Forgetting Jane (17 page)

“
W
hat the hell am I doing out here?” Harold uttered with chattering teeth. With his new night vision goggles strapped to his head, Harold was sprawled in the prickly grass.

“Shit,” Harold spat. He was sleepwalking again and was in a ditch. It was damn cold and his feet hurt. With only a t-shirt and sweats, he swore icicles hung off his balls. His head ached from the elastic band of the goggles, or was it the cold?

He tried to stand but he kept slipping further down the slope. Harold was able to get up to the lip of the ditch when he heard a woman’s voice. He turned to his right and crawled up to the edge of the road.

Still flat on his stomach, he flipped his goggles down and saw what unfolded.

Twenty feet away, he saw a young woman getting into an Impala. He didn’t recognize the girl or the car. Harold wasn’t able to see any license plates; the car took off too fast.

As the vehicle drove away, Harold tried getting up. He was stranded and had to walk back home, barefoot.

“Fuck,” he spat again and hoofed it toward the opposite direction.

“
P
lay with me, Jane.” Laughter rang out across the meadow as the little girl skipped along in her yellow sundress. She twirled about, happy as a child could be. The sun cast so much glare that Jane couldn’t see clearly.

“I can’t.” Jane tried to follow but her legs became lead weights.

“Yes, you can. We all want to play with you.” The girl pointed to the meadow behind her.

“Who’s
we
?” Jane asked with trepidation. She looked out over the expanse and saw nothing but bones scattered all over. Terror caught her throat, and she could barely catch a breath.

“All of us. Come join us.” The girl’s smile melted away. It became distorted. Black green splotches replaced the sun-kissed freckles on her face.

The sky darkened and the wind picked up with razor sharpness that slashed across Jane’s face. She wanted to run away but her legs were buried into the dirt.             

Jane kept looking back to where the girl stood. She tried to pull at the roots that stuck out of the ground, though her attempts were futile.

The roots reminded her of arms with long deep gashes, similar to hers. They twitched and reached for her with bony fingers. Jane tried to slap them out of her way, but they were strong—too strong for her.

She screamed as one hand after another reached out of the soil and tried to pull her under.

“Jane.” She heard Eli’s voice. “Wake up.” She shot up with her fists flailing forward.

“Eli,” she uttered in a teary gulp.

He grabbed her hands and held them together. “Jane, calm down. It’s only a dream.”

His soft words eased her fears. Her shallow breaths slowed and deepened with each inhale. Oh God, she was drenched with sweat.

“Hold me,” she whispered.

He hugged her close. “It’s all gone now.”

“Water. Please?” Jane could taste mud at the back of her throat.

Eli didn’t hesitate. He raced into the bathroom and returned with a full glass.

“Here. Drink it slow.” He sat next to her and caressed her back.

Jane downed the contents and handed the cup to him. Her palate still had that gritty taste. The smell of decay lingered in her nose.

“Thank you,” she said, leaning back against the headboard.

“What were you dreaming about?” He put the glass down on the nightstand and sat next to her.             

She hesitated. “The girl, Jane…and the others.”

“Others? Meaning the women in the photos?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember all of it, but maybe—I think so—I don’t know.”

Eli pulled her into his arms. “Let it go. It was only a dream. You’re safe now.”

Jane pulled away. “It was a nightmare, Eli. But it felt so real. She—Jane said she wanted to play with me. I dream of the same place over and over again. I know she’s trying to tell me something.” Jane laid her head back on his chest. The rhythm of his heart eased the anxiety.

Eli shook his head. “Jane, it’s only a nightmare. Nothing more. Try to forget it.”

She sat back up and faced him. “The dirt smelled of death, like dead bodies. It tried sucking me in. I choked every time I breathed it in. And those cut up arms—they were pulling me down. Bones littered the ground.” She stared into his eyes. “I know in my heart it’s not. It’s a warning.”

“About what, Jane? Don’t play with ghosts?” Eli got up from the bed, grabbed his pants and yanked them up. “Sorry. That was totally uncalled for.” He sat back on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped forward, and rubbed at his temples.

“You might not want to hear it, but I know that girl is warning me.” Her eyes blurred from the tears. She reached over and touched his back. “Elias, I have a feeling there are more bodies around that lake.”

