Deep Read online

  “No sweetheart, we live over there.” We? I guessed the knocking boots remark in the van didn’t mean a casual fling.

  “C’mon.” He held out his arm to me but I still wasn’t sure. I walked alongside him instead. He seemed disappointed but I guess he thought it was an improvement on being kicked in his private parts.

  It was a peaceful place. The only sound was the rustling of the trees overhead. A few minutes later we arrived at a small, secluded cabin. It wasn’t very big but looked nice enough. Fairy lights were strung up over the porch and it had solar panels on the roof. No electricity?

  “I guess you probably won’t want me to carry you across the threshold.” He guessed right. Until I was sure about him, there would be strictly no touching. I managed a nervous grin. Kane walked past me and into the cabin.

  “Welcome home, Ivy.” I followed him in. The cabin was rustic but charming. A basic kitchen/lounge with a room leading off the back I’m guessing the bathroom - and a large, double bed. My stomach turned a little at the thought. There was a photo of the two of us together, holding each other close. We looked happy enough. I just wished I could remember something about him. A quick scan of the room suggested that a man lived here too. I felt bad about what I’d said earlier to him. He was watching me take it all in.

  “Anything?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

  “Sorry, Kane, I’m really trying.” I fidgeted awkwardly, looking up at him. “Were we happy?” Kane smiled. It was the first time since the desert. He held out his hand, reaching for my face. I took a small step back so I was just out of reach of his fingers. I’m not sure why, it was becoming obvious that he wouldn’t purposely hurt me.

  “Yes, we were happy, Ivy.” He said it like he really meant it too. “No time to get changed though, let’s go and find Grogan.”

  We left the cabin, heading back towards the lake.

  “What don’t I know yet? You were saying to Gary and the other lady by the hotel. You told them to be careful because I didn’t know yet.” I really wanted to feel safe here but I knew they were keeping something from me - something big.

  “Once Grogan helps you get your memory back, everything will become clear. You shouldn’t worry, Ivy. I won’t let anything bad happen here.” I tried to reassure myself even though I still didn’t have any answers.

  We didn’t go back to the hotel this time. We wandered round the other side of the lake. There were people standing in the lake - it all looked a bit creepy as they came into focus. I stopped walking. Kane had his hand behind me so I couldn’t back away.

  “I know it looks a little strange but it’s okay. Ivy, look at me.” He turned my head towards him. “Can you trust me?” How could I not when he looked at me that way. I nodded slightly. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

  Ushering me forward, we carried on until we reached the edge of the lake. An elderly-looking man in a large straw hat was sat on the embankment. He rose when he saw me.

  “Ivy! In trouble again, eh? Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t know. It’s a relief to have you back.” He stopped just short of us. “What happened to your necklace?” He looked towards Kane for an answer.

  “She didn’t have it when we found her. Is that going to be a problem, Grogan?” He thought for a moment before speaking.

  “I suppose I can help her with one of my teas, but understand it would only be temporary. We need to find her necklace as soon as we can. Any problems so far?” Kane shook his head. I didn’t see what the big deal was about this necklace.

  The two men discussed a few things while I stood watching the people in the lake. The way the sun hit the water made the lake look strange, as if it was glowing.

  “Ivy, are you ready to try and get your memory back?” The old man seemed harmless enough.

  Although I was a bit worried about what he had in mind. I looked towards Kane for reassurance. He nodded for me to go with the old man.

  “Take off your shoes, Ivy. It will help.” I did as he asked. He took me by my hand and walked me into the lake. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I wasn’t expecting the water to be warm. It wasn’t ‘bath warm’, but it wasn’t as cold as a lake should be.

  The mud between my toes was comforting. We waded in until the water reached my waist.

  “Take my hands, Ivy, and try to relax.” I took his hands and did my best. This was all a bit silly but I humoured him anyway. A blonde woman walked over and started to talk to Kane. There was something strange about her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He was telling her to leave- he looked quite panicked about it too. She turned to face me, confused over the fuss he was causing. I knew that face. I’d seen it somewhere before. I think my heart actually stopped as it dawned on me. She was the ghost! The ghost I’d kept seeing in the mirror of the hotel. I started to panic.

  “It’s not what you think, Ivy!” Kane shouted from the side of the lake, trying to lead the woman away. I struggled in the old man’s grip. I was about to object strongly when I saw his eyes.

  “What’s wrong with your eyes?” They were as black as night. I fell backwards out of his hands, splashing, as I tried to get away from him. What was going on here? Ghosts, demons - I had to run.

  “Ivy! Wait!” I heard them yell as I reached the far side of the lake.

  “Leave me alone!” was all I could shout. I was confused. The adrenaline of the scare was the only reason I was running so fast. What had I got myself into? Caleb would have a field day if he knew what was going on out here.

  My feet were becoming as sore as my leg muscles. I needed to stop. Breathing heavily, I looked round to see if anyone had followed me. No one, so far. I had passed many cabins on my frantic run - had some strange looks too. I decided this was a good spot to catch my breath. No cabins in sight. I felt dizzy and my legs collapsed beneath me. I sat, hugging my knees close to my chest, by the side of the eerie lake.

