“So are you two like a thing now?” Clyde spoke with a supercilious air.
“Yes,” Aiden nodded. “We’re together.” He knew it was going to come out sooner or later. In less than an hour all of Avalon would know and they’d be waiting at his home upon his return with their pitchforks sharpened. But he loved Brandy; there was no shame in that. Yet his cheeks burned and he wasn’t sure it was solely from anger.
“Did you run his poor wife out of town?” Clyde sneered as he addressed Brandy, his contempt for her obvious.
“You always were a wicked little viper. Be careful.” His stony gaze flickered back to Aiden. “This one will ruin you like she did my son.”
“Clyde…” Aiden raised his hands in a placating gesture but Brandy jumped in before he could continue.
“I’m just trying to get on with my life, Mr White! Avalon was my home once and I’m hoping it can be again. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Avalon will never be your home!” Clyde spat the words through barely parted lips. “You’ll always be hated here. You’re a fool to return.”
He gave the couple one last hateful look before turning back down the corridor. But then he paused, briefly turning on his heel as if forgetting something.
“I hope you see him everywhere you go,” he barked, the veins on his neck beginning to tremble. Aiden held his breath. He was willing the older man to leave, not to stir any further trouble and cause a scene.
“I know I do,” he added somewhat sadly, his head lowering. Then he continued to walk away. He’d almost reached the end of the aisle when he plucked his cell phone from his pocket. Aiden shuddered as he realized the judgement he’d soon be facing from everyone in Avalon. He was least looking forward to explaining himself to Betty. They were in such a good place professionally now; all that would be undone.
Brandy sniffed and wiped a hand across her eyes, slightly smudging the mascara she’d carefully applied that morning.
“Are you okay?” The sound brought Aiden back to the present. He reached for her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll always be hated here,” Brandy stated bleakly. She looked up towards the fluorescent lights overhead, blinking rapidly.
“Don’t listen to Clyde White, he’s just a bitter old man.”
“He’s wrong anyway.” Brandy lowered her head, satisfied that she’d overpowered her need to weep. “I don’t see Brandon anywhere,” she said defiantly. “We didn’t go anywhere together, at least not during our marriage. He doesn’t haunt my steps.”
“Good.” Aiden leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You’re unbelievably tough, Brandy.”
“We’re both going to have to be tough.” Brandy sighed. “Soon all of Avalon will know I’m back and then we’ll have Clyde times ten to deal with.”
She looked down in to the shopping cart and her shoulders slumped.
“Can we just pay and go home now? I’m done with shopping for today.”
*
Aiden was tired long before his head hit in the pillow. The intense heat of the day had managed to linger into the night and so the bedroom window was cracked open, the newly hung curtains dancing reluctantly in the breeze.
In the darkness where dreams are made, Aiden hoped to find respite from the stresses of the day but instead he found only further turmoil.
He was standing in the middle of a rain-slicked road. It was dark but light enough for him to make out the distant silhouettes of trees. It was eerily silent. The air felt charged with unseen energy, like the calm before a storm.
“Aiden!” a voice hissed directly in his ear and Aiden turned with a start. His heart was hammering madly in his chest, frantically flooding his system with adrenalin to enable him to either fight or take flight.
Justin Thompson was standing beside Aiden, his hair flattened against his head. Not from rain but from blood. Aiden realized with horror that half of Justin’s face was awash with blood which seemed to pour off him like an angry, relentless river.
“Don’t just leave me,” Justin begged. His voice now sounded distant despite his body’s proximity to Aiden. He reached for his friend and Aiden gasped as he saw his hand. The skin had been crudely torn away to reveal the bright white of bone which now clasped Aiden’s shoulder. The skeletal fingers gripped him with surprising force.
Aiden tried to find his voice but had been rendered speechless. Then the skin on Justin’s face began to melt away as easily as wax, revealing the network of muscles below. Aiden opened his mouth and screamed.
“Aid, are you okay?” Brandy was beside him, the whites of her wide eyes bright in the relative darkness of the bedroom.
Aiden was breathing heavily. When he turned to her he half expected to see Justin’s disfigured face. The sheets beneath him were soaked. As his breathing calmed, he realized it was from his own sweat.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Brandy whispered soothingly, her hands already rubbing his back.
“Yeah!” Aiden gasped. “I did.”
He heard Brandy anxiously explain: “Aiden, you were shouting.”
“Turn on the light,” Aiden requested gruffly, his voice hoarse. Brandy swiftly obliged, turning on her bedside light and Aiden was grateful for the yellow light which pushed back some of the shadows.
“Aiden, are you okay?” Brandy asked gently, a cool hand pressing tenderly against the base of his back.
“Yeah.” Aiden sighed as he ran his hands across his face, trying to push away the images from the nightmare.
“Is something troubling you?”
Aiden turned to glance at Brandy. She was so close he could smell her vanilla-scented skin, could see each individual eyelash which framed her dark eyes. He didn’t want to lie to her. Their relationship was still so new, so fragile, like a baby bird that still needed to learn to fly.
“Yes, something is troubling me,” Aiden admitted.
“What is it?” Brandy pressed, her tone soft and soothing, there was no pressure in her voice.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she added.
Clearing his throat, Aiden prepared to breathe life into his nightmare.
“Many years ago I lost somebody close to me, a friend,” Aiden explained, now feeling wide awake as the dust of sleep had been blown away by the intensity of his nightmare.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me about him?” Brandy whispered.
“Can we…can we go back to sleep?” Aiden gestured towards the lamp.
“Sure.” Brandy nodded as she plunged the room back into darkness.
Only
