Sher was relieved when they returned to the condo without anything bad happening. Whenever she got those feelings in her stomach, something usually happened. She just wished, for once, her stomach would be wrong. And so far, that seemed to be the case. She exhaled a long breath that she realized she’d been holding in.
Rick didn’t stay long as it was already late, and he knew Lynn and Sher deserved their time together, just the two of them. After he left, Lynn watched her friend for a few minutes before she asked, “Sher, what’s bothering you? I noticed your spirit changed at the end of dinner. You can’t hide it; I know you too well.”
Sher, not wanting to put any kind of damper on this week said, “It’s nothing. I am getting tired though. I think I’ll soak in the tub then get a good night sleep.”
Lynn frowned. “You can’t fool me. You’re getting those strange feelings again, aren’t you?”
“All right, yes, I am, but I’m going to ignore them. This is our time. All six of us deserve to have some happiness, so please, let’s drop it,” Sher begged before she left the room to get her bath. She planned to call Glen after soaking in the tub, and hopefully he would help her to ignore her tell-all stomach.
The bath relaxed her, and she was in a better frame of mind by the time she placed her call to Glen.
“Hi, honey. How was your day?” Sher asked.
“Boring until I got home and found your note.” He laughed. “You’ll never know how much I already miss you. The idea of not having you next to me in bed is killing me slowly.”
Sher laughed too, happy to get her mind off her sense of foreboding. “I know, but we’ll survive. It’s only for a short while. Besides, I understand I will be seeing you tomorrow night for dinner.”
“Yes, you will. I’m already having a hard time not seeing you every day. And this weekend, I’ll be at Rick’s place so we all can get together and finalize the rest of the wedding plans. Hey…maybe you and I should get a hotel room for this weekend,” he teased.
Giggling, she said, “You know that defeats the reason behind this week. We are not sleeping together or making delicious love until after the wedding.”
“I know, but I had to try. I’ll see your beautiful smile tomorrow. Sleep tight and don’t forget how much I love you.” Sher knew she couldn’t tell Glen about her strange feelings in her stomach, so she said, “I love you too, sweetheart. See you tomorrow.”
After she hung up the phone, she debated if she had done the right thing. Should I have said something about my worries? She would mention it tomorrow, she decided. In the meantime, she hoped her butterflies meant nothing and only good things would come their way. Sher thought of all the times her stomach had warned her of a disaster. It was usually a few days before anything happened, so she knew tomorrow was soon enough to share with the others about the doom she felt.
She wished Lynn goodnight, then crawled into the guestroom bed. She prayed silently that her feelings this time were wrong and that everyone she cared for would be all right. Then she tried and tried to sleep, but her mind wouldn’t shut down.
She remembered those awful men who came after her on more than one occasion. She remembered the insane woman who came after her brother Brad and Hannah, and how Glen and Brad were both shot before that horror was over. She also remembered the men who came after Lynn and how Rick was shot saving Lynn’s life.
She massaged her temples. No wonder she couldn’t sleep with these thoughts running through her mind. Time to switch to more pleasant memories, or she’d never enjoy the luxury of sleep. She flipped her thoughts to the last time she and Glen had made love—and soon she was fast asleep.
If she had known what the night held for her and Lynn, she would have been wide awake.
***
Present Day
“I woke to the sound of a muffled scream, and then heard something break,” Sher told Rick, who was holding the weeping Lynn in his arms. She replayed everything that happened after she woke up. Lynn tried to add to the story, but her voice broke when she tried to speak. Rick listened intently then slowly broke away from Lynn so he could stand. “Let me make a call and get some officers over here. Then, Sher, we may need to go over all this again.” He pulled out his phone and spoke to dispatch. Sher felt like she was having a nightmare and couldn’t wake up.
She tried to concentrate on something else as she glanced around the room. Then her eyes fell on the knife that lay at the entrance to the hallway, and she shuddered. Yes, Lynn is probably right. This is happening again.