Romance: The Second Chance - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Suspense Romance Book 1) (12 page)

             
A
bby still felt like she was riding on the clouds. Weightless, in a dream that she never wanted to end.

              Eli had immediately told Ricky he was leaving, and that he could call Kirsten if he needed help. Ricky had just grinned, and told him not to worry about a thing. Abby herself was so excited she didn't even feel bad about ditching Molly at the cafe. She would explain later, if Molly wanted, but honestly Molly probably wouldn’t even care by morning.

              Abby now sat in the passenger seat in Eli's truck. Driving to the sand dunes to the right of the water. Eli told her that they were spectacular, and wanted to show her first hand. But Abby honestly would have gone anywhere as long as she was going with him.

              The sun shone down on the town in it's fullest glory. Heating up the city perfectly. Not too cold, and not too hot. Abby gazed at Eli as he drove, noticing the dancing reflection from the sun in the waves behind him. It only added to his enchanting good looks.

              Further on, Abby could finally see the vast landscape of the ever-changing sands. Constantly forming and reshaping themselves, the sand dunes were truly a sight to behold. Abby never thought something so barren could hold so much beauty, but she'd been wrong more than once in her life.

              They turned off into a tiny, empty lot. Abby smiled. Going on an adventure was almost always more fun when there was no one else around.

              Eli put the old Ford into park, and they hopped out and headed onto the sand. Abby pulled off her shoes and socks, then pushed her toes into it.

             
Glorious
,
she thought.

              The sun’s heat kept the sand warm, but not unbearably so. Eli ditched his shoes too, and they walked together, hand-in-hand, with virtually no direction or purpose other than soaking in the landscape and enjoying the beauty that surrounded them and kept them company.

              After a few minutes, Eli turned to her. “Do you want to try something fun?”

              Abby nodded, and he led them off towards the top of one of the sand dunes. When they reached the peak, Abby took a moment to appreciate the beauty before her. Miles upon miles of untamed coastline in both directions. Treasure Rock was only a pebble, at this distance, but still spectacular. Eli pointed up and behind to their right.

“That’s where we were last night,” he said.

And now that he’d shown her where to look, she could see the tip of the lighthouse, too.

“And, you think that's cool?” Eli said. “Just wait.”              

              Just as soon as Eli had finished his statement he took off running full speed opposite the ocean in front of her. Abby couldn't for the life of her figure out what he was doing. Then, without warning, he leaped into the air and disappeared as he fell into thin air.

              Abby rushed towards the edge, half expecting to see a crumpled corpse at the bottom of the dune. But he was only 30 feet below, half buried in the side of the steep embankment. Before she could ask if he was alright, he yelled up to her, “What are you waiting for?” Abby stopped.

             
Surely he doesn't want
me
to jump?

             
“Come on! Don't be a wimp! I promise you'll love it.”

              His reassurance didn't help, but the insult spurred her on.

             
I'll show
you
a wim
p
.
Abby backed up, making sure to provide ample room to accelerated up to her maximum speed. She took off and didn't look back! Running through the hot sand felt incredible, and the breeze at the top was more than glorious. As soon as she was able to see the edge everything inside of her wanted to stop. Wanted to give up and go home. Where it was safe, and she wouldn't have to worry about jumping off the side of an incredibly steep mountain of sand to her probable death. But she kept running. She closed her eyes, and jumped.

             
Left, right, left,
jump
!

             
She flew through the air, weightless. That old free fall dread filled her stomach, and she knew she going to die. Time slowed. And then her feet made contact and kept going, the sand a perfect cushion for her landing. When she looked up, heart hammering, she only a few feet behind Eli, half buried in sand just like he was. He laughed, and gave an approving nod.

              “Fun, right?”

              She smiled. “Surprisingly yes... even if I did fear for my life.”

              He laughed at that, and so did she. And it felt good. Not to have a care in the world. Not to be stressed by something she needed to do, or had done wrong. To be away from constant distractions and just be… free. And the more time she spent with Eli, the more free she felt.

              Eli pulled himself out and climbed toward her. He offered his hand and pulled her up out of the sand, leaving a crater behind. As she emerged, the sand rolled off her body, though some of it was wet and clung to her skin. She did her best to wipe it off, but it was a lost cause. Eli was already looking at her when she looked up, and she gave him a questioning smile.

              “What? Do I have something on my face?”

              He smile was warm. Admiring. “No,” he said.

He was staring at her again, and Abby blushed, turning away. She’d never felt she was beautiful, not like some of the girls she grew up with, but with Eli it was different. They way he looked at her was different. It made her
feel
different. She felt appealing around him—good-looking, even. She hadn’t felt like that in a long, long time.

              “Race you to the top,” she called, breaking the tension.

              “You don't have a chance!” He grinned, bending down like a sprinter with one hand firmly on his knee.

              “We'll see about that, big shot. Alright, ready.... set....” She bolted.

              Eli took off after her, already behind. “Wait, that’s not fair!” He made up a lot of ground, but Abby’s head start was too much, and she beat him. Barely.

              “You cheated,” he said, smiling.

              “Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”

             
Eli's raised an eyebrow in challenge, the he rushed over and picked her up. Throwing her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing at all.

             
The scar!
Abby thought.

              “Eli, put me down! Put me down Eli!” All joy gone from her face.

