Current Impressions (28 page)

Some men brought their lovers jewelry and
roses when they needed to beg for forgiveness. He was giving his
girlfriend potentially poisoned wine and three empty glasses, but
he hoped she would see it for what it was. An apology.

I couldn’t sleep. Every time I tried, I
dreamt of Evan. They weren’t good dreams. Not the dreams I used to
have, where we swam in the ocean or walked under a million stars
stopping to kiss until we got dizzy. These dreams were scary. They
left me in a cold sweat. I woke panting from exertion or screaming
in fear. My eyelids drooped. I refused to close them, refused to
see Evan with glowing eyes and sharp teeth again.

The necklace lay on the nightstand, the
creamy pearl glistening in the moonlight. Should I put it back on?
Was he trying to contact me? Was he having second thoughts?

My heart was broken, and yet, something
wasn’t right. The man I saw tonight was not the man I loved. In the
year we dated, Evan never even raised his voice at me. He was kind
and gentle. When we were together, I was a better person. He made
me a better person. Something changed.

The headaches. It started with the
headaches. He said they were gone now, but something else was
happening. He’d been different since he saw that doctor. I didn’t
even know the man’s name. Evan never mentioned it. I hadn’t asked
either, but could it be important?

The pearl felt cool and silky in my hand. I
had picked it up without realizing it, but now, as I rubbed my
thumb over the small jewel, I was comforted. Was it because it was
my link to Evan? I set it back on the nightstand. I didn’t want to
think about it.

Kieran could’ve died tonight if he were
human. Was Ken intending on poisoning me, too? Why would he poison
us?

Dismayed, I realized I didn’t even know
Ken’s last name. Evan told me very little about this internship. I
did have his professor’s name. Ted Nolan. I could start there and
see if anything came up. Of course, it would require going to the
mainland. I needed a computer and an internet connection.

If I were honest with myself, I’d admit that
what I needed was my father. I had to tell him. I was endangering
the entire island if I hid what happened. Maybe Ken was one of our
enemies. He didn’t fit any of the descriptions that Kieran shared
with me. Then again, Kieran admitted he hadn’t encountered every
creature in the book. Not knowing who or what Ken was didn’t make
him any less of a threat. He tried to kill us. What would stop him
from trying with someone else?

My mouth widened in a huge, involuntary
yawn. Sleep was coming, whether I wanted it or not. Panicked, I
swept the necklace up and gripped it in my hand. If I was going to
dream of Evan as a monster, I could at least keep the necklace
close so I could scream at him in my sleep. I tucked my hand under
my pillow and closed my eyes.

****

Evan and I sat beside an in-ground pool. Our
feet dangled in the water, which was pleasantly warm. We were
alone, and when I looked around, I recognized the place. It was the
apartment complex where some of his hockey buddies lived. He took
me here for a party last year.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.” His
shoulder bumped mine, and he entwined his left foot with my right.
With a small pang, I remembered sitting this way before too.

He was a jerk. He hurt me. I stared ahead
and watched the water ripple as our feet moved, the reflection of
the parking lot lights dancing before us. Evan touched my chin and
turned my face toward him. His eyes filled with sadness. “I can’t
lose you, Meara. I know it’s my fault. I’ll do anything to get you
back.”

“Why’d you break up with me in the first
place?” The words were out before I could stop them. “You’ve been
downright mean to me, Evan.”

“I know, I know. Something’s happening to
me, Meara.”

“What?”

When he said, “I don’t know,” I sighed and
turned away. Another apology, an empty promise, and I’d give him
back my heart only to have it trampled tomorrow. Once again, he
turned me back with a gentle touch.

“I… I want to tell you.” He paused. The look
on his face was pure fear. What was Evan afraid of?

“You can tell me anything,” I said.

