Читать книгу The Fighter Within - B. Cochrane Clark - Страница 5

Chapter 1

Her feet hit the pavement one after the other; mile after mile, she continued on. She felt as if she was on a nice leisurely stroll as opposed to the half-marathon run. It had taken her quite a while to get to this point in her fitness level. When she had first started out, hell, a half mile jog kicked her butt. It’s funny how a desk job can take a fit person from a level ten to a level zero in no time at all, it seemed. Even so, she pushed through all the pain and countless times she just wanted to lay down and die. Running seemed to be the only thing in her life she felt she could control. Her body. Her rules.

Music blasting through her headphones, she refused to give in to the urge to remember, to think at all. Lost in her music, she ran. She ran past houses, across bridges, and down what seemed to be an abandoned mountain road. The winter so far had been unusually mild, with only a few snowstorms that had the fields and hills covered in snow. The roads, however, were mostly clear, allowing her to be outside running instead of on that damn treadmill. She used it when she had to, but if there was any way to be outside running, then that is what she did. The cold didn’t bother her; in fact, sometimes the cold was what she craved. It helped numb every last bit of her, and that was what she needed, to not feel. Inhaling deeply, the bitter cold mountain air filled her lungs and her entire body. This was as close to calm as she had felt in almost a year.

Wow, a year. Had it really been that long? It still felt like yesterday when she was getting out of that hospital.

It had been just over a week when she woke up in the ER and Dr. Anderson informed her that she had been brutally raped, beaten, and left for dead.

“Good morning, Sydney! Are you ready to finally get out of here?” Dr. Anderson asked her.

“More than you could ever imagine, Doc.”

“Well, let’s check you over one more time and have Nurse Jillian take your vitals, and assuming all of that checks out, I’ll have the nurses prepare your discharge.”

Sydney smiled and sighed with relief. They were all super nice here at the hospital, but, let’s face it, she was ready to get out of here. Her face was still swollen a bit from her broken cheekbone and fractured nose, and she was sure the yellowing around her eyes left from the bruises would never go away. Her rib cage was starting to heal some, but there was no denying the pain of four broken ribs. Unfortunately, the doctor said there was not much they could do for those. Wrapping them to apply pressure helped very little, but a little is better than nothing. Nevertheless, she needed to get out and find the slime who put her in there. “Thank you, Doc.”

“No!” Sidney screamed out loud. “I will not let you have that power! I will not let you run my thoughts!” Turning her music up louder, she pushed herself harder. Running faster and faster, like if she ran fast enough, she could lose each and every memory completely. Hoping she would lose them for good.

Taking the last curve up the steep mountain road, her cabin came into view. The last cabin on this road, with not a single neighbor for at least a mile. She loved it that way, she needed it that way.

As she stepped into the cabins back door into the laundry room, she was greeted by her overly excited German shepherd, Nikita. At ten months old, she was a ball of fire. Sydney had gotten her about a month after the incident, to distract her thoughts and help calm her, and secretly, she was also hoping Nikita would be a mean-ass dog. That way, if anyone messed with her, they would regret it. Even though she was the sweetest and most adorable pup. She was light brown with a dark-chocolate, almost black, pattern down her back that cascaded down her right front shoulder to the top of her leg. She also had the most adorable dark patch over her nose, making her look as though she had gotten into a German chocolate cake, leaving the evidence on her nose. Sydney still held out some hope that she could be mean if need be.

“Nikita, baby, how’s my girl? Did you miss me? Maybe next time I’ll bring you with me. I just needed some alone time this time, girl.”

After giving the pup the attention she demanded, Sydney kicked her shoes off by the back door on the shoe mat and headed to the kitchen to refuel her body. She was in need of some cold water and a protein shake.

Her cabin wasn’t huge, but it was big enough for a family. With two bedrooms and a bath downstairs and her bedroom in the loft upstairs with a rather large bathroom, it sometimes felt like a lonely mansion with only her to fill it. As she stepped out of the laundry room into the hall, straight across from her was the larger of the spare rooms. The log walls were decorated with pictures of her family. Some of her grandparents, but her favorite of them all was an old black-and-white of her great-grandparents in front of the original cabin that they built by hand in this very spot in 1949. They raised all three of their kids here. Her grandmother, the youngest of the three, along with her husband, bought it from them when they decided it was time for less work and more play. Her great-grandparents then bought a small cozy home near Helena and then traveled, more places than Sydney could count. She only hoped that one day she could be so lucky.

