Holding on to Hope (3 page)

“And here I was thinking that you were gonna help me find him,” Brad mumbled and rubbed his face. “Do you think you could get me into the club tonight also?”

Ian looked between them, his big black eyes showing concern. “Um… sure, but what exactly do you have in mind? You’re not seriously thinking that you’ll find that guy in the club again, are you?”

“As a matter of fact, he is,” Leslie said, glancing at her blond friend.

Brad sat up straight once again. “I can’t explain why, but I think the people working in the bar might know him. There are bits and pieces that I do remember about him, and I think one time when he ordered his drink, he actually called the bartender by his name.”

“You never told me that one,” Leslie pointed out.

“It just came to me out of nowhere. I guess. As the time is passing, I’m slowly starting to remember little things about him. Maybe by the end of the day, it will all come to me.” His voice sounded hopeful when he said that. “The memory of the pendant? I didn’t know I remembered that until I talked to you.”

“Wait. What pendant are you talking about?” Ian asked, obviously clueless.

“The guy he was with had this unique pendant on him. Brad remembers that,” Leslie replied.

“Unique, how?”

“Well, the pendant was kind of historic—made of bronze, I believe. It was like a warrior’s sword with vines winding around it,” Brad explained, showing the swirl with his finger.

“Oh!”

“He thinks that someone might recognize it and will be able to point out the guy for him,” she added.

Ian cleared his throat and hesitated. “So this pendant… did it have small green gemstones embedded around it?”

“Yes!” Brad almost screamed in his excitement. It also piqued Leslie’s interest, and she began to wonder that her blond friend might have been right after all. “So you’ve seen it.”

“Yes, I have.” Ian had his forearms resting on his legs while he fidgeted with his fingers and cast his head down. Leslie suspected something was wrong, and she slowly turned her gaze to Brad, who stared back at her. “I’m sorry, Parker, but….” He looked up again, biting his lip and sat up straight. He reached his hand up and uncovered a chain that wound around his neck. “I think you are describing my pendant here.”

Brad sprang from his place on the couch and was kneeling by Ian’s chair in no time. Leslie watched as he held it between his fingers, gently caressing the metallic pendant while he stared at it in wonder. It was exactly how he had described it to them. “This is it,” he spoke in a low-toned voice. “But how could….”

“I was wearing this last night when we went to that nightclub. And the reason you remember it so vividly is because the design has been imprinted in your mind. You asked me about it more than twice.”

“You and I…?”

“No, god, no!” Ian scrunched his nose. “Dude, I’m straight. You know that!”

Leslie worried that the revelation would devastate her friend now. So she watched each of his actions closely. Brad let the pendant slip from his grasp and stood up, still staring at it. “Maybe he was wearing the same pendant, who knows,” he tried to reason.

However, Ian shook his head adamantly. “It can’t be. This pendant has been in the Anderson family line for centuries, passing on generation after generation. I told you that last night,” he said. “So unless he is an Anderson like me, he couldn’t have one.”

“God!” Brad yelled as he turned away from them. “What is wrong with me? Why can’t I remember anything about him?” His voice cracked, giving Leslie her cue to help.

She went over to his side and stroked his back in order to soothe him. “Hey, it’s all right. You just have some memories mixed up from last night, and that could be from the alcohol, right? I know you haven’t had much, but maybe you drank too much and that is why it is all a blur.”

“But damn, Les!” He gazed at her with wetness around his eyes. “I have to find him. I’m not ready to give up on him already.”

Leslie put her arms over his shoulders and hugged him calmingly. “You’ll find him. Weren’t you saying that the memories are slowly coming back to you? For all you know, you might come to recollect his name, or maybe you’ll remember where you noted down his phone number.”

“What if that doesn’t happen?” Brad whispered, sounding completely dejected.

“There’s always a Plan B.” Leslie smiled, as he looked at her curiously. “You’re going to go back to the nightclub and find him there, probably waiting for you. Ian and I will come along, though, just to make sure you remain alcohol-free this time,” she spoke in a playful tone, and Brad chuckled. His smile always warmed her heart. She looked in Ian’s direction. “Tonight, after all our classes are done. Okay?”

