Guardian of the Fountain

Guardian of the Fountain

By Jennifer Bryce

The characters and events potrayed in this book are fictitious.
Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not
intended by the author.

Guardian of the Fountain

Coypyright
Ó
2015 by Jennifer
Bryce

Cover desing by Claudia Mckinney PhatPuppy Art

Text design by Catriona Crehan

To my family for putting up with my crazy bean-headed ideas.

Chapter 1

The
cool cucumber slices on Chrissie’s eyelids soothed her eyes, which were tired from
doing a night shift at the hospital. Her feet soaked in the warm, soapy water
of the pedicure bowl and the rose mud mask made her face itch only because she
couldn’t scratch it. All the tension of the week drained into the pedicure bowl
as she relaxed in the massage chair. Who cared if her hair hadn’t been washed
in four days and she smelled like rubbing alcohol?

Chrissie
heard high heels click against the tile and the sound of squeaky vinyl as
someone sat down in the pedicure chair next to her.

“I
need the works today, Tina,” the young woman’s nasally voice made Chrissie
cringe.

“You’ve
been busy, Lexi?” The soft Vietnamese voice asked.

“I’ve
had such a stressful week planning the charity ball for Daddy. But if all goes
well I might be planning my engagement party next month,” Lexi whispered.

      
Chrissie had
been hoping for peace and quiet this morning, but the woman didn’t show signs
of stopping her chatter. She was glad the woman doing her pedicure didn’t talk
much.

      
“I’m just
crazy about my new boyfriend. The only thing I have to compete with is that
silly truck of his. He has it lifted so high, I almost need a step stool to get
in.”

      
What
a coincidence. Her boyfriend babied his truck too. Trey was always waxing his
pride and joy. He showed more love to his truck than he did to her. Trey was so
hot and cold these days, it was hard to know what was going to happen next with
him. According to his standards, she didn’t do anything right … ever. She
hadn’t heard from him over the last four days, which didn’t matter much because
her twelve-hour work schedule didn’t leave time for a social life.

      
“I wish
everyone could be as happy as I am.” Lexi sighed. The baubles on her bracelet
made noise as she removed her heels and tossed them to the floor.

Chrissie
took the cucumbers off her eyes and threw them in the pedicure bowl. It was no
use—she wouldn’t be getting a short snooze with this woman chattering her
ear off. It was hard to be amicable with a sleep deficit. She looked over at
the obnoxious redhead sitting next to her. Her airbrushed tan glowed orange
under the fluorescent lights in the spa making her appear she might be kin to
an oompa loompa.

Chrissie
decided that someday, she would have a real tan from an exotic location, but
she’d have to stop living vampire hours first.

      
Lexi reached
into her pink purse and pulled out her bedazzled cell phone. It made a light
tinkling sound. “Oh, how sweet. . . Look! He sent me the cutest text. He says
that I’m so hot. Seriously, he is the best boyfriend ever!”

      
At that same
moment, Chrissie’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached in and retrieved
it. With one finger flick, she read the text. “You are so hot. Love, Trey.” The
picture that accompanied the text was a selfie of him flexing in his bathroom
mirror, his towel hanging dangerously low. Leave it to Trey to admire himself
in front of the mirror for hours on end. The two hours he spent at the gym
every day not only built muscle, but an obviously gigantic ego as well. Mirrors
surrounded him there, too.

      
“Look at
this pic of him.” The woman squealed. “Isn’t he so good-looking?” She thrust
her cell phone into Chrissie’s face. It was the exact same text, down to the
picture, that Chrissie had received.

      
“Well,
isn’t that just sweet?” Chrissie tried to smile, but her teeth were gritting,
and her heart now resided in the pit of her stomach. “Tell me more about your
boyfriend.”

      
“His name
is Trey. He is twenty-four. He tells me every day that I’m the only one for
him. My daddy hired him three months ago at the car lot.”

      
“How long
have you been dating?”

      
“Almost
three months, two days, six hours, and thirty-six minutes. But who’s counting?”
Her high-pitched giggle grated against Chrissie’s frayed nerves. “We’ve been
through a rough spot lately, but it only made us stronger.”

      
“Oh?”
Chrissie seriously doubted this woman had experienced any rough times in her
rich life.

      
The woman
leaned over and whispered, “I recently tested positive for a teensy-weensy
STD.” Her index finger and thumb showed a small space in between. “Trey said he
got it from his ex, who broke his heart. A girl named Chris or something or
another. Poor Trey.”

      
“Oh, really?”
Chrissie managed to say calmly when she really wanted nothing more than to
strangle Trey. Her fists ached to punch him in the face. They were the only two
people who knew the truth. However, she couldn’t count on him to tell it, obviously.
Chrissie still held tight to the value of waiting for marriage. Her strong
Christian values were met with Trey’s resistance. His high-pressure sales on
the subject had fortunately turned Chrissie off. If Trey had given this vapid
woman a STD, another woman—or multiple women—were involved.
Chrissie felt oddly relieved that she’d dodged a huge predicament.

      
“He said if
we could get through this, we could get through anything.” The woman leaned
back in her chair and closed her eyes, smiling.

      
Chrissie
pulled up her phone, snapped a picture of the woman, and texted Trey. “Spa day!
Met your girlfriend, Lexi.”

* * *

Trey
was waiting in the parking lot to Chrissie’s apartment building as she pulled
up. Coming home from a busy night shift and an unforgettable salon visit hadn’t
set her in the friendliest mood. “Ah, crap.” She jammed her junky Toyota
Corolla into park.
 

Chrissie
decided he didn’t even deserve an acknowledgement of his presence. To ignore
him, walk briskly, and lock the door behind her was top priority as she exited
her vehicle. Rather than look at him, she meticulously looked for her apartment
key on her key ring as she walked to her building.

