Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (19 page)

Oh, boy—here we go. “You asked Danny about
me?” That surprised me because when I implored Danny about Laurent,
he acted like I was just one in many girls who were interested in
him.

“Yeah, I asked him.” His tone was sarcastic
like I should have known. “Why do you want to go there?” Now, he
simply sounded curious.

But I felt uneasy because as I thought about
it, I didn’t know how to answer his question. Why
do
I want
to go to Berkley? “I imagined it would be an adventure to live near
San Francisco and Berkley is a well respected school,” I finally
responded, sounding more like a college brochure than myself.

His expression was unreadable as he watched
the moving traffic ahead. “What do your parents want of you?”

“They want me to go to Berkley. They say it’s
an esteemed college.” His questions were simple enough, but they
caused me to ponder my choices in ways that were foreign to me.

“Why do they want you to go there
specifically?” He looked at me directly now. I noticed his
intensity caused a temporary crease in his forehead.

I started to twist my hair with my finger as
I thought about it. “They feel like they missed out on good
educations and they believe that at a prestigious school, I could
find a husband with a promising future.” I laughed uncomfortably
for a second. When I said that, it sounded so absurd. I knew they
wanted me to marry someone of high social status and position so
that I wouldn’t have to struggle financially like they did.

“Is that what you are hoping for?” He kind of
laughed when he asked the question probably because I was here with
him rather than at home studying for my SATs.

“Until now,” I said sarcastically, “I thought
I wanted to go to Berkley.” I shook my head. “I still do, but I
hadn’t quite thought about why exactly I wanted to go there. It was
always just something I planned since childhood. I think my mother
put it in my mind.”

We continued to talk about college
aspirations and then he asked me more questions about other topics
that got me thinking. Something about the way he encouraged me to
delve into my past experiences, gave me more than one epiphany into
my nature and present choices.

The more I thought about it, the more I
started to question if I really wanted to go to Berkley. As we
talked, I began to wonder if Berkley was more of a status symbol
than an actual desire. That possibility surprised me. At the base
of it all, I started to wonder if I only wanted to please my
parents by going to a prestigious school. But, no, it couldn’t
be—Berkley was my dream. The new ideas agitated me.

Nobody said anything for a long time. Instead
of thinking about college, I watched the palm trees speed by as we
zoomed along the freeway. Aside from the flashing neon lights over
the gas stations, California was a beautiful place. I liked the
desert contrasts of green and brown. Laurent put a bluesy CD in
that soothed my senses. I felt relaxed and surprisingly comfortable
now. Something about being with Laurent felt really good.

“You’re a risk taker,” I murmured to him as I
traced the line of his neck with my eyes.

“And you’re not?” he bemused. “You’re here
with a flesh eater.” He frowned. “I warned you to stay away from
me, Grace.” His thoughts seemed in turmoil now. “I should have
found a way to stop you, but everything within me drew me to you
and I felt powerless.” He looked at me with sad eyes.

“I’m where I want to be,” I whispered as
butterflies fluttered in my stomach. The way he gazed into my eyes
was otherworldly. I knew I was moving into unknown territory, but
as crazy as it seemed, it felt right being with Laurent, more right
than anything I had ever felt before.

“That’s good that you are where you want to
be,” He said with a sudden smirk. “Because we are nearly at our
destination.” He turned the car off the freeway. The gravel beneath
the tires was loud on the ears, mixing with the piano notes from
the CD.

We were in an almost desolate area by the
ocean and near a military base of open flatland that seemed to
stretch out forever. “Most of the land here is owned by the
government, but there is a seaside hotel over there.” He pointed
south through a forest of trees. “Are you afraid?” he asked. His
tone was serious.

“No. Why should I be?”

He didn’t look at me, but kept his eyes on
the road. “You’re alone out in the middle of nowhere with a killer.
Nobody knows where you are.”

“I’m not scared of you.”

He didn’t respond, but simply shook his
head.

Now that we were off the freeway, we rolled
down our windows and let the sea breeze in. The air was a cool,
fresh, and clean. I let my arm out the window to ride the wind.

