The Allotter:The Threads of Destiny (3 page)

Chapter 3

   
“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay with you?” Thelma’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, anticipation of staying evident on her worried face as she waited for Evie’s answer.

  Smiling with a nod of assurance,
“I’m fine, mom. I’m a big girl; you don’t need to worry about me.” Leaning towards her, she kissed her cheek.

 
“Well, at least let me walk you in.” Thelma was out of the car and holding open the passenger side door before Evie could refuse her.

Rolling her eyes, Evie chuckled.
“Fine…fine. If it will make you feel better.”

After finally yessing mom to death and ushering her to the door, Evie convinced her that she would be fine and would call if she needed anything.  Closing her front door as her mom mumbled
‘stubborn brat, love you‘, Evie repeated the endearment through the door and locked it. She turned and leaned against the door and let her head roll back, as she closed her eyes. Finally, home, she blew out a relieved sigh and mumbled to the quiet room, “I’m so glad I’m home.”

“
I’m glad you’re home too.” the growled words vibrated against the rim of her ear as warm breath puffed against her cheekbone. Her eyes flew open, chest expanding mid-scream. A jolt of fear paralyzed her ability to breathe as she slapped her palms against the rigid planes of her attacker’s chest. Jerking her knee up, aiming for his groin, he seemed to anticipate the move, deftly avoiding the maneuver by bending his hips away and out of range. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he was faster than she was, and a step ahead of each frantic move she made.

  A loud sigh from him indicated his irritation at her feeble fight; as one hand gripped her throat, the other covered her mouth. Pressing her against the door, he slid his hand from her throat down her chest, and around her waist. Stilling from the movement of his hand so close to her breasts, she held her breath, eyes wide at the realization that she was going to die any minute now.

  His breath fanned her cheek as he whispered, “It’s about time. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go to the hospital to retrieve you.”

  She was in shock. Who was this man?

Black spots danced in her vision as she struggled to stay conscious. Again.

“
I will pull my hand away only if you agree not to scream.” He growled into her ear, the menacing voice laced with a touch of an unidentifiable accent she vaguely remembered hearing before. The hard fabric of his jacket cut painfully through her hospital gown and into her breasts as he used his body to press her against the door.

“
Well?” He prompted in irritation. Evie nodded her head yes, eyes bulging in a mixture of fear, pain, and disbelief. He pulled his head back and she immediately recognized him as the naked man in the middle of the street a couple of days ago. How had he found out where she lived and why was he here?

  Slowly he lowered his hand, hesitant that she would keep up her end of the bargain. He stared at her face, but mostly her eyes as he pressed his large, hard body painfully into her.

  “You’re hurting me.” her voice quivered while his scrutiny made her feel naked… She began to tremble with panic. He must have sensed it and gave her what she surmised was a smile. Maybe it was a show of teeth like a wolf would show prior to attacking its prey. It was not reassuring in the least.

  He pressed his body into her harder; she sucked in a gasp from the burn in her ribs. One hand still pressed into her neck, while his body held hers captive against the door. Her toes curled in pain in her sneakers. He coldly chuckled at her discomfort. His voice a menacing whisper, he dropped his head closer, his lips moist against her ear,
“Isn’t it ironic that agony reminds you that you are alive and vulnerable, but during such bone crushing pain, you wish you were dead.”

  He stepped back and let her go, Evie sucked in a deep breath as relief from pain hit her traumatized body. She leaned forward, hands on her knees trying to catch her breath, never taking her eyes off him as she stared up at him. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes perusing slowly from the top of her head to her sneakers and back up again, never leaving her.

  Who was he? She couldn‘t remember ever meeting him before the other night. “Why are you stalking me?” If there was a possibility that she was going to die, she at least wanted to know why.

  Catching her breath, she stood upright, surveyed her options. If she could get to the window
…

  He ignored her question.
“You won’t make it there in time and even if you did, I would be on you before you could get it open.” His words were cool as he folded his arms across his broad chest, the muscles rippling in protest against his shirt. He stared at her, his eyes intense as he studied her. He hadn’t tried to kill her or rape her yet, so what did he want from her? As she clenched her fists together, nails cutting into her palms, she stared back at him. Raising her chin, she figured, if I’m going to die, I’m going to do it with some dignity. Unfortunately, her sweaty hands and wobbly knees did not agree with her dignified plan. She felt light-headed. She leaned against the bench next to the door. Why couldn’t she see his life and death when he touched her? The only thing she felt when he grabbed her was a charged darkness, almost like static electricity fizzing through her body. The only other person she didn’t have visions of their life and death of was her mother, which they had both surmised was because of their relationship to each other, as if that could cancel out the ability.

  The silence as he looked at her was unnerving.
“Are you done yet or should I turn around too?” The defiant retort spilled from her mouth, her voice sounding out of breath as she clenched her teeth, trying to control her trembling body.

His smile was feral, no doubt enjoying her burst of anger.
“You’ve got a temper. That’s quite an intriguing surprise.” With that, he walked away and into the darkness of her bedroom.

  Standing dumbly for a moment, split second thoughts of flight or fight bombarded her head. Her shoulders sagged at the acute realization that she would never get away from him, not to mention he probably knew she was thinking about it anyway. She jumped as she heard his laughter in her room, which probably indicated that he was laughing at her thoughts.

  Taking a deep breath, Evie closed her eyes at her discomfort and tried to calm herself. Gingerly touching her stomach, she winced from the tenderness. She was going to have some serious bruises. What was she suppose to do? Stand there and wait for him? Suddenly, he appeared in the bedroom doorway. The moonlight through her window partially illuminated him, his shoulders were large, and he consumed the entrance. She took a step back. He took a step forward.

