Bittersweet Memories: Chpt 1

Saturday 10:48 p.m.

Lyons, Indiana

Sitting in my nearly new BMW convertible is the woman of my dreams. Her short, blood-red hair is tucked behind her ears as she waits for me to return from the restroom. I get in the car and asked her if I had missed much from the movie. She looks at me with her beautiful eyes and responds, "Just the part where Goose dies from aborting the plane" The memory of that scene flashes in my mind and I remember it exactly. I love the old movie favorites the drive in plays late on Saturday nights, but tonight was special. Tonight after Top Gun, I am asking Amber to marry me.

I carefully go over each detail in my mind; the words I'm going to say, the place we are going, the reaction I will receive. Each detail accounted for, each word thought of, each second drawing closer to the one moment that I have been so impatiently waiting for.

Driving out to abandoned park on the outskirts of town, Amber looks at me with a smile. I feel my nerves creeping up on me, this is where we had our first date two years ago. I escort her to the swings on the north side. They squeal while we slowly rock back and forth, holding each others hand and looking up at the clear diamond sky. I couldn't have picked a more illustrious night that will forever change the way we live. The overgrown bushes brush against our backs as we hold each others hand sitting in our swings. I bend over and kiss our hands. I am trembling a bit, but calm myself down.

It's getting late, already past 2 a.m. I decide it's now or never. I begin, "Amber we should get going." She smiles and nods her head, but before she gets out of her swing, I stop her, "Wait." Getting down on one knee I can feel my heart jump into my throat.

"Amber LeAnn Marx, will you marry me Thomas Joel Keen?" I pull out the ring that was hiding in my coat pocket and take her left hand while waiting for her reply. Tears are flowing from her face as she has her head looking down at her pants. She looks up at me in fear.

"Tom,. . .I can't"

Watching her cry, my heart sinks to the bottom of my chest. I feel crushed. Emotions flare throughout my body, along with a string of cuss words and questions mixed together, confusion and agony attack me all at once.

"Why?" I asked, "Why can't you marry me?" The pain is overwhelming and I try to calm myself.

Wiping the tears from her cheek, she settles herself before speaking. "I was afraid of telling anyone this." She pauses for a moment then continues, "Remember when I told you about my boyfriend during high school, David, and how we were in love?"

I nod my head and anger begins to swell in me as I remember the horrid stories she told me of what he made her do. The witchcraft he was into that he made her participate in. I say nothing and allow her to continue.

"One night shortly after high school, we got trashed and went to a place back in Magic Lake. I thought we were going to the make-out grounds, but we took another path that led deep into the woods. He promised that this would be the best night of our lives, so I followed him on the path. We came to an old shack with the doors gone and the windows cracked.

She puts her head down and begins to sob and I put my arms around hers trying to comfort her. After a few minutes in silence she begins again.

"David asked me if we would be together forever. I, of course, said yes. I thought that this was who I was to be with. His eyes were cold that night; I knew he was up to something even though I was still a little trashed. With the fire lit, he took my hand and said we should be together forever then, and then pulled out an incantation of some sort. We had done simple spells before like lighting and putting out candles, but nothing like this. Taking my hand we said the incantation together making a deal with the dark world. To seal the deal we had to sacrifice the blood of an innocent animal, so we used a stray cat. We also had to use our blood to finish it off. We cut our right hands and tightly squeezed them together over the fire so our blood would drip together into the flames. Suddenly the fire went out and the shack began to shake. The next thing I knew, I woke up next to David with the sun shining though the windows.

At first, I didn't realize anything had happened, until he started becoming more abusive toward me. He started blowing up over small things. Once, I went with my friend Kyle to buy David a gift, and David had been following me around. When David caught me with Kyle he pushed me to the ground calling me a whore. I became angry, but David was uncontrollable, he began pushing Kyle yelling at him. Saying how he should stay away from his whore girlfriend. I told him he was overreacting, but he slapped me for raising my voice.

