The Secret Trinity Unearth (3 page)

Chapter 4: Sneaky

I was lying in bed staring at the small television a few feet away, but I was not paying any attention. I could not stop thinking about my Mom’s confession. The anonymous man who gave me up had named me Aria. An hour later, worn out by my own thoughts, I could no longer fight my eyelids and I drifted off to sleep.

My sleep was restless though, and as I tossed and turned in bed my ears pricked up. Something was pulling me from my slumber. I slowly peeled my eyes open to identify the disturbance. My room glowed blue from the muted television still turned on in the corner. What was that sound? I looked over at my nightstand where my digital clock sat. It was just past two in the morning.

My attention was pulled toward the window where a light drumming sound hummed against the glass. My internal alarm quickly sent my stomach into my throat and I shot upright in bed. My heart hammered in my chest as my sleepy unfocused eyes honed in a faint shadow on the other side of the closed curtains.

I took a few deep breaths to slow the rapid-fire pace my heart had just taken. I was sure it was just Kayla. Like me, Kayla was a notorious night owl. We sometimes snuck out together to talk and enjoy the night air. Insomniacs love company.

I got out of bed, grabbed a zip-up hoodie from my closet, and slid into some flip-flops while I slung my hair into a messy ponytail. When I pulled open the drapes, I leapt back what felt like ten feet and my stomach dipped like a roller coaster. I was so startled I almost let out a scream but managed to slap my hand over my mouth in time. Leaning with his forearm against the window, the broad figure peered up at me through his lashes and flashed a smile. It was Doug.

I put my hands on my knees and took a couple of deep breaths. He had scared me half to death. I attempted to calm myself, but the calm would not come. I was filled with nervous butterflies instead. I gulped hard before walking toward my window. What the hell? What is he doing here? I reluctantly opened it halfway as he squatted down resting his elbows on the window sill, cupping his hands in his face.

“Hey gorgeous, how are ya?” Speaking in a hushed tone, he tilted his head to one side as if trying to appear thoughtful. I crossed my arms over my chest, thinking, he’s kidding, right?

“You snuck over to my house at two thirty in the morning to say hi? What are you doing here Doug?” My tone was cold with annoyance.

He grinned that easy grin of guys used to getting their way, “Easy babe, it’s just…I have been trying to get together with you so I could apologize for the prom, but you keep giving me the go-around when I text you. Could we just talk for a second?” My eyes narrowed, and in the iciest tone I could muster up, I laid into him.

“I should not have even responded to your texts. I should have blown you off, like you did to me at the prom!” My voice hit way above a whisper, and Doug scanned around cautiously, to see if any lights in my house had clicked on. My parent’s bedroom was on the other side of the house so I was not too concerned.

All was clear, and he let out a deep huff, “I know Ari. I am scum. Could you please come outside so we can talk?” He looked at me with his best puppy dog eyes, and bit his lower lip.

The fierceness in my gaze wavered. Since he had risked sneaking out and being grounded for our last days of summer, for me, I suppose I could give him two minutes of my time. I pulled the window all the way up, and Doug took my hand to steady me as I swung my legs over the sill setting my feet on the other side.

The air had cooled slightly, and the moon glowed down on his tall, muscular body. There was dew coating the grass, making my flip-flops wet and slippery under my toes. I looked up at him and gave him the “I’m waiting” look, when his full lips curled up to a proud grin. Clearly he was patting himself on the back that he had successfully talked me out here. He took my hands gently and bowed his head down.

“Listen, I am really sorry about the prom. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just nervous about going out with you, and I drank way too much. I really like you, and I was hoping for a second chance. Will you please forgive me? I cannot stop thinking about you and all I want is to make it up to you. I know we are going to the same college in a few days, and I would like to take you out on a real date, once you’re settled in. How about it? Will you have me?”

He actually seemed sincere. He bit his lower lip again and his expression appeared nervous. I couldn’t help but feel a little flutter. I took in a big gulp of air giving myself a moment to answer.

“Okay, one date, and we will see how it goes,” I hesitantly whispered back. The moment I uttered those words I regretted it. Something in his eyes changed instantly. The look was sinister and it frightened me. I suddenly felt the urge to take a running leap back through my window into the safety of my bedroom, but Doug still had his hands clasped over mine. He gave them a tight squeeze and smiled triumphantly.