  Darkness had settled in. Whilst trying to work out my next move, I heard one of the bushes rustle not far from me.

  “Who’s there?” Not that I wanted anyone to answer back. A tall figure stepped into the moonlight. He didn’t say anything. He just moved closer into view. It was Kane. I was slightly relieved it wasn’t the old guy.

  “How do you do that? Find me?” He just smiled and sat down on his haunches.

  “Are you okay, Ivy?” He looked a little concerned. I tried to pull my now-dirty waitress uniform over my legs a little more.

  “Are you here to take me back to that…what was he? What happened to his eyes? And the girl?” I wasn’t making much sense, rambling mostly. He lightly touched my foot with the back of his hand and I went quiet.

  “I told them we should tell you - before you got here - but they wouldn’t listen. I’m not sure where to start. Grogan’s eyes turned black because he was trying to heal you. He’s a healer. You’re a healer too. We all are. Your eyes also turn black. When we were in the van in Arizona, did your eyes feel strange at any point?” I thought for a moment. They did. It was when he was talking about how I liked to be touched. I shook the image from my mind, now wasn’t the time.

  “Let’s just say that I believe you, which would be stupid, what about the girl I saw you with? I saw her face in the motel mirror.” I was looking forward to this explanation.

  “That was your best friend, Sylvia. As Lake Dwellers, we draw our energy from the lake. Some of us can use water to communicate with each other. After you went missing, she tried to contact you. You probably felt a strange sensation, like a headache but without the pain.” This really was too much. I kind of liked Kane. He was very good-looking - long hair, blue eyes and a really sexy voice. But how was I supposed to believe what he was telling me? It was nonsense.

  I wasn’t sure if I was hungry but my stomach hurt a little. Kane was staring at me, waiting for me to speak.

  “You’re mad if you expect me to believe any of this.” I winced as my stomach clenched. Kane sat up suddenly.

  “We nee
d to get you back to Grogan now. I know he said he would try again tomorrow, but you just ran out of time.” I shook my head. I didn’t know what he was talking about. My stomach turned again. Kane seemed to wince too.

  “What’s happening to me? What did he do to me?” Kane leant forward; his hair fell across his face as he reached for my hand.

  “If you don’t come back with me, the pain you’re feeling will only get stronger.” It happened again. He squeezed my hand.

  “What are you talking about? I’m not going back there.”

  Letting go of my hand, he lay on his side, making himself comfortable. The moonlight made his features more pronounced.

  “I won’t leave you out here alone, Ivy. Your pain will become unbearable. As will mine.” He could see the confusion on my face through my pain.

  “You are projecting your pain outwards as well as inwards. Every time you feel it, so will I. But I won’t force you to go back. It happens to all Lake Dwellers. Once, every few weeks, we come back to the lake to cleanse and rejuvenate. You saw other people doing it earlier.”

  I grabbed for my stomach the next time it happened. So did he. I felt bad hurting him, he was only trying to help. I looked towards the lake.

  “Could you help me? I don’t want to go back just yet.” Kane stood in front of me, pulling me to my feet.

  “Well, okay then, let’s do this.”

  He removed his boots, his shirt and his belt. Not completely sure of his intentions, I stopped him.

  “Whoa! What are you doing?” He held out his hand to me. I hesitated.

  “I promise this won’t hurt.” Just as he finished his sentence my stomach cramped violently. I doubled over - Kane caught me before I hit the ground.

  “I think we’d better hurry, Ivy. C’mon.” Holding me up like an old lady, we waded into the warm, still waters.

  As the water reached our waists I had serious déjà vu. I wasn’t going to bring up my dream now though. As he looked into my eyes, the silence became deafening. Cupping my face with his hand, he studied me. I couldn’t move. He moved his body slowly around mine until he was standing behind me. He placed his hands on my waist to steady me.

  “Just place your hands into the water; the lake will do the rest.”

  The lake beneath me started to glow. It felt strange - like hundreds of wriggly things around my feet. I didn’t like it. I felt like all my blood was rushing down my arms and into my fingers. The silt was moving too much underneath my feet; I was losing my balance. I struggled in Kane’s grip.

  “I don’t like this. I’m sinking!” He held me tight.

  “You’re not sinking, Ivy. Relax. This is normal. It’s just the pain being pulled from your body. Try not to think about it.” I looked down at the lake to see if I could see my eyes turn black. I could only make out the silhouette from the moon’s light.

  Kane’s arm moved around my waist, pulling me until our bodies were touching. His lips gently brushed the side of my neck tenderly. I leant back with my head on his shoulder as his upper body enclosed around me. His warm skin against mine made me feel very subdued but safe; wanted. His left hand slowly skimmed up my arm, over my shoulder and onto my neck. Holding me gently, he started kissing the side of my neck and along my jawline. I could do nothing but relax in his embrace. I definitely wasn’t thinking about what the lake was doing anymore. I hadn’t realised that the pulling had stopped.

