Читать книгу Fourth To Run - Carys Jones - Страница 8
ОглавлениеOnce Upon a Dream
Aiden rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of the bedroom. Turning onto his side, a small smile pulled on the edges of his mouth. He could smell her all around him; the small room carried the sweet scent of vanilla. Reaching forward he navigated the far side of the bed with his hand. He was expecting to find her sleeping soundly beside him. He’d pull her close; plant a soft kiss upon her forehead and then fall back asleep listening to the steady rhythm of her gentle breaths.
But his hand found only empty sheets during his exploration of the bed. Startled, Aiden sat up and squinted against the lack of light. His heart was instantly racing. Clumsily he turned towards his own side of the bed and fumbled for the switch of a nearby lamp. After several attempts he found it and bright, florescent light burned across his face. Wincing, Aiden turned from the lamp and looked back at the bed. With the added light he could see with certainty that it was definitely empty, the sheets pulled back as someone had vacated the room while he slept.
“Brandy?” He called out her name with a strange sense of uncertainty. Each time he awoke and found her sleeping beside him, he feared that he had somehow wandered into a waking dream and that she couldn’t possibly be there. The pillow was indented where her head had previously been but all that remained of her in the room was the vanilla fragrance lurking behind like a pleasant aftertaste.
Aiden raked his hands through his hair and got out of bed. Wearing only his boxers, he headed downstairs, his heart pounding so ferociously in his chest that he could hear it echo in his ears.
“Brandy?” He said her name again, louder and with more clarity, but as he descended the staircase he was met with only more darkness. As his bare feet connected with the wooden floor of the lounge, he noticed the chill in the air which was successfully banishing the oppressive heat of the previous day. Instinctively Aiden looked over to the patio doors which had been pulled open. A cool breeze fluttered in and danced around his bare legs, causing them to prickle with goose bumps.
“Brandy?”
Aiden approached the open doors and looked out into the garden. He immediately saw her, his eyes drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She was sitting cross-legged on the lawn, wearing her nightdress, with her head upturned towards the sky. The moon overhead bathed her in an ethereal silver light making her seem impossibly angelic.
“Brandy, what are you doing out here?” Aiden shivered as he stepped outside and moved towards her. The sun which had previously burned down from above now felt like nothing more than a distant memory.
“Oh, Aid.” Brandy turned her head to look at him, her eyes glistening in the moonlight. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“No,” Aiden lowered himself down onto the grass and sat beside her. The moisture which clung to the blades of grass dampened his bare skin.
“I just woke up and realized you weren’t there,” he explained. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Brandy’s lips arched in to a perfect smile and she turned away from him to look back up at the sky.
“I just couldn’t sleep,” she admitted. “I’d forgotten how still the night is here. I never thought I’d miss the sound of car horns.”
Aiden carefully looped an arm across her shoulders. He felt Brandy relax beneath his touch. She was cold but her skin remained smooth.
“I always used to sit and look up at the stars when I lived in Avalon,” Brandy recalled wistfully.
“So much changes down here but they remain constant.”
Aiden tilted his head upwards so that he too was gazing upon the stars. It was a clear evening so his vision wasn’t obscured by any stray clouds. All he could see was the impressive infinity that was the universe. Stars glittered against the dense backdrop of the night sky like the rarest of diamonds. Presiding over them all was the silvery face of the moon; full and magical.
With a twinge of regret Aiden realized that this was the first time since moving to Avalon that he’d actually taken the time to fully appreciate the majesty of the night sky. Without the lights of the city to battle against, the natural wonder of the stars in the heavens looked most impressive.
He remembered how as a boy living in Greensburg he’d look up the stars as he lay side by side with his friends in the grass. Seeing those distant suns somehow emboldened them and made them want to do great things. All except Justin. He would roll onto his side and curse the stars for their ability to make his existence seem insignificant.
“There is so much beauty up there,” Brandy whispered in awe. Her soft voice brought Aiden back into the moment and he pulled her close to him as they both continued to look up.
