Dreams

Chapter 9

x.x.x

I had been crouched in the bushes for an hour before it started to rain, not the pleasant sort of misting that someone spying with a camera could ignore, but heavy drops of water that rapidly fell from the sky in what could only be described as a shower. Since I had checked the weather at least three times before leaving the comfort of my apartment with my amateur reporter kit – containing a camera, a voice recorder, and numerous pens and pads of paper, along with a chocolate bar and a thermos of instant coffee – and the forecast had most definitely not called for rain, I was slightly pissed. This is it, I thought to myself after some choice cursing, this is the moment that will define you as a serious reporter or not. I wasn't completely sure it was my mettle, or stubbornness, or simply a sense of laziness (I was already here, and already wet), but I decided to stay in position at least long enough to get my picture and my article before slinking back home for a hot bath and preventive cold medication.

Though the heavy rain beating against the bushes created enough noise to hide a stampede of elephants, I was still aware of his approach. It could be because I noticed the headlights of his car slow down as it passed the house and my heart rate sped up at the idea of one of the neighbours noticing me skulking around. I had taken precautionary measures and wore black, but I hadn't done anything to cover my clearly white skin. Dark face paint would have been noticeable on the bus I had to take to get here, and ski masks itched.

I would never make it as a bank robber.

Of course, the more likely possibility of why I noticed him was because I always seemed to be attuned to when he came within a ten foot radius of me. He hated that. Apparently his habits were weirder than mine, and he found the inability to stalk me frustrating.

He crouched beside me and gave me a good look, borderline on staring. Finally he smiled slightly and gave a brief shake of his head in disbelief. "The money shot is from a tree in the back," he told me, gesturing for the camera.

"Shhh," I hissed. Then added, "I just need a picture of them emerging from the front door."

He took the camera anyway, disappearing into the night like some kind of vampire. I amused myself with possible headlines as I waited for him to return: Dean Eats in with Underage Student, or Dean caught with Hand in the Cookie Jar. Well, titles were the reason the campus newspaper had an editor.

There was a flash of light from the backyard and a scream of rage from the house. Michel came barrelling around the corner, frantically gesturing to his right as he cut into the wooded lot next door. "Shit," I cursed, grabbing my bag and crashing after him, my flight far less graceful than his was. I had never seen Michel run before, but he quickly put space between us as I struggled not to trip over an exposed root and fall in a wet, muddy heap to the forest floor and probably poke out an eye. Chivalry, apparently, was dead when it came to running away from a former tenured professor who may or may not own a twelve gauge. By the time I reached the other side of the lot, he already had his car started and passenger seat opened so I could jump in.

Immediately after my bottom hit the seat, he was off, putting his foot to the gas and racing down the street as though we were being chased by the police already. "Isn't this overkill?" I panted, clutching the strap of my bag tightly to my chest as I wheezed. Note to self: join a gym.

"Are you crazy?" he asked, finally slowing down.

"Is that rhetorical?"

"Was that the Dean of your school? You're going to be kicked out for this, or maybe he'll take your 4.0 GPA and slice it in half. Good luck graduating with that."

"Maybe," I muttered, not quite paying attention to him as I grabbed the camera from between the two front seats and took a look at the digital screen readout from the last picture.

"Are you really that naive that you don't think there'll be consequences? Why do you think no one has done this article before? He's probably been at this for the past twenty years."

I didn't quite hear this either. I was too busy staring at the picture he had taken from what had to be a hard-to-reach perch. My eyes got wide as I took in the picture, and then turned the camera by ninety degrees to see it at another angle. Wow, I thought, this was probably a monumental moment in my life. No one else would ever get a picture this awesome, not even a tabloid magazine. "Pull over!" I said sharply.

"Don't tell me the picture didn't turn out," he said, clearly put out as he pulled the car over to the curb. "Because I might be here to serve, but I'm not going back there."