“Not possible. We scoured the area. Hell, we swept around the perimeter of the lake and found nothing. Jane, it was only a dream.”

She shook her head no. She cupped her legs to her chest and tried to hold back the tears.

“Jane, I’m sure that there aren’t any bodies around the lake.”

She refused to believe him. “Please leave me alone.”

Eli ignored her command and scooped her up in his arms. He held her tight and kissed her wet cheek. He whispered in her ear, “No. I will not leave you alone.”

Her skin was cold and clammy to his hot touch. She could smell the wet dirt in her hair. It made no sense if it was only a dream.

“Why is this happening to me?” Her voice sounded drowned. She wrapped her arms tighter around him.             

“Listen to me, Jane. You were found next to a lake. Maybe some of your dream came from your memories. Do you think you’re remembering something about your attack or the attacker?”

“I don’t know.” She leaned her head on his shoulders. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Just hold me.” Her plea couldn’t be ignored. He held her even tighter until her body melded with his.

E
li lay there and listened to the sound of Jane’s breathing. It slowed to an even rhythm with his. He molded his body to hers and waited until she relaxed more.

Glancing over at the clock—two a.m. Eli let out a quiet groan. He should’ve been at work over an hour ago—although he didn’t care. Jane came first.

Jane turned and smiled at him. The frailty reflected in her sleepy eyes made his heart lurch. Eli leaned in and kissed her. He’d do anything to rid the nightmares from her dreams. Love her over and over until she felt safe to sleep.

He deepened the kiss, trailing his hands to the one spot that made her forget—made her shiver—made her want him.

Wetness coated his fingers. As he delved deeper into her heat, she rode against his hand while he feasted on her mouth. Eli took his time, making sure her only thought was of
him
. Her groan was all the encouragement he needed. Lifting her legs up and over his shoulders, he plunged in with one fluid motion—sliding in and out in even rhythm.

He hissed as her nails dug into his arms, but his quickened pace never wavered. Jane was like a drug. While his fingers played havoc with her clit, he rocked her until they both cried out.              

Eli collapsed on top of her but immediately turned to his side.

Mind and body spent, Eli dragged her close, molded her back to him. He absorbed the calmness she gave him. Her body was soft and hot to the touch. Her shoulder tasted of salty sweet. Perfect.

A few minutes flew by as he heard Jane’s breathing even out. She fell asleep.

Reluctant, he slowly got up and slipped out of bed without waking her but not before he turned and kissed Jane’s temple—wanting another second to connect with her. Eli smiled down at her and then quietly walked out.

Eli knew his career changed the moment she was found. But the moment he slept with this woman, it wasn’t all about
his life
anymore. This had never happened to him. Letting a woman into his heart—he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

After he washed and dressed in the bathroom, Eli headed downstairs.

The house was dark except for the light over the sink. The peacefulness filled the whole place. Peace was something never associated in the McAvoy household. It was nice.

He stood into the kitchen and noticed everything had been put away. Magda had cleaned, the way his mother used to have it. A tinge of pain knocked a bit of wind out of his lungs. He swallowed the grief down.

As he made his way to the living room, a slight chilly wind brushed against him as though someone had run past. It was enough to make his hair
s
stand on end. Eli turned in a circle, eyeing every corner of the room. There was nothing. Strange.

He took a few backward steps into the kitchen and turned around. In his momentum, Eli almost knocked Magda on her backside. Arm cocked back, he almost punched her.

“Elias!” she yelped and raised her hands in surrender.

“I’m sorry.” Eli lowered his arm and took a step forward. “You shouldn’t surprise people in the dark.”

“I heard noises,” Magda explained as she smoothed out her night coat. She straightened one crocheted slipper, came up and patted him on his arm, “How’d you sleep?”

“Good, for a change. But now I’m late for work.”

“I’m restless.” Worry was etched in the corners of her eyes. “I figured a cup of tea could soothe me back to sleep. How’s Jane?” By the tilt of her head, she asked as though she knew what occurred between him and Jane.

He cleared his throat and turned away. “Um, she’s good too—sleeping.” Eli stumbled over his tongue.

