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CHAPTER 2

My babies were a little too enthusiastic when it came time for our "phone call". It's actually a Skype call so they can see me. Apparently Clayton thinks that since he can't see me when we're on the phone, I'm not really there. I'm not sure where his mind is on that one. However, Skyping gives us the opportunity to talk and see each other. I knew that they had managed to inhale all of their ice cream in one heck of a hurry in order to actually talk to me instead of sitting at the table eating, when Clayton answered the call with ice cream running down his chin.

"Hi Momma!" Clayton yelled.

Clayton is a spitting image of me. Dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes with hints of gold, slightly tanned skin, Cherokee features grace his face with high cheek bones and the typical Cherokee, or what I've always thought of as a bulbous, nose. He's bulky for a 4 year old, and it shows in his shoulders and legs. He usually wears his brother's clothes size, so it's like I'm buying for twins instead of children 2 years apart. I've always seen him as possible linebacker material, but that could just be me. All the child really wants to do is dance which I'll admit, I never saw coming.

"Hi Clayton, sweetheart." I replied.

"It's Clay, Momma." I hear him admonish as I see Connor waving and shouting "Hi" over his brother's shoulder. Connor is an anomaly in our family. He screams "recessive gene". He is thin as a rail, not much taller than his brother, has extremely pale skin which I blame on my Irish heritage, almost white-blonde hair, eyes so blue they look like sapphires, his cheek bones rest lower than his brother's, but his nose is sharp and pointed. Even his father didn't have any of these features.

"Hello Connor, darling." I smile at them. They are a handful, it's true, but the absolute best part of my life and I have missed them terribly.

"Hello Amanda" I hear my Grandmother say.

"Hello Grandmama." I reply back with enthusiasm. She doesn't normally stick around for our Skype chats.

I've only been gone two days, but it already feels like forever. Seeing my babies this excited to talk to me makes me realize how quickly I need to get home and have them in my arms.

We chat for about 30 minutes before Clay is out like a light. So I release the call and let my Grandmother put them to bed. It's only about 5:30 here and my stomach starts growling, so I go out looking for food. I run across this quaint Chinese restaurant about two blocks away from my hotel and grab some take out.

As I head back, I feel an odd sensation on the back of my neck. It's almost like someone is watching me, but as I turn around I can't see anyone. I rub the back of my neck to relieve the sensation and continue to walk back towards the hotel, but that…feeling doesn't diminish the further I walk. I grab my keys out of my purse and hold them in my fist with the points of the keys in between my fingers, a poor imitation of brass knuckles I know, but it makes me feel better to be prepared than to be taken advantage of. I took some self-defense classes back home and the one thing that I pride myself on is knowing how to take on an attacker, but this feels different. I scan the alleyways near me, the road, the sidewalk, but nothing I see says "this is the person staring at you". I didn't really think it would, but the feeling never ceases. In fact, it makes me rather nervous and I begin to power walk back to the hotel.

I almost collapse in relief as I walk into the lobby. I know it's ridiculous to think that nothing can get me here, but I do feel better with witnesses around and a locked door between me and whatever that feeling was. I open my takeout, turn on the TV to some crappy sitcom, and try to relax as I eat. I feel better as soon as the food is gone, so I decide that a hot shower is in order. I'm not a narcissist, but I stop to look in a mirror before hopping in the shower and admire what I see staring back. I've been working very hard over the years to get my body back into pre-baby shape. I know it's never going to happen, but a girl can dream.

