Unreal Part 3 - FREE AND DISGUISED: (THRILLER ROMANCE AND MYSTERY) Page 22

  Even if it was just Julie surviving and strong enough to fight another day.

  30

  “And this was all your idea?”

  Julie let Ethan lead her through the brush. His limp was nearly gone, and even the cane was something of an afterthought. He still required the support of her arm, something that Julie was more than happy to offer as they moved away from a playground full of children laughing without a care in the world. She envied them, wanted to get back to that place and never fathom a world where the absolute worse could come to pass.

  And in some ways, that meant her friend being brought to a point where there was no vengeance at the forefront of her mind. Was Kim at peace now? It was the only thing that she could hope for. Now, at least, she had a proper resting place.

  “I should bring her flowers,” Julie murmured.

  Ethan stopped in his tracks and turned her close to his chest.

  “Do you want to?” he asked.

  “Do you?” she countered.

  The look in his eyes told her that even his sympathy had its limits.

  “No,” he slowly confessed. “Wherever she is, I hope for her sake that there’s no more tears. But after what happened… again…”

  Ethan cringed when she tried to touch his face, but he stayed in her eyes as he lowered his voice.

  “You know I would have stopped it, right?” he asked. “If I could have broken free---”

  “I know that, Ethan. I don’t blame you. Any more than your own family did.”

  He bit down on his lip and choked back his tears as he wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered into her ear.

  “We’re family now, Juliet. Remember that, too.”

  Nodding into his neck, she dared to kiss his cheek, and Ethan’s lips were light against her hair. It was all she had been able to stand. Sometimes she missed the feel of him inside her and the belief that everything was alright. Would they ever get back to that place? Did they even have any right to?

  “Juliet?”

  Brushing the tears from her eyes, he nuzzled her nose and just held her close.

  “Come on,” he said. “I want you to see this.

  Stepping across the stray twigs and finally to a clearing, light poured through the branches as he curled his arm around her waist and pressed her close to him, and Ethan found her ear again.

  “I… I remember you saying that this was one of the good times,” he said. “One of the good places.”

  Julie could hear the laughter, her own in the mix, racing past her. Ghosts so many years in the past seemed to come to life, and Julie sighed into the breeze as she pictured them with their tongues protruding, everything ahead of them. There had been other good places. If she took away how it had turned out, what it had devolved into without their choice, there were still the moments before the fateful stop at Eatonburg’s Eats as the wind whipped through her hair, long and luscious, Julie’s skin unblemished. They had everything ahead of them.

  Did she dare to keep moving forward in light of all that had happened?

  “Walk with me?” he asked.

  Ethan suddenly seemed stronger, but she still held his arm as they moved deeper into the brush. Picking the branches from their path, Julie stopped short when they chanced upon the exact spot of the photograph, a piece of the past that Julie dared to ask for when Morales said she was going to pick through her friend’s belongings. No trace of the image, and no way of knowing what had ever happened to it. Resigned to the idea of the image simply burned into her mind, Julie gasped as she saw the oak tree, still standing, poke into view. If she blinked to fast, she saw them as they were, silly and hopeful. Their tongues suck out was in no way meant to disparage Mrs. Sever; just trying to keep that day fun and all the days ahead. Julie touched the bark of the tree and just as quickly drew her hand back when Ethan caught her in his arms.

  “I can’t, Ethan,” she muttered. “It’s… it’s too much.”

  “No it’s not,” he insisted. “I’ve got you, Juliet.”

  Closing her eyes, the feel of his arm light and warm against her back, Julie let her head fall into his shoulder and forced her mind back into the past. Kimmy laughing, her long hair shining in the sun as they made faces and dreamed of better days. If they had known then, would they have pushed apart and set off in opposite directions, hoping to never see one another again. That would have better for Kim. Julie’s fate was sealed from the moment that her mother set eyes on Greg Heller. But as she fingered the locket containing her father’s face and felt Ethan’s lips warm and light against her neck, Julie reminded herself that there were days when they were happy, when she had shared more of her hopes with Kim than any other living person. And for her part, Kim used to say that she could never have a better friend. Something had twisted that to what would have been an irretrievable point had Kim survived, but she took some comfort in knowing that Kim left the world believing that it had never happened, and maybe that was her afterlife. Always getting ready to head off into the unknown with all of her hopes ahead of her.

  “Juliet?”

  Turning to face him, Julie held Ethan’s face and rested her head to his chest.

  “I can… I can always think of the good times, right?” she asked.

  “Don’t forget them,” he said. “But don’t let it keep you up nights either.”

  Remembering his own pain, she stroked his face and lightly kissed his lips.

  “We will sleep,” she whispered. “Together. Forever.”

  “So Venice?”

  Julie was almost finished packing as Danielle shuffled her feet at the edge of the room. As soon as her bags were zipped and ready, Julie turned all of her attention to Danielle and took her hands.

  “Just for a little while,” she insisted. “We will come back.”

  “I don’t know,” Danielle muttered. “You might get all high off the lush life or whatever and decide to make it your new home.”