“I wish we could see all the stars, but some are too far away.”
“I remember you telling me once how just because we can’t see a star it doesn’t mean it doesn’t sparkle.” Aiden recalled fondly.
“You remember that?” Brandy lowered her gaze so that she was looking in to his eyes.
“Yeah,” Aiden admitted with a shy smile. “I remember everything about you.”
Beneath the glittering stars he tilted his head down towards Brandy and softly placed his lips upon hers. It felt so good to kiss her, so natural. He raised a hand to stroke her cheek, savoring how she felt beneath his fingertips. He had yearned for so long to be able to touch her in this way.
*
Aiden woke up and stretched. He expected to find himself in his own bed but his senses were suddenly jolted into a state of alertness when he registered the morning sun pressing upon his eyes and the grass beneath his back. Sitting up, Aiden felt lightheaded for a moment, but as the feeling swiftly passed he realized he was in his own back garden. The events from the previous night filtered back to him like a pleasant dream. He’d wandered downstairs and found Brandy sat upon the lawn and then…
A cheeky smile streaked across Aiden’s face. He rubbed his cheeks which were already bristled with morning stubble and awkwardly stood up. His entire body ached from sleeping against the hard ground. But despite the burning tension in his joints, his mood was as bright as the golden morning sunshine. The stars overhead were now gone, replaced by a brilliant ocean of seemingly endless blue sky.
Aiden entered his house and was greeted by the hearty aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He followed the scent towards the kitchen where Brandy was hovering over the stove making pancakes, still in her nightdress.
“Did we actually sleep in the garden?” Aiden laughed as he came up behind her and placed his hands on her slender waist.
“Well, you did,” Brandy laughed lightly. “I just sat and enjoyed the quiet.”
“I thought you missed the noise of the city.”
“I do.” Brandy nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t also enjoy the quiet. I’d forgotten all the things I liked about Avalon. Like how bright the stars shine here.”
“Yeah,” Aiden felt intoxicated by Brandy’s presence. She had the power to make him forget about almost everything. But there was no escaping reality, no matter how much he yearned to.
“Shit!” Aiden’s eyes shot up at the clock on the wall. It told him it was seven in the morning. He needed to be getting ready for work.
“I need to go and shower, I can’t be late again!”
“Don’t you own the firm?” Brandy shouted after him as he sprinted up the stairs towards the bathroom.
“Yes, but try telling Betty that!” Aiden called back.
*
It was just before eight when Aiden arrived at the offices of Copes and May and, predictably, Betty was waiting outside the front door, her purse neatly clasped in her hands. She smiled thinly in greeting at Aiden as he hastily locked his car and fumbled for the keys to the office.
“You know, Betty, you don’t have to wait for me to arrive before opening up,” Aiden told her for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Nonsense,” Betty chided him as she politely waited for him to open the door. “I want you to feel like this firm is yours. Opening up each morning will give you a sense of ownership.”
Aiden wanted to point out that the firm would feel much more like it was his if Betty would stop insisting on telling him what to do. But he was grateful for the old woman’s guidance. She was, after all, just keen to help and make the transition to their new working model all the easier.
Even though the hour was early it was already hot outside. Aiden was glad to enter the dark coolness of the office. Each morning he made sure to turn on the air conditioning so that Betty couldn’t overheat.
“Here’s to a good day,” Betty smiled as she purposefully walked past him towards her desk.
“I’ll go get us some drinks.” Aiden nodded at her. The routine was always the same. Aiden would open up and then head across the street to pick up some drinks and snacks for them. But the weight of words still unspoken were beginning to weigh heavy on Aiden. Betty was oblivious to the fact that Brandy was now living with him. It had been three weeks and she’d yet to step foot beyond his house. He knew he couldn’t keep her a secret forever. And once one person knew, the whole of Avalon would know. Gossip spread faster than any virus ever could.
