Love Finds You

Walking through the golden fields of wheat was not as pleasant as it seemed. The wheat scratched at the exposed half of my legs and tips of my fingers like claws. With each cooling gust of wind another long stemmed piece of wheat would scrape against my skin and although no blood ever fell I had this dire urge to just reach down and touch the spot. Faintly I could hear Gabe’s voice as he spoke but the meaning of his words was lost in my grandmother’s deadly stare.

All I could manage to do was stare right back at the old woman as Gabe causally led me through the field. Every time I took a step closer to the old woman I felt as if I was losing another inch of my surrounds. The golden fields were a blur now and I could no longer feel the wheat as it scratched against my legs. The presence of Gabe, his voice and vibe, were washed away under my grandmother’s stare.

My attention was solely engrossed with the aged woman and became even more so with each step that I took. Her hair was not grey or white as I had imagined a sixty year old woman having, but a dull brown color. Her steel blue eyes were framed with thick lashed and heavy brows with just the hint of crow’s feet along the edges. However those little crinkles were the only wrinkles that the woman sported except for the light creases on her forehead.

The first step on the porch stairs creaked underneath my weight. The sound it made froze me on that first step and the ball of fear that had been growing in my throat was now blocking my airway. I swallowed repeatedly for a moment as I stared into her cold eyes but that didn’t help. My breathing was heavy and harsh as I locked eyes with my grandmother who stood a few steps away from me.

Her steel gaze broke away from mine for a moment to take in the rest of me. My heart was pounding so quickly against my chest that I felt as if it was going to burst out of my ribcage at any moment. My tightly fisted hands were slick with sweat as her eyes trailed down the length of my body and then slowly back up to my face.

When her gaze finally met mine again her thin dry lips cracked into a little smile. “You’re Audrey.”

My tongue slipped out from my dry mouth and hastily wetted my chapped lips but when I opened my mouth to speak no words came out. All I could manage to do was nod my head at her.

Her smile corked up a little bit higher as she took a small step towards me. “You look so much like your mother.” Her voice hitched making it sound almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

I stared up at my grandmother feeling puzzled. Monica was dead because of me and yet she was tearfully over my resemblance towards my mother? She should hate me right now, spitting at the ground and yelling for me to get off of her land, slapping the crap out of me, but crying over me? Something was definitely wrong.

“I-I don’t understand.” I stuttered while leaning a little bit away from the woman. “Why don’t you hate me?”

Her eyes grew innocently wide for a split moment before her lips puckered into a frown. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“Well are you normally this nice to murders or are you just going senile?” I hissed out shakily through clenched teeth.

I noticed the twitch of Gabe’s hand as it hardened into a fist but that was the only hint of his emotions that he portrayed. Then again I wasn’t exactly focused on the perverted farm hand anyway, the person who held my attention was my hard grandmother. Something flickered in her steel gaze before she took the slightest step forward.

“Billy came by with the rest of that extra wood while you were away.” She spoke in a stern voice.

Even though her stare never wavered from mine I knew that what she had just said hadn’t been directed at me. “Suppose I’ll see ya’ at supper than Josie.” Gabe took a slight step forward before tipping his chin down at my grandmother.

With that short simple sentence Gabe turned away from the two of us and walked away. My body boiled with something foul as soon as Gabe was out of sight and for a moment I thought I was just going to explode but then something hard shifted in my grandmother’s eyes. A crack sounded through the air and for a moment I had no clue as to where the sound had come from until I felt the sting on my cheek. Slowly I lifted up a hand and pressed it against the throbbing pain before looking back at the stone cold woman.

“What happened to Monica was cruel and horrific for you I’m sure, but I’m telling you right now that if you don’t get this absurd idea about being the cause of her death out of your head then I’m just going to have to keep smacking some sense into you.”

For a moment all I could manage to do was stare up at her while she glared back down at me. It wasn’t until I felt the light prickle of tears brimming around my eyes that my anger built back up. “It’s not some absurd idea; she’s dead because of me!”

“No,” She curtly responded. “She’s dead because that demon murdered her.”

I fiercely shook my head from side to side as tears spilt down my cheeks. “But if I had deleted the message or just taken my phone with me then she would still be alive.”

My grandmothers shoulders dropped slightly and her hard eyes softened. She stepped onto a step and the boards creaked under her weight. Her warm arms slid around me as she gently pulled me forward. I was so trembling so badly from crying that I didn’t even try to fight her off, all I could manage to do was mumble.

“If I hadn’t given him my number, if I had blocked him earlier then she would still be here. My little sister would still be alive.”

“Shh,” She hushed softly as she lightly stroked the back of my head. “You can’t torture yourself like this Audrey. It wasn’t your fault.”

Her words had been too soft to hear under my rambling and crying. “What’s even worse is that he’s still out there looking for me.”

“He’ll never find you all the way out here sweetie. You’re safe here.”

My cries had bed drowned out just enough to where I had caught what she had been saying. With a shake of my head I buried my face deeper into her shoulder. “No,” I wept. “He’s coming.”