Read In Between Dreams Online

Authors: Erin Rooks

In Between Dreams (35 page)

BOOK: In Between Dreams
10.05Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“It’s genetic,” June said. “These abilities. You got them from your dad, and your dad got them from his mom.”

“So Daniel and I are related?” Bailey asked, her face twisted in disgust.

“Absolutely not,” June said immediately. “Daniel got his abilities from Rodney, but you and Rodney aren’t from the same bloodline. Although it is genetic, not only one bloodline has it.”

“Who does? Who decides this?”

“It goes back very far. It all started more than a century ago. It all sprang from a community in Germany from the 1300s. Although your ancestors and Daniel’s ancestors both belong to that community, it doesn’t make you related.”

“A community?” Bailey asked, more confused than ever. “I thought it was nature.”

“It is nature,” June said softly. “Nature protected you, your ancestors. In turn, you protect others. Nature created the ability to move back and forth between consciousnesses so you can help others.”

“What were we protected from?”

“The community in Germany, a small town named Quedlinburg was spared during the black plague. The next generation of the people of the town in Quedlinburg all had shadow selves. The formula was hard to perfect at first. The realization that they had shadow selves was found by the elders in the community, but deterimining how to utilize them was difficult.

“The town went through a lot: diseases, famine, World War I, and lastly World War II. Though much of the town was spared in World War II, much more than other parts of Germany, the people of Quedlinburg realized they needed to leave. The community scattered throughout the world. Nature continued to supply the descendents with shadow selves;
however, only the descendents of the elders knew what to do with their abilities. The uses developed through generations of trial and error.”

“And Rodney?” Bailey asked, filling the stale air with her voice. “He’s a descendent of the elders?”

June nodded. “I don’t know why he chose to keep this from you,” she said, and reached for Bailey’s hand. Bailey moved closer to her and held June’s hand back. “But you can’t stay mad at him forever. Daniel either. You need to believe in your heart it was for your own protection. You can’t live with resentment.”

“I know,” Bailey whispered. “I’m just so angry.”

“You’re not angry, sweetheart. You’re hurt.”

A noise from behind Bailey made her turn. She saw Daniel standing behind her, with guilt and sadness in his eyes.

“Still mad at me?” he asked Bailey in a low voice. June stood and exited the room as swiftly as she could. Daniel stood there, looking like a hurt puppy.

Bailey stood and walked toward Daniel. “I don’t understand the need for secrecy,” Bailey said, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking up at him. “Why lie?”

“I had always known Rodney was my dad, to an extent,” Daniel said with a gruffness in his voice. “But when I realized it, really realized that the man who raised me wasn’t my dad, it hurt a lot. It took me a long time to come to terms with it.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Telling you that your dad wasn’t who you thought he was scared the hell out of me,” Daniel mumbled sadly. “I was scared of losing you, scared of you being angry with me because I told you. Plus, I know you thought of Rodney as a reincarnation of your father. I didn’t want you to lose that.”

“I didn’t want to lose that either,” Bailey said, her voice cracking with hurt. “I feel like I’m losing him all over again.”

Daniel put his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “You’re not losing anyone, okay?” Daniel told her sternly. “You’ve got me, you’ve got your mom, you’ve got…” Daniel paused, closing his pained eyes. “Sam.” Sam was a part of the group and part of Bailey’s life.
He was one of them, and Daniel knew it, no matter how hard it was to come to terms with.

Bailey let out a shaky breath. “But Rodney—”

“Rodney’s gone; he died. He’s not coming back. But this”—Daniel pointed between himself and Bailey—“you and me, we’re still here. So we’ve got to keep living. We need to keep moving, keep going. Keep doing these missions. If we don’t keep going, the pain will swallow us.”

Bailey threw herself into Daniel’s embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest. “We’re going to be okay, Bales. I’m going to take care of you.”

Bailey didn’t need to be taken care of. She didn’t need a man. But, in that moment, it felt good to be comforted. And Daniel was exactly what she needed. She felt Daniel kiss her shoulder and pull her in tighter. She let the tears fall from her eyes into his shirt, but a part of her knew that it would be okay. They would be okay without Rodney. They had been okay without Rodney. And Bailey realized in a moment of clarity she could no longer be mad at a ghost.

Bailey walked up to the grave with a potted plant of peony flowers and set them in front of his headstone. She backed away as Sam grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. She looked at him affectionately and he gave her a reassuring smile. Daniel watched as their hands interlaced and felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. The feeling of losing. Not losing to Sam but losing her.

Daniel looked at Bailey. He realized he needed to be there for her too, Sam or no Sam. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Sam’s jaw tightened at the sight of it. “You all right?” Daniel asked softly.

She nodded. “I just need a minute.”

Daniel nodded back, rubbed her shoulder, and stepped away. “We’ll be at the car,” Daniel said.

Daniel walked away, but Sam stayed for a moment. He brought her hand to his lips, kissed it lightly. “I’ll be right over there.” Daniel could hear the soft exchange as he walked against the wind toward the street.
He put his hands in his pockets, looked down at his feet and kept walking. Going over the feelings of their triangle would eat him alive.

Bailey nodded and gave him a weak smile.

When the men were out of earshot, she landed on her knees, noting his name on the gravestone.
Rodney Clearwater
. “So, you’re Walter,” she laughed a little.

A tear fell down her face, and she wiped it with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what to say to you, Rodney.” Tears flowed freely on her face. The breeze was soft, and the leaves on the trees were beginning to change. A single yellow leaf fell in front of her. She picked it up and traced his name with the stray leaf.