Aiden was just starting to feel like he belonged. In the morning people would greet him with a smile. In bequeathing his firm to Aiden, his late colleague Edmond had publically placed a seal of approval upon the younger man and Avalon had responded. He wasn’t a pariah; he was almost one of them. If the town learned that Brandy was now in his life all that would change, he’d go back to being demonized. As loath as he was to admit it, Aiden quite liked being in people’s good graces. It certainly made working in Avalon much easier.
“Here you go.” Aiden placed a Styrofoam cup of earl grey tea and a croissant upon Betty’s desk. She nodded politely at Aiden and then returned her attention to her computer screen where she was already busily managing emails which had come in.
Aiden moved beyond her towards his own office. It was a sleek, modern space with hard wood floors and a grand desk boasting two computer monitors. Cooled air was already circulating thanks to the air conditioning system. Aiden dropped his briefcase by his desk and sat down in his leather chair. With a sigh he recalled that it hadn’t always been like this. When he first worked at Copes and May, the offices were shabby and he hadn’t been alone. His graze drifted, as it always did, to the part of the room where Edmond Copes’ desk had once stood.
A hole opened up in Aiden’s chest as he recalled the older man who had brought him to Avalon in the first place. Aiden lifted his cup of fresh coffee and toasted the emptiness.
“Here’s to you, Edmond.”
Aiden felt his shoulders slump as he considered that Edmond would have been the one person in Avalon who would have welcomed Brandy’s return, the one person who would have embraced Aiden’s new-found happiness.
Rubbing his hand across his eyes, Aiden did his best to banish his sorrow and focus on the working day ahead.
*
Aiden was about to leave the office for the day when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. With a slight groan he retrieved it, assuming it was a work call which would delay his departure. His heart seized in his chest when he saw a Chicago number flashing on the screen. Quickly he dragged his finger across the digital screen and answered the call.
“Hello?” His tone was curt and formal.
“Daddy?” came a light voice from the other end of the line.
Aiden felt his entire body sag with surprised delight.
“Meegan!” He gripped the phone, pressing it tightly against his ear. He didn’t want to miss a single sound his daughter made.
“How are you, sweetheart?”
“I have three new Barbies!” Meegan told her father proudly.
“Three?” Aiden smiled to himself. “That’s a lot.”
Two of them he’d sent to her by courier delivery. He felt relieved to know that they had arrived safely.
“Bonnie, Mindy and…” Meegan prolonged the ‘and’ as she struggled to remember the name of her third new doll. Aiden heard someone whisper a name in the background.
“Blue!” Meegan squealed excitedly, delighted to have remembered all their names.
“Those are lovely names,” Aiden told her warmly.
“Me choose!”
“You’re a clever girl.”
“Give Mommy the phone.” He heard Isla’s voice and Aiden straightened in his seat. Seconds later she had replaced Meegan on the call.
“Aid, hey.” Her tone wasn’t cold but it wasn’t warm either.
“Isla, hi.” Aiden tried to sound equally neutral as he nervously unbuttoned the top of his shirt.
“She really wanted to call you,” Isla explained, sounding almost apologetic.
“That’s fine!” Aiden insisted a little too enthusiastically. “I love hearing from her! From you both,” he added diplomatically.
“Thanks for the dolls, she loved them.”
“I’m glad they got there okay.”
“So what’s new with you?” Isla brightened slightly as she asked the question. Aiden felt his airwaves begin to constrict as he nervously floundered on the other end of the line. Isla, like the rest of Avalon, had yet to find out that he was now living with Brandy. He feared that if he invoked his estranged wife’s jealousy she could keep Meegan from him to be cruel. He liked to think that Isla wouldn’t sink to such levels but he also didn’t want to test her capacity for petty revenge.
“Not much.” Aiden shrugged as he sat at his desk. “I’ve been busy with work, just trying to get everything straight since—” His voice broke off. Since Edmond’s death. But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, they still felt too final.
“I bet it has been busy…adjusting,” Isla replied carefully.
