Authors: Kelly Coughlin
As I pulled up into the driveway, my house stood black against the night sky, darker than any shadow I’ve ever encountered. I sat in the driveway, my head in my hands wishing that I was strong enough to go back and help my savior, wishing with all my might that I wasn’t such a coward. Tears that I’d suppressed for years threatened to spill over, covering my face. I stopped them before it got too bad. I didn’t want to have to explain what was wrong with me to Mom, and especially not Steve.
I got out of the car, my nails of my right hand digging into my left hand. I had to do something to distract myself from the mental pain I was undergoing. It felt like a huge hole was now in the middle of my chest, there for everyone to see. It felt like my body always contained this hole but I hadn’t met Ty yet, so I didn’t know that it existed. I didn’t feel complete anymore. I was only half a person, holding on by a very thin strand of hope.
I shook my head, trying to clear it of any and all stray thoughts. A resigned sigh escaped from my throat before I turned the door knob to go into the house. I expected to hear whispers, or the sharp tapping of Mom’s stiletto on the tile floor. Instead the house was dead silent.
“Mom? Hello, I’m home now.”
It was Gaby’s soft voice, from so many years of undermining how important her voice is, that greeted me in place of Mom’s. “I’m in here, Amy. Your mom and Steve are still out.”
“Oh?” In my state of mental anguish I had forgotten to look for their car. It came as a shock to me.
“Gaby I want to apologize to you for how I treated you earlier. That was really rude of me. I was just going through a hard time. Can you please forgive me?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just go upstairs and change before they get home.” Her face may have had a preoccupied look, or she was still peeved at me for walking out on her. I couldn’t tell. “Have you eaten anything yet?”
She threw me a disparaging look as I shook my head. She headed off to the kitchen while I went upstairs to get ready. I showered, changed, and headed back downstairs without actually looking at anything around me. I wrung my hands raw with worry.
I worried about what my attacker was biologically. Most humans don’t just slink down into the ocean and not come back up for air. I worried even more about how
Ty
had communicated with her. I relished saying his name internally. All I could think about was seeing Ty again, someway, somehow, I had to see him. More than I had to live, or eat, or breathe, I had to see him soon.
Before I turned to go back downstairs I shut the balcony doors, putting the ocean and all it’s splendor out of my mind for one night. Every time I blinked I saw my attacker’s face, when I opened my eyes I saw Ty’s. It was criminal to put their faces on the same level but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something similar about them.
Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Not just in their eyes, but there were other features too; the smooth faces, the strong inclination I felt to both of them. It just wasn’t human.
Now I’m just being silly. I’ve been watching way too many horror movies lately. Still I couldn’t completely eradicate it from my mind.
The delicious smell of chilies reached my nose before I got down the stairs. I haven’t been able to eat good Mexican food since I left Texas, and Gaby’s home cooked food smelled wonderful right now.
Gaby was silent as I ate, still punishing me from being rude, no doubt. I never minded silence as I was pretty used to it by now. Mom and Steve arrived about half-past ten, fully dressed and wound up.
Mom prattled on about the wonderful party she attended that evening. I asked all the appropriate questions at all the right times, “mmed” and “aahed” my way through the evening report without hearing a word myself.
Steve sat silently staring after Gaby as she stood scrubbing the already clean counters, again. Gaby didn’t look up, although I’m sure she could feel Steve’s piercing eyes glare at her. I was going to have to ask her what was up with that later.
“So, did you have a good time tonight, Steve?” I said curtly, cutting Mom off mid-sentence. His dark eyes turned slowly in my direction, reading my every position.
“Yes, Amy. I had a splendid time. Thank you for asking.” He smiled. The light from the kitchen glinted off his pale skin in an unnatural way. I noticed Mom had the same translucent skin as Steve, even though we had just played tennis today she still looked paper white, while my skin turned a slight shade of red.
“It’s not often that you ask me how my evening went. May I ask what brought on this joyous occasion?” I put my blank face on at his sarcasm, trying to hide any emotion that might shine through in my eyes.
“I was just curious. We don’t talk enough.” I tried to show him what I thought was a decent smile. I hoped Gaby recognized what I was going through for her. This is more than enough repentance for my behavior.
“You’re absolutely right. We don’t spend enough time together. We should start spending more.” In one quick movement he was up and out of the chair. He put an ice cold hand on my shoulder, giving me a quick pat before he headed off to bed.
Mom kissed me gently on the cheek, her cold hand straightening a strand of stray hair. “I’m glad that you and Steve are getting along so well tonight, darling. I absolutely love that!”
“Yeah, Mom. It’s swell.” I muttered under my breath when she was out of ear shot.