My red hair is falling in a nice wavy cascade down my back stopping just south of my shoulder blades. It's gotten a lot fuller over the years, which isn't a bad thing. My chocolate brown eyes stare at themselves in the mirror. My eyes have just been copied onto my youngest son's face. My nose and cheeks are just a grown version of Clay's and with my long face, it just accentuates the curvature of the hollows of my cheekbones even further. I'm not all that tall for a girl, 5'7" but my height was a bonus in high school and college when I played basketball. Added height helps tremendously when playing basketball with shorter women. I'm pale, though not as liquid-paper white as Connor. I would look odd with red hair and a tan. I have several tattoos that present themselves when I'm this free of clothing. Nothing huge, just reminders of mistakes and a life I've lived. My stomach has stretch marks from being pregnant twice. I don't ever expect those to go away, nor would I want them to. It shows that I have two beautiful children and I carried and birthed them. I went through an immense amount of pain to give them life and I will not ever want those marks to go away. I'm not exactly muscular, but I do have muscle tone. Comes with years of playing basketball, I suppose.

I hop in the shower and begin the relaxing process of washing myself. I usually spend a few minutes just letting the hot water run over me, relieving the ever present tension in my shoulders. As I begin to wash my hair, I think over the events of the day. The one thing that seems to get to me more than anything is that feeling of being watched. As I condition my hair and start to wash my face I try to pinpoint what I felt. I couldn't name it at the time with the adrenaline coursing through me, but now that I'm in my right mind and have a chance to think I am able to narrow down what that sensation was.

Waiting with a mixture of curiosity.

Watching and waiting for something to happen. Curious as to what would happen.

Why would someone be watching and waiting for something to happen to me? Who was I? No one of any real importance. It didn't make any sense to me. Maybe it was someone from one of the gangs that seem to be all over the news here. Maybe someone had me pegged as the next victim. Or maybe my imagination was running away with me entirely and there was nothing out there in the first place. The latter was more likely. I did have a wild imagination and though it had its benefits, it also had its downfalls.

I managed to talk myself down off of the ridiculous anxious ledge I had been on by convincing myself that there was absolutely nothing out on the Seattle streets that was out to get me. I went to bed that night feeling more relieved than I had since dinner. I don't normally dream, but I had dreams that night. I was standing in an empty building with another person. She was feral looking with her mane of wild red curly hair. She had leaves and twigs embedded in her locks and her red eyes pierced my very soul. She spoke to me, but it was too quiet for me to understand. Then in the manner of dreams, the scene changed and I was staring at a man alone in the woods. He was tall, around 6 feet, with wavy honey blonde hair that came down to his chin. He was clean shaven, with sharp features underneath skin so white it would put Connor's to shame, but his eyes were what captured me. They were the purest gold I had ever seen. He stared back at me confused, but his actions towards me were not hesitant. He walked too quickly, almost seeming to fade from sight just to reappear directly in front of me. He placed his hand gently on my face, but the look on his was pained. The scene around me changed yet again to find me kneeling over a body with blood all over my hands. I looked down at the body before me to see a pair of lifeless green eyes staring back at me from a face that shouldn't be turned that direction. My gaze focused on the scene around me to see nothing but death and destruction the likes of which I had never seen outside of a movie. All of a sudden a man with light brown hair and blood red eyes was right in front of me. He said simply "I'll be seeing you soon" before I awoke in a cold sweat.

After a few deep breaths I turned to the clock to see what time it was. The numbers 3:35 were glaring at me in the dark. Well, that's stupid. Why would I have such horrid dreams the night before I need to finish the merger? I need to be at my best so I don't screw something up or say something that I may regret. I sigh heavily as I get up and walk about the room. I need to get some sleep, but I also need to calm down enough to actually get some rest. I call down to the reception area to ask if they have a 24-hour gym on the premises. Luck is on my side this morning, because they do. They also have a pool that can be accessed through the gym. Hallelujah. Swimming may just be what I need to get my head on straight. Lucky for me, I brought my bathing suit.

I step outside my room and begin the short journey to the ground level of the hotel. The gym and pool aren't very big, but at least they will work for what I need. I already had my suit on, so when I managed to get to the pool all I had to do was set my swim cap and goggles on my head and begin to swim. Easier said than done as anyone who has worn a swim cap knows, you have to stretch it out first. So, I stretch it out the only slightly uncomfortable way I know how…by filling it with water and dumping it on my head. It's completely silly and makes for an interesting wakeup call, but at least it works.