  His arm round my waist slowly moved upwards. He started unbuttoning the top of my uniform, his lips not once leaving my skin. The water vibrated and moved from around my legs. Suddenly aware of what was happening, I turned and pulled away from his embrace. I backed out of the water slowly. Breathing fiercely, I scrambled to fasten my buttons back up.

  “I think it’s finished,” I gasped, pointing at the water. I couldn’t help but stare at him - half naked and glistening under the silvery moon, he looked slightly feral. Maybe I shouldn’t have pulled away so soon.

  I stepped forward and hesitated. What if I get my memory back and find that we had broken up? Or he’d cheated on me, or worse? I stepped back as he started to make his way out of the lake, the water lapping against his torso as he waded towards me. Stopping a few feet away, he spoke: “Ivy, I…” I wasn’t sure if he was trying to apologise or come up with an excuse for trying it on. He just stood there – his wet jeans clinging to his hard thighs. I turned away, embarrassed at my thoughts. Grabbing his shirt from the floor, I offered it to him.

  “Would you please put something on?” He took the shirt from me, smiling at my obvious unease of his body. He covered himself up.

  “Feel better, Ivy? No more pain?” I waited until he had fastened his shirt before turning and shaking my head. “Now we can sit here all night in the cold. Or we can go back to the cabin where there are warm, dry clothes and a soft bed to sleep on.” He held up his hands in defence. “I’ll sleep on the couch if you want.” I nodded sheepishly.

  It was a beautiful walk back round the lake. We passed several people who said hello. I was a bit dubious as I had no idea who they were. Kane held my hand, sensing that I was nervous. I’d never seen so many green-eyed people. As we reached the end of the lake nearest the cabin, I could see a few people cleansing and rejuvenating, although these people were standing alone. I think I liked the way we did it.

  There were no bright bulbs in the cabin, just the odd string of fairy lights strung up here and there. I couldn’t work out that if I was so happy here, what was I doing out in the desert? No matter, I was here now.

  Someone had been by and turned on the lights. The smell of Italian food hit me as we walked into the cabin.

  “Looks like Sylvia has dropped in. You hungry?” I was so hungry - my stomach growled at the thought. I wanted to get changed though. Kane got some plates out as I searched my drawers for something to sleep in. I hadn’t realised how late it was. After finding some pyjamas, I headed into the bathroom to wash the mud from my feet. The bathroom was small but modern with a shower and a bath, the latter being prominent in the centre of the room. I washed my feet and changed quickly. I looked at my face in the mirror again. It still looked strange even though I was sort of getting used to it.

  Kane was relaxed on the couch, sitting in front of two plates of pasta. There was also a metal flask.

  “Grogan left this for you. It won’t taste great but it will stop your bad dreams. Have some while I wash up. Then we can eat.” He stood and left the room. I poured some of the tea. It smelt awful.

  I tried some and spat it back into the cup. I couldn’t drink it. I tipped the cup down the sink while Kane was in the bathroom. He wouldn’t notice.

  I was sat waiting when Kane re-entered the room. He had tied his hair back to eat; he was still very attractive. He sat himself down next to me and we ate our pasta. Now that I was a little more relaxed, I had a lot of questions - all of which would be answered if this Grogan could give me back my memories.

  After we had finished eating, the awkward part of the evening came. I felt bad asking him to sleep on the couch. This, apparently, was his place too. I spoke a little too urgently.

  “I guess we should call it a night then.”

  I went to walk over to the bed. He caught my arm.

  “I understand that I make you nervous right now, Ivy. But I haven’t seen you for weeks. Aren’t you even gonna let me kiss you goodnight?”

  I tried to resist but he let his hair down and pulled me towards him. I fought the urge to back away. I actually think I trembled when he touched me. He gently tucked my hair behind my ear and tilted his head. He didn’t rush. He just held me there with his lips so very close to mine. I almost held my breath as he stared deep into me. His eyes lowered and his lips met mine. I could feel the longing in his every touch. He pulled my hips against him. I felt strange; all my senses were heightened. He pulled away from me and walked me into the bathroom. Turning on the light, he spun me round so that I was looking at myself in the mirror.

  What I s
aw I wasn’t prepared for. My eyes were black. I tried to back away but Kane stood directly behind me.

  “Don’t be afraid, Ivy. This is who you really are.” I hesitantly leant towards the mirror.

  “But why now? Did you do this?” I looked up at his reflection. His eyes had changed too. He still had his hands on my hips.

  “Maybe just a little,” he grinned. The pipes in the bathroom rattled and he stepped back, letting go of me. I guessed the plumbing wasn’t as new as the suite.

  “I guess we should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. Have some more of the tea before you get in bed, Ivy.” His eyes had changed back to blue. I stared a little longer at my reflection, waiting for them to change back. Kane brought some more of the tea in for me while I waited. I tipped it away after the first sip again. It was foul. After a few minutes of blinking and splashing cold water on my face, my eyes slowly returned to green. Satisfied, I decided to call it a night.

  Kane was already covered over on the couch wearing some old pyjama bottoms. I guessed that was for my benefit. I climbed onto the bed and pulled the quilt up around me. Warm and sleepy, I drifted off to sleep.