7
A week passed, very uneventfully. Kayla was beyond ecstatic at Jamie's return, but Glen and the wedding plans kept her busy so that she did not annoy anyone too much. Glen was just happy that his brother had gotten that damn mopey look off his face. Jamie was not entirely herself, at least not as they remembered her from Christmas. Mark had taken Glen aside and explained what had happened. So it was understandable when she was quiet, or wanted to be alone.
Mark tried to offer Jamie the use of the guest room again, but halfway through their first full night back, he had awakened at three in the morning to find she had crawled into bed with him. Nothing more physical than Jamie curled against him had happened, and he wasn't going to push the issue. He was more content than he had been in a very long time. Of course he figured that meant she was unhappy. What he wanted and what everyone else wanted had always been very different things.
Kayla and Glen had left one morning, early, to observe the construction of their new house. Mark had made breakfast, but Jamie had done little but pick at it. She looked so exhausted, but if anything she had been sleeping way too much. He had no idea how to handle this either. Comforting someone was just not something he had ever been good at.
He took a shower after breakfast and when he re-entered the kitchen, she was gone. He glanced out the window and saw her sitting out on one of the lounge chairs by the pool. Mark heaved a sigh. He knew she would eventually wander into the woods, and she would undoubtedly end up in the very clearing he used to visit, where things had happened. She did not talk to anyone there; in fact, he had yet to see a spirit visit that field after John had appeared.
Today he did not follow her. After the second time he figured that she was all right alone. And he did not necessarily feel right, snooping. But after what had happened before, he had not wanted to take chances. He watched from the window as Jamie got up and walked slowly into the woods. He sighed again and glanced at the clock.
Jamie moved through the undergrowth carefully, mindful of twigs that scratched at her when she passed. She didn't care about a few scratches but she did see how concerned Mark was. Going back to the house bleeding would probably send him to a psych ward.
She brushed her hair back from her face and took a deep breath. It had rained the night before and everything smelled so fresh and clean. The strongest smell was late season honeysuckle. It made her think of spring, and renewal. Even though it was now summer, she figured the thought still applied.
She found the clearing with no issue. The first few times she had just followed her intuition. Now she could see the path, not yet fully worn into the ground. The clearing…or maybe meadow would be a better word…opened up in front of her, the ground a field of different colors, the smell a little overpowering. Wildflowers grew in every available patch of soil. She took her usual seat, on a rock that was off to the north. The warm sun beat down on her bare arms and legs, and she leaned back with a sigh.
And waited.
Jamie knew that Mark had followed her a few times. She did not know exactly how she knew, but she had not needed a ghost to tell her. She just sensed him. It was sort of comforting while also being sort of creepy. It had stopped though. Obviously he had decided she wasn't trying to escape on foot.
She just wanted to be by herself. Except really she just wanted to be by herself in a place where people she trusted her within shouting distance. She did not know why she felt so unsettled. Mark and the others thought she was mourning, and yes she was, but that was not all. There was something, a feeling, as if something were not right. She felt as if she were forgetting something, but for the life of her, Jamie did not know what that could be.
She sighed and rubbed her arm absently, looking once more at her tattoo. It ran cross her inner forearm in a blaze of color, red and orange, black and yellow. A snake, but not any sort of snake she had ever seen in her life. There were times when she caught a glimpse of her arm and actually through the snake had moved, changed positions, hell…she had even thought the forked tongue was moving on occasion.
Jamie waited an hour. In that time she saw a dozen butterflies of all shapes and colors. A deer wandered far enough into the clearing to notice her, then it was gone with a quick turn of its body back into the woods. A few bees buzzed around the flowers, though not nearly as many as the field should have supported. The warm sun felt good, and it was if nothing else a way to clear her mind.
When nothing supernatural occurred, she sighed again and got up. Her well-meaning family was steering clear of her, because she was angry with them. They knew it. She knew it. It was best if they laid low for a while.
So why did she come here and wait?
Jamie asked herself that again as she headed back toward the house. It could have been for Steve of course, who else had she known that had passed away with unfinished business?
But why the hell would he be in the clearing? He did not know this place. So there was no connection at all. It was driving her crazy, although just a little at a time. Mostly it was a feeling that festered. The way it felt when she forgot something important with no way of going back to get it.