Leslie could relate to the reservations Ian was having at that moment. The Mohawk guy looked as worried as she was in her mind. There were so many doubts and so many questions. Circumstances seemed impossible, too fantastic to be true. Yet there was hope in Brad’s eyes—he was holding on so firmly that Leslie wanted to throw all her reservations out the window and help him. And she was certain that Ian too had his best interests in mind.

Thus, Plan B was agreed upon.

A
T
AROUND
seven in the evening, Leslie met up with Brad and Patrick for a quick snack. It was already decided that they would wait for Ian in the coffee shop, and then they would all head over to the nightclub together. Patrick tagged along because he was suspicious of Ian’s intentions. He had never trusted that guy, but then Ian had never given him a reason to do otherwise.

Brad, on the other hand, was more focused on his end goal. He had to see his guy once again, and it was all that mattered to him at the moment. It surprised Leslie that he had managed to tone down his anxiety and get through the day at the university. She had reason to believe that he must have been distracted in all the classes he attended. Leslie couldn’t pay attention either, as the worry for her friend kept her preoccupied.

Patrick expressed that he was feeling out of loop with all that was happening. So as they settled in one of the booths, Brad, once again, narrated everything to him. Sadly, he had failed to recollect any new information about his mystery guy from his dormant memories.

“You know what I think?” Patrick spoke after listening to every account. “I think it’s super cool that you met your perfect guy on Valentine’s Day. Gimme a high five, bro!”

Leslie giggled at the clap of their hands. “It’s cheesy all right, but the suspense about this mystery guy does make up for it. I can’t wait to find out how he looks, and then Mister Parker, I can frankly comment on your perfect guy’s disfigured face,” she teased as she feasted on her bagel.

Brad took a sip of his tea and hissed as he quickly set it back down. “Damn! It’s hot,” he muttered under his breath, taking hold of the napkin and dabbing his lips. He blew out a breath. “And F-Y-I, Les, my guy is as hot as… this cup of tea.” He smirked.

Patrick gave a rich laugh.

Suddenly, Leslie felt eyes on her, and she looked across their table. A pair of freakishly blue eyes stared in their direction. They belonged to a man, a bit older in age—probably in his fifties, she guessed—with long gray hair. His face was round and wrinkled, making him look very ugly. He wore a black trench coat over a white shirt and a striped tie. Leslie noticed the big rings on his finger and deduced that he must be some wealthy man. However, his stare was making him appear scary.

When he realized he was caught in the act, his lips curved into a cold smile.

She quickly looked away and tried to concentrate on what her boyfriend was saying. However, Leslie kept getting the weirdest feeling that nothing around her was safe anymore. The worrisome thoughts kept her occupied. An unmistakable panic was slowly settling in.

All because of an old man who was probably innocently looking at the college kids as they sat right across from him and reminiscing about his past!

Leslie shivered. “Guys,” her voice wavered. “I’ll be right back.”

Thankfully, none of the boys noticed the change in her tone, and she quickly made her way to the ladies room. Once she was in, the first thing she did was empty her bladder. Somehow, the old man had freaked her out so much that she felt the need to pee. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly that triggered such emotions in her. This had never happened to her before.

She splashed some cold water on her face, fixed her makeup once again, and exhaled, feeling a lot better than before. Hoping that the old man was gone, she slowly stepped out.

Her heart felt lighter when she saw his seat was empty, and the smile then came easy to her. At that moment, she even wanted to laugh at herself for having a stupid panic attack. After all, he was a harmless old man.

She found her boyfriend standing by the counter, buying another coffee for himself. She walked over to him. “I thought you promised me that you’d cut down on your caffeine consumption for a day.” Leslie narrowed her eyes. He looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights and smiled very cutely. “I told you too much coffee isn’t good for my Patty-pie’s health.”

“I promise this is the last one,” he said and leaned down to kiss her. He obviously wasn’t going to keep his promise. But she let it slip. Pushing the matter wasn’t going to help. Leslie believed that Patrick needed to decide to stop on his own.

However, she couldn’t help but worry too.

