Second Chances

by Nicole Andrews Moore

  On that lazy August morning, Sarah had leisurely awakened in Brian’s bed. They had enjoyed another amazing bout of lovemaking that left her happily sore in the morning. Brian had been terribly concerned that he had hurt her once he saw how gingerly she was moving, but Sarah just brushed it off explaining that it was a good hurt. She gave him a kiss on the nose, which he then wrinkled in mock disgust, and hopped in the shower.

  At first, it seemed like any other morning and any other shower, but slowly she felt differently. While the water pelted her skin, she concentrated with all her might. She recognized the feeling growing within her. It was a feeling that had tormented her numerous times throughout her life. She bit her lower lip, knowing it could mean only one thing. She had had a dream while she slept. Naturally, it wasn’t just any dream. It was one of those dreams. And now she couldn’t remember it.

  She sighed. Sarah knew how this worked. As she moved through her day, she would be assaulted with images she had seen the night before. An incredible sense of déjà vu would overwhelm her. And, if the images didn’t arrive in a timely fashion, she would be unable to alter the course of events she had been shown, events she was meant to alter. So many times she had failed in her mission to prevent something bad from happening. Despite her mother’s protest, Sarah couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for her father’s untimely death. Now, she had the nagging fear to contend with. She paused for a moment and fingered her necklace nervously. The rose quartz necklace Brian had fashioned for her had become such a source of comfort. Holding it tightly in her palm, she closed her eyes and waited for the calm to overtake her. Sarah smiled sadly. Brian’s protection spell. Love will save me, she reminded herself. A wry smile formed. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll save myself. Trembling still, she focused on getting ready.

  That was when Brian experienced his first twinge, the first hint that something wasn’t right. They had been so happy and relaxed the last few weeks that he forgot to pay attention, and now he was afraid of coming off as the overprotective boyfriend. Still, the doubt was beginning to nag at him. Brian paced for a moment then gave in and headed toward the bathroom. He wandered into the shower and stared at Sarah for a few moments, trying to reassure himself that she was all right.

  Instantly aware of his presence, she tried to hide her emotions. “Going to join me?” Sarah asked as she faced him and moved to the back of the shower to give him ample room.

  Brian shook his head. “No.” He paused for a moment while he struggled with how to delicately phrase what his mind was torturing him with. “Promise me you will be careful,” he began quietly.

  Her brow furrowed. It was one thing for her to worry, but it was entirely another that he should feel it too. “Where is this coming from?” Sarah needed to know if what he was feeling came from his bond with her or was the result of some external force. Brian just shrugged. All she could do now was reassure him to the best of her ability. “You know I will.”

  He still looked upset. She bent over to turn off the shower. Brian stared at the amulet dangling around her neck. He reached for a towel and wrapped her up in it. He had intended for it to come off as a romantic and caring gesture, but his feelings were uncontrollable. Instantly, she was crushed against his chest, her face pressed tight against her favorite spot on his neck. His pulse beat rapidly. “You are so much a part of me,” he whispered hoarsely into her wet hair. He took a deep breath before summoning the courage to say what was torturing him. “I don’t know if I remember how to be without you.” He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling and unable to let her see that deeply into him at the moment.

  When Sarah looked at him, her heart ached for how visibly upset he was. “Look at me,” she urged. He finally opened his eyes, but instead of making eye contact, he stared at the floor. She forced his face to meet hers, exerting her will upon his. It was a mighty useful little trick that he was no doubt regretting he had ever taught her. “Nothing can keep me from returning to you,” she said firmly, trying to convince both of them. He still seemed unconvinced. She stood on her tiptoes so that their faces were inches apart. “I am yours. Forever. Nothing can change that. I promise.” And then she sealed her promise with a kiss. It was a kiss filled with certainty and undeniable love.

  But even that couldn’t lift Brian’s spirit. “Some day we are going to make it official,” he warned. It wasn’t the first time he had mentioned that he wanted to go beyond the ‘mating for life’ philosophy that had worked so well for his parents. He knew that in her family, marriage was the expectation, not the exception. As much as he loved her, he wanted to do it right, for her and for Chloe. Sarah smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. He sighed. “Call me as soon as you can.”

  Raising her fingers in a mock Girl Scout oath, she said, “I promise.”

  Even Chloe sensed something was wrong as they left her mother at the airport. “Mommy,” she said quietly. “Don’t go.” Immediately she threw her arms around her mother’s legs and willed her stay home.

  “Chloe, not you, too.” This pained her even more than Brian’s worries. Maybe she was just being foolish and stubborn to not back out. Maybe she was letting her sense of duty override her common sense. She hugged her daughter tightly while she gave a soft smile to Brian. “I’ll be home to tuck you in.” And as she slowly headed through security and to her gate, she realized that while she had meant what she said, even she wasn’t sure she believed it.