“I’m not dead, or deaf, Elias. But…I don’t want to see you two hurt.” She touched his chest where his heart pounded fast.

“We’re fine,” he said and turned away from her touch.

Magda nodded, not saying another word. She went to the stove, grabbed the kettle and added water to it.

He felt the rush of blood to his cheeks. Was he blushing? That was impossible. “I’m late for work. Call my cell if anything happens. And, no venturing out.”

“Okay. And if she wants to talk to you?”

“Let her.” Eli kissed Magda’s cheek, grabbed his coat off the chair and rushed out the back door. “Get to bed, it’s late. I will back by—” he checked his cell, “—around nine or so.”

“Will do,” Magda said as she saluted him with a quick smile, but he ignored her sarcasm.

Eli walked the perimeter of the house and barn with a flashlight before he headed toward his truck. Everything seemed safe.

As he dropped his gun and holster on the seat of the truck, a weight of cold steel pressed hard against the back of his skull. He slowly raised his hands.

“Don’t move unless you want your brains all over your fucking truck.”

Eli’s adrenaline ran high. His chest hurt from the hard erratic pounding, knowing who was behind him. “Not moving.” The gun pressed harder against his skull, the tip of the barrel dug into his scalp.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house? Answer quick—I have a twitchy trigger finger.”

“I own the house,” Eli said flat and void of emotion. The stench of whisky invaded Eli’s nose. James McAvoy’s liquored breath still smelled the same. Bad—like rotten garbage.

“Like hell you do. Fucking turn around. Slow.”

“James McAvoy, don’t you recognize your own son?” Eli asked. He faced the man he once was terrified of. He had on a ratty pair of jeans, shredded Converse high tops and a yellowed pitted white t-shirt.

Old, that was all Eli saw. Once a tall, virile and intimidating man, now he was grey, much older and weary like his clothing. But Eli was no fool. His old man was unpredictable, especially now since he wasn’t sure how much drink his father had.

“Boy? Is that you?” With the shotgun still pointed at Eli’s face, James grabbed at his son’s jacket and pulled him closer. “Fuck. You look like her. Weak and useless.” James spat at the ground and pushed him hard, knocking Eli back against the truck.

Disgusted to admit it, but Eli was the spitting image of his father—blonde wavy hair and eyes as green as emeralds. In his day, James was the catch. His mother should have thrown this fish away.

James wiped the spit from his mouth with the back of his hand. He lowered the gun and took a couple of stumbled steps back and wavered. “What are you doing in my house?” he slurred out his rage.             

“What do you want, old man?” Eli wondered where he got the shotgun. He hoped no one was hurt or killed in the process.

James took a step closer and aimed it at his face again. “I should have killed you when I had the chance. You are a worthless piece of shit, like your whore of a mother.”

Eli had despised this man all his life. The lies that he spewed out about his mother made his anger escalate into a raging storm. He wanted to beat him to the point of death and bring him back and repeat it again and again, like his father had done to his mother.

“What do you want?” Eli repeated. He knew he had to be quick and disarm James before he got a shot off. His father stood too far away to kick or knock the shotgun out of his hands. Eli needed to wait until he got closer.

“I want what’s coming to me. This house—my money your mother stole—everything. I want it all back.” James’s wobbly stance indicated his drunken state was far worse than Eli realized. Or was it that the cold had gotten to him?             

Either way, James shivered, losing some control of the gun. He turned the barrel slightly down as he tried to wipe his frozen snot from his nose. Eli had the advantage and took a small step forward to get a better shot at kicking the gun out of the bastard’s hands.

As he took another small step forward, something caught in his peripheral vision. His mother’s window curtains shifted.

Eli turned slightly and stared up at the window. Much longer than he should have, because he was smacked in the face with the butt of the gun. Pain shot from his nose and mouth—he fell back against the truck’s door.

“Don’t fucking move, boy.”

Eli shook off the fury, spat the blood out of mouth and growled. “Old man, you made the worst mistake coming here.” He took a quick glance up at the window again then back at his father.

James followed Eli’s stare. “What the fuck you looking at?” James shivered.

“It’s cold out here, isn’t it?” Eli kept his attention to the gun. He’d had enough with small talk. He had to get a hold of that gun.