      
 
Trey jogged to catch up to her and stood
in front of her, blocking her way. “Look, baby. Honestly, I was just trying to
decide between you two.” Trey rubbed his hands up and down Chrissie’s arms. She
kept her arms tightly folded across her chest.

      
“Oh,
really? It looked like you pretty much decided. I don’t ever want to be in a
competition against another woman, and I especially don’t want to be a
runner-up, either!” Chrissie twisted away from Trey. Her blood pulsed with
anger through her veins.

      
“It’s all
your fault this happened, baby. If you’d satisfied your man, we wouldn’t have
this problem. You can’t just throw away two years. This is just a little hiccup
in our relationship, baby. If we can get through this, we can get through
anything.” Trey tried to tilt her chin with his finger and gifted her with his most
charming smile.

      
“Just like
the STD you gave the other girl?” Chrissie sweetly smiled back at him.

      
Trey’s wall
of coolness crumbled. “How did you know about that?”

      
“Look,
baby,” Chrissie said, “you lose. Your consolation prize is a chatty girlfriend
with an STD. She might have money, but you can’t buy class.” She turned on her
heel and headed inside her apartment.

* * *

              
Chrissie’s
mother came over as soon as she heard the croaky, “Mom?” over the phone.
Dianne’s mothering instincts were always spot on when it came to Chrissie. They
sat on the oversized couch in Chrissie’s bare apartment.

              
“You
know I’m not really sad about ditching Trey.” Chrissie sniffled.

              
“What
has you so upset then?” Dianne handed Chrissie a box of tissues.

              
“I’m
afraid of being alone.”

              
Dianne
gave an understanding nod. “Ah, I see. Well, I can tell you something I know to
be very true. It is better to be alone and happy, than with a jerk who cheats.
You can have a blissful filled life without a love interest. A special someone
is meant to compliment your life not drag you down. You know the moment you
forget about looking for someone is the moment they usually show up.”

              
“You’re
probably right.” Chrissie pulled her knees up to her chest. The clock in the
kitchen ticked loudly away during the silence as she contemplated all that her
mother had said.

              
“Sweetie,
I think you need to get away for a while.” Dianne smoothed down Chrissie’s hair
in an expertly soothing way.

      
“I can’t,
Mom. I have to work. I have student loans to pay off.” Chrissie sniffled.

      
“I know.
That’s why I was so excited to find this.” Dianne handed her a colorful folded
pamphlet.

      
Chrissie
read it out loud. “‘Come experience exotic Venezuela while paying off student
loans. Loan forgiveness for humanitarian service while having fun. For medical
personnel only.” She sighed. “Sounds too good to be true.”

      
“Sometimes
when life gets a little rough, we’re handed a break. Besides, I think you got
lucky.”

      
“Oh, yeah?
How’s that? I’m twenty-four, I live by myself, and my boyfriend has another
girlfriend he conveniently didn’t tell me about.”

      
“Well, your
father and I didn’t want to tell you, but we never liked him. We watched as you
bent over backwards to please him. You’re such a free spirit, and you were
trying to change yourself to make him happy.”

      
“Except one
thing …” That one thing she wouldn’t change for any man. Chrissie new she
wanted to save herself for marriage. Mom was right, as always. She was young and
unattached. Now would be the perfect time to go out and explore a little. The
option of living life to its fullest was a tantalizing prospect she didn’t
think she had time for. She had all the time in the world come to think of it.
“You know what, Mom? I’m going to do it! I’m going to find myself, and the
first place I’m going to look is Venezuela.” Chrissie sat up straight on the
couch with resolve forming in her mind. She wasn’t going to let a creep like
Trey slow her down. He wasn’t worth it. She’d wasted too much time on him. If dumping
Trey and moving to a foreign country meant being perpetually single, then so be
it.

* * *

      
Chrissie
sat on her large suitcase to zip it shut. Her flight departed in three hours.
Nervous anticipation fluttered in her stomach. As much as it took to plan and
prepare for this new adventure to Venezuela, it was a welcome distraction from
Trey. He hadn’t called or texted once since Chrissie left him in the parking
lot three weeks ago. Every time she opened the paper, she expected to see an
engagement announcement featuring the happy couple.

      
Chrissie
grabbed her purse, keys, and the rolling suitcase before heading out the door.
“Hey, honey,” her dad, Wayne, called from his truck. He hopped out and helped
her put her suitcase in the back. He groaned under the weight of it. “What did
you pack in there? A body?”

      
“Very
funny, Daddy. We all know there’s only one person’s body I’d stuff in a
suitcase, but I would definitely not be taking it to the airport.”

      
“Guys,”
Dianne scolded. “The neighbors might hear.”

      
“I don’t
care. I’ll be out of the country soon.” Chrissie grinned as she high-fived her
dad.

      
“It’s not
her you should worry about,” Wayne commented. “If I ever run into that good-for-nothing…”

      
“Okay! Time
to load up,” Dianne exclaimed brightly. “We really should get you checked in at
the airport.”

      
“Leave it
to Mom to change the subject right when it gets interesting.” Chrissie rolled
her eyes and got into the truck.

      
Saying
farewell to her parents was tearful on both sides. All she had was her parents,
and she, being their only child, was all
they
had. Chrissie told herself over and over again that it would only be for a year
and they’d email weekly, if not daily. Five hours of flight time and a whole
new culture, all in one day. There would be plenty to write about in that first
email.

* * *

      
When the
plane touched down and skidded to a bumpy stop on the tarmac, Chrissie almost
felt like a whole new person. She had left behind heartbreak and was starting
over. Chrissie promised herself that she wouldn’t hold herself back from
experiencing everything she could in the most authentic way by living the next
year to the fullest.