  The thought had crossed her mind. Hiding in a place where no one knew her, where no bad thought could ever find her. But they’d have to come back at some point. That was always her plan when she set out on her first, fateful trip. But now she had something real to come back to.

  “We’re not married yet,” Julie reminded her. “And I… I will need you to stand up for me when we make it official.”

  That brought a smile to Danielle’s face, and she held Julie close and managed to laugh.

  “Do I get to wear a tacky dress?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Julie said. “Lots of tulle and sequins. Think you could pull that off?”

  “Don’t you dare go that far!”

  Danielle hugged her closer, and as Julie met her eyes, she felt a small pang of guilt at her heart. She should be sharing this moment with Kim. That was always the plan. But things changed, and the tears sparkling in Danielle’s eyes softened her heart, and Julie took her hands.

  “I want you there,” Julie said. “So when we get back…?”

  Lengthening up the back of her neck, Danielle’s smile grew wider, and she laughed.

  “Crazy lace and tons of beads,” she said. “Be more than happy to do it.”

  “Thank you.”

  Stepping onto the street, Julie saw Nick helping Ethan load the rest of their bags into the trunk as a million other cars whizzed by. Slapping his back, Nick offered his hands, and Ethan shook it warmly as he turned his eyes to Danielle’s puffy stare.

  “Don’t be sad, Dani,” he said as he curled her into his arms. “They could do with a getaway, and then they’ll be right back.”

  Julie clutched Danielle’s hand in an effort to punctuate the promise, and just when her friend seemed on the verge of calming, Nick had to keep going.

  “Now that her stepdad or whatever has been smoked, there’ no need to---”

  “Nick! Stop!”

  Danielle slapped his hand as Julie’s face started to fall. She had heard the story. A part of her even relished the telling and smiled when
she heard of how he had died. But there was still one question nagging at her brain, and she kissed Ethan’s cheek as she pulled out her phone.

  “Can you give me a minute?” she asked him.

  Ethan’s hold stayed tight around her arms, but he finally relented and let her go.

  “But not for too long,” he said. “We have a flight to catch.”

  “I’ll just be a second.”

  Stepping into a quiet corner, Julie dialed a familiar number and endured a few rings before a voice crept through the other end of the line.

  “Long time no talk, Julie.”

  Julie hadn’t been able to see her much less speak to her. Because she knew that Greg’s demise was her doing. And while a part of Julie was grateful that she had made that particular move, it was like the worst prophecy, her mother completely alone, even as Julie had no desire to ever return to her side.

  “I’m… I’m leaving, Connie.”

  She held her breath when Morales was slow to speak.

  “Good thing,” she started. “With Ethan?”

  “Of course.”

  Julie laid out the basics of the trip, and she heard Morales laugh.

  “Sounds like quite the time,” she said. “And the wedding will be after?”

  Glancing at Ethan, she almost felt as if she didn’t need the pronouncement. In every way that counted most, their lives were already locked. But how could she deny Danielle the chance to toss some rice into the air?

  “When we get back,” Julie continued. “Would… I would like you to come?”

  Morales fell silent, and Julie clutched her phone closer as she waited for her to at least breathe.

  “I can be there,” Morales said. “Bells on and all.”

  “Thank you, I… thank you for all of it.”

  “Julie, I don’t know what---?”

  “But I do,” she said. “It had to be you.”

  Morales offered no denial, but her silence spoke volumes, and Julie turned her head closer to the coarse bricks.

  “Can I… can I say that I’m glad?” Julie whispered. “No chance of it happening again now.”

  “No,” Morales agreed. “I don’t think anyone’s after you anymore.”

  She sighed at the sound of that, and as she fingered the locket still in place around her neck, she saw Ethan’s ring new ring hitting the light, and she tucked the charm on the chain between her breasts.

  “No one but the one I want.”

  “Then go and be happy with him, Julie. I’ll see you again someday.”

  As she ended the call, Julie moved back to Ethan, and he was quick to curl his arm around her waist.

  “Ready now?” he asked.

  “Please. Let’s get lost for a little while.”

  They said their goodbyes to Nick and Danielle, and as the cab headed toward the airport, he kissed her head.

  “All good?” he asked.

  She was on the verge of another trip with no way of knowing how or when she would make her way back. But the way ahead seemed more certain as he held her close and stroked her scar.

  “You know… I only knew you for a few seconds without this,” he confessed.

  “I know,” she said. “I was prettier before”

  Ethan settled his arms on her shoulders and peered into her eyes.

  “You’re pretty to me right now. Beautiful.”

  His mouth was soft and sweet as he claimed her lips, and when the kiss came to an end, she rested her head to his chest and savored the sound of his heart pounding in his chest.

  “I… I like that,” she whispered. “The sound of your love.”

  Ethan kept her in his arms as his mouth met her ear.

  “Donna… Donna says that there’s a spot in Paris. Place where we can write our names on a lock and link our lives forever.”

  Mulling the idea over, Julie slowly lifted her eyes and touched his cheek.

  “That sounds romantic,” she said. “Can we go there?”

  Ethan stroked he hair with a fresh laugh.

  “Whatever you want,” he said. “I could get lost with you forever.”

