Ch. 4
I wake up groggy and unconvinced the days prior weren't all an unbelievable dream, but I know better. I try to push my jumbled thoughts aside and ready myself for work.
When I pull up to the shop I am surprised to see the garage doors open.
"Did I forget to close them the other day?" I wonder with concern, however thinking back I am sure I closed them.
I get out of my car and approach the garage cautiously. At first it appears vacant but then I hear voices from my office.
"There is nothing here!" a smooth voice bellows "I've been through every inch!"
"Oh god, what could they be looking for?" I ponder. Slowly I move closer listening for a second voice.
"We have to be sure," a second and much huskier voice states "If they were here we need to know. We know they came looking for her and if they made it this far they are sure to find her soon."
"We have to find her first." The smooth voice answers
I was about to speak up, tell them their "friends" stopped by a couple days ago. I am pissed off and very displeased that there are two more strangers poking around in my life. I want to speak up but what I hear next glues me to the spot and I don't dare move from my spot.
"They wont have any chance for survival once we kill her." One jokes. Then they both burst into laughter at his remark. I however am not laughing.
I muster up the ability to move, take full advantage, and take off to my car. Once safely in the car I look back at the shop. I don't see anyone so I guess they didn't see or hear me.
I speed down the highway. I want to go home but what if they know where I live? I'm in a full panic but I'm thankful for the first time that Micah and Leanna went out of town.
A sense of loneliness washes over me as I realize I never bothered to make any friends here. Wishing I had I also realize I have nowhere to go. There is no use feeling sorry for myself so I continue aimlessly down the road. I subconsciously drive to a lake set deep into the woods. No one ever really comes here, especially this early in the spring. Mostly its used as a swimming hole with tall evergreens all around perfect for rope swings. Now it sits deserted till warmer weather arrives. I leave my car behind me as I walk down to the shoreline, remove my red chucks and wade into the shallow waters. I walk along in the water enjoying the feel of the little pebbles on my feet till I come to a fallen tree and sit along the trunk. I sit there for a long while thinking over all of the things Elliot and Dominic had said to me.
Out of nowhere, my mind goes blank as I slip into a dream-like state. I close my eyes tight in my usual response to the visions but then relax to succumb to it knowing now it may hold real answers to my past.
Slowly the image of three children running through the dense forest comes into view. A boy races on ahead of a small brown haired girl. "Hurry up slow poke!" the lean, blue eyed boy yells back at the girl. "I'm trying..." The girl's words trail off as she struggles to catch up, her long blue sundress waving in the wind. Suddenly the child's dress catches on a branch throwing her to the ground. I see the tiny girl sit up clinging to her knee. Blood drips down her leg as she cries rocking back and forth. Then as if he materialized from air a young black haired boy reached down picked up the girl into his tawny arms. The girl looked up and faced the boy and she peers into a pair of sorrel eyes that seemed to smile at her. The girl smiles at him and he wipes away her tears. "Thanks Dominic" I hear the girl say.
The image blurs as a second vision comes.
A small girl sits along a river bank among the tall grass. The blue bow that ties back her long, brown curls blows in the wind mimicking the movement of her dress. Folding over itself, trying to break free of her small frame. With her sits a little boy, same as her hero in the first vision, I remember. He wears cut off blue jeans and a black tank top. His black hair is chopped short, not unlike any other little boys.
"This is for you." The boy says shyly handing the little girl a bright yellow daffodil. She reaches for the delicate flower as the wind sweeps through the grass again. "Thank you." The girl blushes. Just as the vision begins to fade just as the boy leans in kissing the girl on the cheek and says "I love you, Lyla."
My knees become weak and finally give out under me but to my surprise I never hit the ground. Slowly I open my eyes and find myself in the safety of Dom's big bronzed arms.
I shake my head free of the visions and allow my tears to fall. They had tried to tell me that these were memories and I shut them out, literally. How could that be true though, I of all people should know if they were memories, right? That last vision though, the boy said my name. I look up at Dom, and though it takes a moment to focus, I am met with those same sorrel eyes from my vision, still smiling back at me. I reach down my leg and feel the tiny scar that had been left by that little girls fall. I then realize... I am that little girl.
It was at that moment that I knew, that I remembered them for the first time. I pull Dominic closer and begin to cry when he kisses my head and whispers into my ear" Welcome back."