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Chapter Six
For the next couple of hours he seemed to be everywhere she was, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Two hours into their new relationship, her first relationship, and she was already confused about her feelings. On one hand she had loved kissing him, on the other she didn't like being so monopolized.
He sensed something was up and whispered "What's wrong?"
She shook her head and shrugged then downed another cup of...what was she drinking now? Oh yeah, rum and coke. "I'm getting a little drunk," she supplied in answer. Actually she was hoping the alcohol might help. "I need another," she told him, her speech slightly slurred.
"Maybe you should slow down."
"What are you my dad now?" She pulled away from him as his face darkened, then strode to the table where the liquor was.
After she replaced her drink she found Macey and latched onto her arm. "All done riding, errr...driving the boat?"
"Uh huh, whew Anna, are you drunk?" Macey teased.
"I think maybe so, and I pissed Austin off again. I am turning out to be a bad girlfriend already."
"Hey Austin," Macey said over her shoulder in warning.
"Hey. Can I borrow her?"
Anna turned and rolled her eyes at him, "Shouldn't you be asking me that? Macey isn't my keeper any more than you are."
"What exactly is your problem?"
"You. You are hovering. I don't like hovering." She fell back a step, her drink sloshing in her glass.
"Great. So now you're drunk and pissy."
"I am not pissy! I am merely trying to tell you that you are overbearing me. Err, you are being overbearing."
"Okay. Got it." He turned and walked off and she watched him go, wincing inwardly.
"That didn't go very well," she grumbled.
Macey laughed. "I think you are messing with that poor boy's head."
"I don't mean to!" She insisted, sloshing more of her drink. “I just…I…” she froze suddenly, the words evaporating on her tongue.
They were here again, and there were half a dozen at least.
She stumbled backward a step and squeezed her eyes shut telling them to be gone. She took a deep breath and opened them back up. They were still there. Oh God. She tried again and again, but they wouldn't go away. It's the alcohol, she thought as panic filled her chest.
"Anna what's wrong?" Macey asked anxiously.
She shook her head and backed away even more. Three of the shadows passed right in front of her and the guys they were dogging started shouting across the beach. A fight broke out and Austin, Nathan, and a few of their football buddies ran into the melee to break it up.
The entire time it was happening Anna stood watching in frozen horror. It appeared as if the shadow men were driving the kids involved, undulating and pulsating bigger and bigger. She started trembling uncontrollably and even when the fight broke apart she couldn’t stop. She numbly watched as Jenna ran past her down the dock and a minute later the radio was turned down. Several minutes after that Austin and the girls arranged for the problem starters to be taken home, but a few of the shadows still lingered and she could not make them disappear. Her legs finally gave way and she sank down on the dock, burying her head in her arms.
"Anna, what's wrong?" Jess hurried over. "The fight's over, they’re leaving, it's okay."
She nodded without looking up, hot tears squeezing out of the corners of her eyes. Crying was extremely rare for her, but fear and revulsion had created a pressure inside her chest that required relief. "Can you get Austin for me," she mumbled.
She felt his presence and peered up at him through blurred vision. His expression changed from inscrutable to alarm and she held her arms up to him like a child, making her earlier “dad” accusation seem a bit foolish. When he lifted her she buried her face in his neck.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what's the matter with me, I'm a mess," she sniffled.
He rubbed her back gently. "Do you want me to take you upstairs?"
She nodded and he carried her toward the stairs.
Once inside the house, she asked him to turn the lights on. "All of them," she said shakily.
When he finished he sat down on the couch with her, one eyebrow raised in question.
"Your mouth is bleeding!" She started to jump up but he stopped her, wiping the back of his sleeve across his bottom lip.
"It's just a scratch,” he pinned her with a look. “Are you crying because you’re drunk, or is something else going on?"
She took in a shaky breath. "I think I'm sobering up."
He continued looking at her, waiting for an explanation.
"I'm sorry I called you overbearing,” She looked down at her hands. "You know I've never been in a relationship, and I just don't know how it's supposed to be. I think I need time to get used to it, used to us."
"Okay."
"You're mad."
"No, just trying to figure you out."
She laughed shortly. "Good luck, please clue me in when you do."
His lip curved slightly. "Is that why you were crying, because of us?"
She stared at him and thought, Can I tell him? Should I? What was the worst that would happen, he would think she was crazy? Well no more PDA to worry about then.
She chewed her lip and spoke quietly. "I see shadow men.”
His brows furrowed. "Huh?"
She took a fortifying breath and launched into it, telling him in vivid detail about the first time in the train station. As she spoke his brows climbed higher and higher so she carefully avoided his eyes as she described the possessed guy in the airport.
“And then earlier when I was on the boat, I saw them onshore. That’s why Geordy made the comment about me seeing a ghost. And just before we came up here, those kids who started the fight had shadow men with them….” She started crying again and he pulled her into him tightly. "You think I'm crazy, huh?"
"No. Not crazy."
"Over-active imagination?"
"Maybe...
She started to pull away but he held tighter and she gave him a dark look. "It's not my imagination. It would be easier to think it was, but it's not, I see them."
"Okay. Why?"
"I don't know. That's what I hate about it, I don't know why! But I do see them and they were driving those kids who started the fight! And because of the alcohol I couldn't shut them off! And Austin, don't try and figure this out for me, okay? I will not take medication, or go to a shrink who will try and explain it away as some childhood trauma. There is nothing I can do except what I already do, which is ignore them for the most part. I told you about it because I was scared and I trust you."
He nodded taking a deep breath. "Thanks. That means a lot."
