Cheating Heart, A Lost Souls Novel: A Lost Souls Novel (13 page)

“Hi guys!” she yelled, waving at them.

“You can always ask Kim,” Vienna said to James as they both stood up to greet Kim and Steve.  “She knows everything.”

James didn’t answer.  He hadn’t spoken or asked any questions the entire time Vienna tried to
enlighten him about Jack, ghosts, and her newfound psychic abilities.  He took in everything she’d said and was trying to internalize her story to make some sort of rational sense.  He was actually contemplating asking Kim about Jack just to see how she responded.  He’d be curious to see how she’d react.  But instead, he didn’t.  He felt it would be better to not say anything at all.  He was still feeling rather angry with how the evening turned out. 

“What are you guys doing down here?” Kim asked.  “I figured you two would be making out all hot and heavy in the rental car.”  She
then looked back and forth from Vienna to James and noticed the morose faces.  “Uh, oh. What’s wrong?”

Vienna shook her head.  “You think Steve would
mind giving you a lift to the garage?”

“Um, yeah, sure. 
Why?  What’s wrong?  I can tell something’s wrong.” 

“Just bring the car to pick me up.
  I’ll wait here.”

“All right,” Kim said
, frowning.  “You sure you’re okay?”

“No.
I’m not sure.”  Vienna shook her head.  “I’ll explain later.  Just go get the car.  Please.” 

Steve walked up and smacked James on the shoulder.  “Ah, fireside
, huh?  Good idea.  Chicks love fires!” he teased.

“Yeah,” James said.

“Steve, Vienna needs me to go back and get the car.”  Kim gently placed her hand on his shoulder.  “Is that okay?”

“
The car?” he asked, he put his arm around Kim’s waist.  “Right now?  We just got here.” 

She leaned in and whispered,
“I think they’re ready to call it a night.”

Steve
looked at both Vienna and James whom were obviously upset.  “Oh, I see.  What happened?  Lover’s quarrel already?”

“Steve!” Kim elbowed him.

“What?” he laughed.   When he noticed no one else was laughing at his joke, he cleared his throat and added, “Sure, we’ll go get the car.  Be right back.”

“Thanks,” Vienna said to them and sat back down on the log. 
She watched as Kim and Steve walk arm in arm across the sand towards his motorcycle.  James sat back down in the sand across from her.  Once the motorcycle roared to life and Kim and Steve took off, Vienna turned her attention back to James who was staring at the flames.  “I know it’s a lot to absorb,” Vienna said to him.  “But whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth.”

James didn’t say anything. 
He didn’t even bother to look at her when she’d spoken to him.  Vienna’s heart sank as they sat in uncomfortable silence.

***

On the way back to the motel, Vienna explained to Kim about the ghost in the garage and how Jack showed up to try and protect her. 

“And James saw him?” Kim gasped.

“Yeah.  How’s that for luck?”

“
No wonder why he’s upset.  Do you think Jack made himself noticeable on purpose?”

“Guess it doesn’t really matter whether it was on purpose or not.”  Vienna shrugged.  “Even if it was just the ghost, I’d have to explain it somehow to
James.  Which, I did, of course.  Now James thinks I’m some sort of freak.  He doesn’t believe me about the ghost or Jack being my spirit guide.”

“He doesn’t think you’re a freak.  He’s jealous
of Jack!  Just as Jack is jealous of him.  They both want you.”

“
Yeah, right!” Vienna let out a sarcastic sounding laugh.  “Jack’s
not
jealous.  He was just trying to keep that ghost away from me.  It was a total accident that James saw him.”

“
Sure it was.  Just keep telling yourself that.  You know as well as I do that Jack is jealous.”

Vienna sighed.  As much as she wanted to believe Jack was jealous of
seeing her with another man, it didn’t fix things.  She couldn’t be with Jack.  And if he kept showing himself, she’d never be able to be in a relationship with anyone else either. 

“
You know what?” Kim asked, making a sudden U-turn right in front of the motel.  “We need some chocolate.”