Without warning he yanked on my hands, pulling me into his body. He let go of my hands, and gripped my shoulders with his meaty paws. Before I could stop him he crushed his lips into my face covering my entire mouth. As he tried to break the tight seal of my closed lips with the tip of his tongue, I knew I had made a huge mistake.

It took a few seconds for me to recover from the shock of what was unfolding. With all my strength I crossed my fists over his chest and pushed back, trying to release his tight hold on my shoulders. With that move, he momentarily unlatched his lips from mine and looked down at me. He dug his fingers into my shoulders harder. I could feel the bruises forming.

He pulled me roughly back into his chest and brought his lips to my ear, “Come on babe. I am just trying to give my girl a goodnight kiss.” He said it with a whisper that made my skin crawl. Then he dug deeper into my shoulders making me wince. Again he covered my mouth with his wet, sloppy lips. Panic washed over me. I should never have come outside. I turned my cheek until his lips broke from mine and I squirmed trying to release myself.

“Get off me Doug! I am not your girl!” was all I managed to spit out. He looked down at me with a grin that made my stomach churn. I could feel the bile rising as I continued to wiggle free.

Just when he was about to pull me into his disgusting mouth again, I heard a loud crack. Instantly Doug’s grip loosened from my arms and clutched the back of his head, “What the…?” He groaned. I took a step back as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed to the ground with a loud thud. He let out a pained moan and took his hand from the back of his head. It was covered in blood.

I let out a gasp. What was going on? What had just happened? I looked down at Doug, a crumpled heap on the ground. Next to him there was a smooth rock about the size of soda can. The rock was stained with blood, Doug’s blood. When I looked up from the lawn, a different kind of panic filled my stomach and every muscle in my body stiffened.

I could see the dark silhouette of a man in the woods behind my house less than ten yards away. I blinked several times trying to convince myself I was imagining him. I could not make out his face; it was shadowed by the trees. But he was there, standing tall and predatory. He was as still as a statue except for his breathing. The sides of his ribcage expanded and contracted, deep and slow, like a lion trying to calm himself before he pounced.

I took a calculated step toward my open window when the wind shifted. It rustled the trees above him, and a sliver of moonlight pierced the leaves to reveal a glimpse of his jet black, untamed hair. My breath caught in my throat and my heart began to race.

“Who’s there?” The words choked out of my dry throat. I could barely bring my voice to a whisper.

“Hello? Who’s out there?” A split second later the mysterious man took off in a lightning fast sprint, disappearing into the woods.

Without thinking I broke into stride, but I was not running away from him, I was running after him. My flip-flops slipped under my feet as I approached the edge of the woods. I ran as fast as I could, sliding over the wet earth.

“Wait! Please wait! Who are you? Stop!” I yelled over and over again, but he ignored me and kept running. He was too fast, beyond what I thought was humanly possible.

I was deep into the woods and I could no longer make out his shadow. He had disappeared and I had lost one of my flip-flops. I could not see anything; it was too dark under the cloak of the trees. I stopped momentarily to get my bearings when I heard strained shouts coming from the direction of my house.

“Aria! Ari! Ari! Where are you?!” An image of my father flashed in my mind, and I closed my eyes instinctively to see the image again. The picture in my mind was of him in our back yard with terror in his eyes. He was the one shouting my name, realizing I was missing.

I opened my eyes. I was breathing heavily from sprinting through the woods and was suddenly very aware of the darkness that surrounded me. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might fall out of my chest. I took one last look into the depths of the woods. Nothing. I didn’t know what came over me. What would I have done if he had stopped? I couldn’t believe I ran after a stranger who had almost crushed in Doug’s skull. What if that rock was meant for my head?

A shiver went down my spine, like someone’s eyes were on me. My pulse thudded loudly in my ears, and I quickly turned toward my house with a burning need to escape the woods. I hobbled back to the house as fast as I could on one flip-flop.