I sighed. There was nothing left to do. Gaby cleaned up the dinner mess, then headed home for the night. Mom and Steve had gone to bed, leaving me completely alone. There was nothing left to do but sit around, making myself sick worrying about Ty. I decided it was time for bed.
I was examining myself in the mirror when I heard the tapping sound again at my window. The same cold wave of dread spread up through the pit in my stomach to the tips of my toes. I yanked back the curtains, revealing nothing but the dark night sky. There were no stars out tonight. I could almost swear I heard the rhythmic sounds of someone or something chuckling.
This time I began to wonder if it wasn’t something more than just my imagination. My near-death experience had me wondering about many things, some I never wanted to question.
My face flushed red as I glanced at the drawer that held Ty’s sunglasses. I knew I should give them back, if I could. Now I just had to think of a reasonable excuse for taking them, so he wouldn’t think I was completely crazy and deranged.
That was the first night, since living in Vero Beach for so many years, that I slept with the balcony doors shut. I use the term slept very loosely. I tossed and turned until well after dawn. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was
her
.
Her beautiful face contorted in rage as I was pulled away from her hypnotic song. There were so many questions that itched to be asked but they would all have to wait until tomorrow, when I could talk to Ty alone.
That is, if he survived the night.
That thought sent me into a new frenzied wave of panic. I did not have any way of contacting him, or any chance of risking a drive down to the beach. I tried lying down, though at first that only intensified my feelings of anger at myself for being too weak to do anything helpful. I yanked my covers over my head in a futile attempt to feel more protected from the unknown. Ty included.
Finally after the first rays of sun started to trickle through the grotesquely pink curtains I drifted into a fitful sleep. I dreamed endlessly, every time all I could see was water. At the bottom of the water was Ty, held fast by strong iron chains. He was trying desperately to tell me something, I could see the strain in his muscles as he tried to swim towards me, to rescue me.
But I couldn’t move. Something had me locked into place, always moving away from him, never towards him. I was struggling against something infinitely more powerful, and the worst part was; I couldn’t even see it.
6.
Swimming Lessons
Slate. The dim light oozing into my room is
slate. To my utter dismay, the weather was severely overcast with lots of clouds, including lots of scattered thunderstorms. Usually it wouldn’t have disturbed me too badly.
Today it is absolutely earth shattering.
I still planed on going to the beach, after all Ty did tell me he would be there at anytime. I didn’t have any other way to reach him. The anxiety clawed at my stomach while I tried not to think that this might be my only shot to see him again. Ever.
Unfortunately Mom got a glimpse of what mother-daughter bonding should be, only this time she made sure that we were bonding with the Greys. I was almost happy about getting out of the house just so I could stop the worrying about the sea monster, to replace the terrifying picture with something more relaxing. The only picture I really wanted to see, however, was Ty’s handsome face. His dark brow smooth, his glorious eyes pulled tight with a smile on his face.
Steve and Mathew made some excuse about playing golf together today. I think it was just some hoax so that Mom and Janice could try to work some matchmaking skills on us.
Janice greeted me with a friendly kiss on the cheek. Where her lips grazed my skin it felt hotter than a stove. I recoiled from her warm embrace, my cheek felt scorched. My fingers rubbed the spot thoroughly. Adam looked stunning of course. He wore a designer T-shirt, across his broad chest, with khaki shorts, he pulled it off like a model; his blond hair perfectly jumbled enough to give it a
subtle edge. I secretly wondered if he spent hours in the mirror trying to give it that look.
To my mother’s horror I stuck with jean shorts and a tank top, the fashion staple of Vero Beach. Adam actually lifted me up off the ground in his huge embrace, my face was shoved into the deep contours of his chest. It was only after I patted his back several times did he release me, panting and unsteady, from minutes without air, back on the ground.
A movie was on the agenda today. We went to the only mall that held one of the few decent movie theaters in this tiny city. I was hoping for a comedy of some kind, and instantly livid when I found out it was a gushy romance movie. At least they could have made it somewhat less obvious that they were trying to set us up. Instead they all but tied our hands together in the theater. Somehow between walking from the ticket booth to the seats our moms inconspicuously shoved us together. Adam didn’t seem to mind.
“Amy Jane, are you alright today?” Adam asked as I shifted my position for the tenth time during the third preview. My face puckered in a grimace at hearing my full name mentioned. I knew Adam thought it must have been some affect he had on me, but I was just trying to figure out some excuse to get to see Ty.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
“Well, if you get tired you can always fall asleep on me. I won’t mind too much.” He winked at me. I looked away, embarrassed. The movie hadn’t even started and I was already dying to get out.
I was barely aware of Adam until his massive arm was right up against mine on the armrest, forcing me to flush red. I moved my arm off in a vain attempt to put some space between us. I was suddenly glad that the movie theater was dark because my face always gave me away when it came to boys.