“What?
  Chocolate?  Why?”

“We can’t go back to the motel room
without chocolate.  This is totally a candy moment.”

“Oh, God,” Vienna groaned.  “Can’t we just go to our room?  I just want to watch TV, drown out my thoughts and veg until I fall asleep.
  I don’t
need
chocolate.”

“Oh
, come on,” Kim said.  “So James thinks you’re a freak!  Who cares?  And there’s always a need for chocolate.  It’s a girl thing.”

“I thought you just said that James doesn’t think I’m a freak?”
Vienna questioned.  “So, now you’re saying he
does
think I’m a freak?”

“I was trying to make you feel better,”
Kim said.  “Of course he thinks you’re a freak.  Who wouldn’t think that after you spilling your guts about everything supernatural going on in your life?” 

“Gee, thanks,” Vienna groaned.  “You’re making me feel so much better.”

“Oh, come on,” Kim said.  “Chocolate will make you feel better.  Besides, life could be worse.”

“Oh
, yeah?” Vienna spat.  “How?  Tell me
how
my life could be worse?  I want to hear this.”

Kim smiled. 
“You could have no chocolate and no wonderful, understanding and stunningly beautiful, best friend like me, to help you deal with your pain.  Trust me; life would be a lot worse.”

“Oh my God,” Vie
nna couldn’t help but laugh, “you’re such a freak!”

“
Yeah, well, takes one to know one,” Kim said, pulling up in front of a convenience store.  “Let’s get us some junk food.”

***

Steve tried to talk James into joining him for a drink at a local bar just down the street from the pier.  He could see that his friend needed to vent about something.

“I don’t want a drink,” James protested.  “I’m ready to get back to the barracks.”

“No one’s ever ready to get back to the barracks,” Steve joked.  “Come on, one beer and maybe some hot wings.”

James shook his head.  He didn’t want to explain his drinking problem to Steve and he sure as hell didn’t want to tell him about Vienna.
  One drink shouldn’t hurt him any. 

“Come on,” Steve prodded, he glanced at his watch.
  “Just for an hour.  Tops.”

“All right.” James nodded and strapped on his helmet.  “One hour.”

***

After a pint each of Ben & Jerry’s and several bags of assorted candies, Kim ripped open a family sized bag of
potato chips.  “Now it’s time for the salt,” she said.  “Are you starting to feel better?”

Vienna clutched her stomach.  “No.  Actually now I’m starting to feel sick.”

“Seriously?” Kim asked.

“Yeah, seriously.”  Vienna scooped up all of the candy wrappers off of her queen sized bed and dropped them in the wastepaper basket by the desk.  She picked up her soda and took a swig, hoping it would help settle her stomach.  The already flat drink just made her feel queasier.  “I think I need to go out and get some air.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No,” Vienna said, shaking her head.

“I can change,” Kim said. “If you can just wait a minute…”

“No one’s going to see you,” Vienna said.  She was in her pajamas as well.  But Kim did have a point.  She was wearing a short satin night
gown, where Vienna was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a T-shirt.  This time, she remembered to grab her polar fleece jacket, slid it on and slipped on a pair of warm fuzzy moccasins with thick leather soles.  She grabbed her phone and slid it into her pocket.  She knew it was a long shot, but she still hoped to hear from James. “Besides,” Vienna said.  “I’m fine.  Swear.  I just need some fresh air.  I’ll be back in a minute.”

“All right,” Kim said, sitting back down on the bed.  “Oh, it’s back on!”
She raised the volume on the TV.  “You’re going to miss our favorite show!” 

“I’ll catch it when it comes
out on Netflix,” Vienna said and then closed the door behind her.  She really wasn’t in the mood to watch TV.  She tried to watch and realized that she had too many other things on her mind and couldn’t seem to concentrate on it.  It really bothered her that she hadn’t heard anything from James.  It wasn’t like she expected to hear an,
I’m sorry
or a
can we talk?
But still, anything was better than nothing.  And then, she remembered the message on her voicemail.  She still hadn’t listened to the message to find out whether or not it was Brandon who had called.

