Shadows (4 page)

"Ma'am, are you allowing this person to speak
for you?"

Staring at the policeman, I look over at the
man holding me up. Does it matter? I don't care about anything, but
Matt and they drove off with him. "Yes, he's speaking for me.
Please, I got to go. My friend…I can't leave him." The policeman
must have accepted my response because I can feel my body walking
away. I'm being led to a car, but it's not mine. A door is opened
for me and I slide into the seat. Long arms buckle my seatbelt. I
don’t know why, but a sudden sense of calm comes over me. I don’t
feel like I'm in my body anymore. It's as if I'm on the outside
looking in.

Shutting his door, he starts the car.
"Alright, beautiful. I grabbed your purse. I'm sure you can't live
too far. Tell me your address and we will head to yours. We will
get you some clothes and then head over to hospital.
Okay?"

All I notice are his eyes. They seem to hold
me in place. Nodding my head I mumble our address. I can't stop
thinking about Matt. I hand my keys over to him as he parks his
car. "It's apartment 6, second floor. My room is next to the bath.
Just grab a shirt and some jeans, anything will do. Matt's." I
can't say his name, there's a huge lump in my throat and I start
sobbing into my hands.

"Hey, I'll be quick, okay? I'll run up and
grab you a change of clothes. Do you want me to grab some for him?
Is that what you were trying to say?"

Nodding my head, I weep into my hands. I hear
the car door shut and I realize I'm alone just like Matt. I need to
stay positive. Kayla went with him. I shoot her a text letting her
know I'm on my way. I don't ask about him. I can't. I don’t want
any of this to be real. Hearing the car door shut I look over. He
hands me a wet washcloth and a change of clothes. I wipe my face
and hands. Not caring even a little that I don't know him besides
our brief meeting earlier, I change my clothes. All I know is I
need to get to Matt.

We arrive at the hospital, immediately I head
to the emergency room registration desk. "I'm here for Matt
Stephenson." My heartbeat is thrumming in my ears. The nurse
directs me over to a room where the others are waiting. I head down
a white hallway. I notice how bright everything is. It's all
sterile and there is no color, except signs directing you along
your way. I hate the smell of hospitals. Rubbing alcohol, bleach,
and band aids are not my favorite scent. I come to a door with
small blue lettering on it, Family Waiting Only. Taking a deep
breath I open the door. All I can hear is soft sobs. Matt's dad,
Michael, is here with his brother. Kayla is sitting in a chair with
her knees pulled to her chest. She looks at me and starts sobbing.
I'm frozen and I can't get my body to move.

"Go on, beautiful. Take a step. I'll hold you
up." I feel arms guiding me into the room. I have no idea of my
stranger's name, but I don't feel like I can let go of him. Sitting
in a chair next to Michael, I notice he looks pale and his eyes are
bloodshot. He is holding tightly onto Matt's brother.

"Evelyn, I don't. I…I…I don't know what they
told you, but Matt is gone." My whole world spins. I feel myself
shaking my head no. Tears are streaming down my face. I can't
breathe, let alone talk. "They couldn't stop the bleeding. He had
already lost so much blood before the ambulance came. Thank you,
for being with him. He loved Kayla and you so much." He squeezes my
hand and I stare at him. I can’t make a sound. Matt's younger
brother lets out a ghastly sob. I can hear his heart ripping apart.
This isn't fair.

"I'm sorry for your loss sir. We tried our
best to get here. Eve needed a fresh change of clothes. I'm so very
sorry we weren't here sooner." Michael just stares at my stranger
in confusion.

"Eve?" Kayla's voice is soft and shaky. She's
looking at me with questionable eyes. "Eve, who is this? I'm sorry,
but how can you just walk in here like you know us?"

I don't want Kayla to become frantic so much
has happened already. "He, um…well this… um, this was my ride. He
helped me with the police and drove me to grab clean clothes for me
and…" Not being able to finish my sentence, I start crying again.
I'm not sure I have ever stopped. Kayla is still just staring at me
with bloodshot eyes. I'm not sure what else I am supposed to say.
All I can think is Matt's gone. I was his fucking person and he
left me.

