Chapter Four

 

The next morning the house felt oddly silent. Strange how I had grown so accustomed to having another person around after just one day. I thought I was happy being on my own. I had become independent and I needed no one. Apparently I was wrong. I was still human and had human needs to have other people around.

I felt oddly un at ease with how empty the house felt so I headed to Sal’s early.

“Sal?” I called as I opened the door and peaked in.

“Come in,” I heard her call from within.

As normal, I quickly glanced around and noted everything looked in order. 

“Sal?” I called again when I saw no signs of her.

“Down here,” I heard her voice float up the stairs.

I found her in the office, sitting at the great oak desk, a shoebox open in front of her.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I sat in the chair in front of the desk.

She didn’t say anything but pushed a photo across the desk towards me. I picked it up and examined it.

There were two people in it. The first was Sal. She appeared to be several years younger, her skin more youthful, her hair a bit more lively. Yet there was something odd about her eyes, they looked haunted, hurt.

The second woman was slightly familiar and it took me a moment to recognize her. I had never met Sue Wright in person but I had seen one or two pictures of her. She was a kind looking woman, pure white hair, wrinkles all around her eyes and sprouting from her warm smile. Her face was tanned and warm looking.

Sue’s arms were wrapped around Sal’s waist, her head resting slightly on her shoulder. Sal looked hesitant but she was smiling as if in acceptance of the woman’s affection.

“Alex said you were friends,” I said quietly as I pushed the photo back towards her.

“I miss her,” Sal said and I was surprised to hear the emotion in her voice. As I looked into her face I could see a single tear rolling down her cheek. I had never seen Sal cry.

Sal didn’t look up again from the box as she pushed another photo towards me. This one held two men, standing next to a barbeque, both wearing aprons. Paul and Alex. Paul was tall, just as tall as Alex. He was very fit for a man his age and his build was also similar to Alex’s. His hair was very dark, almost black yet speckled with dignified silver. His face too was tan, a leathered look as if he had spent too much of his life out in the sun.

“When were these pictures taken?” I asked as I noticed Alex looked much younger. 

“That was Alex’s eighteenth birthday,” Sal said as she pushed another picture towards me. This one was of Alex blowing out candles on a birthday cake. “He graduated a month later. That was the last time I saw him.”

It seemed strange to me that there didn’t seem to be any friends around in any of the pictures. What eighteen-year-old guy was content to spend his birthday with just his grandparents and the odd neighbor?

“Alex is a nice boy,” Sal said as she finally looked up at me, a serene smile on her face. “I’m glad he came back home.”

The thought I am too, ran though my mind before I actually allowed it to do so. I tried not to think about how ridiculous it was too deeply.

“Do you need anything, Sal?” I asked as I rose to leave.

She shook her head as normal and I bid her goodbye.

I didn’t see Alex the rest of the day, pitifully much to my disappointment. The day passed painfully slow and when I finally heard the door open and close at eleven thirty I knew it was too late in the night to rush out and see how he was. Not only was this desperate but I should probably be asleep.

The next day passed in much the same way. Alex left early and the house was still as death. I spent most of the day cleaning the already spotless house, simply trying to pass time.

Morning dawned with an odd grey hue. As I looked out the back doors outside I was surprised to see several feet of snow on the ground. That was the thing about Washington in the winter. It can rain buckets and dump large amounts of precipitation in a short time. But if the temperature drops below freezing that makes for a lot of snow. Lake Samish was located in a bit of a pass and the roads were difficult to keep clear in show storms. I knew what the conditions were going to be like. Smart people would be staying home today.

I had just poured a large amount of cereal into a bowl when I heard the door crack open.

“Jessica?” his voice was surprisingly quite and hesitant and I couldn’t help but think it seemed unnatural for him.

“Yes?” I said as I felt slightly frantic that I was getting caught yet again in my pajamas.

He rounded the corner and I was slightly surprised at his appearance when he came into view. He was wearing a threadbare white tee-shirt that seemed several sizes too small, with the mascot from some high school in southern California. His bottom half was covered in red and black checkered pajama pants.

“Would you care to join me for breakfast?” he said, again that smile playing on his lips.

I glanced at my bowl of still dry cereal and nodded my head.

“Great,” he said, a dazzling smile breaking on his face. “It’s already.”

I considered putting something more covering on but after a moment thought there really wasn’t much point. He’d seen me as I was already.

I followed him up the stairs and my mouth started to water as the scent of bacon filled my nose. My stomach instantly growled embarrassingly loudly.

Alex chuckled as we came to the main floor. “Just in time it sounds like.”

Shock filled my expression as I took in the table. He must have been up for much longer than I had thought. The table was filled with piles of bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes. 

“Hope you’re hungry,” he said as he walked to the table and pulled a chair out for me. “I got a little carried away this morning.”

I took the seat he offered and noticed as my cheeks flushed red that the pancakes were pink and in heart shapes.

Alex took the seat next to me and started dishing food onto his plate. “Happy Valentine’s day,” he said as he glanced up at me for a moment.

I instantly stiffened for a moment. The pancakes and the big breakfast instantly made sense. I had almost forgotten that this day was upon us. It took me only a moment to calm myself by reminding myself that I didn’t have to face the hypocritical novelties of the holiday as long as I didn’t go out and the white fluffy stuff on the ground was certainly going to prevent that.

“And to you as well,” I finally managed to squeak out.  

“How’d you sleep last night?” he asked after swallowing a huge bite of eggs.

I nearly choked on my orange juice as it went down. I coughed violently for a second before I could speak. “Fine,” I lied as I put the glass back down before I accidently spilled it.

“You ok?” he asked and I couldn’t tell if his tone was sincere or slightly amused.