I grabbed the collar of his wet sweater and yanked him towards me, probably permanently stretching the material. "You're the best," I told him, kissing him before he could get recover his balance. "I'm pretty sure I'll have to love you forever for this."

x.x.x

"Kerry."

Kerry awoke to the steady plink, plink, plink of water dripping from the tap and into the now tepid water of her bath. She moaned groggily, sitting up and wincing as the cool water lapped against her chest. "Are you here to apologize?" she asked, finally opening her eyes. "Oh," she said with surprise, finding Luke standing over her with her towel opened for her to step into.

"I fell asleep," she reflected softly, standing and allowing him to cocoon her in warmth. He enveloped her in his arms, rubbing his palms up and down her back.

"I am sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I didn't mean to be insensitive about Dr. Roberts."

"It's been forgotten," she promised, yawning widely. "What time is it?"

"Just after three," he told her, reaching down in order to lift her off her feet. "They rearranged some shifts today so I could get off work early after pulling the double.

Kerry settled her head on his shoulder. Here was Luke, her boyfriend, taking care of her in a way that no one had ever tried before. "I'm sorry if I've seemed a little distant lately," she said, honestly contrite. Since Ethan's body had shown up, she had been putting Luke second while living in the past. She wasn't going to do that anymore.

"I am too. My new work schedule has been rough on both of us."

"Let's fix that," she murmured against his chest. "Let's—" she cut off as he dropped her on the bed. She bounced, half expecting him to deliberately fall on top of her, but when he didn't she lifted her head and glanced at him. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing it," he told her, rummaging through his sock drawer. "I was going to wait for a romantic setting to do this," he told her, pulling out a small velvet bag. "I'm in love with you, and I don't see myself ever not being in love with you – even if you are a reporter. So will you marry me?"

Kerry regarded him with wide eyes, noting for a split second that he was still wearing his uniform and she was dressed in a towel. It hadn't been what she had pictured from a proposal, either. "Yes," she said, not giving it another moment to think about her decision. "Yes!" She giggled as he crossed the room and slipped the diamond on her finger, holding it up to admire the sparkle in the lamp light. In that moment she was happy and carefree, newly engaged and in love. Nothing could take it away.

"Uhhhn," Nelle muttered groggily into the phone. "Mffg hrrow, mrng."

"Wake up," Kerry told her, twirling the phone cord around her finger. She was standing in the kitchen with the laminate floor cool beneath her bare feet. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Breakfast at the coffee shop across from your place in 30 minutes."

"Why?" Nelle asked, finally forming real words. Kerry took that as a good sign.

"It'll be worth it, I promise."

"Do I need camera?" Nelle asked, not exactly the brightest bulb in the box, particularly before coffee.

"Nope," Kerry told her, hanging up.

Twenty five minutes later, Kerry had two large coffees on the table in front of her, and a plate full of fattening breakfast delicacies. The danishes were a peace offering, the coffee just plain necessary.

"What is it?" Nelle asked, grabbing her cup and gulping down the steaming liquid. "This better be good. I swear to God that if you woke me up half an hour early for any reason other than life and death, I'm going to – ooo, danishes."

Kerry picked up her coffee cup so Nelle could see the ring gleaming on her finger. Kerry figured she'd notice from the weird angle of her hand alone, considering Nelle had an artistic eye for detail and all that.

Of course, she didn't notice.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Nelle looking at her expectantly and not a little hostile, before Kerry finally sighed.

"I'm engaged!" she finally said, exasperation evident in her voice as she showed her hand.

"Oh my God!" Nelle said, grabbing Kerry's hand to look at the ring. "Look at this ring. It's lovely. I can't believe Luke finally popped the question. I mean, sure I thought the two of you would get married eventually, but I was starting to wonder if—"

"You helped pick out the ring, didn't you?" Kerry asked, noticing a distinct lack of honest surprise in Nelle's response. She had a lot of experience knowing when someone was lying, especially with people far more skilled than her best friend.

"Do you like it?" Nelle asked sheepishly.