The temperature dropped as Laurent drove into
the forest. Even though it was daytime, the light was dim in the
dense woods giving a sort of twilight feel to the setting. He
turned off the main road onto a long narrow dirt path in the
direction of the ocean. The music was off now and I could hear the
sounds of the waves crashing on the shore.

Shortly thereafter, he turned out of the
forest where I could see a tall log house set back just a bit from
the ocean shore. “This doesn’t look like a hotel,” I mumbled as he
parked the car.

“It’s more of a bed and breakfast. The owners
live here and they rent out a few rooms on the top floor. It’s the
most secluded, safest place I know of.” He undid my seatbelt, but
his nostrils flared at the close proximity. “I better go fishing
tonight,” he whispered under his breath.

“Have you been here before?”

He moved away from me in his seat. “Josette
heard about it and made the suggestion. I think she went here with
her husband and daughter once. There are Jacuzzi bathtubs in the
rooms—very important for mers. We all decided that if I had to take
you into hiding, this would be the place to go where Sabine
wouldn’t know to look. It’s not even listed in any directories, but
just gets its business from word of mouth.”

He walked around to my side of the car and
opened the door for me, holding out his hand chivalrously. We
headed around to the front, stepping up to the porch on creaking
wooden stairs. He opened an old screen door that also creaked and
then slammed shut behind us as we walked inside.

The living room was dark and gloomy. My eyes
hadn’t adjusted from the outside light yet, so I couldn’t see
anything.

“Hello, anybody home?” Laurent called out,
but nobody answered.

I bumped into something tall and fury and let
out a blood curdling scream.

“It’s okay,” Laurent said as he pulled me
away. “It’s just a stuffed bear.”

“What the hell?” I complained through rapid
breaths.

“They must be hunters. The room is filled
with stuffed forest animals.”

“It’s so dark in here. How can you see?”

“The nature of a fish is to see in the dark.”
He laughed. How else could we make our way around at the
bottom of the ocean?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. As my
eyes were adjusting I started to make out the dark figures in the
room. The bear I bumped into was standing up in fighter’s stance on
its hind legs.

Laurent tried the light switch, but it didn’t
work. Then he walked over to a desk on the far side of the living
room that had a candle set out on it. There was a match box beside
it, so he lit it up. The dark room glowed now with yellow
light.

“Oh, my gosh. This house is creepy,” I
exclaimed as I surveyed all the threatening looking creatures set
throughout.

He laughed. “Josette didn’t tell me about the
dead animals.”

I laughed too as I stared a mountain lion in
the eyes. “How could anyone live like this?” I whispered just in
case anyone was listening to us.

“This family of deer is cute,” he
smirked.

I chuckled sarcastically. “Yeah, dead deer
are just my thing.”

Just then a loud whistle went off and I froze
in terror.

1. Take Me Away
   

The whistle was ringing so loudly. “What is
that?” I looked at Laurent, my body stiff as a board.

“I don’t know,” he smiled like he was hearing
an inside joke that I wasn’t party to in his mind. “Let’s check it
out.” He started to walk toward a doorway.

“Are you crazy?” My eyes were wide with
fear.

He looked back at me with a maddening look
that was sexy as hell. “Yeah I am,” he teased. But he didn’t let
up.

Thinking it was better to be with him than
alone with a bunch of dead wild creatures, I chased after.

It was dark in this room too, but Laurent
tried the light switch. It worked. The kitchen lit right up
comfortably. We both laughed. The loud whistle was coming from a
water kettle boiling on the stove top.

“That’s so weird,” I murmured as I took the
kettle off the hot burner and set it on a cool one. “Who would
leave their house with a kettle going?” I turned off the stove.

“And it’s so dark,” he added, seemingly as
confused as I was. “Well, it looks like we have the place to
ourselves,” he chuckled lightly, looking down at me through his
dark lashes.

When he gazed at me like that, I lost track
of what I was thinking. But once he turned away and started
exploring the space, my body relaxed slightly and I remembered. “We
can’t stay here,” I stated with surprise at the thought of it.

“Oh, yes we can and we are.” Looking over at
me from across the kitchen, he lifted an eyebrow and ran his
fingers through his gorgeous hair.

I so wanted to touch it, even in this creepy
house. It looked so soft and lovely.