“What about you? What’s new with you?”
“I should really go,” Isla announced a little too quickly. For a moment Aiden wondered if it was just his imagination as she suddenly seemed extremely worked up.
“Isla, is everything alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine, I’m just late for a yoga class. Maybe next time call a bit later.”
Aiden was about to point out that he hadn’t been the one to make the call but the line went dead before he could speak. Bemused, he pulled the cell phone from his ear and regarded it suspiciously. Isla was definitely acting strangely. Was she hiding something? The thought made his pulse quicken.
Or was it someone? His mind darkened as he imagined a new man in both his wife and daughter’s life. He was about to call them back when the door to his office creaked open and Betty peered round to look at him.
“I’m heading home if that’s alright with you Mr— Sorry, Aiden?” Her glasses were perched precariously on the end of her nose as she looked down through them to regard him.
“That’s fine, Betty. I’m clocking off now too.” Aiden smiled and stood up and began rummaging in his pocket for the keys to both the office and his car.
“The sun hasn’t stopped shining today,” Betty commented by the door.
“It’s been a beautiful day,” Aiden agreed.
“He always loved sunny days,” Betty said with a bittersweet smile as her gaze dropped to the ground.
“Yes.” Aiden nodded and shrugged on his jacket. “He did.”
*
Brandy was standing in the small kitchen of Aiden’s home facing the cooker. All around her the cupboard doors were wide open exposing their contents. She scanned the interior of each cupboard as she remained rooted to the spot.
There were tins of corn and beans, boxes of cereals, bags of sugar. Brandy tried to take a mental inventory of everything that was on display. She was so consumed by the task that she failed to hear Aiden’s car pulling up on the driveway or the subsequent opening of the front door. She was still standing gazing around the kitchen intently when Aiden came up behind her and looped an arm around her waist before gently grazing her cheek with a warm kiss.
Brandy jumped at his touch. He’d surprised her. But what was more surprising was the realization that she’d spent the better part of an hour staring into the cupboards.
“What time is it?” she asked with a start.
“Quarter past five,” Aiden explained as he moved past her to drop his briefcase on to the table. He glanced around at the open cupboards and noticed Brandy’s pained expression.
“Is everything alright?”
Brandy nodded stiffly but her lips pulled into a sharp line.
“Are you sure?” Aiden took a step towards her and placed his hands on her slight shoulders.
“How come all the cupboards are open?”
Brandy’s lower lip started to tremble.
“I…,” She cleared her throat nervously. “I was just trying to get to know my way around your kitchen. Trying to learn where everything was but…” her entire body crumpled and she raised a hand to her temple and sighed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Aiden asked tenderly.
“It’s everything!” Brandy shook herself loose of his grip and stepped back from him. “It’s this kitchen, this house, this place!”
She gestured around the room as she spoke.
“I wanted to cook you dinner, to make this place feel homely but I can’t because this isn’t my home, it’s hers. Everywhere I go she’s there. I feel like an … intruder!”
Brandy thought of the apartment she had left back in Chicago. A space which had firmly been hers. Now she was a stranger in a home living in another woman’s shadow and it was taking its toll on her.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not being ridiculous!” Brandy cried defensively. “This was her home, Aiden. Where she lived with you, with your daughter. She chose the drapes, the carpets. She made this place a home and now I’m here like some imposter! I hate myself sometimes!”
Frustrated tears glistened in Brandy’s dark eyes.
“First of all, she didn’t choose the drapes, or the carpets. Nothing has been done to the house since I moved here. Second, you are not an imposter! Don’t ever hate yourself!”
“Then why keep me locked inside like some secret shame?” Brandy shot at him, her pooled tears now burning against the heat of the accusation. “I’ve not been out once, Aiden! And this was my home town once!”
“I didn’t think you’d want to go out!” Aiden defended himself. “I thought you wanted to remain here, away from the judgement of Avalon.”