He laughed bitterly. “Remember that later,
okay?” He took my hand and held it in his lap between his own
hands. His grip was gentle, but firm, almost as though he was
afraid I would bolt. “So, those headaches I was having? I wasn’t
just having headaches; I was having horrible dreams, too. Death,
destruction, screaming—I dreamed of you running from me, afraid of
me. I couldn’t make sense of it. I would never hurt you, you know
that right?”

I could’ve told him there were more ways to
hurt me than just physically. He’d certainly broken my heart.
Instead, I said, “You were just dreaming, Evan.”

“I know, but it seemed so real.” He ran his
hand through his hair, and the thick waves stuck out messily.
“Anyway, the headaches got worse, and I passed out while
diving.”

“Evan, you never told me—”

“I know.” He squeezed my hand. “That’s when
Ken called Dr. Tenuis. They took me to a clinic. A private clinic,
not a hospital. My memories are hazy at best. They drugged me, ran
some tests, and gave me medicine. When I left, the headaches were
gone.”

“That’s good, right?” I tried to comfort
him, but he was making me nervous. What kind of doctor drugged his
patient without consent?

“At first, I thought so, but I started to
have these crazy thoughts. I hear voices sometimes, Meara. They
whisper to me, and I find myself listening, even when I don’t want
to. When I’m around you…” His voice trailed off.

“Yes?” I encouraged.

“When I’m around you,” he started again, “I
feel revulsion, anger, violence… and after, I hate myself. That’s
why I drove you away. You need to stay away from me. I’m going
crazy, and I don’t know why.”

The timing with the doctor couldn’t be a
coincidence.

“What kind of clinic was it? Can you get a
copy of your medical records? Maybe they did something to you
that’s causing this.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced. “I can
try.” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. I shivered at
the electricity that traveled up my arm and down my spine. He
smiled at my reaction. “You do still love me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” I swallowed the lump in my
throat. “How can you even ask?”

“I love you, too,” he whispered as he leaned
closer. “Always.”

He kissed me, soft at first, and then with
growing intensity. I broke away, breathing fast. “Maybe we
shouldn’t do this.”

“Why not? It’s just a dream.” He gave me a
crooked smile. I melted when I saw his dimple. “We could swim, if
you like.”

“I don’t have a suit…”

“It’s me, Meara.” He stood and pulled off
his T-shirt. “I’ll go first.” He took off the rest of his clothes
and dove in, his lean figure cutting the water gracefully. When he
broke the surface, he shook the water from his head and laughed.
“Come on, it’s warm.”

I hesitated another moment, and then gave
in. One more memory with him, even a dream memory, was too tempting
to resist. I stripped quickly and jumped, splashing him in the
process.

“You did that on purpose!” Laughing, he
reached for me when I surfaced. His hands went around my waist,
pulling me back against his chest. My squeal of surprise turned to
a soft moan when he lowered his head and kissed my neck. His lips
traveled up, and he nuzzled my earlobe. “I’ve missed this,” he
murmured.

“I’ve missed you.” I turned in his arms and
wrapped mine around his neck. He kissed me, slow and deep. I was
slipping, falling under his spell, when I realized something he’d
said earlier. It was just a dream. It was a dream. How would he
know that, unless…

I pulled back and looked up at him.
“Evan?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes?”

“Are you dreaming?”

“If I am, don’t wake me up.”

That sounded like the Evan I knew and loved.
He never missed an opportunity to use a cheesy line. He moved to
kiss me again, but I placed my hands on his chest and held him
back. “I’m serious. You said something earlier, ‘It’s just a
dream.’ What did you mean?”

Sighing, he placed his hands over mine. He
lifted my left one and kissed my palm, causing my stomach to
quiver. “We’re dreaming, Meara, but we’re dreaming together.”

“How can you be sure?”

He shrugged. “I just am. Are you wearing the
necklace again?”

Startled, I asked, “You knew I took it
off?”

“I tried to call you.” He frowned. “You
didn’t answer. I guessed that you took it off.”

