The Impostor, A Love Story (36 page)

“We have got to get out of here fast,” he
repeated. “Where is your purse?”

“In the closet.”

“Which room is yours?” He pulled me up, and
we entered my room. Feathers were scattered throughout the room
from the winter coat that was sliced up by some kind of knife.
There was no sign of my purse.

“My purse, he must have my purse.” I opened
the drawer to get my birth certificate and the other important
papers I needed to get the car title changed into my name. “They’re
gone! And my address book, it’s not here! Maybe they are in his
room.” I said in between breaths.

“Nicole we better go.”

“The ID’s!” I started up the stairs. “We have
to get them for the police. They are in his room.”

We heard tires crush the snow on their way
down the driveway. I froze. Our cars were out front. There was no
way to escape.

“Shit, let’s go!” He took my hand, and we
made it to the door of the laundry room. He opened the door, and we
were overwhelmed by the blood—so much blood all over the sink, as
if he tried to clean up after a murder.

I screamed.

“Shhh.” He covered my mouth.

Bradley picked up the knife that was sitting
on the basin with a rag in case there were any fingerprints on it.
He wrapped the dagger in the cloth and stuck it in his pocket so we
could bring it to the police. If he needed it to defend us, he
could get to it easily.

We ran to the back door. Brad plowed into it,
hoping to break the seal, but it was jammed. We heard keys at the
door. Steve was about to enter the house. We had to find a way to
escape.

Running back to the laundry room, Brad was
able to smash open the small window panel before Steve opened the
front door. Lifting me up, he made me climb out first. I shimmied
through the window, cutting myself on the broken glass, but making
it into the snow on the other side.

Bradley didn’t attempt to pull his way to
safety. Steve was in the house. Bradley was in the house. I wanted
to scream at him to hurry. I wanted to grab his arm and help pull
him through.

He sat there in the darkness, waiting for
Steve to make his way into the basement. Brad was silent. I knew
what he was thinking. He had the knife. It was his opportunity to
end this, to protect me from this sinister man. But Bradley was not
a murderer, whereas Steve had slaughtered several men.

It was freezing. The cold pierced my body.
“Bradley what are you thinking? Please don’t.” I couldn’t bear
anything to happen to him because of my stupidity. I reached my
hand in the window. “Bradley, please. I’m scared,” I whispered.

Time seemed to stand still, slowing down so
that every sound—every movement—I perceived as a warning. The snow
had increased, and my clothes did little to protect me from the
bitter air. As the snow fell, my already-soaked clothes absorbed
the flurries like a sponge, and my temperature began to drop. I
waited, unable to leave till I knew he was safe.

Finally, Bradley appeared, pulling himself
through the window. I ran to him to embrace him.

“I couldn’t do it Nicole, I’m sorry I
couldn’t do it. I wanted to end it, but I worried something could
happened to you, you would be out here alone.” He ran his hands
down my back. “You are freezing. Your jacket is soaked,” he said.
“We can’t go to the cars till he leaves. If we try and make it
around front, he will see us through the window. We have to wait.
We have to wait till it’s safe. The wind blew stronger as the
flurries fell more rapidly, stinging my face.

My short staccato breath accentuated the
throbbing I felt in my limbs. Bradley picked me up and brought me
deep into the woods so we were hidden. He gently put me down.

“Where the hell is that cop? And the
detective? They should be here by now!” Then it hit me. “Bradley,
do you think that was the detective’s blood in there?”

His eyes grew wider, where was the detective?
Brad pulled out his cell phone, dialing 911. “Damn, I knew it. I
don’t have any service here.”

My hands were shaking; he took them and
brought them to his face.

“We have to get you warm Nikki. We’ve gotta
warm you up.” He found a mound of snow that could easily be made
into a quick shelter. He grabbed branches and evergreen needles to
place on the snow behind the mound to make some place for us to lie
down shielded from the wind. The wind howled as it whipped against
me, and my hair danced uncontrollably in every direction.

“I-I’m so cold”

“We have to stay out here till it’s safe to
leave,” he warned, looking into my eyes. “This is soaking, you
can’t wear this.”

