Unraveling of Avery Snow, The (9 page)

“Huh?” I snapped back to focus.

“Just now, you were staring off
when I was asking how the hotel was.”

I smiled.
“It was stunning. I’m sorry I am just super tired.” He took my coffee cup and rinsed it out. I noticed movement behind me and it was Landon in a pair of boxer briefs. Holy God, the sight was incomparable. I mean, Dallas’ body went on and on for days. His tattoos were beautiful, but Landon had this tight, toned body that I had never imagined he hid under his clothes.

“Just came down for a snack, you’re still here?” he asked.

I pulled my eyes from his abs and smiled. “Yep.” I couldn’t say anything else or the drool might fall out of my mouth.

Dallas pulled out a tray of cheese and crackers and Landon attacked it. I passed on the food
since I had to go home. I had plans to make for Kerri’s bachelorette party. I also had to catch up with Ianni.

“Time for me to say farewell,” I
told the boys. Stuffing their faces, they waved. “Okay, don’t choke on your food, guys.”

“We
won’t,” Landon said with a mouth full of crackers and a goofy grin.

“Drive save, babe,” Dallas
called after me as I left them.

Chapter Fourteen

Black Feather

The clouds were covering up the moon as I drove home. It wasn’t as clear a night as it was in Monterey. I missed it already. It was great to get away from everything and I should have done it right after the
incident
. I laughed at the thought of calling it that. I had survived two Dark Guides, but when I thought about it, I gained Ianni and my father back. So many bad things have happened, but good things turned up in return. I wondered if that was the way of the world. Bad things have to happen in order to make room for good. I pondered the question as I searched for a decent song on the radio. Finally I found one; a song with a morbid name,
The Funeral
, but it was beautiful. I cranked it up and drove home with the windows down. I came to the light by my house. I was almost home now. Almost in my jammies with Ianni, talking about everything.

I put my brakes on and sat at the light. No one was around tonight, the streets were empty. I listened to the words of the song and the strums of the guitar. I sang the lyrics out loud as I looked around at the quiet town, “I’m coming up only to hold you
under, I’m coming up only to show you wrong.” As I heard the beat quicken I also heard a screeching sound behind me, and when I looked into my mirror I was blinded by lights.

The impact hit me before I was even aware of what was going on. My
radio still played as I sat in the car, which was now in the middle of the intersection. Confused, with no idea how I had gotten here, I looked up and around me. I felt fine and I wasn’t bleeding. I saw the car behind me that hit me, still idling in the road. But this time it was in my old spot, where my car should have been had they not hit me from behind. I pushed my car door open and got out. I still felt fine as I walked towards the other car. No one got out; all I saw was the damage to my car and theirs. I was mad now because my car was a mess!

“Look what you did to my brand new car
!” I yelled at the driver. No one emerged still. “Hello!” As soon as I said it a pain from my neck ran down my back to my legs and I fell to the asphalt. My head smacked first as my knees buckled beneath me. I felt my head bounce off the ground and I thought I heard a crack.

As I looked up
, hoping for help, I noticed a girl on the side of the road standing with a man. I hadn’t seen them there before. She was on the phone. “Yes there was an accident on Forester Street,” she said to the person on the other line. I hoped it was the police. I looked up toward the driver who still had not gotten out of their car yet. Suddenly they shut off their lights and I saw into the car for a moment. The driver was a girl, with long dark hair. An instant later the lights were back on and she sped around my body and took off. “She left,” the man told the woman. “It’s a hit and run!”

I
looked up and saw something floating above me. They flew in the wind, swirling down upon me, and then landing on my face. I couldn’t move my arms, to touch them, but I knew what they were. Black feathers.

The man rushed to my side and picked them up from my face. He studied them and even smelled them. I scr
unched my face in disapproval.
How weird,
I thought. I tried to say something to him, but my voice faltered.

“Don’t try to talk or move,” he said. He looked like someone I knew, or thought I knew. He leaned in and sw
ept the hair from my face.

“
Wh—” was all that came out of my mouth.

“Who am I? That’s what you’re as
king, right?” I blinked for yes. “I am someone who is here to help you. That’s who I am,” he said. But that wasn’t true. I knew his face, I knew him.