“I did. I’m not wearing it now—”

“Then, how?”

“I was holding it in my hand when I fell
asleep,” I said. I pulled my right hand free from his grasp and ran
it along his collarbone. “You’re not wearing yours either.”

“Not in this dream,” he said. “But I am
wearing it.”

Satisfied, I leaned in to kiss him, but this
time he stopped me. “Wait. I need to tell you something before I
forget or one of us wakes up. I took the bottle and the wine
glasses.”

“You what?” It was the last thing I expected
him to say.

“Before I fell asleep. I thought about what
you said, and I found the glasses and the bottle. There’s still a
little in it. You can have it tested.”

“You did that for me? You could’ve been
caught.” What would Ken do if he found out?

“Don’t worry about me, but I don’t want you
coming back to the house. I’ll hide them under the stairs by the
pier. Come and get them tomorrow while we’re out.”

“Thank you,” I said. “For believing me.”

“Meara, I don’t know what’s going on. I
don’t like the person I’m becoming, and I’m scared.” His voice
cracked as he lowered his head to my shoulder. His body shook. “I’m
so scared.”

I wrapped my arms around him and held him
tight. My tears mixed with his in the pool. I didn’t know how to
help him, but I would try. We needed answers, but right now, I
needed to comfort and be comforted.

“We have tonight,” I whispered in his ear.
“Let’s not waste it.”

****

I smelled bacon. The savory fragrance
beckoned to me before I opened my eyes.

“Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead.”

Ula sat at the end of my bed in bell-bottom
jeans and a green, smocked shirt. Her hair hung in braided
pigtails, tame for once. I sat up against the headboard, and she
slid the breakfast tray full of eggs, bacon, and orange juice
toward me.

“What’s the occasion?” I picked up a strip
of bacon. Ula’s cheeks turned rosy. She pulled on a stray thread on
her pant hem, not meeting my eyes. “Ula?”

“I ran into Uncle Angus, and he sort of told
me about Evan… Don’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad,” I said. “I’m glad you’re
here.”

“You are?” She brightened considerably.

“I am, and I’m not sure we are still broken
up.”

“What?” She wrinkled her brow in
confusion.

I told her about the dream, Evan’s fear that
he was losing his mind, and the wine bottle. Of course, then I had
to back up and tell her about dinner the night before. Her face
grew redder and redder. I was going to tell her to breathe once I
reached the end of my story. Luckily, she took a deep breath, and
then, she exploded.

“You did
what
? Are you
insane
?
You could’ve been killed. Do you have
any
idea
what
kind of stupid, ridiculous—?”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’ll never do it
again.” I spoke quickly, hoping to diffuse her anger. I didn’t want
my dad to find out this way. I needed to tell him myself.

“Well, okay then.” She fanned her face, and
it returned to a semblance of its normal pale, although her
freckles stood out brighter than usual. “So the real question
is—when are we going to retrieve that bottle?”

“We?”

“Of course, we. Who else are you going to
take? You’ve already put Kieran in a precarious situation. One, he
almost died for you. Two, if something had happened to you, my
brother would’ve declared war on Kieran’s clan.”

“Oh. Um…”

“You had no idea what you were doing, did
you?”

Her accusing tone made me angry. “How was I
supposed to know that my boyfriend’s host was going to poison us?
Is that something I should just suspect now of everyone I don’t
know?” I pushed the tray to the side. I was no longer hungry. “Why
do we have so many enemies anyway? What’s wrong with being a
Selkie?”

“Nothing’s wrong with being a Selkie, and we
don’t have
so many
enemies,” she said, emphasizing my words.
“But the ones we have, well, they’re pretty powerful.”

“Why do they hate us?”

“I’d love to tell you, but it depends on
which ‘they’ you’re talking about. Most creatures who hate us also
hate humans. They live to destroy, we live to protect, and so we
mix like oil and water.” She paused and looked at me. “You know,
because they don’t really mix.”