“I want to be angry with you,” she whispered for fear someone would hear her. “But I can’t. I can’t be mad at you for something I didn’t understand. But God I wish you were here to talk to me, to tell me your side of all this.

“I miss you so much it hurts. I think about you all the time. All the time. I think the hardest thing about all of this is that I didn’t get to mourn you. Not really. You were there, and then you weren’t. I shoulda known, you know? Daniel was particularly awful that mission and I just—I shoulda known. God, I miss you.”

She wiped her face. “I think about what you would say to me all the time.” She looked back at the men by the car. “Like, with those two knuckleheads…as you would call them.” She laughed a little through her tears and then looked back up at his headstone. “Thank you, Rodney. Thank you for helping me grow up. For being there when my father wasn’t. When he couldn’t be. I always believed my father was talking to me through you. Now it’s like he kind of was. You knew him, ya know?” She swallowed softly. Trying to think what else to say. She looked across the graveyard. She saw an older woman with white hair in all black. She dropped a single rose on the fresh grave she was visiting. Bailey looked back at Rodney’s headstone.

“If you’re looking down on me, help me make the right decision. Tell me what to do. I wonder all the time if I’m making you and my father proud. I hope I am. I pray I am. Tell me what to do.”

Bailey looked toward Sam and Daniel. who both stared back at her. “I don’t want to let Daniel and Sam pull each other apart because of me. I was intentionally ignoring the issue of them being interested in me, because I thought the dreams weren’t real and now I feel more hopeless than ever. I don’t want to be the rope they tug at or else I’ll break in half. That’s what you were always trying to tell me.”

Bailey took a breath and wiped her cheeks and looked at Sam and Daniel, who seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. “I want to thank you, Rodney. Thank you for giving me a better life than I could have made for myself. We’re helping people. That is what I’m meant for. I miss you, Rodney. I really do.”

Daniel looked at Bailey from across the graveyard. “She’s going to be a wreck,” he mumbled to himself.

Sam threw his arms up in exaggerated exasperation. He’d finally had enough of Daniel being around. All the time. It’d been less than twenty-four hours, and Sam couldn’t handle even that. “You know what, Daniel? I can’t do this anymore,” he told him seriously, “I can’t fight with you over her. Not anymore, man.”

“I was just making a comment,” Daniel pointed out.

“But we both know what’s going on,” Sam said, his expression serious.

Daniel turned to Sam slowly, leaned his side onto the black SUV. “What do you suggest?” Daniel asked.

“I suggest you bow out.”


No
. No way, mate.”

“And why is that?”

“Because she just figured out it was real. As much as I hate to admit it, she needs us both right now.” Daniel stated his position honestly, clearly, without emotion even though he was clearly not happy about it. Daniel knew that Sam was Bailey’s comfort. And Sam knew that Daniel was one of the only people who could talk her out of a funk.

Sam shook his head at Daniel. Sam didn’t want to believe that Bailey needed anyone else but him. “She doesn’t need you. You’re disgusting.
You’re crude. And I can’t believe she would kiss you out of any other emotion than pity.”

“Believe it, Sammy.” Daniel said the normally sweet nickname as if it was venomous. “This thing between her and I, it’s not one sided.”

“And ours is?”

Daniel shrugged. “I think her love for you is purely sprung from proximity.”

“Well, I guess you’ll never know, huh? You don’t even live on this continent. What are you going to do?”

Daniel grinned widely at Sam. He took his time to speak, because he wanted his words to really, truly sink in. “Did you forget that I’m a millionaire? I can be anywhere and everywhere.” He motioned around the graveyard. “I flew you out to New York in a private jet.”

Sam looked Daniel directly in the eyes, squinting at him, trying to read what Daniel was trying to say. Daniel’s smirk seemed to grow, and Sam looked away. He looked at Bailey kneeling at Rodney’s grave. His expression softened. He wanted to be doing so much more than fighting with Daniel. He wanted all of his questions answered. He wanted to be watching old movies in Bailey’s bed on a Sunday morning. He wanted to introduce her to his mom and to meet hers. But he was standing there, trading dirty looks with Daniel.

Sam was jerked out of his thoughts when Daniel jabbed his elbow into hid side and grinned vindictively. “In fact”—he paused for effect—“you just got yourself a new neighbor, mate.”

Acknowledgements

S
o many hands were on this novel, but I have to thank my father first and foremost. He gave a vision to this I never thought possible. He saw me sweat, cry, and bleed myself dry into this novel. He was there for every part. Rooting me on, holding my hand, filling in the blanks.

I want to thank my mother. She has always been my biggest fan and throughout this process, that hasn’t changed.

I need to thank a fellow author, Diane Orme. Her perspective was invaluable. She was my English teacher. My reader’s advocate. She pointed out flaws that I would have passed over easily. Thank you.

To all the people I bounced ideas off of, cried in front of, the ones I canceled plans with because I was writing. Thank you for putting up with me. Unfortunately, it’s not over. I’ve been writing since I was fourteen, and I can honestly say this was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Lastly and most importantly, I could have done it without the love and support of my husband, whom I adore. He watched me cry, walked me through scenes and rooted for the characters. He was the first person to hear the story, and he put the fire inside me to write it. This book would not be possible without him.

I have my vivid dreams, my wild imagination, and my passion to see lyrics on paper to thank for this book. I foresee a lifetime of telling tales that used to only exist in my dreams.

BOOK: In Between Dreams
10.05Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Best Day of My Life by Deborah Ellis
Odd Interlude by Dean Koontz
A Perfect Scandal by Tina Gabrielle