“John
, they are on their way. It’s time to go,” the woman called to him. John? No it couldn’t be. This wasn’t the John I knew. This John was young, not old. But the eyes were the same. His smile was even the exact same. He leaned in closer and I knew it was him. John!

“Avery, we have to go. The ambulance is on their way to you right now,” he said
with a tender voice.

“John,” my voice was working a bit better
, though it shocked me to hear the desperation.

“You’re
going to be okay. You will be in God’s hands, he will take care of you,” he told me as chills ran over my body. When an angel tells you God will take care of you, it’s a whole new experience. You have to believe them, and you have to believe
in
them. “I told you I would be watching.” He winked at me and the woman joined him. I didn’t recognize her, but she was beautiful. She had to be an angel as well. I could hear the sirens coming closer.

“They’re almost here, Avery. We have to go and try to find her
. She did something a Dark Guide should never do,” John told me. He held up the black feathers and twisted them in his fingers. “She left her scent behind. Now I will be able to find her easily.” He shot me one last glance and then he was gone. My eyes fluttered and I felt a drop on my face. Rain.

I was l
ying there in the rain as the sounds of sirens filled the air. I was alone. Sure, I had Dallas, Kerri, Ianni, and Landon. I even had my dad back in my life. But here I was, alone on the street, crippled in pain, as the rain now poured onto me. I cried, but the tears mixed with the rain and seemed non-existent.

Finally I felt a
touch; a paramedic was with me now. I could hear him talking, but I didn’t want to respond to his questions. He told me I would be okay. The same thing John said, but I closed my eyes and cried. All I kept thinking was maybe it would be better if I wasn’t okay. Maybe it would be the best for all of us. The person that hit me was no hit and run; it was Sarafe. Someone who was out for revenge. She was probably just trying to remind me that she was around and she wanted to kill me and everyone I loved.



“I am not family
, but I am her best friend, so you have to let me see her.” I could hear Ianni’s voice loud and clear from my bed in the E.R. I was never so happy to hear a loud, angry redhead in my life. Finally her face appeared at the foot of my bed and I mustered up a smile.
     “Got your way, huh?” I asked. I was feeling pretty good now after the doctors gave me some ‘feel-good cocktail’. She grabbed my feet and squeezed.

“I am so happy to see you,” she cried. “You had us all worried. Dallas called a little after midnight to see if you got home okay, because you weren’t answering your cell.” Ah, so he did call to check up on me. I had wondered if he would as they were checking
me in here. Ianni looked bushed; her hair was pulled high up on her head and her eyes were red from crying.

    
“It was Sarafe,” I said, shocking her. “She hit me and left. John was there, and he said he was going to go find her. She left a feather.” Yeah, so I didn’t mean it to come out so jumbled, but that was the best I could do under the circumstances. Then I closed my eyes and felt her hand in mine.

“He will find her, he will,”
Ianni whispered as I fell asleep.

Chapter Fifteen

Disappointment

I only spent a few hours in the hospital and was released in the early morning hours. My injuries were very minor and I didn’t need to stay too long. I had whiplash, a back sprain from the impact, and I had a minor concussion from hitting my head on the pavement. I was told to rest and apply ice. The pain was minimal now. The doctor told me that I fell because I was in shock. My body wasn’t ready to jump out of the car like I did.

Ianni
stayed with me the whole time, holding my hand, and eventually lying in bed with me until the doctor came in to discharge me. I was still groggy from my cocktail so I needed someone to drive me.

“Well
, I can call Dallas,” Ianni offered. I nodded; Ianni still didn’t have her license. She left the room and went outside to call him. I was left with the doctor who checked my eyes one last time.

“Your brain scans came up
normal; the nurse will be in to help change your bandage.” He left me and I sat back in the bed staring up at the ceiling. I couldn’t help but think how messed up things in my life are. Sure, people get in accidents all the time, but never like mine. Never do people have a Dark Guide out to kill them.