"Sorry, my name is Theron. I met Eve at the
laundromat earlier. I was outside at the bar tonight when I heard
the yelling. I saw her start to fall and caught her. The next thing
I know your friend is badly hurt and I'm dialing 911 on my cell.
She told you to go with the ambulance. I couldn’t leave her. She
couldn’t even move by herself." Theron. My stranger has a name. Why
do I keep thinking he's mine? Kayla just nods her head at him. I'm
not sure anyone knows what to say.

Michael informs me the family was asked to
wait here until we could speak with the police. They also asked him
to identify Matt's body. What the fuck? It's just a body now? He
was my fucking best friend and now he's just a body with a sheet
waiting to be identified. Theron hands Matt's clothes to Michael.
I'm not sure what he will do with them since Matt won't need them
now. Nodding his head at Theron, his shaky hands grasp the
clothes.

Minutes, possibly hours pass by. I have no
concept of time. We each give our statement to the police. They
inform us they have statements from others at the scene. They also
have security tapes from the bar and the bookstore across the
street. They hand us each a business card. We are supposed to call
them if we remember anything we forgot to mention. I can't forget.
I remember every detail. All I can do is play this evening over and
over again. Paul has come to collect Kayla. She hugs me and kisses
my cheeks. I cling to her not wanting to let her go, but I feel
hands prying mine away.

"Eve, is there anyone you need me to call?"
Theron is standing in front of me. "Hey, beautiful, come back to me
for a second." He’s holding both of my hands in his hands. I Notice
there are wet spots on his t-shirt and the material is bunched. I
wonder if that's from me. Did I do that? "Eve, I need you to focus
for just a second longer. Who am I calling, babe? Who am I calling
for you?" He pushes his hair back out of his face, but that one
lock of hair is stubborn and falls back onto his forehead. I decide
I like that lock of hair.

"My parents or my brother, Robert." I'm trying
to clear my thoughts. Theron reaches over and takes my purse in his
hand. Looking at me he slightly cocks his head to the side. He's
asking for permission. There’s no way I can call anyone. I’m barely
hanging on. I unlock my phone and hand it over to Theron. He calls
my dad first and explains the situation. I'm not sure what my dad
is saying, but I can tell he's crying. My big strong daddy is
crying. This is bad. All of this is just so bad. Theron calls my
brother next and once again he's explaining what happened. This
time he is also explaining who he is and why he is with me. I'm
kind of shocked my dad didn't ask, but I think it's because his
heart is broken. Theron looks at me and hands me back my purse. I
grip onto it. I can't let anything go. I'm so afraid I'll
fall.

"Alright, beautiful, everyone is gone. It's
our turn now. Come on, babe, I need to get you home."

Home. That's where Matt lives. No, that's
where Matt lived. "Fuck! I can’t do this. I can't leave him here.
He's alone and cold. He needs me. I'm his fucking person. I am his
person!” Screaming at Theron, I smack his hands away. I'm so
furious. I throw the chair next to me and crumble to the ground.
I'm screaming frantically. My chest feels so hollow, it’s so
painful to breathe, my lungs burn from anger. I'm completely losing
my shit on the floor of a hospital waiting room.

"Shit, babe, I don't know what to do for you.
Do you not want to go home? You have to rest. Your friend's family
is going to need you. You won't be any good to them here."
Squatting down he looks me in the eyes. "Do you want to go with
Kayla? I could try to catch the guy that came for her. Should I do
that?" He's just trying to help. This complete stranger is watching
me have a nervous breakdown and he's still trying to help. Grabbing
onto his forearm I hold on tight as he pulls me up from the floor.
"Shit. I can take you to my place. I have a spare bedroom you could
use or you could sleep on the couch. I know you don't know me, but
I can't leave you alone like this and you obviously don’t want to
go home."

I'm vaguely aware of walking out of the
hospital. I am squinting my eyes. Why are hospitals so damn bright?
I slide into the passenger side of Theron's car. I drift off to
sleep and feel us pull away onto the road. I feel the car turning a
couple of times, but I don't open my eyes. They are way too heavy
and with my eyes closed I can pretend this all isn't really
happening.

I awake to the sound of metal clicking.
Opening my eyes, I think I see a metal gate sliding open. That
can't be right. I open them again and I look over at Theron. He's
got one hand on the steering wheel and the other is running over
his stubble. He's quiet and there isn't any music on. I see him
look at me from the corner of his eye. Turning my head forward, I
close my eyes again.

