Ocean of Secrets

Later that day, Bridget called again, and wanted me to go over to see her. The morning had been pretty relaxing, so I was in a good mood, and decided to go see her. Belle wanted me to stay and play another game of dolls after she heard I was leaving, but I got away by promising to play with her as soon as I got back home.

I stepped outside and noticed how dark and foreboding the sky looked. The sun was completely covered by thick, grey clouds and so it looked like I had stepped into an old black and white movie.. The air was chillier out here, and I wished that I had been smart enough to grab a coat before walking out of the door because I wasn’t going to risk Belle or my father delaying my journey

Bridget had offered to come and pick me up while we were on the phone. But it was a short distance, and I wanted to think, so I declined politely.

I was still angry with myself because of last night, but I was beginning to realize that it was all Malachai’s fault. He didn’t have to take me to the fight and he could have told me why he had decided to go there to begin with.

“He’s such a jerk.” The words escaped from my mouth without my approval.

“Who’s a jerk?” I whipped around to face the guy who had spoken, and scared me. He was hidden in the shadows of a low tree so I couldn’t see his face, but his voice sounded familiar.

I debated on whether I should talk or run. The voice sent chills down my spine, but they weren’t like the good kind that often came when I saw Malachai. Against my better judgment, I decided to stay and let off some steam. It was the middle of the day. What could go wrong?

“This guy I had a date with yesterday. He took me somewhere that scared me, and then he didn’t even have the decency to explain why.” I took a small step closer to the shadows. It felt good to talk to an unbiased stranger about my frustrations. “Then he dropped me off here without even an apology.”

The man chuckled loudly, “he does sound like a jerk.” He spoke as though he didn’t really believe me, “but then again, you think that you’re too good for everyone. Don’t you, Lucy?” How did he know my name and who was he to judge me?

Suddenly I didn’t think that staying had been such a good idea anymore. “Well, I’ve got to go. My friend is waiting for me.” A nervous giggle escaped my lips as I started to walk backwards. “It was nice talking to you,” I lied.

I wanted to run, but didn’t think that was such a good idea. What if he was like a dog, and the chase excited him? “I’ll see you around Lucy,” I couldn’t decide whether his statement was meant as a threat or not.

The sound of his footsteps followed me across the street and around a corner. My heart was pounding unbearably loud, and my hands were covered in sweat. I prayed continuously that he would leave me alone, but I only relaxed once I was sitting with Bridget, on her bed, and discussing the encounter.

“Who do you think it was? It wasn’t Mal by any chance, right?” I almost wanted to laugh at the idea of Malachai stalking me, but I couldn’t.

“I would have known if it was him. It didn’t sound like his voice.” His voice had been husky; almost like he had a sore throat.

“Do you think it could have been one of the guys your dad had set you up with in the past? Maybe one of them had seen you on your date. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was.”

Bridget was lying on her back and staring at a poster on her ceiling. I was lying next to her and doing the same, but I was looking right through the picture of the five, good-looking, European boys.

“I don’t know,” bringing up my date with Malachai made me nervous. What if one of those crazy lunatics from the warehouse had followed me home? What if he wanted to hurt me?

“We should tell Malachai. Maybe he could scare this guy away.” The thought had popped into my mind, but he probably wouldn’t care about something like this.

“Bridget,” I sighed heavily and flipped onto my stomach. “I have no way of getting a hold of him. We never swapped numbers.”

“Well, maybe he’ll be at Zero Gravity again.” A devilish glint lit up her eyes, and I could imagine what was going through her mind.

I was not going to that place again just so that she could get drunk and grind on random men. “I doubt it,” I said so that she wouldn’t have any reason to argue. “He doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy that frequents many places. We’ll just have to wait until Tuesday. Oh, that reminds me,” I recalled a conversation we had had earlier this week. “Do you still want to stay with me during my shift?”

The smile had fallen from her face after I said no to the club, but it was back now and brighter than ever, “of course I do! Even though he’s yours, I’m hoping he’ll have some cute friends or brothers.”

I realized that Bridget had already forgotten about my encounter with the frightening stranger, but I couldn’t giggle along with her. It seemed like I knew him from somewhere, and I wasn’t going to relax until I remembered.