Chapter 1

My eyes shot open, startled and shifting back and forth trying to figure out where I was. I felt as though I had just got done running a marathon. My heart was racing, echoing throughout my entire body. Sweat beaded upon my forehead, like the morning dew on a cool summer morning. Panic and adrenaline mixed together as I tried to gather my thoughts. Rain was pounding against the bedroom window, along with the loud claps of thunder. It happened again. The nightmare that haunts my dreams quite frequently had once again reared its hideous figure; the nightmare of my father’s death.

         Rik, my husband, is in the same line of work that my father used to be so passionate about. He is a pilot for American Airlines and has been for two years now. Considering he is only twenty-five, that is quite an accomplishment. While I am proud of him for what he has accomplished and support him completely, it’s also a trigger for my famous phantasmagoria.

         Allan Sheekel, my beloved father, passed away fifteen years ago. I was only ten years old when the tragic event occurred. My mother, Susan Sheekel, my father and I were taking a family vacation to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I remember being so excited, sitting between my parents on the plane, wondering what this magical place had in store for me. As we prepared to take off, dad had made sure that my seatbelt was fastened correctly, smiling and making goofy faces at me while doing so. I could hear the engines roaring. Adrenaline rushed through me as we started down the runway. Faster and faster we went until finally we took off. The air picked up the metal bird and the wheels folded underneath. We were on our way.

         As quick as it seemed for us to take off, is how quick it seemed to go wrong. It felt like an instant. The plane shook three times, with only seconds in between. I asked “Daddy, is everything okay?” “Of course honey. Everything is fine” he reassured me. Even being as young as I was, I could see the concern in his eyes. People started screaming and the emergency oxygen masks dropped down. What was happening? I was so confused and scared that I simply froze for a moment. My parents held onto each other, sheltering me from anything that might have tried to harm me. I had my arms over my head and tears were running down my face. I heard my father’s voice, telling my mother how much he loved her. He lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. He said “I love you more than anything in this world Andria. Promise me that you will always take care of your mother.”

         “I promise I will” I replied with shakiness in my voice. He hugged me tight, kissing my forehead ever so softly. Those were the last words I ever said to my dad. There was some kind of malfunction with the plane that caused us to crash into a field not far from Greenville, Alabama, where we are from. I can recall, as if it were yesterday, the horrific events that unfolded before my eyes. The screaming, the sobbing, the begging and pleading for help, the destruction, the chaos, and the panic are still so fresh; so real. My mom covered my face with her jacket and unfastened my seatbelt. Even though I felt like I weighed a ton, she lifted me up into her arms as we made our way out of the aircraft. Between the wind and the people bumping into us, the jacket had slid off of me, now underneath all the feet of the victims who surrounded us that day. That’s when I saw him.

         My father lay motionless in the seat he was assigned when we boarded the plane. Blood was streaming down his face, covering every inch and detail between the top of his head down to his chin. My heart sank. Why isn’t he getting up? Why isn’t he coming with us? What’s wrong with him? These were all questions that I wanted to ask but my voice was not allowing me to say. “Close your eyes sweetheart. Don’t look” my mother pleaded. Little did she know that it was already too late. At that point I knew that my dad was never going to get off of that plane. My knight in shining armor was gone for good.

         A tear slid down my cheek, crashing onto the pillow below me as I tried to remind myself of the good ole times. When my dad was alive, young, and healthy. We used to go into town every week, just him and I, to get supplies. Considering how small Greenville is, with a population of just under 8,000 people, there are a few select places to get supplies from. We always went to the little convenience store at the bottom of the hill. Mr. Mark’s was the place to go, especially for homemade soft serve ice cream. My mouth watered at the thought. Mint chocolate chip was dad’s favorite. I always got a double scoop of vanilla on a cone. More often than not, the ice cream would start to melt before I could finish it. I can still hear him say “Don’t tell your mother that I encouraged you to spoil your supper.” A smile appeared upon my lips at the thought of the two of us giggling in unison. He was a charmer, no doubt about that. He was easy on the eyes as well. He was 6’2,” with a stocky build weighing 218 pounds. His jet-black hair was always ruffled in some way, shape, or form. He had the most beautiful eyes that were as blue as the oceans of Mexico.