When he broke the kiss, she shook her head, giggling slightly, and looked in the direction of their booth. “Where’s Brad?”

Patrick turned to look. “I don’t know. He was sitting right there before you came back out.” They trailed back in the direction of their booth. “Maybe he went to the restroom.”

“Couldn’t have happened.” Leslie shook her head. “Or else I would have seen him when I came out.”

“I don’t understand.” Patrick gazed at her. “He was right here a minute ago, talking to the old dude, and I went to get….”

“Old dude?” Leslie’s heart skipped a beat. “Who?”

“I don’t know who he was, but I guess he was sitting in this booth.” He pointed to the space where the scary old man had once been. “He came over to Brad and was like, ‘Can I talk to you in private?’ So I just left the booth for them to talk.”

“Pat!” Her blood was running cold by then. “How could you leave him alone with a stranger?”

“Baby, overreact much?” Patrick looked around, and Leslie realized that everyone was looking in their direction. “Brad is not a little child.”

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Ian’s voice interrupted them, and Pat tightened his jaw.

Leslie tried to calm herself down before replying. “Brad is… I don’t know… he went somewhere. It’s probably nothing, but Pat says he was talking to this old man before and….”

“Shit, no!” Ian yelled. “Old man? What did he look like?”

There was panic in his eyes, and his voice and fright suddenly found a home in Leslie’s system. “Freakishly blue eyes, wrinkled face, Rings on his fingers.”

“Long gray hair?” Ian asked anxiously.

“Yes!” Leslie was certain something pretty awful had happened to Brad, and she couldn’t stop cursing herself for lack of better judgment. “Ian, do you know something?”

His lip quivered. “I do.” He stepped closer and looked between the two of them. “Brad is in big trouble right now, and there’s only one person who can get him out of it.”

“What do you mean, trouble? Who was that old man?” Patrick demanded, holding Ian by his shirt. “What do you know, Anderson?”

“Patrick, stop!”

“I know that if we don’t get help right now, you are gonna be sorry for the rest of your life,” Ian replied in his own rage.

Leslie managed to pull Patrick off Ian and glared daggers at her boyfriend. “Don’t you hear what he’s saying? We don’t have time for this, Pat. God knows what trouble Brad could be in right now.” She turned her attention back at Ian. “Tell me, what should we do? Do we call the cops?”

“Cops can’t do anything, even if they wanted to.” Ian snorted. “There’s only one man who can save and rescue Brad.”

“And who is that? You?” Patrick hissed.

“No,” Ian said, glaring at him. “His name is Ronan.” His gaze turned to look at Leslie, who was horribly curious at that moment. “He is the mystery guy Brad met last night at the nightclub.”

“T
HIS
PLACE
is closed for business tonight,” the bald guy standing by the entrance declared for everyone—all who had gathered outside the nightclub. “I am sorry, ladies and gentleman, but you will have to find somewhere else to party.”

From what Leslie could tell, the people didn’t sound happy about it at all.

She sat on the swivel chair and glanced at the door behind her for the umpteenth time. Ian had asked them to wait when he had disappeared behind that door. That was five minutes ago, and every passing moment made Leslie sick with anxiety. She wished there was a way to know what was happening inside that room.

Patrick’s hand palmed her shoulder, and she looked up at him. She could see the worry in his eyes too, but her sweet boyfriend wouldn’t give up trying to calm her nerves. “Everything is going to be all right,” he assured her.

Leslie spared a sad smile for his sake.

Her gaze wandered around the club in the meantime. Some random song was playing in the background at a low volume. It didn’t matter since the dance floor was deserted. There were only a few people that she could count in the room at the moment. Other than Leslie and Pat, there was a goth guy sitting by the bar silently drinking his brandy, and a black, plump waitress was busy sweeping the floor. There were no other staff, and it made Leslie wonder why she was still here. Of course, there was the bald guy, who was now in a heated argument with someone outside.

Leslie jumped out of her chair as soon as she heard the door open and nudged Patrick to get his attention. She watched as Ian stepped out of the manager’s office, looking troubled and enraged. The way he looked at them escalated her worries. Leslie was at the point of asking the reason for his distress when a man walked out of the office and came to stand by his side.