She searched his expression but found only mild concern and acceptance. She sighed and looked around, realizing the house was lit up like Christmas. "You can shut off the living room lights now."
"You sure?"
"I want to make out with you."
"Okay then."
He switched off the lamps and pulled her back into his lap, tipping her face and gripping the back of her head gently. His lips were warm and her fear faded into the background as she was overtaken by new sensations. She tugged him until he was lying on top of her.
He kept his hands from roaming too far this time and they made out for twenty minutes before getting interrupted by the girls.
"We just wanted to check and make sure you were okay…Jess said you were crying?" Jenna raised a dark brow.
"I'm fine, I was just drunk and upset over nothing." She leaned back against Austin who had pulled her into his lap, and his hold on her tightened. She was relieved to find it comforting rather than restricting.
"Well...if you're okay, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone." Jenna grinned and the girls giggled as they left the room.
When Anna heard the back door bang shut she stretched and yawned. "I'm wiped out, do you want to sleep with me?"
Austin’s brows shot off his forehead.
"Sleep, nothing else," she scolded.
"Yeah, sure, let's hit the hay."
They went upstairs and climbed under her covers, Austin spooning her from behind. She could feel his erection against her backside and it was a little disconcerting. Not ready for anything like that, she thought, but the cuddling is nice. She drew his arms around her more securely and drifted to sleep.
“Jess! Come on, we’re going on a night ride,” Macey called from the dock.
“Not right now!” Jess called back with a giggle as Nate pulled her past. Macey made a lewd face at her and grinned before taking off in the direction of the boat where most of the girls and a few other kids were waiting.
“Where are you taking me?” Jess laughed as Nate continued pulling her past the picnic benches on the retaining wall.
Instead of answering he yanked open the door to the small boathouse and tugged her inside, shutting the door behind them. There was very little light in the space, just enough for her to dimly make out his face as his hands found the back of her head and he brought his lips to hers. God he’s a great kisser, she thought giddily as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. One of his hands dropped from her hair and caressed the side of her neck before moving down to her shoulder and down her arm as he continued to devour her lips with a level of talent and experience that excited her.
She wrapped her own arms around his shoulders and gripped the back of his head, pressing her body tightly against his. He tasted like a mixture of smoke and whiskey, and she found it so much sexier than her past experience with toothpaste and mouthwash, manlier somehow. His wandering hand moved to her waist and squeezed before subtly moving to one of her lower cheeks. He let it rest there for a moment and when she didn’t protest he began lightly caressing it causing nerve endings she hadn’t known existed to start singing.
He broke away to her dismay and she watched in confusion as he stumbled around the room. A few seconds later he seemed to find what he was looking for and began pulling things away from the wall to get to it. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to see what it was and understanding dawned as he laid a mat of some kind on the floor. He came back over and suddenly she was being lifted into the air. She let out a surprised laugh as he cradled her for a moment before laying her down on the narrow foam “bed”.
He covered her with his body locking his lips on hers once more. Her body was assaulted with sensations as he pushed her legs out and gently rocked his pelvis against hers. His breathing quickened and a tingling sensation ran down her thighs and in between her legs. She made a noise of excitement and he broke the kiss and stared down at her, breathing hard.
“God, you’re fucking beautiful,” he said in a voice thick with arousal.
She smiled widely at the compliment, her entire body responding as he continued undulating against her.
He brought his head back down and murmured similar sentiments into her ear causing a delicious chill to ripple through her. His hand found its way under her shirt and she arched towards him as he squeezed. His other hand joined it and she felt the clasp on her bra give way. He kissed her deeply as he massaged her, the feel of his warm hands transporting her to a floaty place.
She was so lost in sensation that she barely noticed when one of his hands traveled down and pulled her skirt up and before she had time to process what was happening her panties were down around her ankles. His fingers expertly caressed her and it felt so good she didn’t want him to stop. She found herself rocking towards him and then abruptly the sensation changed from pleasure to pain as a much larger piece of flesh began stretching her as it pushed inside. It felt as if she was being torn and she made a small noise of distress against his lips, which he either didn’t notice or mistook for something else because instead of stopping he slammed forward causing hot tears to spring to her eyes. Without breaking contact with her lips he grabbed her hands and pinned them over her head, rocking into her faster and harder as she struggled futilely against him.
The pain was so intense she could barely think and then his body suddenly seized and he broke free from her mouth, making a noise that reminded her of a wounded animal. Silent tears slid down her face and she winced as he pulled himself free.
“Gotta take a piss, be right back,” he mumbled, and she watched numbly from her position on the floor as he pulled his shorts back up and left the boathouse.
She lay on the mat staring blindly into the darkness above her head as tears continued to stream down her face. The place between her legs felt as if she’d been bludgeoned…which in a way she had been. She made a noise that was half laugh, half sob, as she waited for him to return. She shakily sat up and groped around until she found her underwear. The act of pulling the material up her legs felt like an enormous effort. Her hands were shaking so badly that it took five tries to re-hook her bra. When she was reassembled she scooted the mat backwards until she came in contact with a wall. She rested her cheek against the cold metal and waited.
When he still had not returned after what felt like hours she forced herself to her feet, her body trembling. She pushed open the door to the boathouse and peered out. The music which was suddenly so much louder coupled with the sounds of laughter and good natured shouting was a shock to her system, like walking out of a dark movie theater in the middle of the day.
She didn’t see him anywhere and gave up after a few minutes of searching, heading up the deck stairs to Anna’s house, feeling battered in body and heart. When she reached the guest room she climbed under the covers and rocked herself to sleep.
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