Chapter 3

"E
ve, open your eyes.
We're here." Theron tucks some strands of hair that have fallen out
of my bun behind my ears. My ears and skin feel hot from his touch.
It's distracting and I like it. He walks around to my side of the
car and opens the door. Stepping out, I look around. We are parked
in a circle driveway and there is a large three story brick French
style home. It's massive and well kept. There are so many windows.
I wouldn’t want to be the one to clean all of them. Looking over at
Theron, I can't help but think I don't belong here.

"Don't worry beautiful, it's not mine. It's my
grandma's. I live in the guest house over there." He points to a
gorgeous brick house with a separate walk way. The big house isn't
his. It's just his grandma's. I am not comforted by this fact. Is
she home? What does she think of him bringing strange girls home in
the middle of the night? Is it the middle of the night? I think it
might be early morning now. Sighing, I try to clear my head. I
can't figure anything out right now.

Theron grabs my hand and walks me towards the
guest house. Punching some numbers in the keypad, he pushes the
door open. It's beautiful and it's all open. I'm standing in what I
assume is his living room and it opens right into his massive
kitchen with a beautiful island in the middle. There are floor to
ceiling windows and dark hard wood floors. I notice a hallway that
splits the kitchen and the living room. Slipping off my shoes, I
sit on his dark brown leather couch. It's soft and very
comfortable. There is an ottoman directly in front of me and I set
my purse on it. Theron walks over and turns on the beautiful stone
fireplace to my right. I notice a very grand looking bookcase next
to it. It's overflowing with books. There are some stacked in piles
in front of it. I shiver and Theron covers me with a blanket and
walks into the kitchen. I hear cabinets open and some clinking. He
brings me a glass of ice water. Our fingers touch as I take it from
his hands, and he takes a step back.

"So, I wasn’t prepared to have guests in the
guest house. Okay, that sounds funny. I mean, I wasn't expecting
company. I don't bring people here, but I didn't know what else to
do. I'm going to set up the spare bedroom. I'll be right back.
Just, um, make yourself comfortable I guess." Theron turns and
walks towards the hallway. I'm assuming that’s where the bedrooms
and baths are. Taking him up on his advice, I curl up on his couch
under the blankets. It's so warm by the fire and my eyes are once
again heavy.

I think I wake to voices, but I can't tell.
I'm way too warm, but I don't have the energy to do anything about
it, so I drift back off to sleep.

"What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just
leave her there. She just watched her friend die in her arms.
Nobody should be left like that. No, I told Gram this morning what
was going on. Of course she doesn't care. She was actually quite
impressed with me. She's not you. Look, I'm not justifying myself
to you. I don't need to. This is Gram's place, and she's fine with
it. I've got to go. Fine. Okay. Bye."

I hear Theron speaking to someone softly, but
I don't hear any other voices. I assume he's on his phone.
Everything seems so foggy, but I know it's real because I'm here. I
didn’t wake up in my in bed. I'm so far away from home. No, not
home. The apartment. It's the apartment now. It can never be home
again. I feel so gutted and raw. As I wipe my eyes, I realize I am
crying again. How have I not run out of tears? Wiping my cheeks, I
lick my lips. They are puffy and taste like salt.

"Beautiful? I know you are upset and feel like
shit, but I kind of need you to focus for a few. Okay?" Theron is
kneeling on the floor in front of me. He's shirtless and has on
some blue flannel pajama pants. Letting my eyes roam his body, I
notice he has a tattoo on the left side of his chest. Its two koi
fish circling each other, with the Pisces sign in the center. It's
intricate and stunning. My eyes drift lower down his abs and to his
happy trail. He even has the infamous 'V' all the guys in the books
I read have. His pants are loosely hanging on his hips, and the
waistband of his underwear is peaking out. Biting my lower lip, I
take in the sight of him. Adonis is the only word that comes to
mind. My eyes drift back up to his face and he's pushing his
gorgeous locks back. His eyes are just so amazing. It's like I can
feel him looking into me. The thought scorches my skin. I like this
distracting feeling I’m getting. Everything is so unfocused and
foggy, but him. I can see every bit of him clearly.