Jamie reached the house and walked across the well kept yard. Real sticklers for the yard work were Mark and Glen. In fact just the other morning, Mark had been outside shirtless moving the grass. Jamie had paused at the window for a long moment, admiring the play of muscles under his smooth skin. Lucky for her, she had found the only man in the universe who could make gardening look sexy. The thought had made her laugh, and if anyone had been in the house with her they would have thought she was crazy.
Besides that one moment when she'd been amused by her own wayward thoughts, Jamie had not found a way to come out of the daze she'd been in. She could not mourn forever. The hell of it was, it would simply be a matter of letting Mark heal her. Not the healing he had done when the wolf had bitten her months ago, this would be more an emotional thing.
And Jamie wanted to let him. She really did. But she did not think she deserved to be happy, at least not yet. Maybe because she missed Abby so much, as well as Abby's father. It was hard to tell.
Jamie let herself into the house and went to the fridge for a bottle of cold water. She could hear a newspaper rattle from the living room. She went to the entrance and saw Mark sitting on the couch, reading.
"If I'm going to stay here, we are getting a TV."
If her voice surprised him, Mark didn't show it. He lowered his paper and peered at her over the top of it. "As long as I don't have to go shopping for it."
Jamie raised an eyebrow. Was it really going to be that easy? Mark had raised his newspaper once more. "And maybe a stereo."
"Knock yourself out." He spoke gruffly but Jamie could hear the hint of smile in his voice.
"Since I'm on a roll, how about a computer, and a phone, maybe even an Ouija board and a séance table."
Mark lowered the paper again, this time his eyebrow up. "Let's start with a television and go from there."
"Right. I was just making sure you were paying attention." Jamie went to the couch and sat down next to him. "I learned some things. That might help." She appreciated how game he was to try rejoining the universe, but she knew he was still worried. He was just putting on a brave face for her benefit.
"Good." He gave her leg a pat and smiled down at her. Jamie rested her head against his arm and yawned. "You can't shop in your sleep." Mark said, poking her in the side. She smirked and squirmed.
"I thought you were joking. That part where you said you weren't gonna shop."
"I can see it now. Me, in an electronics store. The place would explode." Mark said sarcastically.
"I think you'll be all right." Jamie grabbed his hand before he could start poking her side again. "I was thinking I might go back to work."
"Why?" Mark settled for threading her fingers through his. "You don't have to. We have plenty of money."
"It's not just the money." Jamie said with a sigh. She felt his thumb trace the back of her hand. "I just feel kind of useless I guess."
"You are hardly useless." Mark brought her hand up and kissed the back of it. "I don't want you going back to that bar. It's not…the safest place."
"I wasn't thinking about waitressing. I was thinking more…nursing. Again."
"If that's what you want." Mark said, once more agreeing easily when she had figured he would put up a fight. It was enough to unsettle her even more. Jamie was starting to feel like she had just stepped into an episode of the twilight zone. "We'd better get going if you want to pick out a new TV." Mark squeezed her hand. Jamie could only look at him, confused. Mark smiled again. "I'm trying, Jamie. I really am."
"I know." She said softly. "Thank you." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips, brushing her mouth across his. It was quick, and as light as a butterfly's wing, but it sent a tingle down her back anyway.
"If that's what I get for a TV, I'm a little curious to see what comes with an Ouija board." Mark said with a smirk.
"One baby step at a time." Jamie said. Mark watched her as she got up to run a brush through her hair before they left. He hoped this meant that she was coming back to herself. He was no good at this…playful…stuff. At least he didn't think so, because he had no occasion to base it from. But it seemed to be working. Now if he could get through the rest of the day, Mark figured he would be all right. A trip to a store where he would be surrounded by electronics though…
Mark suppressed a shudder. Jamie could say whatever she wanted, she had not been one of them long enough to grow weary of it. Over time, even the smallest things could mean trouble, or a trip to dark places better left alone. Mark sighed heavily and shook his head. He was doing this for Jamie. That was all there was to it. If living with a television in the house would make her happy, so be it. Hell, he'd buy one for every room if he thought that was what she needed.
He just could not figure out this sudden sense of unease. Everything was as it should be. Glen and Kayla would be getting married in just a couple of weeks. Jamie seemed to be coming around. So why was he trying to ruin it by worrying over nothing? Mark did not know. He was going to have to hide it from Jamie, at least for a while. She already had enough on her mind.