"It is lovely," Kerry told her, staring at the ring critically. It was a round cut diamond set in white gold – a safe choice. She'd always thought that if a man bought her a ring there would be something special about it, but in the face of reality, she knew that was a foolish expectation.

Nelle was watching her look at the ring, and a small frown appeared between her eyebrows. "What are you thinking for your wedding? In the Spring? Sooner – maybe Christmas?"

Kerry shrugged. "I haven't really thought of it. He just proposed last night, so I mean there hasn't really been any time considering we went to bed after that. Christmas is definitely too soon, this year anyway. But maybe a night in December next year."

She didn't want to closely examine why she thought it had to be night. She wasn't even sure they were still friends.

She didn't want to think about that, either.

Kerry picked up one of the pastries and savagely bit into it.

After more small talk about wedding plans, the two of them left for work. Gallant was far more observant than Nelle, noticing the ring right off the bat and nodding his congratulations.

Kerry shoved the engagement into the back of her mind, working on her article about a new gallery show and following that up with an update for the Brockport Murder assignment. It was dark by the time she sent both off to the editor, and left for the night.

"Get in the car," he demanded, pulling up beside her and hollering out the opened passenger side window. Kerry ignored him and continued walking down the street, her heels smacking smartly against the pavement. She didn't need him to ruin her euphoria right now, so she continued to ignore him. "Kerry," he said sharply. "Get in the car."

She finally stopped, looking at him dead-on. "You said you were done with me," she told him. "So be done." She turned and marched into the park where he couldn't follow in a vehicle. Usually, she would avoid the darkened sidewalks and wide expanses of trees and bushes for the safer street-side walkways, but in Brockport, even with a deranged vampire on the loose, it was very unlikely that she would be attacked. She quickened her speed at the sound of a car door slamming.

"Would you wait up," he called from a few feet behind her, though he certainly didn't need her to slow down in order to catch up. "I'm trying to apologize to you."

Kerry spun around, her jacket flaring dramatically around her. She was too angry to notice the beauty of the motion. How dare he? "I don't need an apology," she told him unemotionally. "I'm not sure why I ever expect you to be different, but I think you should know that this time I want you to leave."

"You don't mean that."

Kerry jerked her purse back on her shoulder and observed him closely, wondering why she thought he sounded disbelieving. Her ears must be deceiving her. "Michel," she began wearily. He tensed, eyes narrowing as he took a step towards her.

"What the hell is on your hand?" he asked coldly, sharp reflexes bridging the gap between them as he grabbed her arm before she could move away. His grip was like a vise on her flesh, and he violently brought the diamond into view between them. Kerry tried to jerk her arm out of his grasp, glaring at him when he held tight.

"It's a ring," she told him, eyes defiant.

"You're engaged?" he asked, fingers tightening around her wrist.

Kerry nodded sharply. "To Luke."

"Congratulations," he bit out. "Does your fiancé know you're still in love with me?"

"You arrogant prick!" Kerry gasped, kicking him in the shin and attempting to rip her arm away from his bruising grip.

He grabbed her around the waist, forcefully wrenching her off her feet and fiercely kissing her, their teeth clanking sharply together. For a second, she clung to his shoulder and gave in to him, enjoying the memorable feel of his mouth violently pressing against hers. The sensation of his teeth biting into her bottom lip shot awareness through her body and she pushed away from him, bringing her left, ringed, hand up to slap him soundly across the face.

Michel gingerly touched his mouth, finger coming away with the dark gleam of blood. The way her lips ached, she wasn't sure whether it was hers or his. Without thought, he licked it from his finger and she drew in a sharp breath. She couldn't look away from his judgemental gaze.

"I'm happy," she finally said, taking another step backwards and observing him for what had to be the last time. Realizing the futility of it, she turned on her heel and walked away from him. She didn't say goodbye.

"This isn't what you want!" he called out after her, but she didn't look behind her to see him standing in the middle of the path, watching her leave.