“Miss,” a small nurse said as she entered the room. She held a silver tray of bandages. “I am jus
t going to re-dress your wound.” I smiled at her and let her do her job. She was very gentle as she cleaned my cut. I tried to think of anything other than the way my head smacked the ground. It was painful and out of my control. I had no control at all of my body at that time. I remembered how lonely I felt as I lay there. But I wasn’t alone now; Ianni was here. Even so, something was bothering me terribly. I just didn’t know what.

“There you go,” the nurse said. “You’re going to be okay.” She put her tray back together and threw out the old bandages.

“Thank you,” I told her. She smiled at me and went to leave the room. “Wait,” I said. I knew her face. She was the woman with John from last night.

“Avery, please
. I only came to check on you. If John knows you recognized me then he might be angry,” she said in a hushed whisper.

“Wait,
you’re not supposed to be here?” I was confused as to who she was exactly.

“No
, not really. I am supposed to be with you, just not seen by you,” she answered.

“Amanda?” I
t was just a guess really because she looked nothing like the Amanda in my dreams. I did know that guides could change forms. John sure looked different the last time I saw him.

“
Shh!” She came closer to me and sat on the edge of the bed. “Yes, it’s me. I was there last night with John as well. I was hoping you wouldn’t know it was me.” I smiled, although I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because beneath all of the ‘good girl’ reverie, Amanda was trying to help me just like Ianni had.

“Won’t your wings turn colors?” I asked her.

She looked up with a shocked expression. “No! I was assigned here today; I am not breaking the rules.”

So much for the good girl gone bad idea.
“Why are you supposed to be here? I thought guides just, well, guided.”

“Because John asked me to come along with him to find
Sarafe. Guides do more than just guide, Avery.” She placed her hand on my arm. “You of all people should know that.” True, Ianni did more than guide me through my life. She also saved me.

“Well,
I called Dallas,” Ianni said as she walked into the room. “Oh sorry.” She stopped at the door noticing my ‘nurse’.

“It
’s all right. I am all done here. Just keep her bandage clean and redress it every night.” Amanda stood and left the room without even a goodbye.



Dallas treated
me like a queen all day. He made me lunch, massaged my back, and waited on me hand and foot. He was enjoying spoiling me, but not the reason for it. He knew only what he had to know about the accident; it was a hit and run. Nothing more. I didn’t need him worried about another Dark Guide and anymore ‘incidents’ that may occur. It had been a week since the accident and I was going back to work tomorrow. I didn’t want to be cooped up in the house any longer. I felt like I couldn’t breathe in here. Dallas did all he could to come visit me, but today had been the only day we could really spend time together.

I had plenty of time to plan Kerri’s party.
Sadly, I had to nix the Vegas idea. I wasn’t up for a huge party of that sort with my back pain. So I ended up planning a girl’s weekend in Laguna Beach. I booked a party room at a nightclub called Bash. The only way I got the “in” was because Dallas knew the owner. We were stealing Kerri away from work on Saturday afternoon. Ianni and I had made the plans together; she was so helpful on the shopping part. She bought Kerri a new navy blue dress to wear and bought me a light pink one.

It was hard to believe that in only a few weeks Kerri would be married. I was ready to
see my friend start this part of her life. Dallas and I hadn’t really talked much about the details of the wedding, so the best time to do it was now.

“Can we talk about the wedding for a minute?” He stopped folding my laundry and I had his full attention. “Well, it’s just that every
time I try to talk with you about it, we never get to finish,” I started. “Have you gotten your tux?” He put a shirt down and nodded.

“Yep.”
He avoided my eyes, telling me something was wrong.

“Dallas, what is it?”

“I won’t be able to go to the wedding,” he said. I hadn’t expected that answer. My mouth fell open. “I wanted to tell you the night you came back, but I saw how tired you were so I thought I would wait. Then you had the accident.” I got out of bed and paced the room. How could he not be at the wedding? What would be more important?

“Why?” I asked
, even though my head spun with more questions.

“I got an offer to go to New York and look
into another restaurant. Evolve could be west coast and east. It was a huge offer, so I took it.” I was appalled.

“Another restaurant
in New York? That’s more important than the wedding?” I asked as I stormed to the living room. I was so mad I wanted to be away from him.