 
“Come in here and put some warm clothing on.” He stepped back, expecting her to pass by him into her room. As if, she would voluntarily go into her bedroom with this psychopath! At least he wanted her to wear warm clothes, which would indicate she was safe for now, right?

 
“You can come in here and get dressed of your own volition, or I will force you in here and dress you myself. I really would not mind. It’s your decision.” She wasn’t willing to push him any further once his ultimatum was offered. Pushing by him, she couldn’t help herself from jamming her shoulder into his chest as she passed, resulting in a sore shoulder as he chuckled at her bravado.

  Not wanting him at her back, she spun on him and backed into the room. His mocking smile gone, he walked over to the bed, lifted the pile of clothes he had placed there, and thrust them at her.
”Put these on.” She fumbled to catch them, as he repeated, “Put them on now. We need to leave.” He ordered as he turned and walked over to her favorite Ikea green and brown armchair next to her bureau. He turned his massive bulk around and sat with surprising delicacy. Evie winced as he sat; briefly remembering that she had put it together so the strength of the chair was questionable. He smiled with a mocking twist of his lips, waggled his eyebrows at her once, and nodded his head towards her.

  Confusion turned to realization.
“You expect me to dress in front of you?” Evie’s voice raised an octave at the absurdity of his audacity.

  One eyebrow raised in challenge as he said,
“Get dressed. Now.”

A silent battle of wills ensued between them for a few minutes. Breaking the silence, he sighed and calmly stated as fact as he casually crossed one leg over his knee,
“Let me remind you again. You can dress and accompany me, or I will dress you so that you may accompany me. Either way, you will still accompany me. I may decide to undress you and leave you naked to accompany me. It is up to you whether or not this happens with or without incident. Choose, or I will choose for you.”

Her chest heaved in anger as her fury laced with fear,
“Fine!” She threw the clothing onto the bed, pulled the hospital pants down, untied the blue, size XXL hospital gown, and let it fall to the floor. Naked, she could not control the shiver that coursed down her spine. Unable to meet his eyes, she grabbed the underwear off the haphazard pile, and bent over to put them on. As she shoved each foot into the holes, she accidentally locked gazes with him, momentarily freezing at his expression. His hungry eyes were locked on her small breasts, as he watched them gently sway while she pulled her underwear on. Standing up she pulled them over her butt and turned around, giving him her back. Pulling the nude colored bra out of the pile, she fastened the clasp in the front, quickly twisted it around, and shoved her arms into the straps. All the while, she felt his burning gaze on her back. She heard him inhale, and slowly breathe out, his breaths unnervingly labored. The menacing breaths were chaos on her nerves.

 
“At least tell me something. Who are you? What is your name? Why are you here?” The last muffled as she pulled a green turtleneck over her head. Her questions met silence.

  He could at least answer her questions. What did it matter at this point?
“This is ridiculous. You know that, right?” pulling her legs through her jeans she turned around in a half jump, pulling the zipper up and froze. He was standing, eyes skimming her from head to toe as if he could devour her. His grey eyes an eerie glitter in the moonlight, his fists clasping and unclasping at his sides. Quickly backing up, Evie hit the nightstand, turned and fumbled for the switch to the lamp, as if light would make her situation less precarious. Losing her balance, she cursed her wobbly knees as the back of them hit the bed, causing her to fall back. Before she could lift herself up, he was there, standing between her legs as his powerfully muscled body loomed over her. He licked his lips right before he dropped toward her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the heavy contact of his body as mixed feelings of foreboding and something else thrummed through her body. What was the feeling? Could it be anticipation? Her body shuddered at the thought. Why would she anticipate his touch? No way possible she could be suffering from Stockholm syndrome already, right?  Her thoughts and feelings were as if they were not her own, or from somewhere deep inside her subconscious mind. Seconds ticked by, but she did not feel his weight upon her. Opening her eyes, her body jerked at the proximity of his body to hers. His hands braced by her head, his face a fraction from her face, slowly he leaned towards her neck, inhaling her. She shuddered again. She felt his slow smile against her collarbone.

 
“You may call me…. Sid. I am here to retrieve you, bring you back home.”  His voice was a seductive and low whisper as he answered her questions. What the hell was he talking about? She was home. His inhalation started at her neck, exhalation ending as his nose gently grazed her ear. His warm breath fanned the hair at her temple and then her neck as Evie heard his fingers scrape and grip her bedspread. She sucked in a breath as he ground himself into her, once. She felt light headed and turned on. What the hell was wrong with her? Her body was a traitor to her mind!

 
“In case you have not noticed, I am home. What do you want with me?” She said, her voice a quiet tremor, afraid of provoking him.

 
“I know about your dreams.” He whispered as his warm breath skated across her face as his lips traced the sensitive shell of her ear.

 
“I know that you are more comfortable with the dying than you are with the living. I also know that your dreams are always the same. Do you deny any of what I say?” His whispered words caused butterflies to form in her stomach at the truth of what he was saying to her. How could he know about her dreams?

  She turned her head away,
“How can you know anything about me?” Her voice sounded feeble and pathetic as her shallow breaths increased, spurting short bursts of air. If she breathed any deeper, her breasts would press against his chest.

  Fuck. That.

  He nudged her face toward his, their lips almost touching. His lips parted as his eyes fixed on her mouth for what felt like forever. A part of her she didn’t understand wanted to pucker her lips, press them to his. Another part of her was horrified at the thought. Her horrified self won the silent battle. She bucked her body against his. She would not submit to whatever was happening to her body or mind.

  Abruptly he stood, laughing at her struggle as he pulled her to a standing position. The sudden departure of his body caused her to feel a disturbing mixture of relief and disappointment. Her hand was warm and tingly in his.