A Changed Man (Altered Book 1) (13 page)

"That's something I guess.” Remington looked over at her and gave her a small smile. His bleeding may have lessened but his power still exhausted him when he used it.

"So are we going to discuss the elephant in the room?" She asked. She could see from the corner of her eye Remington tense up beside her. He was nervous. She knew he didn't want to frighten her. "It's okay, you can talk to me. What happened back there at the phone booth?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "After I talked to Rick and realized what was going on I guess I got mad. I felt the rush through my body and I shoved my hands in my pockets so I wasn't touching anything. I thought that would stop it. It didn't. Next thing I knew the roof was caving in toward me and the glass was breaking."

"So, what you're saying is you did that with your mind?" She asked, eyes wide.

"I guess so. I didn't know I could do that. All the other times I was touching something. I had no idea I could do anything like that." He watched Jackie chew her thumbnail like she was in deep thought. Remington was worried he was scaring her; that’s the last thing he wanted to do. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"Um, I'm not sure what to think." She said honestly. "This is like stuff you see in the movies; people can't really do those kind of things."

Remington gently pulled Jackie's thumb away from her mouth. "That’s what I would think if I were in your shoes. Does it scare you?"

"A little bit I guess." She looked him in the eyes. "But I want you to know, IT may scare me, but you don't. I trust that you won't hurt me. At least, not on purpose."

Remington let out a deep breath he'd been holding waiting for her answer. "You're right." was all he said.

"Well, how are you feeling now?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"I'm okay. Just a bit tired."

"Lets hit a drive through and get you something to eat. You probably use a ton of energy when that happens. Maybe if you replenish it you will feel better."

"I could eat." He said, laying his head back against the seat. "Thank you."

"You're going to have to stop thanking me every five minutes, it's driving me crazy." She said jokingly.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you keep having to do things for me, spending money on me. I have money. Just have to get to it somehow."

Jackie looked at him with a serious face. "If it makes you feel better you can owe me. I trust your good for it and I have plenty of money so don't worry about it. Now that’s the last time I want to hear any talk of money."

Remington's eyebrows shot up, she was serious and he thought better of arguing with her about it. If that's what she wanted then he would do anything to please her. "Yes ma'am." Was all he said in reply.

"Don't call me ma'am, it makes me feel old."

"Yes Jackie." he said trying to keep a straight face. They both busted out laughing.

After going through an Arby’s drive through they pulled in to the back of the parking lot and sat in the car eating. Remington devoured two giant roast beef sandwiches, and was finishing up a large order of fries and a large drink. Jackie watched him pop the last of the fries into his mouth and wash it down with a big gulp of iced tea. "Feel any better?" she asked.

"Much better." he said rubbing his full stomach. "You were right, I think I just need to refuel after using up so much energy."

"This junk may keep you going for a bit, but I bet a real meal would be better." Jackie left the parking lot and headed back toward the highway. The rest of the way home they talked about little things; trying to get to know one another. Remington told her about the special branch of service he was in. He explained that losing his mother as a teen and his father turning into an alcoholic was the reason he joined the service the day he became of age. Jackie told him all about the death of her parents, growing up with her grandmother and how she came to be in Colorado. She told him about the job she lost in Cheyenne and about her best friend Sarah she left behind and how much she missed her. They listened to the low volume of the radio and before too long Remington had fallen asleep. Jackie could hear him breathing from the passenger seat. At first it was deep but then tapered off into a soft steady rhythm.
Poor guy is exhausted.
She thought to herself. She looked over at him; finally having the chance to really study him, being sure to not let her eyes leave the road for more than a few seconds at a time. She noticed his long thick legs; the muscles of his thighs being discernable even through the thick fabric of his jeans. She studied the enormous width of his chest, and how the peck and bicep muscles that strained his shirt, as if they were trying to break through. He had strong forearms and large hands; they were calloused and still bared small cuts from his escape. She remembered what he looked like without his shirt on both last night in bed when she went to check on him and this morning standing over her stove making breakfast. It was seared into her brain; she'd never been around someone so well built before. She looked up to his sleeping face. He had smooth tan skin, and thick stubble across his jaw. With his eyes closed she could see his thick black lashes and how long they looked resting on his cheek. He was beautiful. She thought him good looking before, when he got out of the tub, but now that she has the chance to really look him over without him noticing her staring at him like a love struck teenage twit she noticed how attractive he really was. Jackie returned her full attention back to the road and let the soft breaths of the stranger that felt more like a friend relax her during her last leg home.

Remington couldn't see a damn thing; it was pitch black. He was lying on something hard and cold. He could hear murmurs all around his head, people talking in low voices, but he couldn't tell what they were saying. He didn't know if his eyes were open or closed and when he tried to blink nothing happened. He started to reach up to feel his face but his arms wouldn't move. He tried to move his feet but again, nothing. It was as if he was trapped inside his own body. He tried to call out but his mouth wouldn't move. He could feel the temperature around him drop and hear footsteps walking closer to him. A loud buzzing sound filled his ears, it sounded metallic, not something from nature. It was getting closer and closer; the sound rising so loud it was deafening. Remington could feel the air that was being produced by the object blowing against his head. He tried to scream but nothing came out; then he felt vibration followed by searing pain to the back of his skull.

"We're here." Jackie said looking over to Remington who was still asleep. She reached out and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey, wake up." She said softly. "We're home."

Remington heard Jackie’s voice over the incredibly loud droning of the saw. Jesus was she here with him? What would they do to her? He had to get out of this; his instinct to protect her gave him a new strength.  Remington shot upright, drawing back his fist like he was going to punch right through the windshield.

