Linked Through Time (15 page)

Travis smacked his head. “Your sweater! We left it at the–”

“I’ll get it,” I interrupted, blushing at the inference Bobby would make of the scene. “Just go, Travis. We’ll try to work things out later. Let me take care of this.” I waved my hand at the garage.

But he wouldn’t go, he wanted to help.

Somehow, the night became even darker. The clouds that had rushed in on our cozy date at the rapids had now joined to become a massive black blanket covering the night sky. The solitary porch light stood out in the night, daring the blackness to cover its bright beacon. As I painted, the air turned heavy and stifling. The breeze died down to an ominous stillness before the oncoming storm and the somber mood had even quieted the crickets’ song, the occasional lowing of the cows now the only sound to break up the night.

An hour later, the evidence finally hidden beneath a fresh coat of paint, Rodney wiped his brow in a tired gesture. “That’s all of it,” he said, his voice flat. Without another word, he walked to the house, letting the screen porch door slam in his wake.

Travis and I stared at each other, the memories of earlier wiped clean and replaced with an uncomfortable quiet. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me. Why was it so hard for us to be together? It worked when it was just the two of us, but… what happens when school starts in the fall?
The absurdity of this thought sent my mind on another track,
would I even be here in the fall?

Travis came to me then, wrapping his lean arms around my tense body. “Sarah,” he started, his voice coming out tinged with pain and sadness. “Don’t take this personally. Anne is trying to get back at me, and she’s… well, she’s just crazy. Don’t let her, or anyone else, change the way you think or feel. They’re wrong. What we have is good… it’s right.”

I lifted my chin and tried to see the rings of gold in his eyes I loved so much, but the night had turned them to pools of black, void of any color. “I hear what you’re saying, Travis, but it’s hard to fight the system. Think about what they could do to hurt us, or our families. When school starts, it will be more than Anne and her stupid friends trying to break us up. Maybe it would be easier if we didn’t see each other.” I choked on the words as they left my mouth, not believing them at all. I loved Travis. And we hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should I give that up so easily?

He dropped his arms from my shoulders and stepped away. “That’s how you feel? You would give up so easily, because of what others think? Doesn’t it matter what
I
think?” He sounded incredulous. “I thought I meant more to you than that.” He stood in the beam of the porch light, a faceless silhouette; his shoulders slumped as if he had aged twenty years in twenty seconds. “Don’t let them do this to us, Sarah. You’re letting Anne do exactly what she’s best at doing, manipulating people to get what she wants. We’re better than that! Stronger than that!”

When I said nothing, Travis threw his arms into the air, frustrated at my lack of emotion. “Sarah, think about how you feel when you’re with me. Can you honestly say you felt that way with anyone else? With Dave?”

Inadvertently, I flinched, hearing Dave’s name. Closing my eyes, I tried capturing the night in my mind for what it had been, trying to salvage the time when Travis and I had laughed, touched… kissed. There was so much more to this relationship than he could understand, but Travis was right. “You’re right,” I echoed my thoughts. “I guess I didn’t expect being with someone would ever have to be hard. It should be easy, natural.” What was natural about any of this? You’re a freaking replica of Aunt Sarah! He has no idea who he’s kissing. You are not the girl he thinks you are!
None of this is natural, or right
,
my brain screamed in the background.

Crossing the distance between us, Travis gently placed his hands on my face. “I’m in this for the long haul. From the day I met you, Sarah, I felt like you were the one. The one I wanted to be with forever.” He pulled my mouth to meet his, kissing me so lightly I thought I might have imagined it.

When he pulled back, I reached for him, drawing his mouth back to mine with a force bordering on painful. I wanted him to kiss everything away, to replace the night’s fears with the urgency I had felt before. I wanted him to love me and only me. I didn’t want to lose him because of some ignorant, old-fashioned rules, and I didn’t want to go back to the future and leave him behind.

The longer we kissed, the less confused I felt. The worry and anger were soon replaced by a need so strong it stole my breath. The two of us knelt to the ground, our lips never parting as we ran our hands over each other in a mad frenzy. Pulling Travis down on top of me, we parted for breath, the two of us gasping for air like fish out of water.

“I should go,” he said, his dimples deepening beneath a mischievous grin. “We’re right back to where we left off at the rapids, and I don’t think it’s the time or the place to finish.” He tossed his head at the door. “Any one of your family members could be watching right now,” he said as he climbed off of me and pulled me to a sitting position. “Not exactly what I had in mind.” A thatch of brown hair fell across his forehead, and I reached up to brush it away.