“I did, I do!” Brandy threw her hands in to the air in frustration. “I was building a life for myself in Chicago…” The anger in her eyes thawed into sorrow. Slowly she lowered herself in to a nearby dining chair.
“I had my piano and the salon. I had purpose. I was discovering who I was. Here, it’s like I’m Brandy White again instead of being Brandy Cotton. I just sit in a house all day and wait for my man to return.”
She dropped her head in o her hands. Aiden placed a comforting hand on her back and pulled another chair up beside her.
“I didn’t know you felt like that.”
“I want to feel proud to be here.” Brandy lifted her head and wiped some stray tears from her cheeks.
“I want to walk the streets of Avalon and hold my head up high. I want to keep playing my piano and I want your house to feel like home.”
“And it will,” Aiden insisted, reaching forward and tucking a stray lock of bright-blonde hair behind her ear.
“It takes time to adjust,” he sympathized. “And you’re right, this house should feel like home to you. Tomorrow, let’s go to Home Depot and you can pick out everything you like. Hell, you can even order a piano online if you like!”
“Really?” Brandy’s face brightened, revealing her magnetic smile which instantly lit up the room.
But her smile quickly died on her lips as she furrowed her brow and looked at Aiden with concern pinching at the edge of her eyes.
“I can’t just take your money, Aiden. I have some of my own to pay for things but not much. I need to pay my own way. I can’t be a kept woman like I was with Brandon.”
A chill shot down her spine upon saying her deceased husband’s name. Brandy did her best to banish the sensation and focus on Aiden’s loving, attentive gaze.
“We’ll figure it all out,” Aiden promised her. “You most certainly will not be a kept woman. You’re a gifted piano player and I’ve no doubt you could earn money from that.”
Brandy nodded hesitantly.
“I just want you to be happy.” Aiden edged closer to her so that their noses were almost touching. “We’ve both suffered in unhappy marriages which means we’ll work harder to make this relationship work.”
“So we’ll go pick some stuff out at Home Depot?” Brandy clearly couldn’t hide her excitement at the prospect as her eyes glistened and a faint smile tugged on her ruby lips.
“We’ll get whatever you want,” Aiden grinned. He was so close Brandy could smell his cologne which was still strong even after a day in the office. He smelled so good. Brandy wanted to reach out and pinch his cheek to make sure he was real. She’d wanted this for so long; for their life together. But she was quickly learning that even happy endings aren’t perfect.
“I love you,” she whispered into the small space between them. Her heart swelled as she released the sentiment. Chicago offered her everything she’d ever wanted; except Aiden. She’d moved her entire life for him but she didn’t regret it. Love was so rare and precious she knew it was worth fighting for, worth moving for.
“I love you too,” Aiden echoed. Then he reached for the back of her head and drew her lips against his. At first the kiss was soft and delicate, but it quickly deepened. Brandy lost herself in Aiden’s embrace, managing to forget all about her anxieties over living in Avalon.
*
“Mommy, who that man?” Meegan asked, her eyes rounded with curiosity. She was holding her third doll, the one which had come via the stranger.
“I’ve told you,” Isla rolled her eyes at her daughter’s reflection as she sat at her vanity unit and applied her make-up in the mirror.
From the bed Meegan watched her mother get ready for a night out and bunched her face up in confusion.
“Who that man?” she repeated, stroking the hair of her new doll. Her small legs kicked over the edge of the bed and she spluttered slightly against the overly perfumed air surrounding Isla. But she refused to go back to her own room. She loved watching her mother get ready and apply her make-up, it was like watching a magic show. At the start her mother was normal but by the end she looked like a princess.
“How many times?” Isla uttered in annoyance. “His name is Guy, okay? Now, do you want Mommy to put some blusher on your cheeks or not?”
Meegan eagerly hopped off the bed with a giggle and raised her dimpled cheeks up towards her mother’s large brush which was dusted with rose-tinted powder.
