Awakening (17 page)

“
So did you get something from your boyfriend? Do I need to leave the room?” I said laughing.

She looked a little relieved and smiled.

“
Yah, that’s who it was.”

I wanted to believe her, but somehow something wasn’t adding up. I had a very uncomfortable feeling building up and the feeling in my fingers was not going away. It dulled a little, but was still very much present. I smiled quickly to hopefully make her at ease and decided I would bring it up a little later to give us enough time to bond again.

“
Something seems different about you. I can’t put finger on it though.” Karen said looking at me puzzled.

“
Hmmm,” I said aloud, “Oh geez. I know what it is. I have green contacts in.”

“
Wow, well not sure what would have possessed you to do that, but it looks good. Usually those things look so fake.”

“
Yeah, thanks. I think.”

She relaxed a bit as we both dove into the pretzels I brought as we covered every topic imaginable. I told her all about Athen and his family, leaving out the obvious parts. She was quite agreeable as to how caring he seemed to be. I could tell we were back to normal so I decided to pounce. I looked at the clock and back at Karen.

“
I should probably get going. Give you time to get ready for the night and text you know who back. Hey, I’m gonna text him a hello and tell him he made my girl blush.” I said laughing. As I feared, her reaction wasn’t what I hoped.

“
No, don’t do that. He is at an appointment.”

“
Oh is that so?” I asked eyeing her suspiciously. “What kind of appointment? It’s kind of late for one. Wouldn’t he have his phone turned off? I want to reach out.” I told her looking her in her eyes knowing, unfortunately, that wasn’t her boyfriend who texted her earlier.

“
Why are you looking at me that way, Ana? Why would I be lying about where he is this afternoon?”

“
You are right,” I told her, “I guess I’ve been away a wee bit too long and didn’t read you right. You haven’t acted that way before over me texting him, that’s all.” I hoped my softening voice would win her over a little to come clean. Instead, she sat silently staring at the table runner. I hopped up and grabbed my purse.

“
Sorry Karen. I didn’t mean to overstep my bounds,” I went over and hugged her, “I can let myself out.”

“
No don’t be silly. I’m fine. You are fine. You did nothing.”

We walked together through the living room. Once we got the front door, I turned to her and gave her a hug.

“
Thanks for always being there, Karen. I’m thankful. You should come to dinner with us all and, of course, bring Justin. It has been too long since the crepe house, I think.” I could feel her squeezing harder than when I first arrived to her house earlier. I knew my suspicions were right. She let go and stood back and looked at me.

“
You look amazingly great, Ana – more confident or something.”

“
Thanks,” I gave her a quick hug as I left and quietly whispered, “Don’t do it, Karen. It’s not you. Be the kind soul you are.”

I could hear the door shut silently behind me. I knew she was about to make a choice that could alter her future forever. I wondered why on earth I knew any of that off of a text.

I was relieved. I got back to my place in time to let Matilda out for a quick walk. I was still fiddling with my key in the door when Athen appeared opening the door in front of me. He was already at my place. I could feel the excitement level swell instantly, and I almost let out a little squeal of delight. He picked me up and spun me around as I shut the door with my leg. He put me down and began kissing me when I began smelling something over the top delicious. I backed away slowly and looked around the living room, which was completely dark except for the fire and a few candles that he had placed along the coffee table with rose petals surrounding them. My eyes started to fill with tears as I took in what he had planned for me. I couldn’t believe that he had snuck in and done this for me.

“
Looks like we are staying in tonight?” I said smiling from ear to ear.

“
Well, we don’t have to.” He said toying with my hair that had fallen from my ponytail.

“
This is so incredible, Athen. Thank you. I’m dying to know what I’m smelling? It’s making me delirious.”

“
A rib roast with rosemary and garlic.”

“
Oh my gosh, my favorite!” I exclaimed and before I knew it Athen had grabbed me and wrestled me to the couch.

“
Whoa, fine sir. What do you have planned?” I mischievously asked and hoped for something that had eluded me thus far with him.

He began placing pillows behind my head and grabbed my red throw to cover me up with. I couldn’t believe my good fortune.

“
Well, I want you to do nothing and be comfortable while doing that.” He leaned next to me, gently kissing my neck. My heart started beating faster as his breath was crawling on my skin. I reached around and grabbed his shoulder bringing him closer to me. His fingers grazed my breast, leaving me to want so much more. I looked up at him hoping for the next step when the oven bell went off. For the first time in my life I would have been willing to pass up my favorite meal. I knew that was not on the agenda tonight, no matter how much I begged for it.

******

The night flew by way too fast, my heart was heavy with the thought of Athen, Cyril, and Arie all leaving for Seattle. It was hard telling Athen goodnight. I knew they said everything would be fine but knowing what was out in the world now certainly changed my perspective on what was considered fine. I got the knock on the door at 4:00am because I made Athen promise that he would stop by before they all hopped on the highway to the airport. I opened the door expecting Athen but instead was greeted by the entire crew and a bag of pastries.

“
Wow, where did you get pastries this early? The village is never open at this hour.” They were still warm even.

“
I know the gal at the hotel and she made some for us.” Arie said very proud of herself.

“
Geez, thanks.”

Everyone came in and piled through to the kitchen. I was secretly relieved that they all showed up. I could now spend a little longer with them before they took off. I knew I was taking this a bit hard. I seemed to be filled with fear more than I knew. My worry that dreams and reality would someday collide seemed to be at the forefront of most thoughts. We were all quietly munching on our pastries when Cyril began speaking.

“
We know you’ll be fine, Ana. We are all very connected to you and will be able to sense anything that may occur or may be in the works. Believe me, we are all on high alert.” I looked at him wanting to fully believe him, trying to ignore the fear still sitting heavy in my belly. Athen grabbed my hand and began his turn at trying to convince me.