“Come on,” he said, motioning his head toward
the living room.

Not knowing what else to do, I followed him.
He picked up the candle, obviously for my sake only and led me up a
stairway. At the top there were three rooms, two of which had
locked doors. We entered the one that was unlocked. He flipped the
light switch and it lit up to a beautiful country style bedroom
like something you would see in a movie.

“Ah, French decor,” he sighed. “Now, I know
why Josette recommended this.” He touched the floral wallpaper and
walked over to the French windows that framed a magnificent ocean
view.

The queen size bed was done up so nicely with
fine fabrics and Tiffany lamps on either sides. “Where are we going
to sleep?” I questioned. “There is only one bed.” Secretly, I hoped
we slept together.

“You’ll sleep there,” he smiled wryly as he
pointed at the luxurious bed. “And I’ll sleep in the bathroom.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. What guy
chooses the bathroom over the girl?

“Come on.” He motioned me into
his
bedroom.

When we stepped into the toilet room, my eyes
widened. “Wow!”

He looked at me and nodded his head. “Not too
bad, eh?”

“That’s an understatement. It’s beautiful.”
The bathroom was large with pale yellow wallpaper and white trim.
There were lots of white wood cabinets and a scenic window set
before the huge Jacuzzi tub that was lined with unlit candles of
the most pleasant scents.

He turned to me and stared directly into my
eyes. Electricity shot through my body. I couldn’t help but wonder
what he was thinking as he held his gaze. His teeth started to
clench, but he shook his head like he was waking from a dream. “You
wait here,” he said suddenly. “I have to fish.”

He rushed out of the bathroom as I followed
him and then out the bedroom. “Lock the door,” he commanded. “And
don’t let anyone in.”

And he was gone just like that. I walked over
to the huge French windows and looked out at the beach. In seconds,
I saw Laurent rushing into the ocean. He dove under a wave and he
was gone.

Uneasiness set over me. I had no idea when
Laurent would return. And what if the owners of the house came
back? Considering how they decorated their living room, they were
probably strange people. I wouldn’t feel comfortable explaining to
them that we took a room without asking or paying for that matter.
Would they even rent to minors?

I decided to take a shower. Maybe some cool
water would settle my nerves. I slipped off my pale yellow sundress
and hung it on the door. The shower was set off from the Jacuzzi on
the other side of the bathroom. It was refreshing letting the water
run over my face and body. I washed my hair with a luxurious
vanilla shampoo that smelled delicious. The body wash was of the
same scent. It lathered up well enough for me to shave my legs too.
I nicked myself a little with the new razor but the blood washed
away.

When I got out, I felt so clean and fresh. I
was used to using cheap shampoos and this was a fantastic treat.
The white towel was so soft and fluffy. I was glad that I wore my
yellow dress today because somehow it seemed just right for a beach
getaway at a country inn.

Once I was dressed with my hair combed
through, I went back to the bedroom to look for food. I was hungry.
I found a small refrigerator off set in a corner of the room. There
was an array of mini hard liquor bottles lined up in slots. I
wasn’t a drinker, so I skipped those. But the sparkling waters and
chocolates looked tasty so I took some.

I sat at a white wooden table by the French
windows which I opened and then dined on my treats. There was a
nice breeze coming off the sea that was somewhat comforting to the
anxiety I was experiencing as I waited for Laurent. The sun was
setting on the ocean giving the sky a red glow. But as the sun
lowered, the sky grew dark blue. I remembered that song Laurent
sang to me: “Come to me in the blue hour. When the ocean blends
with the sky. Come to me in the blue hour. Your flesh is sweet. You
are a dream. Come to me in the blue hour…” My body shivered.

I lay down upon the bed. The pillows were
fluffy and cool, but my unease didn’t let up. I wanted to call my
parents to tell them that I was okay, that I didn’t mean to get mad
at them this morning. I wanted to tell them that I loved them. And
Lucy—I wanted to talk to my little sister. I wanted to hear about
her day. I wanted to throw her on my back and run around with her
like a wild girl while she laughed. And Agatha—she would be all
alone tomorrow at school. She would be worried to death about
me.