Secrets (The Secret Series Book 1) (2 page)

The doorknob was moving back and forth at the front door and I stood there with the baseball bat in hand “I just called the police and if you try to break in I’m going to shoot you in self defense.” The doorknob stopped moving and I saw what had to be a shadow underneath my door. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. The police department is only a couple of minutes away and they can be here within minutes.” That seemed to get through to whoever it was, because that shadow moved away from the door and I heard the door to the stairwell opening and closing down the hallway.

I didn’t even think that I was breathing, and it appeared that I was actually holding my breath the entire time that all of this was going on. I waited a while longer, before putting my eye up to the peephole, but there was nobody out there. Opening the door slowly, I peered around the corner to see that the hallway was empty and the only sound that could be heard was the flickering light about 10 feet away that sounded like it was going to blow any day.

There was no time to dwell on any of this, because I had to get to work in the next 15 minutes. I’m glad that I knew the streets as well as I did, because getting around was going to be easier than staying behind all of these yahoos that were stuck in traffic. I didn’t want to be one of those people, but my father had taught me many years ago how to avoid certain obstacles. He also made it a point to tell me that I should get a four wheel drive, because he said that it would be perfect for wintertime.

I’m glad that he worried about me because having a four wheel drive had gotten me into places that I don’t think I would’ve been able to without it. After all, winter storms here on the eastern coast is not exactly pleasant for anybody, but if you have a four wheel drive you can practically get around anyplace without too much difficulty.
 

It wasn’t exactly winter and it had to be close to 90°, and that was just in the shade. It was one of those May mornings that you could see the mist rising from the pavement and if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you would be able to fry an egg on top of the sidewalk. The weatherman was saying that it was unseasonable warm for this time of the year, but nobody was complaining.

I climbed into my black RAV 4, gunning the engine and moving out onto the side streets. Taking the almost desolate side roads, I was able to avoid the traffic that was most likely piling up on the highway as we speak. Not only was it a May morning, but it was a long weekend, which meant that some had taken the day off to head for their cottages for a long overdue rest from the daily grind.

I noticed a black SUV behind me, which was a little unusual considering that this road is barely used anymore. They haven’t use this street, since the overpass was built a few years ago, making a lot of these small businesses on this road begin to fail. They were accustomed to the flow of traffic and depended on that much needed revenue to make ends meet. Unfortunately, a lot of the small businesses had fallen on hard times and you could look on the side of the road to see several of these establishments with for sale or for lease signs in the window.

Thinking about my past childhood living in this area, I began to think about old times and how nice it was to go camping in the middle of the week. My father would come and get me out of school early on a Friday and he wouldn’t bring me back until Monday morning.

Looking in my mirror, I see this same SUV getting closer, until finally it is practically bumper to bumper with me. I speed up, but it matches my speed precisely, so I open up my window and use my arm to indicate to the driver that he could pass.

He doesn’t do that and continues to dog me, until we drive out of the residential area and then he smashes into my back bumper. I felt the jarring impact and it made me hit the steering wheel with my chest and it was only by good luck and good management that the airbags didn’t go off.

Gunning the engine, I felt my lead begin to get longer, but then he pressed the accelerator and was on me within seconds. I think that this was some sort of road rage gotten out of hand and I was going to have to do something drastic to end this cat and mouse pursuit. “Go around me….what the hell are you doing?” I was talking to myself and I knew that there was no way that the person behind me could hear what I was saying. So I resorted to hand signals that weren’t exactly subtle.

I’m not one to use my hands that emphatically, but he was giving me no choice. Each time that he smashed into my bumper, my heart would almost leap out of my chest and I would look at my steering wheel to make sure that the airbag wasn’t going to come out and smash me in the face. I was still some way from work, but I knew of several old country roads that were not exactly roads at all. These were paths that were used by recreational vehicles like ATV‘s, quad runners and anything else that could pass for off road pleasure.

I turn the wheel sharply to the left, veering across the road and into the path that skirted the neighboring town. I heard the unmistakable sound of brakes hitting the pavement, most likely leaving behind scorch marks that would be forever etched into the surface.

I had pushed my vehicle into four wheel drive and was now holding on tight as I jumped various obstacles including an old tree that had fallen in the way. Lucky thing was that it was almost rotten and I practically drove right through it without even stopping.

Keeping my eye on the back of my vehicle, I wanted to make sure I had lost the person or not, but then felt this fear grip my throat when I saw that it was now following. This was not normal behavior for anybody and I had to think about what I had done to piss this guy off. I know that I didn’t cut him off, so why he had a jones on for me was a mystery.

You could see that he wasn’t very used to offload driving and was being extra careful not to hit some of the crevices, which gave me an upper hand to lose him in the various paths the crisscrossed this countryside. It took a little bit of doing, but eventually I looked back to see that I was alone, which meant that whoever was coming after me had found themselves lost or going back to the road to regroup.

When I finally came out of the path, I was in the back of the school where I worked, essentially on top of the football field where practice was in session. I got some strange looks as I drove across the field to the parking lot, but I did see that the coach was mildly amused by the whole thing.

I parked and got out to hear the coach yelling at me from where he was standing on the field “Larissa, I think it would’ve been easier for you to get here if you had actually used the road.” His comment was met with snickers and laughter from his students, but they weren’t exactly laughing at me, more like a laughing with me. I waved it off and continued into the school, but not before hitting my button for the alarm to go off on my car.