The arm rest that was between Adam and I apparently no longer existed. I realized that he had moved it somewhere between the last preview and the opening credits when his vast arm suddenly pressed against my scrawny one. I could almost hear our moms squeal with delight.
How sickening.
I twirled my hair idly, I’d seen movies like this all my life, and knew instantly that this would be no different. Boy accidentally bumps into girl and they are forced to spend an uncomfortable situation with each other, decide they love each other and vow then and there that they will be together always. The end. How boring, no exciting plot twist or interesting characters.
“Hmm. You seem quite bored, already? Why is that?” Adam leaned over so that he was whispering, his hot breath warming my ear. I went rigid.
It took me a minute to formulate what sounded like a decent intelligent response. I didn’t want to be like all the other girls I could imagine that fell all over Adam. He was the type of boy I always saw as being just my friend.
“It’s just another trivial high school movie. The only purpose of this is to get teenagers out of the house for a while, depriving them of any values that might have been passed on.” I couldn’t stop my rant, it just kept on going. “Instead replacing them with what the corporate images of the perfect teenager should be, designed to sell the teenagers things that they should wear or do. Not what actually happens.”
Stupid mouth. Why can’t you just stop? Oh well.
There. Let him make of that what he will.
“Wow. You have quite the cynical side. It is very attractive on you.”
Dang. Why does he always take what I say and turn it around so that he’s hitting on me? It would be slightly more annoying if I could completely convince myself that it wasn’t flattering.
The movie finally came to a close, when I was beginning to think I couldn’t endure it any longer. I hadn’t been able to hold still for five minutes the entire movie. I knew my restlessness had earned my mom’s scorn. So instead of walking with her to the car, I lingered near Adam, to make sure she got off my case.
I thought I was home free when Adam stopped walking, and turned around to face me with a serious look on his face. Oh boy. “I would really like to see you later tonight, Amy Jane. If that’s alright with you?”
My breath caught in my throat. “Uh, tonight? Hmm. I don’t know about tonight. I really am thinking about going to bed early.” I ignored my mom’s gasp of terror. “How about tomorrow night? I don’t have any plans then.” I mustered up a smile.
“Tomorrow night, then. I look forward to it.” He took my small hand in both of his dry rough hands, kissed it, pushing his hot lips against my hand. Then gently shut the car door after me.
Shoot! What did I just agree to? I don’t want to go on a date with him. I set my chin gently on the hand that Adam kissed—there it is again! This time there was no mistaking the overwhelming smell of smoke. My nose wrinkled in disdain as the smell burnt the inside of my throat. I don’t like smoke, but I wasn’t a snitch either. Why couldn’t he just own up to it and admit that he smokes? The teenage male is absolutely perplexing. And they say girls are complicated!
My hand feels incredibly hot too, like my cheek had felt earlier when Janice kissed it. Instinctively I glanced at my hand, to become engrossed at what I saw there; lip prints. My skin held their exact lip prints, as if they were burned into my skin. Weird.
Mom silently slid into the seat next to me, the sun sparkled perfectly off her many diamonds, and her milky white skin. She looked like a ghost next to my somewhat tan skin. Today she dressed the part of a fifties movie star, complete with huge sunglasses, and a floral printed scarf wrapped around her head, even
though it was June in Florida.
I was prepared for her attack. I knew exactly how to get out of it now. I was feeling more optimistic by the minute. “Dear, I’m so awfully glad that you accepted Adam’s offer to take you out…. But I don’t understand why you made the poor boy wait until tomorrow.” Her thin lips were set at full pout power. “I don’t think you have any plans tonight, at least none that you’ve discussed with me.” Her tone was reproachful now, as if she was speaking to a small child.
“Mom, I only said that because I was thinking that I may go out shopping for a new outfit to wear on my date.” The mischievous smile was impossible to hide on my face now. “I also didn’t want to appear desperate. You know how guys are, if you agree to do something with them that night they may get the wrong idea.”
To my surprise she nodded in agreement. “You are absolutely right. You certainly have grown up so much since the last time I’ve seen you. You are a wonderful young woman now, no longer my little girl anymore.” She didn’t sound like she was remembering an old memory of me. She was relishing some new idea of me, something I didn’t understand.
“So where would you like to go shopping tonight?”
“Actually Mom, I was thinking that I would go alone. I want to surprise you, too. If that’s okay of course?” Her only response was to wrap her cold steel arms around my neck. Just like that, I’d cleared my evening schedule for swimming lessons with Ty.
My day was already looking brighter, even if the weather looks bleaker.
One of the many wonderful things about Florida is the weather. Usually in Texas the weather changes throughout the day, but it has a certain consistency about it. It may be cloudy in the morning, which will usually change to hotter than Hades in the afternoon. Florida weather has a bit more of a bipolar side to it. It will go from hurricane conditions, to bright and sunny in a matter of minutes. This is exactly what happened today.