“Sorry.” I laughed. “I wanted to end the night the way it started, and well… once we start, it’s like I can’t get enough,” I confessed, running my hands up under his shirt, aching to feel the warmth that emanated from his body.

“Trust me, if I didn’t think your dad would come out with a shotgun pointed at my scrawny butt, I wouldn’t have the power to stop.” Travis stood up and offered me a hand. “I better get going before anything else happens. That’s twice tonight that I had to be the responsible one. I don’t think I’m up for a third.” He squeezed my hand and brought it to his lips. “I love you,” he whispered before turning and heading across the yard.

Lightning flashed far across the fields, brightening the sinister sky for a few seconds. I watched Travis walk to his truck and drive away, my heart in my throat. He was so beautiful, everything I could ever want, but the truth was, he wasn’t mine and never would be. To him, I was Sarah. Just once, I wanted to hear him whisper my name, to hold me and know the real me. When the red of his taillights vanished, I let loose with a tiny sob. For some reason, I felt like we had promised each other the world, and I had still lost.

Another flash of lightning zigzagged through the clouds, and I found myself counting the seconds in my head until the familiar roll of thunder followed. Ten seconds. The storm was about ten miles away, or so I hoped, believing the age-old myth Dad taught me long ago.

Rubbing my arms to suppress the goose-bumps, I hurried to the garage and pulled out a rusty bike, the seat half missing. Practicing the stiff pedals, I worked the chain loose and the gears let out a grinding screech of protest. I had to ride quickly if I wanted to retrieve my sweater before the rain came. Considering how little clothes I actually possessed, I couldn’t bear to leave my sweater at the rapids, even overnight.

Racing past the cows, my legs pumped fiercely. I let the air move across my face, cleansing my thoughts and clearing my head. Lately, I felt pulled in so many directions, like a marionette on strings. There were some days I didn’t even remember who I really was any more, as if Kate Christenson no longer existed. That thought alone was enough to break even the strongest spirit. I couldn’t differentiate between what I wanted, and what was best for Sarah.

As I rode past Slater’s store, a quick glance told me Slater’s Farm Store was closed. A solitary light by the glass door flickered, swarmed from all angles by mosquitoes and large, fuzzy moths. Case in point, I argued. I thought I was supposed to keep Sarah and Dave together. I thought he was the love of her life! And he turned out to be a monster
.
Were my decisions the right ones? I could only hope so.

In the little two bedroom home behind the store where Dave and his father lived, I could see the telltale flash of their black and white television through the curtains of the front room. Like the moths drawn to the light, I couldn’t help slowing to scan the premises for any sign of Dave. Not that I wanted to see him, but I felt like I needed the proof he was home, locked away for the night. After everything that had happened tonight, I had to admit, his name had been the first on my mind when I had seen that word painted on the garage.

A shadow swept past the window, illuminated by the television. Shivers shot through my body and I pedaled faster, trying to put space between me and the evil that dwelt within Dave Slater.

Steering carefully into the gravel drive of the Rapid River parking lot, I swore under my breath as the bike’s rear wheel slid on loose gravel. Trying to right the bike too quickly, I ended up swerving sharply to the left and crashing into the brush at the side of the gravel lot. Flying over the handlebars, I landed in a patch of overgrown weeds, my knee striking a rock hidden in the ground. Pain radiated from my knee, paralyzing me for a moment. I lay sprawled face first in the grass, breathing in the smell of earth and dry grass, cursing myself and everything on the planet.

Emotions overwhelmed my frazzled, fragile mind and I let loose with a string of profanities that would have definitely earned me a whipping. Rubbing my throbbing knee, I groaned.

Lightning flashed and the breeze picked up as if on cue, sending the cattails above my head into an agitated dance.

With great effort, I stood and flexed my leg. I could feel the slightest trickle of blood dripping a warm path down my shin. Perfect, I grimaced. Can anything else possibly go wrong tonight?

My vision had adjusted slightly to the moonless night, but I still had to partly feel my way to the place Travis and I spent the evening. Pushing through the brush, I couldn’t help but sense that uneasy, creepy feeling that comes from wandering in the dark, as though eyes watched you and monster hands waited to grab at your feet. My heart pounded loudly in my ears, the tingling creep of fear working its way from my head down through my limbs. I forced myself to keep my eyes forward, ignoring the nagging feeling that someone or something watched me from the shadows of the rocky shore.