Vienna walked behind the motel.  When they first arrived, she’d noticed a sign and an access way that led to the marina.
  She walked across the parking lot to the underpass that led beneath the street and to the marina.  She knew Kim would freak out if she knew how far away she was wandering from the motel.  But the more she walked the better she felt.  The cold air no longer bothered her, but seemed refreshing since she was bundled up in her jacket. 

The marina was pretty much empty.  There were cute little shops surrounding it that were now closed.  Vienna walked past a few.  There was a decent sized seafood restaurant down the way that
was still hopping with customers within the bar, but other than that, it was pretty quiet.  She followed a cement path past the shops and the restaurant.  She kept walking until everything was still and silent except for the water lapping up against the sides of the moored boats.  She found a bench and sat down, making herself as comfortable as she could before sliding her phone out of her pocket.  She stared at the voicemail icon before making her decision.  She touched the icon and punched in her security code to retrieve her messages.  Her heart began to beat fast as she listened to the automated voice saying that she had one new message.  She clenched the phone harder with her hand as she waited. And then that was it.  Nothing had been left, just a hang up.  Vienna replayed the message in case she’d missed something.  She thought she’d heard someone taking a breath and then it hung up.  There was nothing more.  She pushed
end
and stared at the number of the missed phone call on the screen and suddenly wondered if she should try dialing it.  Maybe she’d be able to figure out who had called her.  And if it was someone she didn’t want to talk to, like Brandon for instance, she could just hang up.

Her stomach leapt at the thought of calling Brandon.  If she called this number and it was Brandon, he’d know she tried calling him.  Did she want him to know that?  Would she actually hang up on him if he answered?  But what if it wasn’t him?  What if it was Kyle?  Did she want to talk to him right now?  Not really.  She liked Kyle.  He was extremely handsome,
and was very nice to be with last night at the club, but he was also a coworker.  And worse than that, he was known as the Romeo of the office.  Did she really want to take the chance of having her heart broken by someone she’d have to see at work?

“I can send a text,” Vienna whispered to herself.  A text would be straight to the point and safer than making a phone call. 
She wouldn’t be stuck having to talk to someone if she didn’t want to.  Gathering her courage, Vienna sent a text to the unknown number.  She typed in, “I missed a call from this number.”  She figured that was pretty straight forward.  She’d wait to see if she got a response back before trying to call.

A cold breeze kicked up and swirled her hair from behind.  Vienna cringed and grabbed hold of her hair
that was falling out of the ponytail she’d had it up in, twisted it, and re-secured it with her scrunchie.  She pulled up the collar on her polar fleece to keep her neck warm.  The phone buzzed as a text came through.  Forcing herself to click on the little envelop icon, she suddenly relaxed.  A laugh escaped her lips as she read the text.  It was from Kyle’s friend, Chris.  He wanted to know if Vienna could give him Jack’s number.  Vienna smiled.  She’d have to relay the information to Jack.  She texted Chris back and said she didn’t have his number, but would give Jack his number the next time she saw him.

Another breeze kicked up and tickled her neck sending another round of chills down her spine.  Vienna decided that it was probably time to get back to the motel room before she froze to death and before Kim became worried and started looking for her.
  Besides, she couldn’t wait to tell Kim that the missed phone call wasn’t from Brandon or Kyle.  She felt so relieved. 

Getting
up from the bench, Vienna looked out at the beautiful boats.  She’d always felt that marinas were very relaxing.  There was just something about the crisp scent of the salty air and the sound of the water gently lapping against the sides of the boats that made her feel calm.  Her stomach was no longer upset.  In fact, she felt refreshed and alive.  So what if James didn’t talk to her again?  That was
his
problem, not hers.  She’d told him the truth and if he didn’t like it, then too bad.  She didn’t
need
him in her life.  She did everything she could to be truthful and honest.  If the truth was too much for him to handle, then she’d move on.