Chapter Three

My work consists of helping students find what they’re looking for inside the university. I also put on workshops for how to navigate the Internet and working with e-books. For the most part my job is very satisfying and I really do get a kick out of seeing one of these kids finding enjoyment within the pages of one book or another.

During the day, I checked my emails and did some surfing of my own, always coming back to this one man that had reached out to me a few weeks ago. He didn’t have a picture, but he described himself as athletic, tall, dark and handsome. It was probably too good to be true, but so far we had been getting on famously with conversations each day.
 

There seem to be this instant connection between us that was more intellectual than physical. Of course, I wanted to see a photograph, but so far I didn’t want to burst my bubble with the reality of the situation.

“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner sometime?" I know this quaint little bistro that makes the best hamburgers and even ships in their own Wagu steak. I know we haven’t been talking to each other for long. If this is too quick then all you have to do is say so and we can continue the way that we’re going. I certainly don’t wanna put any pressure on you, but I really am enjoying talking to you and would like to see you face to face.” I sent that message, while biting my lip and looking around to see if anybody was seeing how nervous and excited I was. There was no way that I was going to do this, but seeing what happened last night and this morning, I was beginning to see that maybe I was too closed off for my own good.

The only students around were those that were cramming for finals or had come in from the hot weather to cool off with the air conditioning that was wafting through the building. I don’t normally work on Fridays, but seeing that I wasn’t going away for the long weekend, I decided to stay in the one environment that I was most comfortable in. It made it easier for me to talk to this mystery man, who told me that he was shy and recently widowed after 10 years of marriage.

I was finding that we had a lot in common, things like great literatures like Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights just to name a couple. We didn’t go in for watching TV and were more into reading books and immersing ourselves into the story. There’s nothing like sitting down and opening up that one cover, before you initially engage your senses. You find yourself walking on the beach or perhaps strolling the English countryside, but it really depends on what genre appeals to you the most.

My tendencies lie in romantic overtures like holding a woman’s hand or lifting her across a puddle in the middle of the street. It’s not just the romance that I enjoy, but it’s also the mystery of where the story is going to go from one moment to the next. I guess I’m just a sucker for a happy ending.
 

My mystery man, Drake told me that his guilty pleasure was reading Stephen King or Tom Clancy. I’d never gone into horror or action adventure, but he reminded me that there are several novels out there that are a mix of romance and adventure.
 

He put me on to this one author that was able to mix both components together and I was in the process of reading one of those novels as we speak. It was about a woman that found herself mixed up with a drug cartel, basically finding herself in over her head only to have her knight in shining armor come riding to the rescue on a black Harley. I’ve never seen myself as the type of woman that would fall for someone driving a motorcycle, but the very idea of it made the adrenaline start to pump through my veins.

The computer told me that I had mail and I opened it to read “I’m not sure what brought on this change of attitude, Larissa, but it would be my honor to have dinner with you this evening. I just hope that you are not disappointed, as you have been so gracious in sending me a photographs and I have yet to return that sentiment in kind.” I didn’t even know that people talked like this, but I loved the way that he was using the English language. It told me that he was well educated, although I did have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about seeing him for the first time.

“I will meet you inside the restaurant and you’ll know me because I will have a red rose lying on top of the table in front of me.”

He returned with a message that said “That is so cool, and you will know me by a white carnation that I will have inside my jacket lapel. I really am looking for to this and I hope we have just as much of a connection in person as we do online. I have to get back to work, but please let me know if there are any changes.” I couldn’t believe that I had actually taken this momentous leap and all through that day I just sat there and wondered if I was doing the right thing.

My best friend Caroline came by to see if I wanted to go for lunch and I decided that maybe it was time to reveal my anonymous admirer. She had obviously been around the block a few times herself, so getting a little bit of advice wasn’t going to do any harm.

We found ourselves sitting at a café down the street, looking around and seeing all of these hipsters writing the great American novel or chatting with their friends that were sitting right beside them. “Have you ever been tempted to go on a blind date?” Now that I had ventured into this new territory, I was sure to get a lot of backlash from Caroline.

“I knew that there was something going on with you, but I didn’t want to pry. Come on, tell me what’s going on and I will give you my unbiased opinion.” She pushed back her long black hair and then straightened her summer flowery dress, before placing her hands on her chin as a sign that I had her undivided attention.”

“I have been chatting with somebody online and we have just recently made a date to see each other tonight.”

“I can tell from what you’re saying that you haven’t seen him yet, so I suggest that you get to the restaurant a little earlier than expected. That way you can scope out the situation and decide if he’s somebody worthy of your time. Take things slow, because there are a lot of weirdoes on the Internet, but there are also a lot of people just looking for somebody to fill that void in their life.” We continued to talk for some time, and she even offered me her opinion of what I should wear. Apparently, it was a good idea not to overstate anything and casual carefree attire was in order.

Chapter Four

When I arrived at the restaurant, I placed the rose on the table that we were going to be seated at and then moved into the corner of the room so that I could see who was going to show up. I was making sure that the man wasn’t dangerous, because we all fib a little on those dating sites.
 

I was wearing a white fashionable top, along with a black skirt that went down to almost my knees. There was that slit along the side that gave off a brief peak at my thighs, but nothing scandalous or too revealing.
 

The only reason why I was doing this in the first place was because he appeared to be different than any other man that I had met. He never tried to send me pictures of his junk, or even mention anything sexual in all the conversations that we had. I thought that was classy and gave him a leg up on the competition. The man was standing out from the crowd and I was now going to find out firsthand what this man looked like.