Limbs of the interlocking pines poked and prodded my bare arms as I threaded my way through the trees. The pounding of the rapids had increased with the coming of the storm; the wind tossed the water upon the rocks, sending spray high into the air.

When I broke through the tree line, I stood mesmerized by the awesome power of the roaring water. It looked as if the rapids were fighting to break free of their rocky channel, its watery fingers washing over the rocks, reaching far down the wall, only to withdraw and try again.

Above the churning waters, a simple two-lane bridge hung defiantly in the air, its thick concrete arches planted firmly around the dangerous rocks. Suddenly, a semi loaded with logs thundered across the bridge overhead; its headlights lighting up the darkness for a matter of seconds. I used the momentary help to break my gaze from the water and search the outer banks for my sweater.

A flicker of movement amidst the trees caught my line of sight, and I focused in on a ring of pines to my right; the very place Travis and I had been a few hours earlier.

“Travis?” I called out hopefully, thinking he had remembered to retrieve my sweater.

Emerging from the trees, Dave appeared, clutching my sweater in his hands. He grinned a smile so wicked and revealing, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the very devil was standing before me.

Dave brought the sweater to his face pretending to breathe in my scent, as though I were some kind of animal he had tracked and hunted.

He paused, seeming to enjoy the look of shock and then fear pass over my features.

Balling the sweater tightly, twisting it until the threads pulled and strained, Dave moved to block my only exit, cornering me with the wall of rocks to my backside. Frozen, I could only watch as Dave moved closer.

“Forget something?”

Chapter Eleven

Testing Fate

My throat was so dry. It was as though I had eaten a bowl of sand; my tongue so thick and heavy I couldn’t speak. What was Dave doing here so late? How did he find my sweater?

Forcing my legs to move, I took a few steps back until I rested against the jagged edges of the rock wall.

What if he had been watching? Bile rose in my throat at the mere thought. If Dave had been there, witnessing my time alone with Travis, then the whole night was ruined, tainted beyond repair.

Electricity crackled in the air, prickling the hair at the base of my neck. Another flash of lightning, with a roll of thunder echoing just behind it, indicated the storm was close, practically on top of us. The first drops of rain came, riding on the tails of the whipping wind, lightly sprinkling my skin.

I blinked rapidly, my gaze never wavering from Dave. “What are you doing here?” I asked, finally breaking the silence. My voice came out high and shaky and I withered against the rocks.
I wish Travis had never brought me here. I knew the consequences!
The fact I was here at this time and at this hour could only be a temptation for fate, and no one won in that battle.

Dave only laughed in return to my question as he ambled toward me in a casual saunter, as if he had no reason to rush despite the storm’s arrival. He held out my sweater, offering it up like a hostage, though I knew full well what he wanted in exchange.

Warily, I reached for it, keeping my weight heavy on my back foot. “My brothers know I’m here,” I said weakly. Even to my ears, it sounded ridiculous.

“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah… I’m not here to hurt you,” he purred, low and sensual. “I just came to get what’s rightfully mine. After all, I waited four years for you, and you practically give yourself away to the next guy that comes along. I hardly think that’s fair. I never knew you to be so easy, but then again, I’m finding out a lot about you that I didn’t know. It’s almost…” He paused, contemplating, his eyes turned to the darkened sky as if the words were written there. “It’s almost like you’ve become an entirely different person.”

I inhaled sharply.
Did he know?

In two strides, Dave closed the gap between us, and his hand reached out, grasped my arm.

Stiffening at his touch, I turned my head in revulsion, avoiding the feel of his heated breath on my face. My eyes panned the darkness, searching for the best escape route. The parking lot, and my bike, had to be at least a hundred yards away. My knee throbbed in response to the idea of running. A foot race was out of the question.

Dave’s voice grated in my ear. “I would have taken you back, Sarah. I gave you chance after chance. Did you think wearing my mother’s ring was a joke? You made promises, Sarah, promises I don’t take lightly,” he spat out as he pressed up against me.

The more he touched me, the sicker I felt. The scene from the fairgrounds played through my mind – the feel of the muddy ground, the rise and fall of the rides, the scent of cotton candy, the screams… I felt dizzy, the flashing scenes numbing my skin. I found myself fighting for air as my throat closed up tight, panic taking over.

I tried to pull away, but Dave held fast. “Now wait just a minute. Where do you think you’re going? I told you I came to get what’s rightfully mine, and you’re not leaving until I do.” His tone had become grave, his mouth drawn into a line.