*
The nearest Home Depot was located about an hour outside of Avalon. Brandy wound down the car windows as they drove, savoring the sensation of the warm air pressing against her cheeks and dancing through her hair. In Chicago the air always felt heavy as though it were weighed down by too many scents. Here the air was lighter, purer. It smelled of heated Tarmac and Brandy found it oddly comforting.
Aiden drummed his hands against the steering wheel in time to the country song which was playing on the radio. Brandy arched an eyebrow in his direction as she noticed the absent smile he wore as he mirrored the rhythm with his hands.
“Since when do you like country music?” she laughed. Aiden ceased drumming, his cheeks turning red.
“I guess it has grown on me since I’ve moved here,” he explained, his hands now still against the wheel.
“Country music is the best music,” Brandy enthused as she stretched back in her seat and briefly hummed along to the melody.
“It’s sung by real people who understand real pain,” she continued.
They drove on without saying another word, letting the music from the radio fill the space between them. Brandy continued to hum along and after several minutes Aiden resumed drumming his hands on the steering wheel.
*
The parking lot for Home Depot was about half full which wasn’t that surprising considering it was late on a Saturday morning. Aiden stepped out and stretched, his limbs grateful for the release after an hour behind the wheel.
“Wow, it’s pretty big,” Brandy observed as she took in the vast building looming up at the far end of the parking lot. It was modest in design but not in scale. It’s flat roof and long bare walls cut an imposing figure on the landscape.
Aiden compared the building to Eastham Prison where he had first met Brandy. It gave off the same feeling of being a structure built for a sole purpose; to house something within. There was no warmth to the building, no unnecessary embellishments. The store’s logo was attached to the far end of the wall, just above the entrance. Everything seemed simple and functional, just like they had at the prison.
“Not the most pleasant place to look at, is it?” Brandy turned and asked, her tone bright. Aiden wondered if perhaps she had made the same comparison as he had. But the sparkle in her eyes convinced him otherwise. She seemed only to be brimming with excitement.
“There must be so much stuff inside!” Brandy continued as they walked towards the entrance. Aiden could already feel his skin heating beneath the exposed sun.
“Have you never been here before?” he wondered as he slipped his own hand against Brandy’s and intertwined their fingers. His pulse quickened upon the connection but he tried to appear calm and collected but he couldn’t deny the thrill which sparked through him, igniting all his senses. He felt like all his emotions were being jumbled together as if he were a teenager with a crush.
Brandy squeezed his hand and gave him a shy smile. Her cheeks were slightly flushed which pleased Aiden; clearly holding his hand had the same effect on her.
“No, I’ve erm…not been before,” Brandy answered as they moved out of the heat and into the welcome cool of the store. The sudden change in temperature was almost unnerving. Aiden’s previously warme skin instantly broke out in goose bumps.
“I didn’t really get out much when I was in Avalon,” Brandy added with an edge of melancholy. Aiden released her hand so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.
“Well I’m going to take you everywhere!” he promised with a sincere smile.
“I look forward to it.”
They grabbed a shopping cart and sauntered behind it as they went deeper into the store. Together they drifted down the aisles as if in a dream. They were oblivious to the other shoppers around them; lost in their own private world.
Brandy cooed and giggled over various items she found and the cart soon began to fill up with curtains, cushions and tins of paint. Aiden watched in quiet awe as Brandy excitedly wandered up yet another aisle, approaching everything with childlike wonder. He envied her ability to always see the good in the world, he also admired it. Despite everything she’d been through; the hardships of her early life, the brutality of her first marriage and finally being wrongly accused of murder, she still retained a bright, optimistic outlook. The life she’d endured would have crushed most people’s spirits but Brandy had arose from the ashes like a golden phoenix; powerful and beautiful.
“What about this?” Brandy was holding a scented candle jar. She drew it up to her nose and sniffed deeply. Her face crinkled slightly and then she smiled.
“Ooh, it smells like winter,” she gushed approvingly. “Smell it!” she held out the candle to Aiden and he lowered himself so that he could sniff the colored wax. He had to admit that it did indeed smell of winter. There were hints of pine needles with undertones of candy cane.