I begin my swim and set my mind on nothing else but breathing after every third stroke. Right…Left…Right…Left/Breathe. Repeat. The sound of my strokes in the water is a very calming sound, almost metronome-like in its rhythm. I lose track of time. I swim until I exhaust myself. Which, if I'm being honest, was my original intent anyway. I pick up my towel and wrap it around me as I catch my breath. I make it back to my room and head straight to the shower. I hate the feel of chlorine in my hair. It makes it feel like a giant hay bale. I wash my hair and body again to get that dry feeling off of me. I barely manage to dry off completely before I pass out on the bed again. This time I sleep without dreams.

I wake up several hours later feeling refreshed. I see that there is sun peeking through the curtains of my room and idly wonder how late I've slept. 1:47 is what I see when I turn my head to look at the clock. Holy shit. No wonder I felt better. I've slept the whole day away. I have to meet with Mr. Williams from Medved Construction in an hour.

I dress nicely for the meeting. Yesterday it was raining, so I wore a nice pant suit with some ballet flats, but today, since it is semi sunny I'll wear a skirt suit with a pair of low heels. I don't really need the added height, I just like these shoes. They make my legs look great. Add a bit of neutral makeup and put my hair up in a high bun and I'm set for the meeting.

I take a cab to Medved and make it there just five minutes shy of our meeting time. I admit I should have called Mrs. Couey to discuss the possible changes to staffing, but honestly at this point, this merger is more of a headache than it's worth. We set up shop in the same conference room that we met in yesterday and continue our business talk. We talk for hours. Going over the finer points of this merger is not exactly enthralling. We conference Mrs. Couey in to discuss the details and we finally come up with a deal.

That means I'll be out of here tomorrow. First flight to Atlanta and I'll be on it. I can't help but be thrilled about that. I miss home and I miss my babies. In a cab on the way back to the hotel after the meeting, I send Connor a text. I know he should be in bed, but hopefully he and Clay will be awake enough for me to call.

Hey sweetie. It looks like I should be home tomorrow! - Momma

It's not even a minute before I hear the tell tale "I've got a text" to let me know that someone isn't in bed yet.

Momma! I'm so glad to hear that! Clay and I didn't wanna go to bed until we heard from you. Are you gonna call us soon? – Connor

Of course baby, I'll call you in about 10 minutes. – Momma

The cab pulled up to the hotel. I got out, paid the driver, and headed up to my room. As soon as the door closed, I was dialing my babies. They were already in their pajamas and in bed, but the moment they saw my face they lit up like Christmas Trees.

"Hey sweet boys! I missed you today." I say as I sit on the bed.

"I missed you too!" they both holler at me.

I laugh at them as they proceed to steal the phone from each other and tell me all about the day they've had. Connor will tell me about something that happened to him in class, then Clay will steal the phone and tell me about his dance class. Then Connor will steal the phone back to tell me about another chapter of his book while Clay argues in the background how Percy Jackson is so much better. It's the small things like spending time with my boys that make me miss holding them in my arms every day. I can't wait to be home.

The next morning dawns and I wake up earlier than planned feeling very refreshed. My flight isn't for several hours yet, so I put on some comfortable clothes and head back towards the docks. I really enjoyed coming here the other day, so I see no harm in coming back before I leave. I sit back down on the bench and stare out into the ocean. I know I need to leave soon, but I also know I have a while longer before I need to actually move.

That's when I feel it. That odd sensation on the back of my neck. The one I identified as waiting mixed with curiosity. I look around and behind me. I see nothing, but instead of the stagnant feeling that I was used to, the feeling intensifies. This new sensation has my adrenaline pumping in my veins, sweat covering my palms, and my senses on high alert.

The next thing I know, I feel one thing and one thing only.

Fire.

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