“I should have a million questions.” I do, but honestly, I have no idea where to start. Honestly it all boils down to one specific thing. “You said I remember you,” he nods. “It’s true, I do.” Telling him I’ve dreamt of him often was something I chose to keep to myself, at least for now.
His world though, I know without a doubt is so much different than the one I’ve lived.
We continue to stare at one another—his face gives nothing away, but I can feel so many emotions coming off of him. They’re making my head spin. I grip the arms of my chair and take a deep breath. “What changes?”
“Nothing...everything.” His calmness is somewhat irritating when I’m a complete mess inside. I feel like any moment someone is going to jump out of nowhere and say, gotcha! “Come to my home, let me show you. I promise you can leave at any time.” He slides to the end of his chair, holding his hand out to me. His home, do I want to step into his territory? “Look into my eyes, you will see I’m not going to hurt you, you can trust me.” Hesitantly I place my hand in his, it’s so large it dwarfs my own, but weirdly I find it comforting. The warmth spreads through me as he holds my hand securely, almost protectively. “Taryn, I’d die before I let anything happen to you, I need you to know that. Don’t just hear those words, accept them, believe them.” There isn’t an ounce of reluctance in his voice, and his eyes bore into my own.
The voice inside me tells me to trust him and to go with him, but there’s a small part that is screaming run as fast as I can away from here. “Can you give me the night to think about it? Only tonight and I promise tomorrow I’ll come to your home with you. I’ll listen with an open mind.” Tonight I need time to think, time to analyze it all. I’d let him in, I’d listened and now I have to process everything.— alone. I need time alone. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be in this place doing this very thing.
Relief seems to wash over him, and Merick gives me a smile that makes me weak in the knees and causes a desire to pool in my belly.
He stands quickly and lets go of my hand. I hear him inhale deeply as he turns toward the door to leave. Was he attempting to smell me?
I ignore that thought and grab his coat for him. Merick’s fingers graze mine as he grabs it from me. After he shrugs it on, he walks toward the door. “Tomorrow I’ll come back with my truck.”
I look outside and only see my rental. “How did you get here?”
“Through the trees. I’m about a mile from here. It’s a straight line through the forest, a two-story log cabin, you can’t miss it.” He flashes me a smile that makes my belly flip and then winks before stepping outside and down the stairs leading to the snow covered ground.
After he disappears into the trees I close the door and lock it. Completely unsure of what I want to do, I curl up in front of the fire.
I awake with a startle again. The cabin is bathed in darkness and I’m freezing. I roll to my back and listen. A scratching noise can be heard from the back of the cabin. My heart beats rapidly in my chest as I remain perfectly still. Fear chokes me. I grab the blanket, pulling it up tight to my neck as if it alone can somehow protect me. A hissing sound joins the scratching and I know I’m not imagining the noises.
I let go of my blanket and cover my ears, silently praying that whatever it is it would go away. My hands tremble and I can’t block out the noise. What is happening? I reach out and grab the butcher knife off of the coffee table, clutching it to my chest again praying that the opportunity to use it never comes. I can’t do this, I don’t want to. The scratching turns to banging and I jump up seeking out the safest place to hide. Scanning over the space of the cabin I freeze in fear when I see a shadowy figure pass by the window near the kitchen sink. The rattling sound of the handle echoes through the silence and pure adrenaline fills my body. The backdoor bursts open, and I spring in to action doing the first thing that comes to mind.
I run for the front door and without a second thought, I flipped the deadbolt and burst out of the cabin. My first instinct is to hide in the trees, my fear obviously taking over all logic. But when I reached the clearing only one thing, or one person came to mind. In only a pair of wool socks, I run through the snow as fast as I can. Branches off the trees as I pass, smack me in the face.
The cold night air burns my skin as I run faster than I ever have before. I don’t even know if I’m running in the right direction. I can’t think, all I can do is keep moving. He’s said to trust him, he told me he’d never hurt me or allow anyone to hurt me. Merick says he can feel me? Can he tell I’m coming right now? Is he coming to get me?
The snow is deep enough that I don’t see the thick fallen tree branches until I’m tripping over them. I land face down and
