Salvaged (16 page)

I glanced over at Riley. He was leaning against the doorframe
with a large grin on his face.

"I love where you put the bed. I love all of it."

Mrs. Bennett released me and clapped. "Oh goody!"

I turned back to the pictures. "Who drew these? They're so
beautiful."

"Oh, that was Riley. It doesn't take him any time at all."

"Riley? You drew these?"

I spun around and saw him walking toward me. "Yeah."

"I didn't know you were an artist."

He reached out and pulled me to his chest. "Hmm, I wonder
what else you don't know about me."

I squeezed his neck as he hugged me. "Thank you so much. I
love them."

"I'm glad that you like them. You're welcome."

Pops loudly cleared his throat, and Riley released me from his
grip and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well, we'll leave you to look around," Pops announced.

"Dinner in thirty minutes," Mrs. Bennett added.

I felt my body droop when I discovered that Riley was following
his parents out of my room. "You aren't staying, Riley?"

"Hold your horses, I'll be right back."

"Good." Sitting on the bed and taking in the view of my room, I
realized that not all of the frames housed pictures. "What's with the
empty frames?" I yelled.

"I've got a plan for two of them, but it's a secret." He walked
back into the room with a wrapped gift in his hands. "The others are
for pictures from the future. Like maybe one of us."

"Sounds great to me. Future romance or not, you're my best
friend." I eyed the gift. "Even more so if that's a present for me."

He smirked as he handed it to me. "It sure is."

"Oooh, I love gifts!"

"Figured as much."

I tore open the wrapping paper, causing shreds of paper to fly
into the air. Riley tried to catch them as they fell back to the earth,
but most of it landed scattered on the bed. "You got me a cordless
phone? I love it!"

"Correction, I got us a cordless phone."

"Same difference." I quickly hugged him. "Oh, Riley, thanks."

"I figured I had to do something to get you out of my room
every once in awhile."

I opened the box and removed the phone.

"So did you mean what you said about me being your best
friend?" he asked.

"Yes, you are my best friend." I set the box down and looked at
him. His eyes were full of admiration. "I don't know what I would
do without you, Riley. I believe God sent you to me."

"I do too. No doubt." He hesitated. "But have you ever thought
about the fact that God could have brought you to me too?"

"Pardon? What do you mean?"

"Well, you act like you're the only one who needed someone.
Maybe I needed someone too."

"You? But you've got it all together."

"Well, that's not true." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I
was struggling. Not to the same extent that you are, but I was having
a hard time. My faith was shaken pretty badly, and I didn't have anyone who believed what I did, or to the same degree anyway. I didn't have anyone to support me living out what I believe God's called me
to. A higher standard for myself, I guess."

"I see." I nodded. "Doing the right thing can be difficult. Especially when it's because you feel like God told you to. People just
don't get that."

"No, they don't." He was quiet for a few moments as he picked
up my hand and traced the lines in my palm with his finger. "You're
good for me, Charlie. I'm a better person when I'm around you."

My hand warmed at his touch. "You were already a good person.
You just needed someone to be a good person with. It's more fun
that way."

"Well... " He looked back up at me and smirked. "We certainly
have fun together."

"We're agreed then. We're good for each other, romance or no
romance.

"Actually-we're perfect for each other." He winked. "And I'm
still betting on a romance."

Later that evening, I lightly outlined each and every line of the
sketches hanging on the wall. I think I was somehow hoping that
tracing the lines of my parents' faces would connect me with them.

"Am I gonna have to clean that glass every day?" Riley asked
from the doorway behind me.

"Probably."

"You okay?"

I nodded.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No," I whispered.

He walked in and stood a few inches behind me. Although my
eyes were on the wall in front of me, I could feel his eyes on me, and
his concern was palpable.

Within moments I reached back and touched the top of his
wrists with my fingertips. His hands flinched at the surprise of my
touch, but they instantly rested again. Looking down, I watched as
my fingers slid down the front of his hand until our fingers entwined. The top of my hand didn't come close to comparing in size to his,
and I noticed that my skin looked pale white against his sun-kissed
tan. I wrapped our arms across my body and allowed myself to lean
back against his chest.

For the first time in a year, I felt I was where I belonged. In his
arms, I was safe and home.

"I can't believe you drew these for me. I love them more than
you could ever know."

"I loved drawing them for you."

Our voices were hushed.

"Making me happy seems to come naturally to you, Riley. You're
very good at it. Why do you believe that is?"

"There are so many reasons I could probly write a book about it.
All I know for sure is that seeing you happy makes me happy. And
being like this, just standing here like this, makes very me happy."

"Then I'm going to try to stop being such an emotional wreck
all the time and just be happy." I turned my head and looked up at
him. "I want you to be happy, Riley."

"When I'm with you, I am happy." He pulled me more tightly to
him. "So keep spending time with me."

"You don't know how much I needed some happiness in my
life."

"Oh, I don't know. You look pretty happy in that picture with
your dad."

I looked back at the sketch but couldn't respond.

