Watch Over You (14 page)

It was as she was drying her face with some paper towels, and trying her hardest not to let Devan seep back into her mind, that she noticed the windows. They were high, but low enough that if she were to climb
onto the sink, she could get out of them. It would only be a few minutes. She felt a little childish as she felt her triumph well up inside.
Ha
, she told him mentally. He had said that they didn’t come out in the day and she could see through the glass that it was daylight.

She tiptoed over to the bathroom door as if Devan would suddenly realise from the way she walked what she was planning. She cracked the door open as quietly and as little as possible and peered out. He was sitting on the stage with his legs swinging back and forth, looking at some artwork. She regretted it had to be this way, but there were things that were far more important than her life. Tara had no doubt in her mind that when Devan realised she had gone, he would head to the house himself. She had to run, and fast, if she was to get there before he could stop her.

She climbed up onto the sink. It rattled under her weight - not that she was heavy. She held onto the window ledge above and prayed that the sink would hold. Easing open the window catch, she pushed against the frame, but the window was old and hadn’t been opened in a while. It wouldn’t budge.

She counted to three aloud and then slammed the palm of her hand against the wood. The window came open and Tara hoisted herself up and then pulled herself through it to drop down on the other side before Devan could come running.

She didn’t know exactly which way they had come specifically; she just ran. Her anger at Devan was soon replaced with adrenaline as she set out in a general southern direction. She ran down the path and out onto the main street. They had come this way, she was sure of it. Glancing around as she ran, she saw streets and roads that she had not seen in a very long time. The sights almost stopped her in her tracks, but she had no time. She checked over her shoulder to see if Devan was following her, but he wasn’t. Maybe he hadn’t heard. It was only a matter of time, though, before he went to see what was taking so long and saw the open window.

Her lungs were bursting, yelling at her to slow down as she sprinted along the main road. She didn’t.
She reached the public gardens that were home to children’s miniature golf and hopscotch games. She pushed open the gate and slid through, not stopping to look at anything. She ran between hurdles and stepped over novelty obstacle courses where children tried to score a hole-in-one through a clown’s mouth. When she had come out on the other side and pushed through another gate, she stopped to survey her surroundings.

They had come out of one of these gardens, she was sure. It had bushes and flowers like hers did. It had a climbing frame. She walked alongside the back garden gates, peering over them as she did until she found one with a child’s swing and slide set.
This was the one.
The garden was fitted for a perfect family of four. Typical suburban living of the middle class family.

She lifted the latch on the gate to let herself in. She remembered they had emerged from the side of the house somewhere between the hedges. She scanned the greenery that lined the garden, looking for the gap that they had used. She found it just behind an old shed.

She slipped through the gap. She wasn’t going to be that long - maybe a minute or two. There were just some things that she couldn’t leave behind.  She had to shimmy sideways as she didn’t quite fit. Just as she was about to, someone grabbed her hand and tugged. She was jerked backwards and smashed right into Devan’s solid chest.

“What are you doing?” he ground out.

“I told you. I want to get some things from the house. I was coming back.”

“Why don’t you listen to me?”

“I don’t understand the harm. They aren’t there. It’s five minutes.”

“You don’t understand because you can't.” He gripped her hand and tried to pull her along. Tara resisted, digging her heels into the ground while trying to prise her fingers from his.

“Let me go,” she demanded.

He didn’t. He didn’t stop pulling her either. Not until they were back in the family garden. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he grated as he spun her around to face him. His face was nothing but stone.

“I only wanted a couple of things. Eric’s wedding ring. I can't leave without it. It’s just five goddamn minutes.”

He rubbed at his temples with the balls of is hands and paced away from her. “It’s not time that is the problem.” He lifted his head to stare at her. “We can spare the five minutes.”

“Then what is it? Explain to me so I can understand.”

He didn’t answer her. Anguish danced over his features. 

“I won’t be long,” she said, and taking him unawares, she jerked her hand free and ran.

Devan made a lunge for her, but she was too swift. “Tara, no,” he yelled. She shuffled through the hedge as fast as she could with Devan hot on her heels.

“Let me go, Devan,” she shouted.

Twigs scratched at her face and she felt the burn as one of them scraped along her cheek. Branches caught her arm and leafy fingers entwined in her hair. She didn’t remember it being this long when they had slipped through the night before. Around and around she went. Was she lost? She didn’t know. It was impossible that there would be so many hedges. She threw a quick look over her shoulder but Devan was nowhere in sight. Tara didn’t have a clue which way she was facing any longer. She panted heavily as she pushed her way in any direction. An opening appeared just ahead.  She made her way towards it, hoping that it didn’t just lead back to the garden or to Devan. Relief flooded her momentarily as she caught sight of her own garden. She emerged from the thick undergrowth, and Devan stepped out in front of her.

Tara gasped and took an involuntary step backwards. How on earth had he got there before her? Where had he come from?

“I said no,” he growled.

Anger started to rage inside her. He wasn’t going to tell her what to do. Who did he think he was? Without a word, Tara pushed him out of her way and walked past him - then stopped short. She was standing in her garden; she was sure of it.  It was the same half built brick outdoor grill that Eric had started but never finished. It was the same garden shed. It was the same everything. But when she cast her eyes over the garden and across the patio, her house was gone.

Chapter Sixteen

Devan’s hand closed around hers and that was all she could feel - him and only him. She was numb inside and outside her body. She stared with nothing more than disbelief at the spot where her house had once stood. It wasn’t that it had been demolished or destroyed in some way, or even that they were in the wrong place. The house was simply not there. The field that ran alongside her house now ran over where the house had been. It was overgrown and unkempt. Clearly no one had tended to it in a very long time.