         I could hear his laughter ringing in my ears. My smile grew even bigger. I liked remembering him that way, happy and full of life. My eyes drifted to my bedside table, where a picture of my parents was housed in a wooden frame.    They looked so in love, each other’s hand intertwined with the other. Ever since that day, my mom hasn’t been the same. You can tell that it’s as if a part of her is missing. After all, it’s been fifteen years since she lost the one person in this world that understood her the most. They were inseparable. I can’t even imagine how that feels. I hope that I never have to endure that type of pain that my mother has been struggling with for what seems like a lifetime now. Although, she has gotten stronger over the years, I know that her heart aches for the day where they will be able to be together once again.

         I rolled over as Rik wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I welcomed his embrace along with the body heat that emanated from him. “Did you have another nightmare?” he asked with concern in his voice. I nodded, confirming a suspicion that he already knew the answer to. “I’m going to be fine baby. I promise I will always come back to you” he said as he gently kissed my forehead. While that was comforting to hear, there was always that little hint of doubt in the back of my mind that he may not always be able to keep that promise. I tried not to go there. The smell of old spice engulfed my senses. He always smelled so nice; one of the many things that I love about him. He started faintly snoring again.

         The clock now displayed the time of 3:23 AM. Rik would be getting up for work in only a few short hours. I hated when he was away from home. Aside from the obvious, before he became a pilot, we were never separated for more than twelve hours at a time. That is unless one of us was grounded. We met at the age of sixteen, while both attending Greenville High School in Butler county. Black, yellow, and white were the colors that formed our mascot of the Tiger. That was the image I had in my mind when I drifted off back to sleep. This time, I dreamt of the very first day of freshman year, he sat next to me on the bus. Instead of turning and introducing myself to him, I continued to stare out of the window of the bus. There was no way an attractive young man such as himself was going to be interested in someone like me.

         Much to my surprise, I felt a slight disturbance on my shoulder which turned out to be his fingertip tapping me, trying to get my attention. I quickly yanked out my headphone and waited for him to speak. ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ was playing in the earbud that still accompanied the ear that was closest to the window. I think that he could hear it, seeing as he was dancing to the same beat as the song. I smiled and said “You’ve got some pretty smooth moves there. I’m Adriana Sheekel. What’s your name?”

         “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he asked with a wink. The look I gave him at that point was probably a cross between impressed and aggravated. I think that I had finally met my match in the sarcasm department. Finally, he stated “My name is Rik. Rik Langston. It’s very nice to meet you.” The edges of his mouth started to curl up, causing me to get a warm fuzzy feeling inside. In turn, that caused me to grin obnoxiously huge, causing a cramp to form in my cheeks. “Very nice to meet you as well.”

         By this point, the bus was coming to a screeching halt, pulling up to the school in the designated area. All the students started filing out one by one. Rik had gotten up and made room so that I was able to get out and go before him. What a gentleman he was. I didn’t want to get off of the bus. Not only was it warm inside the metal contraption, but I couldn’t complain about the company I was keeping either. The harsh, bitter wind met my face as soon as my foot hit the pavement. It almost took my breath away. I turned so that the wind wouldn’t be in my face. A good gust came and whipped my hair all around, looking like I had never brushed it after getting out of bed this morning.

         “This can’t be happening” I said to myself. That familiar smell, that I now know to be my husband’s body wash, surrounded me. He was standing in front of me with his hand held out, holding what appeared to be a hat. “Here you go darling. If you put this on it should help to control the wildness that you cannot seem to tame at the moment.” I stared at him, in a daze and struck by surprise at how much he seemed to care. “Excuse me?” I asked.

         “The wind?” he said with a confused tone. “Oooh yeah! Thanks!” I replied, as I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment. I was never really that lucky in the guy department. Most of the time they just passed me by, paying attention to the girl who was always behind or beside me. I was never the chosen one. Until now apparently. It felt good to be the center of attention for once. To be the be the apple of someone’s eye.

         Once we got passed that little scenario, he needed help finding his classes which, of course, I was more than willing to help out with. School didn’t start for another thirty minutes, so I took the liberty of showing him where all eight of his classes were, as well as the cafeteria he would be eating at every day. “Is this the same one that you will be eating at as well? I’m just curious.” I held up a finger, as I checked to see what my schedule was. “Well according to what this says it actually is the one I will be eating at. How coincidental” I said with a grin. “I have Mrs. Reno for fifth period. That’s the one class that we have every day.”

