Chapter 2
Caroline
Parker put the last of her homemade cookies on the tray and smiled. He
loved her chocolate chip delights. They were one of the few things that
could coax a tiny smile on his face. She poured a glass of milk and took
it and the tray upstairs. She may be 80 years old, but that didn't stop
her from climbing the two sets of stairs to the second floor of her home.
And she exercised nearly everyday...though her arthritis readily punished her
after. She came to his room and opened the door. As usual, it was
dark.
He hated
light.
She knew all
too well why.
"Darling?"
she whispered.
Nothing.
Caroline came
to his bedside. He was fast asleep. Well, isn't this a
surprise! He usually was awake at night. It was the only
time he liked to go out and explore the wilderness that surrounded her ancient
house. She put down the cookies and milk on his nightstand and studied
his relatively still form. She moved his blond hair from his eyes.
He looked so peaceful...such a massive difference from his scowling face when
he was awake. His body came alive all of a sudden and he rolled
over. Her eyes softened. Poor thing. He's been
through so much. It was no wonder he was so bitter. Still, she
made it her mission to make him smile at least once a day.
Her eyes then
fell on his sketch pad that lay next to him. He loved to draw and that
pleased Caroline immensely. She was also an artist. Most days, when
he was in a less acidic mood, they would spend hours making portrait after
portrait...he drew them, she painted them. She opened the pad and flipped
through the pages, not at all surprised at what she found. Sketches of
trees, the mountain scenery, the house...and the men that she had come to know
just by listening to his stories...whenever he felt like talking through his
pain. There was the sweet looking young man with the big eyes, curly hair
and pleasant smile that he had told her he loved to tease. Then there was
the peculiar one...wild hair, goatee, and sunglasses...too many earrings and
tattoos for her liking, but he said that he was a great friend and
charmer...couldn't even hurt a fly. And the next young man, he'd told
her, was like a father figure to him. Striking eyes and very
masculine...someone she would probably fall in love with if she were much, much
younger. And finally, there was the kind looking one. He had the
same interesting face shape as the father figure (he'd said that they were
cousins), but his eyes were much softer and his hair was neatly trimmed.
To her, he appeared almost angelic like and he had the most effect on her dear
friend. From his words, she could tell they had an unbreakable bond.
From his
portraits, she could tell that he missed them all dearly.
Caroline put
the sketchpad next to the milk and cookies and with a light smile on her face,
covered him up to his shoulders with the quilt she had made him. She
placed a tender kiss on his forehead. "Pleasant dreams dear..."
***
Billie came
back to the campsite in a fit of panic. Where could Rina have gone?! The strong wind that had started
not long after Katarina had disappeared nearly pulled
her off the ground, but she maintained her feet firmly on the ground and rushed
into Kris's arms. "No sign of her?"
"Nothing.
It's like she was never here or something."
She was ready
to burst into tears. "Kris, we have to find her! I'll just die
if I lose her..."
"Shhh,"
he held her close and whispered in her ear, "calm down honey. Don't
worry about a thing. We'll find her, but I don't think it'll be
tonight."
Billie
froze. "But...we can't just leave her out there fending for
herself! She could be dying! She didn't even bring her jacket with
her!"
"Billie,
I know. But there's nothing we can do with the weather like this and it's
too dark...."
"I don't
care!" She moved away from him and missed the smug look on his face.
"I'm not leaving without her." The rain was coming down now and
she could feel it soaking through her clothes. Rina...
"Honey,
we have to go. I promise as soon as the weather clears up, we'll go look
for her okay?" He took her hand and lifted her face to meet his
gaze, "Let's go back to the hotel and wait it out."
Billie knew he
was right. It was practically impossible to find anyone with the weather
like this. She closed her eyes. Please be okay Rina. Don't die on me! I'll come find you as
soon as I can.
"Honey?"
She tugged his
arm. "Let's go..."
***
She was cold
and hungry.
But most of
all, terrified.
Katarina moved her soaked blond hair from out of her eyes and trudged forward,
not having a single clue as to where was or where she was going. What
did I get myself into? She jumped in alarm at the sound of the
clamorous thunder and hurriedly pushed the branches of the overbearing trees
out of her way, praying with all her might that Billie or someone would find
her and take her some place warm. She would even be relieved to see Kris.
Sort of.
Suddenly, she
realized that there were no more branches to push. She looked up
ahead. The relentless rain restricted her vision, but she could make out
the outline of a house in the distance. Oh thank you Lord!
She broke into a run, needing heat like oxygen. As she neared the house
though, she began to grow wary. It looked like the kind of place you
would see in a horror flick...old, worn down, and foreboding. But she'd
rather spend the night in a house full of 'ghosts' than stay out here and die
of pneumonia. A light flickered in one of the windows on the top floor
and Katarina hoped that the person...or ghost living
there would take pity on her. She stopped in front of the door, took a
deep breath and knocked.
No answer.