“
We wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I promise. Remember, you are my everything, my angel. You are what makes my life complete. Without you I barely exist. I mean it. You will be fine. Promise to stay in the village.”

“
Actually, I was thinking of staying in my house except to take Matilda out.”

“
Well, that’s fine too,” Arie piped up, “But really, Ana, it’s ok to go outside. We maybe shouldn’t have told you all that. We didn’t mean to spook you so badly.”

“
Oh please, I would much rather know the truth,” I said emphatically, “Really.”

Seeing Athen crumpled on the ground in my thoughts began to paralyze me. Forcing myself to rid those images from my memory, I would not let myself look at Athen. The lump in my throat began to make it hard to swallow, hard to believe the two sets of realities could be parallel.

I
was so happy that Athen and everyone was coming back in the evening. They had been gone not even a day, and I missed them greatly. On a positive note, I was able to get everything done that I had planned in my condo, but I certainly felt like I was missing a piece of me. I think Matilda was even sad.

I had at least managed to sneak in a lunch with Karen who filled me in on the entire goings on back at the pub for which I was certainly grateful. We never did get to that at her apartment. It was nice to hear how everyone was doing, and although at the time, I thought I would miss it if I left, I guiltily knew I missed it not at all. I did get an earful because apparently there were a couple of new hires that did not work out, partied more than they worked, but that was a pretty common occurrence in Whistler, which is why I was treated so well. I was and am still dependable.

She also thanked me for bringing her back to reality. I knew exactly what she was referring to. I was relieved to hear those words. As I left she told me nothing had actually happened, yet. I made a mental note to ask Arie if those sensations that came over me with Karen were the warnings for me. It seemed like I was learning everything in bits and pieces and by trial and error. I hadn’t told them the details surrounding my visions yet either. The least I wanted was to send them all on a wild goose chase because I couldn’t separate fact from fiction.

I was tidying up the last of the living room when I heard the familiar knock on my front door. My heart started beating a little faster and the excitement was building. I wasn’t expecting them for another couple hours, but maybe they caught an earlier shuttle flight. I ran to the door, swinging it open to see Athen staring right back at me with shades on as he was leaning against the doorframe, smooth as ever. He picked me up before I saw it coming and spun me around. I was so happy he was here. I looked quickly behind him and saw that he was alone. The excitement was bubbling over. Maybe with his exuberance we could finally get some long awaited alone time. I slithered down from Athen’s embrace, pulling him to the bedroom, hopeful as usual.

Before I had time to blink, Athen grabbed me, shoving me up the bedroom wall as he lifted my sweater. His hands roughly swiping at my skin as I wrapped my legs around him and heard the sound of my suede skirt splitting. My hands made their way through Athen’s hair, and he pulled away, which startled me. In this quick encounter, Athen hadn’t even tried to kiss me, and that was unheard of. Maybe he was experimenting. We had never gotten to this next level before anyway. His strength was beginning to overpower my every move. He removed his glasses, not letting me look into his eyes. I could feel his hand gravitating towards my thigh. I didn’t know what was going on. Things were suddenly not feeling right. None of the electricity was present that I usually had by being near Athen -let alone during this type of encounter.

Athen must have felt my body turn a little bit limp under his forcefulness because I felt a repositioning. His eyes looking over my body as if he had never seen it before. I latched onto his hair this time, pulling his face towards me when I suddenly realized that this was not Athen. The eyes staring back at me were lifeless, hollow. It was as if death was radiating from this imposter. I was looking into a creature from beyond, but how could this be? Where was my real Athen? Was he alive? As all of these thoughts started running through me like a faucet that couldn’t be turned off. I scrambled to get away from this imposter, but with every kick and scrape his grip became firmer. His nails were digging deeper and deeper into my skin. I looked down to see his repulsively long, pointy brown fingernails sliding up my arm. How could I not have caught these signs earlier?

Matilda was starting to move around in the living room, and I was hoping she would stay out of the bedroom. I couldn’t bear to have anything happen to her. She was too innocent and loyal for her to see what was about to take place. I knew there was nothing I could do against this creature. I had to keep reminding myself that this was not Athen. This creature was very possibly the demon who everyone has been trying to protect me from during this whole process.

I was looking for anything around my bedroom that might help me get away from this imposter, and as he was gazing around the room with me, it hit me that he might be able to read my mind, like Athen. To what degree, I didn’t know.

I tried to rack my brain about what my family said about the other worldlies and how this creature could fit into that scenario. It couldn’t be a vampire or werewolf because they can’t morph into others. My entire body shuddered as the realization washed over me that what was standing before me was truly a demon, the very demon who had been stalking me since I began this process.

This had to be one of the demons that my family spoke about whose sole mission was to create havoc throughout humanity. His fingers kept crawling up and down my body, and I was attempting to reach into my newfound powers to try to feel what his motive was. I was trying to concentrate so hard that I didn’t even hear the front door open. The demon’s gaze turned towards the door, and my heart fell to the floor knowing that someone must have entered my condo.

“
Please don’t.” I whispered into the Demon’s ear. “Just take me. Don’t hurt them. Do what you came to do but please spare my family.”

“
Your family?” The demon seethed in an almost snake-like pitch. “We don’t have families.”

“
Some of us do. I’m begging you to leave mine alone.”

“
Alright, my white demon. I will do as you say.”

So he was what I thought- a demon, and he knew what I was as well. I was terrified. He came here with a mission. The thought of this creature hurting my family gave me strength from within that I knew I could use to my benefit. Every part of my body strengthened with a stiffness ready for protection. I was ready for any attack he may have planned for me. I would do anything as long as it would save my family.