“It would be a nice candle to light at Christmas,” Brandy was holding the candle up to her eye line, turning it round and scrutinizing it in great detail as though it were some wondrous artefact she had just discovered.
“Well what have we here?” The smile which Aiden had been wearing promptly fell. His entire body stiffened as he turned in the direction of the voice; a voice he knew all too well.
A feeling of dread washed over Aiden as he glanced down the aisle and saw Clyde White standing just behind him. He was holding a basket in which a few modest items had been placed. Clyde looked first at Aiden and then his gaze passed to Brandy.
Aiden wanted to grab Brandy’s hand, turn and run back down the long aisle, whisking her away from Clyde White and his cruel judgement. The goliath within Avalon’s community would surely still hold a grudge against her, refusing to accept that she wasn’t to blame for his beloved son, Brandon’s death. The blame for the crime lay with the real killer, Father West, but like most of Avalon, Clyde was reluctant to accept such a truth.
“Out for a little shopping trip?” Clyde asked. He delivered the question pleasantly enough but his words were dripping with malice. His hand tightened its grip on his basket as his eyes darkened and narrowed.
Brandy nervously dropped the candle she had been holding into the shopping cart and stood behind it, using it as a barrier between her and Clyde.
“I see you’ve bought the Whore of Babylon with you,” Clyde remarked cruelly. Aiden clenched his jaw and reminded himself to remain calm.
“I didn’t even know your wife had left town,” Clyde continued. “I bet her bed is still warm. Are there no depths you won’t sink to?” He lifted his gaze to deliver the question directly to Brandy.
“Leave her alone,” Aiden ordered sternly, instinctively wanting to protect Brandy from Clyde’s barbed words.
“So are you two like a thing now?” Clyde spoke with a supercilious air.
“Yes,” Aiden nodded. “We’re together.” He knew it was going to come out sooner or later. In less than an hour all of Avalon would know and they’d be waiting at his home upon his return with their pitchforks sharpened. But he loved Brandy; there was no shame in that. Yet his cheeks burned and he wasn’t sure it was solely from anger.
“Did you run his poor wife out of town?” Clyde sneered as he addressed Brandy, his contempt for her obvious.
“You always were a wicked little viper. Be careful.” His stony gaze flickered back to Aiden. “This one will ruin you like she did my son.”
“Clyde…” Aiden raised his hands in a placating gesture but Brandy jumped in before he could continue.
“I’m just trying to get on with my life, Mr White! Avalon was my home once and I’m hoping it can be again. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Avalon will never be your home!” Clyde spat the words through barely parted lips. “You’ll always be hated here. You’re a fool to return.”
He gave the couple one last hateful look before turning back down the corridor. But then he paused, briefly turning on his heel as if forgetting something.
“I hope you see him everywhere you go,” he barked, the veins on his neck beginning to tremble. Aiden held his breath. He was willing the older man to leave, not to stir any further trouble and cause a scene.
“I know I do,” he added somewhat sadly, his head lowering. Then he continued to walk away. He’d almost reached the end of the aisle when he plucked his cell phone from his pocket. Aiden shuddered as he realized the judgement he’d soon be facing from everyone in Avalon. He was least looking forward to explaining himself to Betty. They were in such a good place professionally now; all that would be undone.
Brandy sniffed and wiped a hand across her eyes, slightly smudging the mascara she’d carefully applied that morning.
“Are you okay?” The sound brought Aiden back to the present. He reached for her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll always be hated here,” Brandy stated bleakly. She looked up towards the fluorescent lights overhead, blinking rapidly.
“Don’t listen to Clyde White, he’s just a bitter old man.”
“He’s wrong anyway.” Brandy lowered her head, satisfied that she’d overpowered her need to weep. “I don’t see Brandon anywhere,” she said defiantly. “We didn’t go anywhere together, at least not during our marriage. He doesn’t haunt my steps.”