With one shaky hand, James wiped at his brow. “Don’t you worry about me.”

“There is nothing here for you. If you want to live the rest of your life in one piece, you better put down that gun.”

James squinted at him and took a step closer. “Talking to me like that, boy, will get you killed.” He lifted the double barrel, loosely pointed at his head. “You’re dead to me anyway, like your bitch of a mother. Maybe I should have beaten some sense into you.”

Eli shifted to his right to give himself better access to the gun. Kicking it out of James’s hand was the only way. As he reared his foot back, he saw Jane standing right behind his father.

Jane was naked. She had a piece of chopped log in her hand. Her face twisted with anger at each foul word James spoke. While the loose snow swirled around her, the icy wind didn’t affect her determined stance. She had the element of surprise. Jane raised the wood when James aimed the gun right at Eli’s chest. With a full swing, she hit James on the side of his face, knocking the drunk to the ground, and the gun fell to the ground.

The gun went off. The sprayed bullet fragments caught Eli’s top left shoulder as he tried to move out of the way. The hit knocked him hard, back against the truck. Pain sliced through his shoulder like a white-hot poker. It intensified as he moved to Jane’s side, but she pushed him back—wouldn’t let him near her.

Jane hovered over James with the wood aimed for his head. Eli tried to coax her to drop it but she held on to it tighter. “He has no rights,” she said in a sad angry tone.

“I’ll kill you, bitch!” James roared while holding onto his nose.

Jane laughed. The sound of her voice wasn’t hers. “You will never touch me again.” Her laughter faded and malice shaped her smile.

Eli was shocked that Jane sounded so much like his mother. Just like earlier, in the bedroom. But for the moment, he had to get the wood away from Jane before she smacked James again and get her out of the cold.

“Look at me, Jane,” Eli said. He had to keep his tone soft or he’d rile her up more.

She turned her attention to him. Her features softened for a brief second before returning her hardened dark eyes back to James.

“Momma?” Eli whispered. A tear slipped down his cheek. He wiped it away quick. “Don’t do this. You are not like him.”

Jane’s attention wasn’t deterred. “You’ll never touch me or my son ever again.” She swung the log down on James’s face, which knocked him right out. Blood seeped from his broken nose and dripped onto the graveled ground in a tiny puddle.

Eli’s breath caught in his throat. It happened so fast that he wasn’t able to stop her from hitting his father again. She was about to take another swing when Eli finally disarmed her.

He threw the wood away, circled his good arm around Jane’s waist and pulled her back from James. His shoulder stung deep, but he didn’t care. Blood seeped from his shoulder, coating his skin down to the pecs. Jane was more important though.

Jane resisted his pull but Eli’s gentle words in her ears calmed her and she relaxed against him.

Eli focused on James’s face, which was covered in blood. Eli wanted to be sure that the old man wasn’t dead.              

“Don’t move, Jane.” He took off his coat and covered her. A few strides over to James’s side, he checked for a pulse, which was slow but steady. He blew out a breath of relief and moved back to Jane.

Eli wrapped his arms around her. “It’s going to be okay.” He noticed her eyes were still dark. Her smile was gentle, not like Jane’s where it slightly cocked to one side.

She touched his cheeks and said, “We’re safe now,” then collapsed against him.

The weight of her body added to the tormented spasms in his wounded shoulder. Magda ran out with a blanket and covered Jane.

“Are you okay? I saw your father and went to check on Jane when I heard the shot. I called for backup.”

“You what?” Eli exclaimed.

“I couldn’t take the chance if James shot you dead.” Magda saw Eli’s bloody shirt and sobbed out a gasp. “He shot you.”

“Eli?” Jane uttered. She leaned her head against his shot shoulder. He grimaced as the pain magnified.

“Get Jane inside quickly and hide her in my room,” he declared. “We can’t have anyone finding out she’s here.”

“What about your shoulder?” Magda tried to look at it, but Eli pushed her hand away.

“It’s a graze, I’m fine. Get inside before she’s discovered,” he urged.

Magda wrapped Jane’s arm around her neck and pulled her along the best she could.

Eli picked up the shotgun and placed it in the back of the truck.