Falling In (10 page)

She ran
her fingers through his long hair and used it as leverage to make him go deeper
and harder.  All of the hurt and fear that she collected only made the desire
for him burn hotter.  She needed to feel something else; needed to feel the
passion whose existence was all but forgotten.

It
didn’t take long for the powerful grip of release to take up a spot in the very
pit of Audrey’s stomach.  Her nails dug down into his scalp and she threw her
thighs apart as her screams echoed over the thunderous sea.  The waves of pure
ecstasy sped through every last nerve.

“Yes,”
she cried out and finally opened her eyes to get a good look at him between her
legs as she came--almost violently--onto her lover’s fingers and lips.

Liam was
careful to ease back out only when she was completely finished.  After, he
wiped his talented mouth with the inside of his shirt.  Audrey watched him
carefully but didn’t move.  She was stuck against the fallen tree and gasped
for air like a fish out of water with knees that trembled so hard she was sure
that they would start knocking.

Her
partner rose back up between her legs, never once even hinting that he expected
her to return the favor.

 “I have
to get you home.”  He leaned over her and pecked her chin.  “You’ve got work in
the morning.”

Chapter
7

Audrey
dipped her head beneath the stinging hot needles of water that cascaded from a
shower head just above.  So too did the fresh memories of her encounter with
Liam the night before.

She
moved into the hot jet and let it cover her face.  With eyes clamped shut, she
allowed herself go back to their sensual meeting.  It didn’t take much for her
to remember how his lips felt against her most tender flesh; how she could feel
every tickling grain of sand between her toes as they curled in pure ecstasy.

The
water gushed past her fingers as she ran them over her shoulders and continued
down to her naked stomach.  When she reached the tempting curve of her hip, a
shudder of delight nearly made her slip on the soapy water beneath her feet.

Her eye
lids snapped open and she quickly turned the water off.  The last thing that
she needed was to get carried away, fall and knock herself out with nobody
around.

“Wow,”
she said and tried to wave away the thick curtain of steam that filled the
spacious bathroom.  She flung the shower curtain open and wrapped a light green
towel around her body.  Even though the sink and mirror were a few feet away,
she could barely see the outline of either through the fog.

A
pattering of water drops on the cool tile followed Audrey as she carefully
walked over and wiped away the mirror with her hand.  Some time passed before
she sat back and took a good, hard look into her own deep blue eyes.  In a way,
it was something that she was avoiding.  The truth about everything was right
there, hardly veiled by irises that seemed to tell the story of the struggle
going on inside.  Framing them, thin threads of red fanned out over the whites
from a few too many hours of crying.

Audrey
ran both hands through her sopping wet hair and lifted, allowing small chunks
to slap back down between her shoulders as they left her fingers.  Her mind
went right back to Liam and she wondered what it would feel like if it was his
fingers slipping over her sensitive scalp.  Would he simply go through, or
would he stop and pull to force her to do what he wanted?

She
shook the thought away and reached over to a plastic bag from the general
store, which dangled from the edge of the modest mirror, and pulled out a fresh
bandage.  Unrolling it slowly between the fingers at the end of her damaged
wrist, Audrey carefully examined the scattered wounds.  All but two were almost
completely healed.  The others were scabbed over and didn’t look that bad. 
They were still noticeable, but not like before when it looked like she jammed
her arm through a window in a fit of rage.

Her
unraveling fingers paused and she stared down at the cuts.  She tried her best
to hold it back, but the hot sting of tears stabbed at the very corners of her
eyes.  Not long after, fat drops pattered down onto the porcelain sink.

Though
the flesh wounds were well on their way to healing, the ones in Audrey’s heart
still felt as raw as the day that she arrived in Cedar Key.  They nagged at the
back of her thoughts and made her doubt everything that she thought she
understood about people and love.

On one
hand, she had Max, who hurt her so badly after claiming a decade of love and
devotion.  Then there was Liam, who was willing to give without expecting
anything back; who watched out for her because he wanted to, not because he had
to.