When I broke through the trees I saw Tom, my adoptive father, running around in the backyard with bare feet wearing pajamas, just like the image in my mind. The visions I had were another secret that I didn’t understand, but they were always dead accurate, seeing an exact scene with people, what they were doing and even the clothes they were wearing.

When my Dad spotted me, he came barreling in my direction almost knocking me over as he wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I winced with pain. Yeah, there was no doubt now. Doug had definitely given me two handfuls of bruises.

“Oh my god, there you are! Ari, what is going on? What happened? I woke up to you shouting, and when I got to your room, the window was open and you were gone. I thought someone was trying to kidnap you!” His voice had a shaky edge to it which was very uncharacteristic of him.

I could tell I had scared him pretty good, and in retrospect, I should not have run into the woods screaming. I should not have run into the woods at all. I had deliberately put myself in danger by running after that man. I was lucky he didn’t stop to kidnap me, or worse, crush my head in with another rock.

The guilt rose up inside me, “I’m sorry. I’m okay. I promise.” I whispered. Just as I was about to explain why Doug was lying in a pathetic ball outside my bedroom window, I peered around my Dad to look at the spot where I had left him seething in pain. My mouth fell open. Doug was gone.

I scanned along the length of the house and squinted at what looked like little droplets of blood trailing across our brick patio. He had probably crawled away with his tail between his legs when he heard my Dad coming outside. Right then I decided not to tell Dad about Doug. I figured he would probably break into Doug’s house and strangle him. I could not have Tom Darwin, the lawyer, going to prison over me.

I made a mental note to clean-up the blood trail in the morning before anyone spotted it. Doug, what a scum bag! I clearly could not see straight when it came to men. How could I ever trust a guy when they did nothing but make my heart ache? I needed to make a change, starting tonight.

Chapter 5: Adoption

My Dad sat me down at the kitchen table while he made us some tea. He placed a piping hot ceramic cup filled with chamomile in front of me, and he took in a deep breath of the steam from his own mug trying to calm his nerves. He looked at me with curious eyes, and I knew what was coming.

“So, tell me Ari, what is going on?” I looked down into my mug hoping to find the answer in there. Damn, nothing.

“I thought I saw a stray animal in the woods. When I went to check it out…it was so dark I got lost…so I called out for help.” The choppy explanation had not come out very smoothly, but it was a variation of the truth, sort of.

He lifted his thick eyebrows and almost grinned, “Really? That is the story you came up with. Come on sweetie, you’re artistic. I thought you would be a little more creative than that.”

I smiled thinly and took a sip of my tea while I thought of what to say next. My Dad had always been easygoing and light hearted. He is a partner at a small law firm but you would never guess he was a “suit”. He was the exact opposite of my Mom, which is probably why they balanced each other so well. I carefully thought out my next words, and in my most innocent voice I began.

“Dad, tell me about my birth father. How did it happen? Why did he pick you?” “Oh.” His voice shot up an octave, clearly surprised by the change in subject. He quickly composed himself and eyed me up.

“Is that what this is about? Did you see someone in the woods? Should I be calling the police, because Ari I promise you, it was not your birth father.” His expression turned to deep concern.

I wanted to keep him on subject while I had him alone. If he got on the phone with the cops he would wakeup Mom, and she would get hysterical, especially after being on edge about my river trip today. Omission was my best option.

“No, there was no one in the woods. It‘s just, well…Mom told me earlier tonight that he named me Aria, and since you had never mentioned it before, I was curious. Is there more to the story?”

He rubbed the back of his neck with his palm as his gaze turned distant, trying to recall the memory. After a long moment he spoke.

“Hmmm. Well, there really is not much to tell. I was alone in the office late one night and as I was just about to lock up, a man came in holding a bassinet. He pushed the bassinet into my arms, and when I peered down inside, there you were, a beautiful little baby. He told me your name was Aria, that you were only a month old and very precious. He said you needed a good home, and to keep you safe. I was so shocked that by the time I tried to open my mouth to say something, he bolted out the door and never came back. Your mother and I had been trying to have a baby for years, and we had been put on an adoption waiting list. When I brought you home and told your mother what had happened, she held you, started crying, and said you were precious, our precious little gem. We immediately began with adoption proceedings and here we are eighteen years later.”