After a few months, I couldn't live with David's temper. He became mad over everything I did, his world revolved around me and who I was with. I decided to end our relationship. I thought he took the break up well until after four months when I began dating Jerrad. David showed up once to my house unexpectedly one night after Jerrad dropped me off. He warned me to stay away from Jerrad and that if I didn't he would have to pay the consequences for being with me.

His breath reeked of alcohol, so I decided to blow off the situation since he was drunk. I figured he didn't know what he was talking about. Eight months later, Jerrad asked me to marry him. I accepted, but two days later Jerrad was in a automobile accident. His car was hit by an on-coming Semi-truck. That night, I received a phone call from David...all he said was, "I warned you, I am always watching."

"Why didn't you go to the police?" I asked. "They could have helped you, they still can!" "NO! If I turn to the police, he'll do something. He always knows where I am at. Every time I have picked up the phone to call the police, the line goes dead. Every time I have told someone about this, they have died. Now I fear I have put you into danger, I think I have doomed you."

"Doomed me? I think we need to go to the police and tell them what you told me."

I watch her get up and dramatically repeat, "No." I hold her in my arms and agree we won't right now, but ask her to think about it. She agrees with a painful sob and I hold her until she calms. I decide to leave and go back to my place.

"Let's go home," I suggested and we walk to the car.

Peering through the window, he watches them enter his house. Rampant thoughts run through David's head as he glares at Tom holding Amber. He adjusts the way he is sitting in order to get a better view, but he begins to lose his balance. Gripping the limb tightly, he maintains his poise and continues to watch them through-out the night. Waiting for his chance; the perfect opportunity.

Sunday 8:30 a.m.

"Beep, Beep, Beep!" Rolling over, Tom hits the snooze button and opens his eyes. His vision blurs for a second, but he regains his sight quickly. "I'm taking a shower, I'll wake you when I'm done."

"Remember we have to be at the lunch early to set up," I reminded him as he slipped into the bathroom. I turn over on my side and fall asleep.

Opening the shower curtain, Tom allows the hot water to heat up. Lying his pajamas on the counter behind him he grabs a towel from the cabinet and gets into the shower. Washing his thick-brown headed hair, then his 5'9 masculine frame, and then rinses off, dries himself, and quickly dresses. He knows he should be done by 9:00 which is quickly approaching in 15 minutes. "Time to shave and sharpen up," Tom mumbles to himself. He quickly fills the sink with water and lathers his face for the quick shave. He decides to "touch-up" with his electric razor. His hands slippery from the shaving cream, the razor slides from his hands into the translucent water. He reaches for the cord to unplug . . .

Watching him through the bathroom window, the opportune time has come, the moment I had been waiting for all night. "Moleste commissum abstulo." He watches as Tom reaches for the chord. . .

Grabbing the cord, Tom stubbles over his dog and catches himself with his hands in the water with the razor. He hits his head on the mirror above the sink while an abnormal amount of electricity runs through his limp body.

The alarm sounds again, and I awake myself to see it is now 10:30. "Why didn't he wake me up" I utter under her breath. . .

Immediately the night stand phone rings. "That's probably the business people wondering where we are."

"Hello?"

"I told you I was always watching. Click."

Jumping up, I hear Chopper, Tom's dog whimpering in the bathroom. "Tom?" Opening the bathroom door, I cautiously peer in afraid of what my eyes are going to come across. I scream when I discover Tom's dead body in the bathroom and call 911."

An ambulance and a few police cars race to the Keen residence, finding Amber holding Tom in her arms. The paramedics check his heart beat and notice that there is none. They scurry to get him in the ambulance and to the nearest hospital. Unable to move, Amber watches as they take Tom and police remain with her to ask a few questions.

"What happened?" asked the Sheriff.

Amber looks at him, almost unable to get a word out, but she regains her emotions and informs him how she found Tom. Thinking of the phone call she received, she decides to mention that detail and pushes the horrid memory aside for the moment and continues hoping no-one noticed her slight pause.

As tears begin falling from her swollen eyes, Sheriff Bargs decides that's enough for her right now.

"Thank you for you time Ms. Marx, we'll keep looking into the situation. Ma'am, I'm truly sorry for what happened," Sheriff Bargs says with a gentle nod and walks out the door.