Desperate, she
knocked more urgently. I know you're in there. Please open the door!!
Still no
answer.
With a sigh of
despair, she gave up and turned away. I'm so cold, she whimpered
inwardly, her body slowly going numb, so cold...
"Heavens
dear! What are you doing out there at a time like this?!"
Katarina whirled around. "Oh! Please...I'm lost and I--"
The petite
elderly woman grasped her arm gently. "I'm sure you can explain
everything inside while I run you a nice warm bath. Now come on in."
For the first
time in hours, Katarina's lips formed a smile.
"Thank you so much..."
***
An hour later,
Katarina took a seat next to the kind woman in the
living room.
"Here you
go dear. Some homemade cookies and milk."
"Thank
you. I'm starving!"
"I
imagined you would be," she smiled warmly.
She took a
long sip and sighed. She could feel the tepid liquid trail down to her
stomach. It was soothing. Her eyes then focused on her
savior. "I really appreciate you kindness Mrs..."
"Parker.
But please call me Caroline."
"Caroline,"
Katarina grinned, "I can't thank you
enough."
"It's no
trouble dear, " she sipped her tea, "I'm just doing what the Lord
taught us to do. Now, are you going to tell me your name or do I have to
guess?"
She
laughed. "My name is Katarina Clark.
My close friends call me Rina."
"Ah...it's
unique. I like it. I thought it would be Kat though."
Her smile
dimmed. "I don't like Kat all that much."
"Very
well. Rina it is!"
Katarina flashed her another grin before taking a look around the place.
It was much nicer than she expected. Polished wooden floors, cotton white
walls covered in colourful paintings, cozy sofas and
chairs, and in the middle was a simple coffee table adorned with porcelain
statues of Mary and Jesus Christ. Obviously Caroline was a very religious
woman. All of this was dimly lit by the roaring fire of the fireplace.
"My
husband designed this entire house when he was 24. I was once a pretty
young lady like yourself and he did everything he could to please me."
Caroline's blue eyes twinkled. "I was 19 when I married him."
"19?!"
Katarina exclaimed, "that's how old I am
now! I can't believe it!"
"We
married young back in my day," she replied and laughed at the shocked look
on her face.
Katarina felt totally relaxed. She could spend hours talking to this
woman. She was fascinating! "Do you live here alone?"
Caroline's
smile faltered for a moment. "Yes I do, but I don't mind one
bit. I have company every once in a while." She glanced out
the window. "I'm afraid you might be here for a few days. The
rain doesn't seem to want to let up."
Katarina eyes shook her head. "I've never seen so much rain in my
life!"
Caroline
chuckled. "You're obviously not from around here are you?"
"No,"
she admitted, "I'm from
"The house
tends to make odd noises now and then dear."
Not entirely
convinced, she kept staring in the direction of the noise. I could've
sworn it sounded like a gasp...
"Well,
come along now Rina. I'll show you to your
room. After tonight's events, I'm sure you'd like to get some rest."
Her eyes
returned to Caroline. "I am feeling pretty beat." She
followed her up the stairs and down the hallway. A disconcerting
sensation overwhelmed her as she passed by the different rooms and she wrapped
her arms around herself. If it weren't for the fact that Caroline said
she lived alone, I'd swear that I'm being watched...
***
It'd been ages
since he'd heard that name. His steely eyes watched her like a hawk as
she chatted with Caroline about who knows what. She's beautiful,
he admitted to himself hesitantly. With her long golden hair that cascaded past
her shoulders, gentle brown eyes that shone with innocence, full pink lips that
any man would yearn to kiss and a pleasing figure that she was probably born
with, she was the exact image of an angel. Too bad he didn't believe in
them or anything else that dealt with God.
God ceased to
exist for him long ago.
So did girls.
His blue eyes
narrowed. He didn't like the feelings she evoked in him the moment he
laid eyes on her. They were foreign to him...unbearable. Until now,
he thought those types of emotions were dried up in his black heart. But
what bothered him the most about her was that he somehow knew that there was
more to her than just beauty...she was different. She was
real. A small part of him wanted to find out just how real.
She grinned again and his eyes softened, feeling lonely and wistful.
If only...
And then his
moment of weakness was gone just as quickly as it came. She could never
feel these these things for him. No one
could. He clenched his jaw. A girl like her would cower in disgust
if she saw what 'God' had blessed him with. He scowled. How can
she make me feel like this? I don't even know
her...
No, he didn't
like this at all.
And what if
she finds out the truth?! He shook his head. Having her stay here
is too risky. She has to go, he thought mercilessly, she doesn't
belong here anyway. She belongs out there...with normal people just like
her. Determined, he walked down the dark, grimy passageway and opened
the wall that connected to his room. He would convince Caroline to send
the angelic Katarina Clark on her merry little way
tomorrow. Storm or no storm. To everyone else in the world, Nick
Carter was dead.
He had to make
sure it stayed that way.
***