  As soon as they were on the plane, Julie kept her eyes on the window and watched the world start to slip away. She felt as weightless as the clouds surrounding her eyes when Ethan turned her back to his side and stroked her face.

  “Think of it as an adventure,” he said. “Don’t you think you’ll like that?”

  “Sort of what I always wanted,” she confessed.

  Julie had taken the long way around, but she settled in his arms as the plane drifted higher and higher into the endless expanse of sky.

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  PROLOGUE

  The little girl held the knife in her small, soft hands with quiet determination. This is part of the game, she reminded herself as she placed the sharp point of it against her palm. I have to follow the rules.

  Her father would be angry with her if he found out she had taken a knife from the kitchen; she wasn’t supposed to play with dangerous things. She promised herself she would be careful and that she’d put it back when she was done and that he never had to know. It wouldn’t be dishonest if he never gave her cause to lie.

  The prick startled her, but the delicate bead of red that bloomed where she had been cut was more fascinating than scary. Just like her friend told her, she tilted her hand and let it drip into the water-filled bath. After three drops, the girl balled her hand up in the skirt of her dress to let the fabric soak up the rest.

  Everything was ready. She had turned off all the lights, just like her friend had told her to do. And she had gotten the knife, and the bathwater, and the blood. She didn’t like that this was a game she could only play when it was dark and her father was away, but her friend promised it would be fun, once she they’d set everything up.

  She looked her friend in her dark, shiny eyes. Her friend stared back, smiling and not blinking. They were ready to begin.

  “What does the winner get?” the girl asked. “We can’t play a game if there’s no prize for winning.”

  Her friend said her smiling words that came without lips, teeth, and sound:

  “The winner gets to live. Now give me the knife and find a place to hide.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  The night before her father disappeared, Dawn was being irrational. She knew it well enough, but that didn’t stop her from giving him the cold shoulder. She was at the age where she perceived most things as unfair—at least for as long as it took her to say something about it that she regretted. She was also at the age where she had too much pride to admit that she had been wrong and apologize after the damage was done.

  In that regard, the scene played out in the typical fashion. Thomas Peck had come home from work with a treat: their favorite flavors of ice cream. Dawn willed herself to believe that he had bought the dessert out of a passing fancy and wasn’t simply hoping to butter her up for bad news. But then, of course, it came—as it always did.

  He let his spoon rest inside of his bowl and leaned forward on his elbows. “I know this isn’t something you’re going to want to hear from me,” was his opening line.

  “We’re moving again, aren’t we?”

  His uncomfortable silence was all the affirmation she needed. The butter pecan no longer tasted sweet on her tongue, so Dawn stabbed the fork into her ice cream and stirred it into slush.

  Rationally, she knew that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Work would tell him he had an assignment, and he’d ask how far it was, and then they’d be packing their things and moving across the country for who-knows-how-long until they needed to relocate him again. Dawn never had a choice in the matter, being just shy of sixteen, and her father’s mind would never change regardless of how belligerent she behaved.

  He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “I know it’s never easy to hear, but it’s got to be done. I don’t like it any more than you do.”

  “Get a new
job, then,” Dawn grumbled, glaring at her sugary bribe. “One that lets us stay in one place, and where you can be around more and maybe even get a girlfriend or something, I don’t know.”

  Dawn could feel her father’s scowl. At thirty-one years old he was still youthful and handsome; he’d fathered her as a teenager to a woman that never wanted to keep her—it wasn’t a secret. And Dawn didn’t feel like she owed him anything for sacrificing his young adulthood in order to raise her. It had been his decision, not hers. Besides, ever since he had gotten this job several years ago, a job that he refused to talk about with her, she’d been the one who had suffered.

  “You know that isn’t an option,” he chided. “You’ll make new friends.”

  “What, you mean like you did?” She matched his scowl, but didn’t look up to meet his piercing blue eyes. “I don’t make friends anymore. What’s the point? We’re never in one place long enough for the people I meet at school to matter.”

  Everything proceeded as normal. He didn’t want to hear that tone, she wanted to have a life that wasn’t constantly being uprooted, and he left to his bedroom so they could both sleep it off. He was more frustrated and guilty than angry, and she even more so—but they were both too stubborn to break the silence.

  It was the next morning that broke the norm. Dawn would normally wake up to the sinful smell of pancake or waffles being seared to perfection. Her father had a habit of trying to make amends with food. He would give her a hug and kiss her forehead and say he was sorry, and she would admit that she was, too, and they would forgive and forget. They would move to a new town or city or state, and the cycle would begin again.

  When her eyes opened and she blinked reluctantly awake, no scents tickled her nose. Dawn frowned as she left her bed and then her room, rubbing her eyes. Her dark, bushy hair resembled a bird’s nest, but she didn’t bother to run her hands through it as she made her way to the kitchen.

  It was empty.

  It was empty, but it was too late in the morning for him to still be asleep; he wasn’t such an early riser, but her father had never been one to oversleep, either. Dawn found his bedroom door shut but unlocked. She knocked softly, and opened it when the only response she received was silence. It was empty in there, too, the bed made and the room cold. The hairs on the back of her neck rose.