              Eli immediately let her down, and Abby was quick to pull her shorts down, making sure to cover up the grotesque mark. Eli's face was filled with both shock and concern. Obviously feeling horrible, but also confused what he’d done wrong.

              “I'm so sorry Abby! Did I hurt you?”

              His concern almost moved her to tears. She hated lying to him. She had
to tell him.

              “No, it's just....” She struggled to find the words. “It's just that....”

              “It's just... what?” he said, after a long pause.

              “It's just, I hurt my leg little from the fall. It cramped up a little and I freaked out, that’s all. Sorry.” She didn't have the words. She didn't know how to say it. She couldn’t tell him, not now.

              “No, I'm the one who's sorry,” Eli said gently. “I never meant to hurt you. Do you want me to take you home?”

              “No. No, it's fine.”

              He looked at her. Still not convinced.

              “
Really,”
She said, reaching out to touch his chest. Reassuring him, she wasn’t holding a grudge.

He took her hand in his and kissed it. Shivers ran down her spine, right through to her toes and into the warm sand underfoot. “How you can be this gorgeous, and no one had snatched you up?” he asked, looking into her eyes. It was enough to make her melt. Rather than trying to speak, she simply smiled at him. “I know I've only known you for a little while,” he said, “but I feel like I've known you forever. I never want to spend another moment without you.”

              Abby couldn't take it any more; she gave in to his beautifully spoken words, and melted into his arms.

              Neither of them said a word for a long time, after that. She wasn't even sure if time had passed. It was just him and her. Standing. Or were they floating? Gazing into one another’s eyes. Holding, searching, admiring one another’s beauty. The brush strokes that made them who they were, beautifully crafted piece by piece. Fit for each other, perfectly matched in every way.

              The sun met the horizon in a wash of distant red and gold as they kissed passionately atop their fragile castle. Wet sand coated to their arms and legs, but love poured from the hearts, raw and intense. This was their love growing, bold and true.

             
Ugh, where am I?

             
Abby woke groggy, confused, her eyelids heavy and stuck together with sleep. She squinted at white walls, white tile floors, even a white table just to her right. A TV hung from the wall in front of her, and a fan circled slowly overhead. There were all sorts of tubes and wires plugged into her wrists and the backs of her hands. Bags of clear liquid hung from a on a cold steel brace above her head.

              Before she could gather her thoughts together, the door opened and a young Asian women walked in. She was neatly dressed—also all in white—with a pen in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

              “Oh good, you're awake!” the woman said brightly. “How are you feeling?”

              “Uhh... good,” Abby said thickly. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, sticky and sour-tasting. “I guess... a little tired.”

              “Don't worry, that's completely normal!” She had quite the upbeat personality. Like someone who could never show sadness or anger to the outside world. There was no way she could really feel that happy
all
the time. Especially working in what Abby was now assuming was a hospital.

              “Wha... what happened?” asked.

              “You are a very lucky young lady! You fell over and knocked yourself unconscious. Tipped over some candles in the process. I'm sorry to say that your house has seen better days, but I wouldn't think about that. Just think about how incredibly lucky you are to be alive!”

              She kept saying that word, “Lucky”. Was she really
lucky?
What happened last night?...

              “Ah!” A sudden sharp blast of pain jolted her to attention. Immediately releasing her from any grogginess she had left. She clutched her left hip, where the pain originated from, but touching the area only made it worse.

              “Easy! Easy honey... you don't want to be touching that now. We just changed the bandages. Here, I’ll give you a little more morphine.”

              The perky young nurse walked over to where the bags of fluid hung, and adjusted some things before heading back to her. “There, that ought to do it!”

Her smile wasn’t doing a thing to ease Abby’s discomfort. She still had no idea where she was, or even what had happened last night. Was it the drugs? Or, they did say she hit her head… was that it? All she could remember was the vague memory of a fire, and an image of her hand against the concrete steps of the house.

              Crawling. Why had she been crawling? To get away? Get away from… the fire? Or... Tucker. Oh.
Tucker
.

              “Tucker. You said the house... my—my boyfriend, Tucker. Where is he?” She had to force out the word boyfriend; it stuck in her throat like an old bone. One she half wished was buried, when the woman’s face grew serious. Had he been injured—or even killed—in the fire? The one
he’d
caused while trying to rape her?

              “Please tell me, what happened to him? Where is he?”

              “I'm really not sure if—”

              “Lady,
please
!” Abby caught herself, and softened her voice. It wasn’t this woman’s fault, what had happened, and she’d been nothing but kind to her, even if it was getting irritating. “I'm sorry, really, but I have to know. I promise I’ll be calm.”

              The woman sighed. “It’s an ongoing investigation, I think, but since you’re his girlfriend…. Look, just don't tell anyone I told you? He was arrested for possession of drugs when the police went to his home to tell him what had happened to you. Apparently he was high when he answered the door, and they found a whole bunch of cocaine, and some other stuff, and now he's in pretty big trouble.” She hesitated. “I... I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, what with everything that’s happened, but your boyfriend’s in jail. And he’s probably going to be for a while.” The nurse grasped her hand tightly. “I'm so sorry,” she said, then finished checking her IV bags, and left.

Abby barely noticed she’d gone, her head was spinning so much, trying to process everything. But her mind was foggy and unclear, and she could feel her body sinking back into sleep. Before she lost consciousness, one word drifted across her mind.

              Safe.