  It was a short flight. Sarah spent time reviewing her notes for her workshop. She knew her topic inside out, so that wasn’t what was bothering her. It’s all their fault, she rationalized. I wasn’t too concerned until they started in. Yet she knew she wasn’t upset with them in the least. In fact, she was warmed by their genuine concern. And Brenda’s words came rushing back to her. Love will save you. Hugging herself, Sarah settled in and focused on relaxing until the plane touched down.

  The weather wasn’t helping. As Sarah drew closer to her destination, the sky grew darker and more ominous until at last the clouds opened up and a raging storm burst forth. The plane bucked repeatedly. The hostesses dropped into their seats and clicked their safety belts without direction.

  The pilot’s voice boomed over the speakers, “Please fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

  If she weren’t already so nervous, Sarah would have laughed. How many times had she used that expression to refer to her life? And now she was experiencing it literally. The tiny commuter plane shuddered and bounced around. The overhead compartments released luggage as the plane swayed and struggled to remain on course.

  After one particularly vicious jolt, bags rained down on her, hitting her about the head and neck. An image flashed before her. The luggage was hitting her in her dream just as it was now. Obviously there was something important about this event, but she couldn’t hold onto it long enough to see it through. Instead, she was distracted by the elderly couple to her right. The husband had a fresh gash on his bald head that his wife was trying desperately to cover with his handkerchief and she was having little success.

  Sarah reached over and lent a hand. She had been utterly surprised, caught completely off guard. Disgusted with herself, she positioned the handkerchief for them and then began to pick up the offending baggage. In her efforts to help restore the luggage to its rightful location she never realized that her amulet dropped noiselessly to the floor. And then with the next erratic movement of the plane, it slid forward under the seat in front of her and for the remainder of the flight went entirely unnoticed.

  The flight finally landed at Logan, and though she was unharmed, she couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom that seemed to engulf her. It remained with her as she exited the plane. It stayed in the pit of her stomach as she made her way from the gate. And it only seemed to intensify as she neared the exit where Sarah expected to meet her ride.

  An older gentleman was holding a sign bearing her name. Shyly, she walked over to him and introduced hersel
f. The only luggage she brought was her briefcase, but he insisted on carrying it for her. As he opened the limousine door, she reached for the bag, hoping for a few minutes to review her notes more during the ride, intent upon a distraction, but the driver was placing it in the trunk. He seemed so old and fragile that Sarah wouldn’t dream of making him remove it once more. With a sigh and a shrug, she stood solemnly by the car door and waited for him to open it.

  James’ expression was one of immense sorrow. He didn’t want to do this. He had no desire to be here or have any part of Master Evan’s sinister plan. Unfortunately, he was trusted. And even more unfortunately, he was loyal. At the same time he was torn between his role as the dutiful servant and his deep desire to do what was right. And hurting Dr. White was wrong. He closed Sarah’s door and slid into the driver’s seat. Taking a deep breath, he lowered the divider to speak to her briefly.

  “The flowers are for you, miss,” he said quietly. He had to leave the divider down long enough to see that everything was moving according to plan. To his dismay, it was.

  “Oh,” she murmured. She picked up the bouquet, searching for a card, but found none. “They’re beautiful.” Then she did what every woman who receives flowers does. Yet even as the image of her sniffing the bouquet popped into her head, it was already too late.

  James squeezed his eyes shut as far as he dared while he drove. He glanced in the mirror in time to see her hold the bouquet to her nose and inhale deeply. That was all it took. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she seemed to collapse and slide off the seat all at once. Brow growing more furrowed and wrinkly by the minute, he pushed the button that raised the divider and placed a call on the cell phone.

  Before he could speak, Evan was already grilling him. “Did it work?” His voice was intense.

  “Yes, sir,” James replied.

  “Excellent. You should be here in fifteen minutes. Everything is in place. I will be waiting.”

  Brian had been working in the office while Chloe played in the living room. All at once he shuddered and knew instinctively something was wrong. He sat up straight in his chair, found he could no longer concentrate on putting the finishing touches on his course syllabus and walked slowly out to the living room, as though in a daze. Chloe’s look mirrored his own.

  “Do you feel it, too?” She asked sadly as she sat frozen to her place on the living room floor.

  He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to tell her she was overreacting. For any other child, this might have sufficed, but since Chloe could read his thoughts, it would do no good to lie to her. He had never done so before, and even in an effort to protect her he couldn’t start now. “Let’s give her a few hours to call. She promised she would call as soon as possible and your mom has never failed to keep her promise.” Brian held out his arms to the little girl.

  “What do we do after she doesn’t call?” Chloe asked quietly since she was already certain that she would not be hearing from her mother any time soon.

  “We’ll gather reinforcements,” he said honestly, already formulating a plan in his head while he hugged Chloe close

  Several hours later, Sarah awoke in a strange room. Fighting the panic that built in her chest, she tried to concentrate on what she last remembered. The plane landed. She was met by a limo. Was that it? There had to be more. She fought to reclaim more of the missing details. Her head was pounding. She looked around the room. Immediately, a wave of sadness overtook her. She had ended up here in her dream as well. She hadn’t received any flashes in time to do anything to alter the course of events. It was like her father’s death all over again.