Her grandma and grandpa then raised their family here. In 2003, an electrical fire broke out and destroyed almost everything. Sydney had always admired her grandparents for how strong they were to overcome such a huge tragedy and rebuild the cabin that stood here today. Her grandmother would tell her the story of the fire and the rebuild, and when it made Sydney sad for them, she would say, “Possessions can always be replaced. I am the luckiest woman in the world because I still have my family. And, besides, I’ve got to create my own cabin this way.” She would say this with the cutest little grin. “Your grandpa was always dragging his feet and moaning and groaning when I would suggest remodeling. So, as tragic as it was, look what we got to create,” she would say as she pointed around her cabin.

About four months ago, they made the decision to downsize, and Sydney quickly took them up on their more than generous offer to buy the cabin from them. They were not charging her interest, and she could make payments directly to them. Such amazing grandparents she had. Always so giving. If it wasn’t for them, she would never be able to have a place like this. She just hoped that one day she could fill this cabin with a family of her own.

Turning down the hall, she passed the bathroom on her right and then the smaller of the two downstairs bedrooms on her left. The stone-looking-tile floor along with the log walls gave the cabin a real mountain feel to it. As she neared the end of the hall, the den on her right started to come into view, with a fireplace in the corner at the front of the cabin and beanbags around it, her addition to the cozy cabin. A lounge couch sat on the opposite side of the den along with an antique oval coffee table she had gotten from a flea market. The stairs against the outer wall between the fireplace and the sofa led up to her loft bedroom and bathroom. The den was one of her favorite places to be, at least in the winter, when it was too cold to hang out on the front porch for too long.

The front door to the cabin was directly ahead of her, between the den and the kitchen. It led out to the front porch that wrapped around the front of the cabin and back along the sides for about ten feet. It had steps straight out the front and a set of steps off the kitchen side that led to a stone walkway. In the summer, it was lined with a mixture of colorful flowers. The stone path ended at the back of the cabin where a firepit sat surrounded with logs for seating.

The open kitchen was directly across from the den, with the dining room table in the corner next to the wall of the bedroom and a large bay window overlooking the stone walkway. The fridge next to the bay window had the stainless-steel look, but it was the kind that didn’t get fingerprints horribly like the real stuff. In fact, all the appliances in the kitchen were the same fake look. Her grandma had told her one time that she didn’t have time for such nonsense as to go behind everyone all day wiping their dirty little paw prints from everything.

Next to the fridge, the counter started, dark, almost black, granite countertops and dark walnut cupboards warm and inviting. The kitchen island was curved, creating an open kitchen, but one that was still somewhat separate from the den. The kitchen sink sat on the lower level of the island, backed by a bar tabletop on the den side.

“Hey, sis! How was your little jaunt?” Tessa blurted out as she popped up from whatever she was doing under the sink, scaring the daylights out of Sydney.

“Holy shit, Tess, you scared the crap out of me. Warn someone when you just ‘pop by,’ would ya! I didn’t even see your car. Where in the world did you park?”

“Sorry, Syd, Jake dropped me off. He’s going to change the oil and all that fun stuff on my car tomorrow morning for me. He is such a sweetie! Oh, and I told him you would drop me off at home after we get done shopping. I do need to make sure I have time to get ready for our date, though. It is Valentine’s day tomorrow, you know.” Tess batted her eyes and smiled in an overdramatic fashion. “I am so lucky, sis. Jake is such an amazing guy.”

“Yes, you are lucky, so you better be nice to this one and not boss him around too much. You have to let him get his way occasionally,” Sydney teased her sister.

“Of course I do, all the time.” Tess giggled.

“Sure you do,” Sydney said rolling her eyes.

“I do, at least once in a while,” she admitted. “Besides I thought you would remember I was coming up this weekend. After all, I have been hounding you about coming to see you for weeks.” Tessa beamed as she rushed over and threw her arms around her sister, squeezing her until Sydney was positive her eyeballs were popping out of her head like one of those stupid toys. “I am so happy you finally caved!” Tessa squealed.