         Rik looked puzzled but didn’t make a big deal out of it. “Don’t worry. You will get the hang of this place in no time. I know it may seem slightly overwhelming now, but it’s not so bad. Promise.” I put my hand on his should and whispered in his ear “You got this.” I turned and walked away, feeling as though I was on a cloud. I was weightless and free. I had only known this guy for about an hour and something about him just me feel so at peace. I got to the end of the sidewalk and turned to look at him one more time before the bell rang. He was goofing off with his guy friends at first, then saw me observing him from afar. He smiled and waved his hand up. I returned the wave and made my way to my first class of the year. I remember thinking, at that moment, that I was the luckiest girl on the planet. Nothing could ruin my day now.

         As the time grew closer for everyone to go to lunch, I started to get a funny feeling in my stomach. I thought to myself, “Must be this is what it feels like to have butterflies in your stomach.” I chuckled at the thought that I was being slightly dramatic about the whole situation. It was lunch for goodness sake. Lunch at a high school. It was not as big of a deal as I was making it out to seem. Or at least that’s what I initially thought.
         I watched the clock for the last twenty seconds, waiting for the bell that would release a whole wall of hungry students out to get their nutrition for the afternoon. My lunch traveled with me in my backpack, hopefully not all squished and discombobulated from all the books that I had acquired throughout the day so far. My eyes rolled at the thought of my PB&J sandwich being all mushy and the regular Lays potato chips being smashed into a million little pieces. I took comfort in knowing that it was strategically placed in the front of my bag, in anticipation of the weight I would be carrying around by this time of the day.

         There was an empty table, surprisingly, that overlooked the courtyard of the school. The arrangement of flowers was beyond beautiful. A mix of reds, yellows, pinks, and whites all blended together making it look like a life-sized painting that was created flawlessly. Monarch butterflies surrounded them, taking advantage of the sweet nectar that the flowers produced. It was such an astonishing display of nature. I was always taught to appreciate the little things in life and this was, for sure, one of those moments.

         Quicker than I would have liked, I was brought back to reality by two girls having an argument. I’m sure that whatever they were fighting about wasn’t worth it. It never seemed to be. The teachers were not having it, separating and escorting them almost immediately. I really wanted to clap my hands together as loud as I possibly could for the simple fact of keeping the peace in an already pretty hectic environment. A bunch of teenagers trapped in a fairly petite atmosphere, is just a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

         Before I knew it, there was only ten minutes left of lunch and I still had not seen Rik anywhere. I was slightly disappointed, seeing as I was actually looking forward to seeing him. That’s what I get for getting my hopes up I guess. I mean really Andria? What did you truly expect from someone you just met today? A sigh escaped me that I didn’t even know was there. “Hey, do any of you know who Andria Sheekel is? If so, can you tell me where I can find her?” I looked up to see Rik standing a few tables away. Standing, I flagged him down to let him know where he had a seat saved.

         “I’m sorry that I am so late getting here. I was having to have Mr. Stokes explain something to me about a math problem that I couldn’t quite get the hang of. I’m still not sure that I understand it completely, but I’m sure with some practice I will get the hang of it” he said impatiently. Seeming a little down in the dumps about the whole situation, I said “Don’t worry about it. There’s always tomorrow. I’m afraid that you won’t be able to go through the line and have time to eat all your food before the bell rings, so I’m going to give you half of my sandwich and you can have the chips too. I had somewhat of a larger breakfast this morning than normal.”

         “That’s very kind of you” he said, “but I don’t want to take away from your nutritional needs. I will be okay until I get home.” Please just take the food is all I could think to myself. “Look, if I didn’t want to share then I wouldn’t have offered it to you in the first place. I know that you have to be hungry, so I am trying to help you out. I know that it isn’t a whole lot but at least it will keep your stomach from growling in the middle of class to where everyone stares at you.” Rik looked at me like I had just grown three heads at once. “Really, it’s okay if you take it. Honest.”