“Ya,” I said as I dabbed a napkin at my mouth to make sure there was nothing embarrassing there. “How did things in Bellingham with the lawyer go?” I asked, trying to very quickly change the subject before I had to lie any more.

“Ok, I guess,” he said and I was pleased with myself for diverting attention so easily. “It’s been rather boring but most of it’s done so that’s a relief. I can’t say lawyers are my most favorite people through. I feel like I can never fully trust a thing they say.”

I nodded my head as I shoveled a large bite of pancake into my mouth. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a hot breakfast.

“So what’s your plans for the day?” he asked.

I swallowed a large bite of bacon before I spoke. “Don’t really have any today. I certainly won’t be going anywhere,” I said as I looked out the window.

“There’s no lucky man on his way to take you out for a romantic Valentines?” he said with a wry smile.

I felt myself blush again under his gaze. “Nope, can’t say there is,” I said. “What about you? Is there a lady you’re going to rush off later to pick up?”

He gave a slight laugh. “Relationships have been pretty hard to maintain for me. It’s a little difficult to have them when you’re running all over the world. And I learned very quickly that long distance relationships just don’t work out.”

What he said made sense but part of me was shocked that this gorgeous specimen before me could possibly be single.

“At least we’ve got each other today,” he said as he looked back into his plate. I wasn’t sure how he had meant for me to interpret this. His tone was very innocent but not implying anything at the same time. At the same time my mind processed this I took note of how my heart gave a faint flutter before bursting into a throbbing race.

“It’s been a very long time since I have seen snow,” he continued casually. “I was thinking it might be fun to venture out into it for a while today. Would you care to join me?”

I looked out the window again. The snow would easily come above my knees. “I guess,” I said with a hesitant grin as I continued to look out the window, trying not to think how cold it had to be outside.

A boyish grin spread on his face as he turned his full attention back to his plate, eating at speeds much too quick.

“Whoa,” I laughed as I watched him. “Slow down, you’re going to choke. A little excited, are we?”

“Not going to waste any time,” he said through a mouthful of food.

His enthusiasm was contagious and I couldn’t help but be caught up in it as I too scarfed down the rest of the food on my plate.

As soon as we were both finished we sprang from our seats and raced down the stairs. As soon as I reached my door I froze.

“I don’t have any snow stuff,” I called to Alex, already in his room. “What should I wear?”

“I don’t either,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just going to put on as many layers as I can manage.”

I gave a shrug before going into my room and following his advice. A minute or so later Alex entered the apartment and I couldn’t help but laugh at his appearance. His legs were bulging and looked oddly swollen due to the several layers of pants. I could tell he had on several sweaters under his rain coat and he had a scarf wrapped around his neck and covering half his face and all this was topped with a thick wool hat.

“How do I look?” he said dramatically as he struck a pose.

“Amazing,” I said with a girlish giggle, not being completely sarcastic.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” he said with a wink as he looked at me.

I was dressed similarly, with so many layers of clothing it was difficult to move.

“Shall we?” he said as he indicated the door.

“Let’s go.”

As I expected, as soon as the door was opened a large pile of snow dumped it’s self onto my floor. After a moment we had both scooped it up and plowed our way through the wall. 

I had never seen any place more beautiful in the winter than Washington. It did not snow more than a dozen times in the winter but when it did the effect was enchanting. The way the snow left a soft dusting on the towering evergreens never ceased to stop me in my tracks for a moment and take in it’s beauty. It was breathtaking.

The property the house was set on was a fairly steep hill, dropping from the road above down quickly to the lake, the house clinging to the sloping side. One wrong step and it wouldn’t be too difficult to slide all the way from the top toward the frigid waters.

“This is why I love Washington,” Alex said as he paused on the deck to overlook the view before us. “Southern California is nice in its way but it doesn’t have half the beauty of here.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, watching as the stream curled from my mouth and drifted upward and disappeared. 

Alex glanced over at me and that sly smile threatened to break through. Just as I caught the mischievous gleam in his eye I already knew it was too late.

“Gotch ya!” he bellowed just as he dumped a handful of snow on my head.

By the time I screamed and wiped the snow off he was already half way up the hill, running toward the road. I bent down and picked up a handful of the powder and formed it into a ball. My aim was surprisingly accurate considering the many cumbering layers I wore and it landed square on the back of his head.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so lighthearted and care free as we chased each other around the house, each in turn throwing snowballs at the other. There weren’t too many times when I had allowed myself to be so relaxed around anyone, parents and friends included.

“I don’t think that’s the best spot to lay down,” I said with a laugh as I watched Alex lay right in the middle of the road.

He looked to his left then to his right before looking back up at me with a smirk. “I really don’t think anyone’s going to be driving on this road for quite a while.”

I had to admit he was probably right. Even though it was nearly ten there weren’t any tire tracks on the road yet. We were pretty well snowed in.

With a blissful sounding sigh he tilted his head back till he was laying perfectly flat on the snowy road. I chuckled at him and shook my head and looked across the road to the hill that rose up from it, wondering if we would be able to find a straight enough path to sled between the trees on it.

“Come make a snow angel with me, Jessica!” he said in innocent delight.

As I looked down I was fairly sure my heart stopped beating for a moment. Flashbacks filled my head as I beheld the perfectly beautiful man with piercing blue eyes and brilliant wings newly formed at his side.

“I…I…” I stammered, frozen in fear. My hands started shaking and I felt slightly weak in the knees. My ears started ringing and I couldn’t concentrate on any other sound than the ringing that wouldn’t stop. My breath came in sharp, painful bursts. The scar on the back of my neck prickled and started to burn.

“Jessica?” a voice called but it sounded muffled and very far away.

And then darkness swallowed me whole.