From the short amount of time it took us to get home from the mall the weather cleared up beautifully. The clouds dispersed, revealing the glorious sun. I hummed to myself as I put my bathing suit on. After I changed, making sure that all traces of the bathing suit were strategically covered I bounded down the stairs pausing at the second floor to let my Mom and Steve know I was leaving to go “shopping.”
I felt terrible lying to them like that. My stomach twisted and churned, mirroring the rough waves that rose to their highest peak then slammed down on the sandy shore, just outside. What was I supposed to tell them though?
“Hey, Mom and Steve, I’m going to the beach now to learn how to swim from the most amazing boy that saved me. He can speak different languages, and communicate with my attacker. Apparently he knows about me, but he believes that you two don’t like him. Why is that?” I could only too clearly picture the terrible array of attacks that would ensue after that conversation.
Lucky for me, they were busy when I told them I was heading out, so they didn’t notice as I twirled several strands of my hair nervously, trying to calm myself down. They were in their massive closet big enough to hold a city meeting, looking for something stunning to wear to some event their club was hosting. I was sure they would find something gorgeous to wear. It is very unnerving to have your parents look better than you all the time.
Gaby was at the hospital visiting her fiancée, so there was no need to lie to her, which is just as well considering she knows me better than my parents. She would be the one to figure out if I was lying but she would never ask me though. She would just look at me with her affectionate brown eyes cocking her head to one side with sadness that I didn’t trust her enough to say where I was going.
I quickly grabbed a towel, and all but ran out towards my car. Lying makes me jittery, no need to take chances now.
In my haste to leave it took me less than half the time to get to the beach than it usually would. I nervously smoothed my hair in my ponytail four times before I decided it wasn’t getting any better.
“Dang it!” I slammed my hand down on the passenger car seat. “I knew I forgot something.” I left Ty’s sunglasses at the bottom of the drawer. “Well at least this gives me more time to work on an excuse.” I muttered while I jumped out.
It didn’t hit me until I was at the little wooden bridge that I had no idea where to meet him, or even what to say to him. I just knew that I had to see him, to make sure that he was okay. Even more I had to know some answers to questions that kept me up all night.
The muscles in my already jittery stomach tightened, so that I could barely walk. I felt a cold sweat start covering my body. I began to wring my hands unconsciously. No boy had ever had quite this hold on me, so why did this....this feeling feel natural to me? Like I
have
felt it before, but I’d just never remembered it.
I walked on to the already scorching sand barely noticing as it burned the bottom of my feet to crisps. I scanned the beach looking for some sign of Ty. It didn’t take long to find him, or his less than friendly older brothers. He was at the exact same spot I first saw him with his halo of admirers gathered around.
I realized that even though everyone was fascinated with the incredibly handsome lifeguards they were also afraid. The lifeguards were flawlessly muscled, their tan skin glittering in the hot sun, their opaque hair ruffling slightly in the breeze. There was just something inhumanly handsome about them. Their movements had liquid-like stealth, and their mesmerizing eyes held everyone’s gaze for far longer than any humans would have. Humans instinctively flinched away when they accidentally moved too quickly, or when the lifeguards were to edge too near. The fear of getting locked in their gazes is both terrifying as it is thrilling. It’s the feeling of losing yourself entirely to become one with your attacker.
That little disaster plagued me last night. I shook my head clear of the images that began to simmer underneath my nerves.
I trudged through the mob of tourists that already gathered in record timing since the weather cleared. Ty was seated at the top of the chair again, his eyes turned toward the ocean, absorbed with thoughts I could only imagine.
Just looking at him made my stomach drop through my feet and my palms sweat despite the cool ocean breeze. More than anything, I was just happy he was okay. He made it through the night, he protected me. An eerie feeling of déjà vu told me that this happened more than once. My pace quickened with expectations of seeing him again.
Unfortunately his two brothers weren’t as absorbed as him. I was about forty feet from them when they realized I was coming. They instantly stood upright, taking a defensive position in front of Ty. Their black sunglasses looked as menacing as their scowls.
The brothers merely straightened up at the sight of my approach but that was all the sign Ty needed to come out of his daze. He picked up on his brothers’ reactions without look at them, whipping his head around so that his glorious eyes locked into my confused ones. The inhuman reactions startled me. His face relaxed into a blinding smile as he found my face, his hands blurred with the speed he was waving. I had to smile in spite of nerves, I waved back tentatively.
In one quick movement he jumped down from the top of the chair, and bounded towards me, arms spread wide. The spectators stared first at him then at me in utter amazement. He never so much as cracked a smile, much less beamed. Our audience tried to compare my worth against his, there was no need. He is clearly so much more wonderful than I am.