"Whoa!" Jackie yelled, pushing her back against the driver’s side door with her hands up in a feeble attempt to block his punch if it should come her way. "Remington stop!"

Remington froze. He looked over to the driver side and saw Jackie huddled against the side of the car with her hands up defensively. He immediately dropped his arm. "What happened?" He asked with a dazed look on his face.

Jackie slowly lowered her arms. "I'm not sure, I think you may have been dreaming."

Remington found her eyes and could see the fear in them, she was breathing heavy and completely tensed up. "Jesus I'm sorry!" He said reaching for her hand. "I didn't mean to scare you, are you alright?"

Jackie pulled her hands away and held them up against her chest. She could feel her heart pounding and was trying her best to get it under control. "Don't touch me."

Remington’s face dropped and he lowered his hand. He was ashamed. How could he have acted like that? How in the world could he have scared her when all he wanted to do was protect her?

Jackie saw Remington’s expression go from surprised when he noticed her, to remorseful when she pulled her hand away from him. She had hurt him. She didn't mean to, but he scared her. "It's okay. I'm okay." She said. "You just freaked me out a little that’s all."

Remington sat there looking down at his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry." He whispered, not looking up. "Maybe I shouldn't have come back with you. I'll go if you want."

"No." Jackie reached out to put her hand on his shoulder but pulled back before making contact. "You didn't hurt me, you weren’t even aiming for me. It just surprised me, that's all. I'm fine, really."

Remington turned in his seat to face her. "Are you sure? I don't want to scare you. I would never hurt you. I need you to believe that."

Jackie nodded her head and righted herself in her seat. "Lets go inside."

They both got out of the car. Remington opened the back door to retrieve the backpack full of clothes and personal care items Jackie had bought him earlier that day. He slowly followed her to the porch. Jackie was just standing there with her key out. She wasn't trying to open the door; she was just standing there. "What's wrong?" He asked as he moved up beside her. Then he saw it. The doorknob. Not the one he crushed, but a brand new one filled the hole that was empty when they left this morning.

Jackie stared at the shiny new knob. "It's happening again," she whispered. It had both of the keys to unlock it hanging from a ring and pushed inside the lock. She turned it and it twisted, but the door wouldn't open. The deadbolt she had locked this morning was still in place. But how could that be? You have to have the door open to replace the knob. It's not a one sided fix. Jackie began shaking slightly; it's happening again. Someone is coming to her house and fixing things and then disappearing. That’s weird enough, but this time she knows someone was inside her house, and that was down right scary. It meant whoever it was had a key. That they could come in anytime day or night and, short of shooting them, she couldn't stop them. What if they were in there now, just waiting for her? She had never been so relieved to have someone come home with her as she was right now.

Remington walked up beside her. "How did that get there?" He looked as surprised as she was. "Did you call someone out to fix it?"

"No." she whispered. "The deadbolt is still locked; what if someone is in the house?" She looked at Remington with wide eyes.

"Give me the keys." He said holding out his hand.

Jackie picked out the key to the deadbolt and held it out to him. She stood back while he unlocked the door.

"Stay behind me." Remington slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He took inventory of the room. Nothing seemed to be out of place in the living room. He walked through the front door, Jackie on his heels. They made their way inside and looked to the kitchen and laundry room, and saw nothing different. They started walking down the hall to check the bedrooms and bathrooms when Remington turned around to face her. "Go wait in the laundry room, just in case. Lock yourself in and stay there till I come and get you." He whispered to her.

Jackie did not want to leave his side. "Hell no!" She loudly whispered back. "This is my house and I'm not going anywhere! You can lead, but don't pull that macho bullshit with me! Besides, you're hurt and I know where the gun is." She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him back around. "Lets go."

They continued down the hall, checking the bathroom then the room where Remington slept. They didn't find anyone or anything out of place. Jackie’s bedroom and private bath had the same results. She opened the closet door and there was the rifle, still propped up in the back where she left it this morning. "There's no one here." Remington said. "Are you sure no one else has a key?"

Jackie pulled out the rifle and leaned it against her nightstand. "I'm not positive. My grandmother could have given someone a key, who knows." She closed the closet door. "I'll go into town tomorrow and buy a new knob and deadbolt for both doors. The at least I'll be sure.”

Remington dropped his bag in the doorway of the guest room. He then followed Jackie back in to the living room.   "Let's have a look at your ankle." Jackie said, pointing to the sofa. "Have a seat."

Remington did as he was told, propping his injured ankle up on the coffee table. Jackie started unwrapping the ace bandage; the swelling had gone down immensely. "Wow!" Jackie said giving Remington a surprised look. "It looks great! How does it feel?"

Remington moved his ankle in circles to the left then to the right. "Feels good, doesn't hurt at all anymore. As a matter of fact, I don't remember it hurting at all today."

"There's no bruising." Jackie couldn't believe what she was seeing, his ankle looked like it had never been injured at all, not only was the swelling gone, but so were the bruises. Just yesterday it was swollen twice it's normal size and covered in deep purple and black bruising, and now, nothing. She looked up at his face; it was the same. The skin was tight and just as beautifully tanned as the rest of him. How did she not notice it before? It was looking better this morning, but now she couldn't see a single mark on him. She reached up to touch the stitches on his head. They weren’t raised or red anymore; the sutures were still there, but the skin was flat and already scarring. "Your face is the same, as well as your head."

"What?" he said reaching up to feel his head. He got up and hurried down the hall toward the bathroom; Jackie was right behind him. He looked in the mirror. "Holy Shit!"