  She swallowed sadly as she acquainted herself with her surroundings. It was a big room, classic décor, neutral colors. She might have liked it, except that it seemed too sterile for her. There should be personal items, something to brighten it up. Maybe some fresh cut flowers. She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. The damn flowers. She had sniffed them and passed out. It was all coming back to her now.

  Refusing to panic, she tried to sit up, but her head was so fuzzy and it ached so badly. A glass of water waited on the nightstand beside her along with some pills that resembled ibuprofen. Despite the urge to rid herself of the headache, she refused to take any unidentified medication. Look what happened when she was given something as innocuous as a bouquet of flowers.

  Picking up the glass of water, she looked at the bottom, checking to see if there was any residue settled at the base of the glass. Nothing. She sniffed it. No strange odor. Sarah allowed the slightest sip to dampen her lips and tongue. She waited to analyze the aftertaste. Yet there wasn’t one. Cautiously she took a few more swigs from the glass. Setting it back on the nightstand, she pondered her next move, but she was really sleepy. After just a little more sleep maybe she could come up with some answers.

  It was two-thirty in the afternoon. Sarah should have been wrapping up at her conference by now. Brian had done everything he could think of to entertain Chloe. He had taken her out for lunch at Al’s French Fries. They had gone to Pizza Putt to play eighteen holes of her favorite indoor miniature golf course. Every once in a while he would check his phone for a signal or to see if in the noise he had somehow missed a call. And every time he attempted to hide his disappointment and growing concern since he hadn’t. Finally, he could no longer mask his feelings.

  “Let’s go visit your grandma,” he said quietly.

  And without emitting a single word, Chloe trustingly placed her hand in his and walked out to the waiting car.

  Anna met them at the door. “Come on in,” she said as brightly as she could, despite the strain her face revealed. “Chloe… uh…”

  “I know,” the little girl began morosely. “I’ll pick a craft from the closet and get out of the way.”

  Her grandmother tried to smile, but she was wringing her hands. “Thank you, honey.” The adults watched as she moped from the room. As soon as they heard the closet open, they began to talk freely. “It’s Sarah, isn’t it?” She asked nervously.

  Brian could feel his throat constricting as he struggled to find the words he needed to soothe Anna‘s fears. It was an impossible task. Instead, he spewed the first thoughts that came to mind. “I’m sorry. I never should have let her go to this conference. I should have known something was wrong sooner. I… I…” He was at a loss for words. He felt responsible for her. Somehow he had to make this right.

  Anna shook her head. “Stop that right this minute. You know as well as I that this is a waste of energy, a waste of spirit. I love my daughter. When she has her heart set on doing something, there is no dissuading her. You tried to stop her this morning, didn’t you?” He nodded shallowly. “I know you’ve been doing your best to protect her. She’s told me about the tea.” He smiled a bit. “And I saw the amulet she wears.”

  He inhaled, his head bobbed some more. At least Anna didn‘t blame him. He straightened a bit and focused on the task at hand. “So what should we try first? I know the police won’t be interested in this case until she has been missing for twenty-four hours. I can’t wait that long.”

  While she had waited for Brian to arrive and confirm her worst fears, she had been pondering that same question. Now, she could merely reveal the one method she knew to reveal her daughter‘s location. “We can try scrying for her. I’ll just need a map and my crystals,” she was putting together a mental list when Chloe returned.

  “Here, grandma,” she said quietly, carrying everything her grandmother had mentioned. “I want to help.”

  By the time Sarah felt strong enough to sit up and then get out of bed, it was dark. A deep sadness overwhelmed her. I promised Chloe I would tuck her in tonight. Then more regret overtook her. Brian must be worried sick. She made her way to the bathroom. She had seen the opening the first time she had awakened, and now the need to use the facilities was overpowering. As she sat on the toilet, she contemplated her surroundings. The bathroom had a high-end hotel feel to it. The tiles were
large beige marble. The shower had a glass door and brushed nickel accents. There were all kinds of toiletries for her use. In fact, there seemed to be a fresh new duplicate of every product she had in her bathroom at home, except for the Victoria’s Secret ones which were new to her.

  Something seemed strange. She smirked. Everything was strange right now. What was wrong? What was so out of place that it nagged at her to notice. She took stock of the room once more, slowly, with great precision. Almost instantly she realized that there was no door to the bathroom. No way to have any privacy. No place to lock herself in and find safety or temporary solace even. More disturbing still was that the more she looked, the more she picked up on other little things, like the mysterious red lights glowing ominously behind the vents in the bathroom. She might not have otherwise noticed them, but tonight because she couldn’t find the switches and because she was desperate, she had relied on the meager lighting offered by the lamp on her nightstand to guide her. In the darkened room, red lights behind vents were very visible. Up until now she had only suspected she might be being watched. Now she was certain. She wouldn’t react. She would keep her cool. She wouldn’t let on that she knew. She flushed, washed her hands, and made her way to the bedroom windows.