“I don’t understand,” she croaked, her voice not her own. It came out shaky and weak. Nothing felt real in that moment. Her head grew fuzzy and she was having difficulty forming thoughts.

“It doesn’t matter,” Devan said softly. He gently tugged on her hand as he tried to lead her away. “We need to leave before we lose even more time.”  Sinister black clouds moved overhead, darkness sweeping in rapidly. Tara watched how they moved together, an invisible hand pushing them like cushions. The clouds touched and the first splatters of rain fell. As the clouds melded into one another, the rain got heavier. Large dollops of water plunged down, soaking them instantaneously. Devan gripped her hand tight and headed back towards the hedges once again. The downpour shook Tara out of her trance-like state, and this time she followed him without a fight.

“It’s all a bad dream, isn’t it?” she murmured. It took a very short time to make their way back through the hedge this time. . Before she knew it, they had come out into the family’s garden once more. “None of it is real? You? The Shadows? My house? In a moment, I am going to wake up, aren’t I?”

“It’s not a dream.”

“Then how? Explain it to me, Devan, because I don’t understand what is going on.” She stopped abruptly, forcing him to turn and look at her. Nothing was making any sense to her and everything was going too fast. Her mind didn’t have time to process one
abnormality before another came along and threw her even more. Her mind jumped back to their conversation at the centre earlier. “What did you mean before, at the centre, when you yelled at me? What were you saying about listening this time?”

Devan put his head down. For a moment, pity tugged at her heartstrings. She didn’t want him ashamed of his words although they did still sting. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I don’t want an apology. I want to know what you meant.”

He fidgeted as she waited for him to answer her. The rain eased up, but it was too late. They were both soaking wet again. He wiped the water from his face. “You wished you hadn’t insisted on getting into the car that day. Eric had wanted to stay in a hotel and you wanted to get back for work the next day. You told him you would drive.” He paused, studying her face carefully. “You wanted to go back and change that decision. That’s what I meant. That seeing your house had vanished would upset you, and you’d wish you hadn’t.”

“I never told you about that,” she whispered in shock. “No one knows. How is it that you do?”

He paused a moment as if he was thinking. “You must have told me. How else would I know?”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Sometime when we were talking. Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does.” She would have remembered telling him about that. And she wouldn’t have slipped up with it either. It was too important.

“We’ve got to keep moving,” he said, conveniently changing the subject. He didn’t take her hand this time, but thrust his hands into his pockets instead. “I can't make you come with me, but I hope you’ll follow.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Tara to stand there without a clue as to what to do. She felt like crying and screaming and yelling all at the same time. She had suddenly found herself, with no explanation, in another world – one that could not be real. One that she didn’t want.

She watched Devan walk away. Part of her wondered if she should just let him go. Maybe the craziness would stop. But with each step he took farther away from her, her insides wound up and twisted. She wanted to cry out for him. There was a hole in her chest and it grew bigger as the distance between them increased.

Behind her was nothing - empty streets. Streets from a long time ago. Houses that weren’t filled with people she knew anymore. There was nothing left here for her. Devan turned to look at her as he walked, and she suspected that he was walking slowly on purpose. An invisible force drew her to him, a connection between them that was so powerful it both shocked her and left her breathless. What was this hold he had over her? No one but Eric had ever reached her so deeply or so intensely.

Was this what she wanted? Her mind told her it was crazy. Her heart told her it was going to bleed forever if she didn’t pick up her feet and run after him. Her chest tightened as he disappeared out of sight. Her breathing grew heavy and everything inside her screamed for her to run after him. She shot forward, running as fast as her legs could carry her. “Devan,” she shouted. But there was no sign of him. She pushed herself harder, but she didn’t seem to be moving at all. She was still in the exact same place. Her heart rate spiked as panic and dread spread through her.  Pain streaked up her legs and her lungs burnt from the effort. She cried his name over and over. “Please wait,” she yelled desperately.

As she finally reached the end of the road, where the promenade stretched out to the sea, she saw him disappear down some steps. He was heading to the beach.
No! Not there. Please no.
Tara couldn’t go down there. Frantic, she shouted for Devan to come back - but he didn’t.

She hadn’t been to the beach since Eric was alive. She didn’t like to go; it pulled her memories in so many directions. And she hated the way it made her feel as she watched everyone there. She didn’t like to see families playing and laughing. It made her heart hurt. She
didn’t want to see couples lying together with no cares in the world. They had everything that she was missing. She remembered the days she and Eric had spent just walking along the water’s edge, or when Eric would paint while she sat by him and read. She didn’t like the memories that filled her mind. They were like knives that twisted and pierced through her heart.

She had no choice now, though. She had to get to Devan. With trembling legs, she slowly descended the steps and came out onto the path on the lower level. There were three levels in total before anyone could reach the sand. She raced down, following Devan’s shadow, but not quite reaching him. When she stepped out onto the sand, all Tara could do in that moment was stare. Not at Devan or the sea. Not at the wonderful view of the waves and the sand or the pier. Not even at the handful of people who were there walking dogs or the way the sun glistened off the water. What caught her eye was the figure. The one sitting cross-legged with his back to her. The one who was painting. The one who was Eric.

Her heart thundered inside her chest. She stumbled forward, her head in a haze. The sand swallowed her feet up, its grainy hands clutching at her ankles. She fell to her knees, but she didn’t take her eyes off Eric.