I could barley process the situation, my anxiety heightened to the point where my vision had become like a tunnel, my thoughts foggy and muddled. “Let me go,” I heard myself say, but it sounded far away and dreamy.

Snarling, Dave grasped my hair and wrenched my head back at a sharp angle.

Yelping, I dropped to my knees, tears immediately flowing from the corners of my eyes.

“Where do you get off?” Dave yelled, spit flying from his mouth. “How could you take up with someone like Travis? You swore you’d never leave me. I told you what would happen if you ever tried to leave, but you didn’t believe me. End it with Travis or I’ll…” Dave paused in his manic rant, as if searching for the right words to end his threat.

Tears etched down my cheeks, joining the rain. I let out a defeated sigh. “Or what, Dave? What are you going to do?” Waiting for the punch that was sure to follow, I stared bleakly into his eyes.

Instead of yelling or hitting, a sob tore from Dave’s throat, and he yelped like a wounded animal. He dropped to his knees next to me, pulling me to him in a crushing embrace. The sudden shift in emotions left me baffled and I let him hold me against his quaking body. Classic bipolar or just plain psycho?
I wondered, shuddering against his caresses.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Sarah. I can’t help it. You’re destroying me. I can’t see you with anyone else. I
won’t
see you with anyone else.” He cried into my hair, huddling against me to ward off the pelting rain.

Thunder rolled in a long, menacing rumble, stretching on for what seemed like minutes. The rapids seemed to respond with their own roar, the water rushing and churning to great heights.

I remained frozen, my mind racing, weighing my next move. I knew I had to use his temporary remorse to my advantage. His grip had loosened and he leaned into me, leaving him off balance and weak.

It happened in seconds and I barely recognized my actions even as I lashed out at him. Remembering basic self-defense, I used Dave’s weight against him. I moved quickly to the side, catching him off-guard. He started and released his hold completely on me, his uneven footing sending him sprawling to the ground. Going for his weak points, I struck hard and quick. With a sudden raise of my arm, I went for his throat, slicing my hand into his Adam’s apple with a rapid jab that sent him reeling onto his back. “That’s for the fair,” I growled.

Dave coughed violently and grabbed for his throat. Surprise and hatred were etched evenly on his face, his true self returning with a vengeance. He gasped and clawed at his neck, looking like a turtle helpless on its back, but I knew he wouldn’t give up so easy. Raising my foot, I aimed a perfect shot at his groin. “And this is for whatever you did to Sarah,” I spit out at him, adrenaline flowing through my veins, giving me the strength and courage to stand strong. I followed through with a kick as though I were trying to score a winning goal in soccer, but as my foot came forward, Dave rolled with surprising speed and evaded the strike. Off-balance, I slipped on the dampened pine needles and landed with a thud on my back.

Dave crawled onto all fours, looking like a tiger ready to pounce. He struggled for breath, but his face revealed I hadn’t hurt him as much as I’d hoped. Instead, like a nest of bees, I’d only pissed him off, and now he was coming for blood. “You bitch,” he managed to gasp, wiping his hands across his face.

Scrambling to my feet, my heart pumped like mad, the adrenaline now laced with icy fear. The path to the parking lot was blocked by Dave, my only hope – the rocks. The bridge loomed in the background behind me. If I could get there before Dave, I could climb the underside and get to the highway. It was my only chance.

Lunging from the ground, Dave aimed for my feet, trying to tackle me back into the brush.

Leaping to the side, I turned to the rock face and clambered up the uneven wall. My hands dug into the cracks and crevices, the jagged edges cutting into my skin. Moving cautiously, I crawled across the wall of boulders, my knee protesting with every fresh bump.

I didn’t dare look back. I didn’t have to see to know he was there; I could feel him coming.

On top of the rocks, the wind picked up speed, threatening my balance. Staying clear of the edge, I picked my way across the damp surface, my shoes slipping awkwardly every so often. Hopping over a shallow gap, I kept my eyes trained on the bridge. D
riftwood and stagnant pools dotted the rocky ledge. I judged each step quickly and before I knew it
, I found myself at the base of the bridge.

I climbed quickly up the steep concrete underside, aching for the stretch of flat highway to be within reach. A black wall slammed into my side, knocking me down into the hard, unforgiving concrete. Dave had slammed into me full force, our bodies colliding and tangling into a reckless ball that slid and scraped down the concrete incline to the ground.