“For heaven’s sake, Tess! I missed you too, but if you don’t let me go you will need to revive my limp broken body from the floor,” Sydney choked out, trying to breathe. “It hasn’t been that long anyway, just a couple of weeks.”

“I know, but that was just for dinner with Dad and Mom. It’s not like we got to spend any sister time together. We used to hang out a lot before…” Tessa bit her lip knowing she had slipped up. The last thing she wanted to do was to open old wounds. That was not what this weekend was about.

“Before my big old inconvenient evening?” Sydney blurted. Watching her beautiful sister’s smile disappear, Sydney felt the guilt waft over her. She knew that was not what Tess meant and that she did not feel that way. What was going on with her? She had good days and bad, but usually there was a reason for the bad. Today it just came out of the blue.

“Tessa, I’m sorry. I don’t know what it is with me today. I just seem to be on edge. Even when I was out for my run, it was plaguing me.”

Tessa smiled softly at her big sister. She wished Sydney could see what she saw when she looked at her. She had no idea how strong and capable she really was. “Syd, I know, and it’s all good! We have much better things to talk about. Like, oh yeah, I’m getting married!” Tessa shouted at the top of her lungs.

Sydney could see the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about her fiancé, Jake Stetsman. He seemed to be a great guy, very caring and strong-willed. Something he would have to be to not get run over by her very stubborn and opinionated sister. Tessa, however, was also the kindest person Sydney knew.

When they were little, Tess was always standing up for the weaker kids on the playground. It did land her in detention a couple of times when she took it a little far. Like the time Timmy Robins was picking on one of the other boys, bullying him around. Well, Tess wouldn’t have any of it and stepped in to help the poor kid. Timmy didn’t heed the warning Tessa gave him, so she doubled up her fist, caulked it back like she was getting ready to fire a shotgun, and, yep, broke the poor kid’s nose. On the bright side, Timmy never did pick on anyone else, and last Sydney had heard, he was a social worker. Tessa always said she put him on the right path, that if it wasn’t for her, he would be in some drug-ridden sleaze hole or in jail. No modesty there.

“Tess, I couldn’t be happier for you. Nobody deserves to be more blissfully happy than you!”

“That’s not true, sis, you do. I wish you could see that. You should let yourself enjoy life.”

“Well, this isn’t about me, is it? This weekend is all about you and picking out the most amazing wedding dress anyone has ever laid their eyes on,” Sydney said as she twirled around like Cinderella when her fairy godmother turned her rags into a beautiful gown.

“I can’t believe I am getting to marry my best friend, and it’s only a little over a month away. I think the first day of spring is the perfect day, don’t you? The start of a new life, very fitting. I wish I could put into words how I feel inside.” Tessa pondered. Then, with a sly grin creeping onto her beautiful mischievous face, she continued, “It’s like standing on a cliff looking down into the ocean. Knowing that there is a huge treasure just below the surface. You’ll be rich beyond your wildest dreams if you just jump. Sure, it’s terrifying, but it’s exhilarating all at the same time.”

“Sounds like maybe I’ll just stay broke. There won’t be any cliff-diving in my life,” Sydney chuckled.

“Oh, you say that now, but just wait. One day you won’t even know what hit you,” Tessa said, turning back to the oven, flipping on the light to check on whatever she was cooking.

To Sydney’s surprise, she hadn’t even noticed her sister had dinner almost ready. “Dang, Syd, how distracted are you to not even notice the smell when you came in? You need to get your head on straight,” Sydney mumbled to herself.

“What was that, Syd?”

“Oh, nothing. What is that wonderful smell? Is that lasagna you’re making?” Sydney was pretty sure she was drooling. Trying to stay in shape, she had limited her carbs big time. Lean and fit means not much fun in the food department.

Sydney washed up and jumped in to help her sister finish chopping up lettuce and veggies for a salad while Tess pulled the lasagna from the oven.

The rest of the evening was spent laughing and chatting up old times along with making plans for the weekend and all the shopping they needed to get done.