I tried to open my jacket, but my fingers
wouldn’t hold still. “I … I … I ... can’t,” I stuttered.

His hands went to the zipper on my jacket.
“I’m not trying to be fresh, Nicole. You will die in this cold with
wet clothes on. We have to take this off.” He unzipped my wet
jacket, dropping it to the ground. His hands then gently unfastened
the equally damp sweater underneath and he let it fall. As he began
unbuttoning the front of my blouse, his hands brushed against my
skin.

My hands grabbed his, embarrassed.

“Our bodies will create more heat than these
flimsy, wet clothes.” He moved my hands and began unbuttoning my
blouse again.

Taking off his coat and placing it on a tree
branch, he unbuttoned his shirt. He stood in front of me with his
chest kissed by the snow.

The snow continued to fall on us as he
brought my body toward his. He stared into my eyes to make sure he
had permission. A ripple of chills rushed over me. I bit my lip as
he pressed his body against mine. His chest was so warm. Gently, he
rubbed my arms to create friction and warmth, and then wrapped his
coat around me and placed his hat on my head. He brought my hands
to his chest to warm them before he covered them in his gloves.

Bradley slowly guided my body to the nest of
pine needles he had collected and placed behind the mound of snow
to protect us from the wind.

“So warm.” I rested my head against his body.
He held me close. I felt the heat of his breath on my neck. I
trembled. I loved his warmth.

“Bradley, do you think..?”

“Come on, Nicole, you need to warm up.” He
tried to take my mind off of everything.

My teeth chattered.

“Just a little longer,” he said.

My bra pressed against his naked chest. I
could feel his heartbeat. It was soothing.

“Just a little longer, Nikki.”

His heartbeat seemed to hypnotize me. I tried
to focus on each beat instead of the possibilities of danger that
lurked around us. We felt hopeful that Steve wouldn’t search the
woods with the snow falling.

Almost an hour had passed and he held me. The
pounding in his heart seemed to escalate, as did mine. I felt safe
in his arms. I wrapped my hands around his body, holding him
tighter as my head lay against him. I didn’t want to let him go.
His heartbeat seemed to harmonize with mine. By now, it was dark.
The sun had just set, and we could feel the drop in temperature as
the cold made its way into our bones. We needed to leave. We
couldn’t survive out here much longer, but I didn’t want to move. I
wanted to stay cocooned in his safety. I looked up. His blue eyes
seemed concerned as he gazed down at me.

The snow crunched. Our heads jerked around.
Could Steve have found us? Where was he?
Silence was not our
friend. We heard a twig snap.

Bradley whispered in my ear. “We may need to
run, Nicole. You have to be ready to run.” The noises made their
way closer to us in a careful, calculated manner. Pulling his body
away from mine, he carefully zipped up his coat on my body. He held
his finger to his lips, signaling silence.

“We will run to the car. Are you strong
enough?” Another twig broke closer to our little nest. “Get the
keys,” I took the keys out of my pocket. “If I’m not behind you,
you have to promise me you will leave.”

“I can’t leave without you.”

“Nicole, promise me you will drive away if
I’m not there. I still have my truck, so I have a way out of here
too.” He took the knife out of his pocket, as he did his phone fell
into the snow. He didn’t dare pick it up. He held the knife out,
ready in case we were ambushed.

“Get ready, get ready.”

The footsteps were upon us. Brad crouched
forward with his knife as something darted out from the trees. We
breathed in relief—a deer.

Bradley turned toward me. I was surprised at
the way I looked at him. The moonlight shinned on his bare chest.
His body kept me alive. And for a moment, I—

Another twig snapped. Pain shot through my
legs, each step excruciating.

We cautiously made our way to the car,
stopping every few feet to assure we were alone as we carefully
snuck around the house. I stepped in Brad’s footsteps carefully,
hoping it would help conceal the sound.

As we crept around toward the car, blue and
red strobe lights lit up the snow coming down the driveway. We
breathed in. The police had finally arrived. Ready to run to the
police car, we stopped dead in our tracks. The moonlight revealed
fiery-red hair. I grabbed Brad’s hand.

“Stop,” I whispered.