“Maybe
it’s time to let go,” she looked up and said to her reflection.

The
flesh-colored bandage slipped from her fingers, hit the lip of the sink and
fell to the floor.  A small section of the unwrapped portion fluttered behind
it like a flag as it went.

“Yeah,”
she whispered to herself and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing out whatever tears
waited to fall.  Audrey took the plastic bag down from the mirror and plopped
it into a small trash can near the toilet without even looking.  She was tired
to hiding everything, tired of running from the world.

Unfortunately,
it was the only thing that she knew how to stop hiding.

---

Arthur
McBride wasn’t waiting for her when she rode up to finish her painting job
early that morning.  Instead, his loyal employee, Susan, sat behind the desk
and greeted her with a quiet wave.  All of her supplies, on the other hand,
were right where she left them.

Audrey
wasted no time getting back into her spot, where she leaned over and worked
carefully with her tongue clamped between her lips.  Though she couldn’t say
the same for any other areas of her life, she felt a little more assured of her
painting skills.  Brush strokes came more and more naturally and the colors
that she blended took fewer and fewer tries to get just right.

Before
long, a pleasant wave of nostalgia hit.  She remembered how brightly her
passion for the arts burned before settling down with a job and a husband.  In
high school and college, a normal Friday night consisted of galleries, theater
productions and trips to see shows that she saved up for months to pay for. 
But at the end of the day, Audrey always went back home to practice her craft,
sometimes spending hours seated in front of an easel or hunched over a note
pad.  The medium didn’t matter; just that she got to do it.

Her
brush skillfully dipped over Triton’s trident and brightened its golden hue. 
She wondered why she let herself forget such a big part of who she was; why she
allowed Max to come in and dictate the things that she liked.

How
could I forget this feeling?
 
She wondered as the rhythmic brush strokes lulled her into a patient, still,
focused place.

Hours
passed before she came up for air, and that was only because Arthur called to
her from down the hall.

“Why,”
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and stroked his chin.  “You brought him back
to life.”

Audrey
felt her cheeks go red.

“Thank
you.  I’m actually going to be done soon.  I put in just what it needed to look
right, nothing else.”

“I think
you’re doing a fine job.  Do you mind if I keep you company for a little bit?”

“If you
don’t mind talking to my back.”

“Of
course not,” he said and pulled a chair down from one of the many tables that
were pushed to the sides of the room.

Audrey
moved down a couple of steps to finish the bottom corner of the painting.

“So
how’s the weather back home?”

“In Chicago?” 
She thought for a second and quickly realized that she hadn’t even checked
since her arrival in Florida.  “I don’t know.  It was freezing when I left but I’d
imagine it didn’t last long.”

Arthur
mumbled in agreement and said, “Do you like it up there?”

The
brush in Audrey’s hand stopped for a moment as she replied, “I did.”

“Not
anymore?”

She went
on painting and brushed away the frizzy hairs that tickled the skin right below
her eyebrows.

“I’ll
always love the town, I guess, but I’m just tired of it: the people, the
traffic, everything.”  What she didn’t say was that there was one particular
person that she hated most; the one person who drove her to question her place
in the world.  “Coming down here has really made me wonder if I shouldn’t try somewhere
new; somewhere different, you know?”

“No,” he
said with a laugh.  “My family’s been here for generations.”

“And
you’ve never been anywhere else?”

“Not
exactly,” he replied.  Audrey could hear him lean forward in his seat.  The chair’s
creaks and groans filled the room as he went on, “I’ve traveled, but I always
want to come back here.  This is my home.”

She
wondered what that feeling was like.  While still alive, most of Audrey’s
family didn’t speak.  Even her mom and dad hadn’t called in 9 months or so, but
it was that way for as long as she could remember.  Without the people to tie
her to one place, she realized, there wasn’t anywhere that she felt drawn to.

