of you.”
I flipped the nightstand light on and bounced on my bed, feeling my goose down comforter invite me in for the night. His smile was coming through the phone - that same smile that stopped me dead in my tracks earlier.
“So, was there something I could help you with?” I was secretly hoping for something I knew wouldn’t happen, not with him. I glanced at the clock, which read 11:15 pm, wondering why I hadn’t heard from Karen.
“This is probably a stretch, and I know it’s late, but I was wondering if maybe I could see you,” his voice rang over the phone and then paused for a split second, “tonight.”
My stomach flip-flopped. I couldn’t understand what was going on. So many things were telling me not to. It was late at night, not much was open in the village, yet I was compelled to tell him yes. The thought of seeing him one more time almost made me lift off the ground. What if this would be the last time I saw him? I could literally feel my legs begin the Jell-O-like process again. It was dangerous, somehow, and so unlike anything that I would usually do. In fact, it was the exact opposite of anything I would do. Maybe that was why I was so intrigued.
I was about to tell him that it wouldn’t be a good idea, when a light flashed into my bedroom. It was a radiant light, almost like a prism dancing on my walls. I was certain it was similar to the same lights I noticed at the pub. This time it was reflecting against my wall and looked as if it was coming from the direction of the window. It made no sense since it was completely dark outside. I was really getting tired of these sleep-deprived hallucinations. I was six-stories up, nothing should be reflecting. I shuffled to my window, looking down into the village where I saw him on his cell phone looking up at me with those almost glowing green eyes. Maybe it was a light from the cell phone to get my attention. Looking at him made my heart flop to my toes. I knew the only cure was to see him one more time.
“I’ll be right down. I have to call my friend.” I couldn’t believe what was coming out of my mouth, and I hung up on him. This was meant to be.
I dialed Karen’s number again, and this time she picked up. “Karen,” I spoke quickly, “is everything ok?”
“Oh hey, Ana. I apologize that I haven’t called. I just woke up. I’m so sorry to have left you guys in a lurch at the pub tonight. I couldn’t continue. I needed to lay down. Something came over me. It was odd. It was like an immediate flu. I started serving that table with the couple...”
I interrupted, “The Gods of the village?”
“Yeah, that table. And it was almost like this weird spell came over me. It made me really sick. There is something wrong with those people. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the closer I got to them the worse it got. I had to leave. I’m so sorry. I’m feeling better now, and I’m sure it must have been the flu or something. I probably sound crazy.”
“Don’t worry about it at all, Karen,” I spoke into the phone, trying to sound calm and nonchalant but secretly wanting to hang up on her. “Well, another one joined that table you are talking about, and he was even more impressive than the others.”
“I can’t imagine that, but I’ll take your word for it. I don’t want to run into them again. Like I said, something wasn’t quite right. Sorry with leaving you with them. Did the evening go ok?”
“Yes, actually it went amazingly well. I… um, never mind, I should let you get some rest.”
“Ana, what aren’t you telling me?”
“OK, don’t get mad or worried, but I’m about to go out with the guy who came to the table late. He asked me out.”
There was a few seconds of silence before she began into me. I knew I wouldn’t get off easily.
“Wait a second, Ana, I don’t like this one bit. You don’t even know these people. I don’t feel good about them. What’s his name? Where is he staying? This is so unlike you, Ana. What is going on? You of all people are going to go out with a guy who nobody knows and happens to be in town on vacation? Come on, they’ve never found those hikers
from October. I know no one in the village wants to mention this, but I think we all know that having six people coming into a mishap at once is a little suspicious. They wouldn’t all just walk off a cliff. It would kind of make sense it would take more than one person to harm the hikers, maybe a crazed family?”
“First of all, Karen, you shouldn’t assume that the hikers are dead. You know from the papers that one of the theories is that they all faked their disappearance to avoid the financial issues back home.” I found myself getting snotty with her, which was completely unlike me.
“I know it sounds over the top, Ana. I’m sorry. Like I said something didn’t sit right with me, and I know it sounds crazy, but I just think you should be cautious. That’s all I’m saying.”
The more she spoke, the more I knew she was exactly right. This was careless and irresponsible. Nothing like I would ever do. Yet, I was going to do it tonight. I also, to my embarrassment, didn’t even know his name.
“Karen, I’m glad you’re feeling better, but you need to rest. I’ll call you in the morning to check on you, and yes, I’m going out with him tonight. These guys aren’t dangerous.” I quickly hung up so she couldn’t talk me out of it, grabbed my coat, and headed to my front door. I glanced at Matilda who was still snoring soundly by the fire. I was sure she wouldn’t miss me for another hour or so. She had made one of her famous nests out of the chenille throw that fell off of the chair and obviously had no plans to move.
This was going to be a great night. I could feel it.
The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening Page 4