The front door of the house opened. Steve
came outside. He walked down the front steps and scanned the area.
Bradley slowly bent into the shadows. We were motionless, silent,
and cold. My car waited only a hundred feet in front of us. We were
so close, but there was no way to make it safely with him standing
there.

We waited, not yet sure if the cop was a
threat or there to save us. My throbbing body ached, tormented by
wet snow dropping my temperature. I was getting so weak. I didn’t
know how much more I could handle.

We couldn’t hear the words, but the gestures
told us everything. The officer was not there to rescue us but to
cover up any crime that may have taken place. Steve patted him on
the back, and we watched as the police lights went back up the
driveway.

Steve’s eyes squinted as he searched the
darkness from the stairs. Had Steve heard us? Had he discovered the
missing knife? He made his way further down the walkway. His steps
came closer. We stood silent.
Stillness. Nothingness.
Hopelessness. Danger
.

Bradley held the knife at the ready. I was
close behind him.

I could hear my heart—so loud, so rapid, and
so intense. “Dear Lord, I am sorry,” I prayed in the silence of my
mind.

Steve’s steps grew closer. I could see that
Bradley was considering charging him to end the torment.

Steve pivoted toward his truck. He climbed in
and turned on the lights. They shined within a feet of us, almost
revealing our position. Steve turned around and made his way up the
driveway, unaware we were lurking in the shadows. When Steve turned
around the bend, we ran out of our hiding places and entered the
car. I handed Bradley the keys, and he pressed the gas. He didn’t
turn on the lights, in case Steve was still close enough to see.
Only cold air spit out of the vents. I touched Brad’s chest. It was
so cold. He was covered in goose bumps. I started to take the coat
off my body give it to him.

He stopped me. “Can you drive this home?” he
asked.

I nodded my head.

“I’ll follow you back to my place. Remember,
I’m right behind you.”

He left the car, and I slid over to the
driver’s seat. When he got to his truck, the intense cold caused
his hands to shake the keys, making it hard to unlock the door. I
held my breath.
Please let him get in. Please let him get
in
! Brad finally opened the door. He revved the engine and we
sped off.

Shivering, we entered Bradley’s place.
Despite the long drive with the heat on full blast, my body was
still freezing. When he hung up the phone with the police
department, he walked back over to me. “They’re going to check it
out. Hopefully they will pick him up tonight.” Bradley tucked my
hair behind my ear. “Nikki, your headlight’s out. You shouldn’t
drive like that. It’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous . . . like sneaking back into a
killer’s home because I forgot my purse? Now that is dangerous.” I
gave him a smile. “We are safe. Oh my god, we are safe.” I held on
to him.

“You are soaking wet,” he pulled his body
away slowly. “If we don’t get you warmed up, I’ll have to take you
to the hospital.” He proceeded to take off his shirt. My heartbeat
began to elevate again. I couldn’t help but stare at him. Why had I
never noticed how striking he was? My eyes drifted to his as he
took a step closer to me.

“We need to warm you up,” he said as he
unzipped the drenched coat and tossed it on the floor. He rubbed my
arms. His hands felt so warm. “You okay?”

I nodded.

As he looked into my eyes, his head seemed to
gravitate toward mine then stopped abruptly. “I . . . I’ll get you
something warm.” He turned quickly and walked toward his
bedroom.

My pants were drenched from the snow as well.
Brad came back in and handed me some of his sweats, his chest still
bare. I glanced down, bashfully biting my lip.

“You can use these.”

Still freezing, I accepted the clothes and
ducked into the bedroom. I took off my wet jeans and soaked
undergarments. I sat on the bed, sliding the sweat pants up my
legs. The cotton felt soft against my skin. I pulled the sweatshirt
over my head and cocooned my feet in the thick socks.
Dry. Soft.
Warm
.

My feet and body were still throbbing from
the cold.

I walked into the living room. Bradley put a
log on the fire and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. The
shadows of the flames danced against his face. I sighed as I walked
over to him timidly, trying to deny the feelings building up inside
of me. As I sat on the couch next to him, he handed me a mug of hot
chocolate. I curled up on the couch with the blanket and the cocoa
in my hand.