Breathless, I rolled with his body until we came to a sudden stop, inches from the water. Great splashes of water seeped through my clothes and I screamed in terror.
Get away from the water!

A final surge of adrenaline kicked in as a surge of water washed over my head and down my back. It was ice cold, jolting my senses into survival mode. Instinctively, I arched my back, bringing up my knees and bucking Dave off of my body, sending him splashing into the shallows.

Without time for thought, I dashed to the underbelly of the bridge and climbed onto the large concrete arch that spanned the length of the bridge. Huge support columns stood intermittently along the arch, gradually getting smaller the closer they got to the middle. Being smaller and more agile than Dave, I trusted my ability to cross the narrow archway to reach the safety of the other side. There was no way Dave could follow me all the way across without falling into the river, his broad shoulders and long frame would not be able to maneuver the tight spaces at the top where the width of the path was as narrow as my foot.

I passed the first two columns easily, my fingers gripping the graffiti-daubed columns carefully, as the rain poured down. Trembling with anxiety, I rounded the third column, hugging the concrete pillar to my chest, not daring to look down into the roiling waves.

Peering around the edge of the pillar, keeping my back firmly planted against the support of the column, I looked for Dave. Straining to see through the slanting rain, I expected him to be hot on my trail, crossing the arch with ease, but he was nowhere in sight. Overhead, another truck roared across the bridge, startling me back into motion. If I can get to the highway, maybe a truck would pass by!

The truck’s headlights vanished as quickly as they came, plunging me back into the darkness once more. I was close to the top, one column left before I passed the halfway point. What if Dave’s waiting for me on the other side? What if after all this time, he had crossed the bridge on foot and I was walking right into his trap?
I paused, undecided. Could I stay here on the bridge all night, waiting for someone to come and rescue me? Maybe Dave was afraid of heights? Maybe he had decided to give up.

A hand clamped on my ankle and I screamed in surprise and shock. Dave’s face came into view, his mouth twisted in an ugly sneer. He was panting, his eyes crazed and wild. I kicked out at him, trying to throw him off-balance, but he was solid, intent on his target.

Lightning flashed and he twisted my ankle so fiercely I cried out in pain. The howling wind and roar of the rapids drowned out any sound I made. Dave climbed on top of me, squeezing into the cramped space. I squirmed and bucked, trying to knock his head against the concrete ceiling. He barely moved. His face had become vacant, the depths of his eyes cold and detached, void of emotion, like he had left reality behind and was living in a world of his own making.

“You can’t leave, Sarah! I won’t let you!”

“You’re wrong, Dave. She left you a long time ago! Sarah was never yours. She would never give herself away to a monster!” I yelled the last word with emphasis, twisting my body at the same time to relieve the pressure from the weight of him on my legs.

Dave leaned forward, crushing his lips to mine, grinding our teeth together in a brutal kiss. His hands roved over my body, rough and groping. Disgusted, I bit into his lip, tasting the familiar metallic tang of blood.

Recoiling, he struck me in the face, sending my head rocketing into the concrete pillar. Stunned, I could only lie there, my vision going in and out of focus.

Dave shook me, his face desperate and livid all at the same time. “I told you once before and I meant it. If I can’t have you, then no one will have you.”

His words jumbled around in my brain, trying to right themselves and make sense, but instead they sounded blurry and fuzzy.

“I said I would love you forever. I said forever.” He seemed to be sobbing and yelling all at the same time, his face contorted with so many emotions as he looked at my limp body. Suddenly, his face became hard, decisive. He shoved me aside and grabbed my legs, pulling me closer to the edge.

No! Stop!
I tried to scream, but my mouth hung open without a sound. I knew what he was about to do and yet, my arms and legs refused to move. An icy chill came over me and I was so cold I could see little white puffs of breath coming from my mouth.

Dave pulled me with one great effort and pushed me over the ledge. My body flipped twice, head over heels, and then splashed into the churning waters.

Even then, I couldn’t respond, my entire body numb and useless. Emerging from the black waters, I spied Dave’s silhouette crouching in the shadows of the arch. My last thought was clear, achingly clear. Dave wanted to kill me.

Lightning lit up the night sky as my body was thrown viciously into the rocky center of the rapids. The swirling, roiling current threatened to pull me under; I was amazed I’d made it this far, since my arms and legs refused to move. A second flash hit so close it blinded me. And then my body was tossed like a rag doll into the rocks. My body was tossed like a rag doll into the rocks and my head snapped in response, striking the jagged edge of the rocks.