He placed the side of his face against mine, and I could feel my
eyelashes brush his cheek when I blinked.

"Ever since the picture came in the mail, I've been wondering what
you were laughing about. Do you remember what was so funny?"

"No." Honestly, I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want
to go back there, not now. I didn't want to lose the happiness I was
feeling, and going back there would cause my joy to evaporate. "But
I do know we haven't laughed like that since."

In one final brush of his cheek, I let my eyes close.

"Are you asleep?"

I didn't know how much time had passed. "I was until you
talked," I admitted.

"Well, let's get you tucked in. Your place or mine?"

"Mine. I want to sleep by my beautiful pictures."

Within minutes Riley had the sleeping bags laid out, and feeling
sleep quickly approach, I climbed inside.

I sensed the monsters as they crept out of hiding.

During the night I experienced another nightmare. It was worse
than any other I'd experienced while in Oklahoma, and Riley wasn't
able wake me out of it quickly enough to keep me from experiencing
the anguish at the end of the dream. For what might have been the
three-hundredth time or more, I watched my mother and Melody
die, and Riley was powerless to help.

"Hello, Attie. I'm Joshua, and this is my wife, Nicole."

"Hello."

"We've heard a lot about you, Attie," Nicole added.

"Uh-oh." I grumbled and rolled my eyes.

"All good," she corrected. "All good."

"Thank God."

"Have a seat, Attie." Joshua motioned to the chair next to the
fireplace. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Can I get you anything to drink, Attie?" Nicole asked.

"Nope, I'm good. I might need Kleenex, though; I'm a crier."

Joshua took a seat on the sofa. "Right there on the table next
to you."

I saw a box of tissue sitting on the table and put it in my lap just
in case they were needed.

Joshua began. "I'll start by telling you a little about us. Okay?"

"Sure."

"Attie, I'm a licensed and practicing psychiatrist, and I also hold
a seminary degree. So, while psychiatry and counseling is my primary occupation, I feel called to youth ministry, and I do that in my
spare time."

"Wow, you're a busy man."

"You don't have to tell me that," Nicole joked.

"My wife joins me occasionally if I need a female perspective,
and she's also always close by when I counsel females. I feel like it helps them relax and feel safer. So is it okay with you if she hears our
conversations?"

I nodded.

"Trust me, Attie, my lips are sealed. I would never share anything I hear," Nicole promised.

"I trust you."

"Good."

Joshua continued, "Nicole and I have been married for eight
years, and so far, we don't have any children."

"One day soon hopefully," Nicole interrupted.

"I've been in the ministry for six years, but we've only lived here
for nine months. From what I understand, your family is very well
respected in this town, but that's all I know. Mr. Bennett only told
me that you would be staying with them for the summer and that
you were dealing with some difficult issues, and he's hoping that I
can help. He didn't give me any more details than that."

"Sounds fine."

"Okay, any questions?"

I shook my head.

"Well then, it's your turn. Please, why don't you tell us about
yourself?"

"Oh gosh, are you ready for this?"

He grinned. "Yes. I've heard just about everything, so nothing
you can say will scare me."

Before I spoke, he picked up a notepad and pen.

"I'll be seventeen in August and a senior when we start school
later this summer."

Joshua was already taking notes.

"A year ago this coming Monday, I was in a car accident with my
mom and best friend, Melody. They both died, but I didn't. I should
have-or so the evidence suggests, but here I am.

"I was pinned in the car, and bystanders were unable to get me
out. My left arm and leg were jammed into some metal, so they
couldn't pry me loose.

"The car was on fire and the flames became too intense, so the
people were forced to give up and leave us to die. Nobody knows for
sure how I got out; all they know is that when the fire was put out
and the smoke cleared, they found me lying about ten feet from the
car. The doctor said that the water they were spraying on the car
kept me from suffering burns. Based on the physical evidence, my
seat was crushed around a pole, and there was no logical explanation
to me freeing myself from the vehicle. Evidently, as they loaded me
into the ambulance, I mentioned something about a man in white
carrying me from the car.

"I was unconscious in the hospital for a little over three months.
While I was asleep, I had a very vivid dream.

"Jesus and I were taking a walk together, enjoying each other's
company when all of a sudden everything went dark. All I could see
was Jesus, in his bare feet, standing on a stepping stone. He asked
me if I was ready to follow him on a new journey. At first, I wasn't
sure if I wanted to or not. I was afraid to say yes. But eventually, after
some prodding, I agreed. I took a step onto the first stepping stone,
and next thing you know, I woke up.

"My dad was working through his own grief issues and never
came to the hospital. So I spent almost all of my time alone unless
someone from the clergy or a nun stopped by.

"After I woke up, I began to see Jesus in my hospital room.
Sometimes he was alone, and sometimes he had angels with him.
He and I would have conversations with one another, but the angels
never spoke to me. They spent all of their time praying. There was
one particular angel that looked familiar to me, and Jesus told me
that he was who pulled me from the car."