“Good.” Aiden leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You’re unbelievably tough, Brandy.”
“We’re both going to have to be tough.” Brandy sighed. “Soon all of Avalon will know I’m back and then we’ll have Clyde times ten to deal with.”
She looked down in to the shopping cart and her shoulders slumped.
“Can we just pay and go home now? I’m done with shopping for today.”
*
Aiden was tired long before his head hit in the pillow. The intense heat of the day had managed to linger into the night and so the bedroom window was cracked open, the newly hung curtains dancing reluctantly in the breeze.
In the darkness where dreams are made, Aiden hoped to find respite from the stresses of the day but instead he found only further turmoil.
He was standing in the middle of a rain-slicked road. It was dark but light enough for him to make out the distant silhouettes of trees. It was eerily silent. The air felt charged with unseen energy, like the calm before a storm.
“Aiden!” a voice hissed directly in his ear and Aiden turned with a start. His heart was hammering madly in his chest, frantically flooding his system with adrenalin to enable him to either fight or take flight.
Justin Thompson was standing beside Aiden, his hair flattened against his head. Not from rain but from blood. Aiden realized with horror that half of Justin’s face was awash with blood which seemed to pour off him like an angry, relentless river.
“Don’t just leave me,” Justin begged. His voice now sounded distant despite his body’s proximity to Aiden. He reached for his friend and Aiden gasped as he saw his hand. The skin had been crudely torn away to reveal the bright white of bone which now clasped Aiden’s shoulder. The skeletal fingers gripped him with surprising force.
Aiden tried to find his voice but had been rendered speechless. Then the skin on Justin’s face began to melt away as easily as wax, revealing the network of muscles below. Aiden opened his mouth and screamed.
“Aid, are you okay?” Brandy was beside him, the whites of her wide eyes bright in the relative darkness of the bedroom.
Aiden was breathing heavily. When he turned to her he half expected to see Justin’s disfigured face. The sheets beneath him were soaked. As his breathing calmed, he realized it was from his own sweat.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Brandy whispered soothingly, her hands already rubbing his back.
“Yeah!” Aiden gasped. “I did.”
He heard Brandy anxiously explain: “Aiden, you were shouting.”
“Turn on the light,” Aiden requested gruffly, his voice hoarse. Brandy swiftly obliged, turning on her bedside light and Aiden was grateful for the yellow light which pushed back some of the shadows.
“Aiden, are you okay?” Brandy asked gently, a cool hand pressing tenderly against the base of his back.
“Yeah.” Aiden sighed as he ran his hands across his face, trying to push away the images from the nightmare.
“Is something troubling you?”
Aiden turned to glance at Brandy. She was so close he could smell her vanilla-scented skin, could see each individual eyelash which framed her dark eyes. He didn’t want to lie to her. Their relationship was still so new, so fragile, like a baby bird that still needed to learn to fly.
“Yes, something is troubling me,” Aiden admitted.
“What is it?” Brandy pressed, her tone soft and soothing, there was no pressure in her voice.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she added.
Clearing his throat, Aiden prepared to breathe life into his nightmare.
“Many years ago I lost somebody close to me, a friend,” Aiden explained, now feeling wide awake as the dust of sleep had been blown away by the intensity of his nightmare.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me about him?” Brandy whispered.
“Can we…can we go back to sleep?” Aiden gestured towards the lamp.
“Sure.” Brandy nodded as she plunged the room back into darkness.
Only Aiden didn’t go back to sleep. He lay awake thinking about his old friend, Justin. An endless stream of questions floated through his mind ‒ why hadn’t he known Justin was in danger? How did he never think to question his death before? If his old high school friends from Greensburg hadn’t sought him out in Avalon, he’d have gone on thinking Justin had died in a motorcycle accident. Aiden had thought that searching for the truth might liberate his guilt, but it only gnawed within him with even more fervor. Because the question which troubled him most was: how could he bear the thought that Justin’s killer had been allowed to endure?