“I told Justin and he understood.
It is no big deal.” No big deal? I was frustrated and mad. They were my friends, but they were his friends, too. His friends were mine; that was how it worked.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

“Today sometime. I was avoiding it because I knew you wouldn’t be happy,” he admitted. “But in all honesty, I didn’t want to go anyway. Evolve is getting huge, Avery, and this is a great opportunity. For the both of us.” I hated that. When he acted like Evolve was mine as well. It wasn’t mine, and right now I didn’t feel like he was mine. Evolve had him more than I did. I was competing for my relationship with his job.

I took a deep
breath, wanting to end the argument. We had done nothing except argue lately. I had to try to be supportive for the sake of our relationship.

“Okay, then. I will just have to go alone.” My eyes shot downwards and I felt sad. I had envisioned us dancing the night away at the wedding.
For once I was going to be able to spend some time with the man I loved.

“I truly am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he said as he pulled me into his arms. “I promise to make it up to you.”

After he left I sat on my couch sulking. I was feeling sorry for myself. I had to try to pull myself out of this. So what he can’t go, it didn’t mean anything. His job just needs his attention. Before he left he told me that things would calm down in the wintertime and we would be able to see more of each other. I knew that I was making more and more excuses for his actions lately, and he was apologizing to me too often.

Ianni
came home as I still lay on the couch in my pajamas. She could see something was wrong. So of course I told her what happened. I also told her about all our other fights.

“Couples have to work out the bumps in the beginning of a relationship. That’s all this
is,” she concluded. Leave it to her to come up with the best analogy of our fights. I had thought enough about Dallas for tonight and I wanted to hear about Ianni.

“What’s new with you?” I asked
, changing the subject for the better. She smiled like a kid on Christmas. She had a secret; I could tell.

“Beau and I are going out for drinks after work tomorrow,” she
squealed. “And tonight he was so cute. He would walk by me and whisper things in my ear, like how beautiful I am.” To say that I was happy for her wouldn’t do it justice. I was beyond happy. She deserved a good man and Beau sounded like he was one.

“Well, when do I get to meet him?”

“I was hoping you and Dallas could come out with us tomorrow night?” She bit her lip. I could now see the nerves rolling through her about the date.

“Sure!”



I couldn’t sleep that night. I tried
, but no matter what I did, it wasn’t happening. I was thinking about way too much. Dallas mostly, but also Sarafe. I wanted to find her and make her pay for hurting me. I wanted to send her wherever Dedrick was. To the depths of Hell would work just fine for me. The phone ringing pulled me out of my murderous thoughts.

“Hello,” I answered.

“I am so sorry, Avery.” Dallas. His voice sounded sincere and I knew he meant what he was saying. I was just tired of hearing ‘sorry’ from everyone. Sorry you have to remember your past lives. Sorry you have to still see them. Sorry Dallas is being moody and pushing you away.

“I know you are,” I whispered. “I am really trying hard to sleep and I think I can’t because we fought.”

“That makes two of us then. I can’t sleep and I can’t help but feel that your car accident wasn’t just an accident.” Oh crap. I didn’t want to have to involve him in this. I wanted to leave him out of it as long as possible. But I had to drag him into my world, because he was part of it. I took a deep breath and let it all out. I told him all of it. Even about Sarafe and her vendetta for my friends and me. I left out seeing my daughter and the visions I still have with Landon.

He took it well, sort of. He cussed a lot and then concluded with the mother of all shockers, “Move in with me.”

“What? I can’t do that Dallas. I like my apartment. Besides, we are not ready for that yet,” I told him. “And Ianni. What about her?”

“Well, you both can move in
. I have a third room and you can stay with me. We will keep your place and I will pay your rent.” Wow, what an offer to have. I didn’t know for sure what to do. I was torn between the right decision and what he wanted for me to keep me safe. I also didn’t want to disappoint him by saying no.

“I
will think about it,” I said quietly. We hung up with the lingering promise of me thinking about this colossal decision. I was in love with him, I knew that, but I wasn’t ready to move in with him. Once you move in with someone things change. There is no more privacy and space. It’s you and him 24/7.

I closed my eyes and hoped the next day would provide some answers.