Nowhere,
that is, except for the old mill on Atsena Otie Key.  Even as she and Arthur continued
their small talk, she wondered about what was inside of the leaning building. 
Did the workers leave behind their tools?  Were there old, rusty machines that
sat as a testament to the fallen cedar empire that put the town on the map
still there?  She didn’t know, but the mystery surrounding it was enough to
keep her thoughts away from more depressing issues.

“Why? 
What is it about this place?”

“I don’t
think that’s something anyone can put a finger on, Miss.  A place is a home
when your heart says it is.”

Audrey
took in a deep breath and stepped down from the ladder.

“I think
I’m done.”

Arthur
swatted his knee with one hand and hopped from his seat to examine her work
more closely.  He was quiet for a while, with a hand on his chubby chin and his
nose just a hair away from the mural’s surface.

“You’ve
earned your keep, my girl,” he said and patted her once on the shoulder.  “I
think you’ve done a wonderful job.”

Audrey’s
heart felt like it leapt into her throat.

“Really? 
You’re sure?”

“Yes, of
course,” he replied and fished a fat envelope out the pockets of his slacks. 
“This is for your trouble, of course.”

She
accepted the cash, but couldn’t peel her eyes away from the painting. 
Surprising herself, she somehow managed to pull it off.  With colors as bright
as they were when it was first put up, King Neptune and his sea friends sat
proudly on the bar’s back wall, overlooking the whole room.

As she
combed over her work one last time, Audrey couldn’t help but feel elated.  Of
all the things that had gone wrong, it was nice to produce something that was
so, so right.

“Let me
help you pick up,” she said.

Arthur
shook his head and led her away from her work area.

“My
cleaning boys are coming in soon.  They will take care of it.”

“You’re
sure?”

“Yes, of
course.  Go and relax today.  You’ve worked hard enough.”

She
smiled and started to walk away, but and nagging voice in her head made her
stop and turn back around.

“Hey,”
Audrey said and held up a finger.  “You wouldn’t happen to have a kayak, would
you?”

Arthur
chuckled.

“I own a
hotel on the beach.  Of course I have kayaks.”

“Do you
think I could borrow one?”

“As long
as you promise not to rob any banks or anything.”

“In a
kayak?”

He
shrugged his shoulders and replied, “This is Florida.  I’ve heard stranger
stories.”  He pointed toward the backside of the building where they ate lunch
the day before and continued, “They’re down by the water, just slide one off of
the sand and bring it back up when you’re done.”

“Thanks,”
Audrey said and tossed the envelope of cash between her hands.  “Hey, can you
hold onto this for me until I get back?”

Arthur
accepted the money and nodded his head.

“Of
course.”

“Perfect,”
she said and started to trot toward the rear door.  “Thanks again!”

Just as
promised, four small boats sat jauntily in the sand, each one listing in a
different direction near the water.  As she dragged a yellow one toward the
shore, Audrey wasn’t completely sure that she knew the way back to Atsena Otie
Key, but she was more than willing to give it a shot.  There was something
about the blissfully lonely atmosphere there that she needed to feel again if
she ever wanted to figure out how to make things right.

---

Audrey
shielded her eyes with one hand and let the kayak bob in the choppy waters.
Just over her shoulders, her golden hair fluttered and danced around.  The
island wasn’t far away, but a hearty wind coming from that direction made her
progress slow.  Her upper arms already burned from rowing by herself against
the warm breeze.  On top of all that, the ocean’s rough top made her empty
stomach start to turn.

By the
time she jumped out into the mid-shin water and pulled the boat onto the shore,
she seriously considered kissing the rotted dock out of joy.

Don’t
get too excited
,
she thought. 
You still have to paddle back
.

Ahead,
the fallen town’s graveyard waited with a strange mix of eerie and serene that
made Audrey’s nerves suddenly stand at attention.  Even the tiny hairs on the
back of her neck perked up as she slowly walked through the carpet of fallen,
squishy leaves to the headstone that she tried to clear off the last time that
she was there.

She
crouched down and finished cleaning the small rectangle off, plucking away the
last few leaves with the tips of her fingers.

EDWARD
BOYD

 Born
January 16, 1863 Died April 3, 1895