         “Well when you put it that way, I really don’t want that kind of attention. Especially not on the first day. The second or third week maybe, but not today.” We both laughed at the thought, getting back to a friendlier tone than the previous statements. He has a contagious laugh that would even make Scrooge himself chuckle. One of the most glorious sounds in all of creation. I’m sure that he would argue with me, modestly denying it in every way.

         The bell rang, signaling the obvious fact that lunch was over and that it was time to get back to class. He swiftly asked “What class do you have for fifth period again? I can’t remember what you told me this morning.” He is too cute. I told you what class I had for fifth period this morning I snickered to myself. “I want to say that we are in the same class. May I see your schedule again please?” asking as nicely as I possibly could. My mother would be very proud of the fact that I used my manners. Seemed like she was always telling me, even still till this day, to mind my manners. Knowing full well that we were going to be heading to the same place, I said “You have the same class that I do. Mrs. Reno’s English 9 class. The first hour and half is the actual lecture, or teaching part of the class, and the other hour and a half is what they like to call a ‘study hall period.’ Her room is literally straight down the walkway from here.”

         We each stood up, heaving our backpacks onto our backs ready to make the hike to our next destination. I was truly hoping that we wouldn’t get any more books today, considering I don’t think my back could take any more weight than what was in it to begin with. The English textbook is usually one of the thickest of them all. Other than history of course. His didn’t seem all that much lighter than mine from the looks of it. The seams almost looked like they were about ready to burst wide open from the pressure that the inside contents had created. I understood the feeling all too well. Making our way out of the cafeteria and onto the walkway, I pulled out the hat he had given me earlier that morning and slipped it onto my head. It was so warm and comfortable, fitting perfectly it seemed. “I see you still have my hat. Keeping you warm enough?” he asked. “Actually its quite comfy. I appreciate you letting me borrow it for the day.”

         He grinned that sheepish grin and stated “Absolutely. It’s my pleasure.” It came as no surprise to walk into the room and see that every desk had a name on it which could only mean one thing. Assigned seats. Seemed like English class was the only one who had a strict enough teacher to torture us in this way. Of course, all I could think about at that point was that Rik’s last name and my last name weren’t close enough in the alphabet for us to be able to sit near one another. Just my luck I groaned to myself under my breath. Oh well at least we get to ride the bus home together.

         By the end of the day, I was so ready for that bus ride home as I’m sure many of the other students were as well. I had positioned myself in the fourth to last seat of the bus, waiting for Rik to join me. The instant connection between us was something that I had never felt before. It made me a little nervous and excited all at the same time. My brain was so focused on trying to figure out my emotional rollercoaster that it actually alarmed me when Rik sat down next to me. “Hey there ma’am. How was the rest of your day?” A smile spread across my face along with the response of “Much better now that it has come to an end, thank you. I didn’t have a bad day, I’m just ready to relax. How about you?” Nodding he replied “I couldn’t have said it any better than you just did.” The roar of the engine came to life and we started to move towards home. Before I knew it, I realized we were almost to Rik’s bus stop when he said “Still have my hat on I see.” I foolishly looked up, as if I could actually see the hat on top of my head. Taking it off and holding out to him I said “Yes I do and I appreciate you lending it to me for the whole day. It kept my head warm all day” I stated gratefully. The bus stopped, sending the STOP sign out on the side for oncoming traffic to wait for the necessary pedestrians to cross the street. “I’ll tell you what. How about you keep it? Consider it a gift for helping me get through my first day” he said as he started to gather his things. At that point I was frozen solid, astonished by the fact that a guy was giving me something. Especially a guy that I liked. On the inside I was jumping up and down with excitement. Finally, I managed to say “Thank-you.”

         “I will see you tomorrow. I’m so glad that I met you Andria Sheekel. I can tell that we are going to be very good friends.” He smiled, turned around, and got off the bus. Once he was off, he turned to face the bus as we pulled away. He had done just as he had this morning before first period. Waving his hand and smiling, I reciprocated with the same actions returning the departure from a fruitful beginning to a relationship. My heart was happy and full for the first time in a very long time. It skipped all the way home, complemented by the smirk I had seemed to have all day long. For today, my world had become complete. The day that I met the love of my life, my soulmate, and my partner in crime.

Author's Note

CC is welcomed! :)