“I’m really sorry to barge in on you. I’m okay.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, he’s a little overprotective. Always has been. Always will be,” Jen said. Though her words were accompanied with an exaggerated eye roll, a deep love and affection was evident in her voice.
Tarin smiled wanly and tried to hide the pang of jealousy that pressed in on her.
She wet a face cloth and dabbed at her cut. “You actually have quite a long gouge. Did someone throw something at you?”
“No, I fell. I didn’t see anything but I sure felt it.”
“Where were you?”
“Down the road at Bronte’s Provincial Park.”
“Oh it’s beautiful there. I bet it’s packed too, it being the first day for the pool and so hot.”
“Yeah, it was busy.” Tarin frowned, only to instantly stop when the movement made the side of her face feel like it was on fire. Is that why the woman had chosen the hole, because it would be swamped with people? They had barely gotten started. Tears filled her eyes. She hadn’t learned anything.
“Oh, hey. Sorry if this hurts. I want to make sure it’s clean.”
When she was done, all Tarin wanted to do was leave but she couldn’t very well turn down the woman’s hospitality after all her help. And the fact that she was Graham’s girlfriend meant Tarin couldn’t afford to offend her, like she had pretty much everyone else she’d met.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
Tarin nodded, “Whatever you have that’s cold would be great.” She sipped the iced tea that was offered before placing it on a coaster on the glass coffee table. Exhausted, she sank into the sofa’s soft, embracing folds. The throbbing ache that had taken residence in her temple eased slightly as she laid her head back. Her eyes automatically closed. Her mind began to wander and she lost touch with everything as she drifted. It was so relaxing and comforting, like being cuddled by a large fluffy cloud. She allowed herself to flow... not to think... not to want... not to pretend. And she did... for a while. But then things changed. The meeting with the woman came to her as though watching a movie.
~~~~
She was standing by the water, wishing she’d worn her runners and not her heels, even if they had been the low ones. Some habits were very hard for her to break. Years of having to be dressed up and polished weren’t overcome in a day. The fact that she owned a pair of running shoes was a testament to that. And one day she’d even put them on. While she’d been standing on the matted, grassy bank, she’d gotten a strong sense of someone watching her though she didn’t see anyone at all. The sensation persisted until she began to wonder if it could be wildlife, perhaps a bear or a fox or a deer. Maybe she was invading their home. She’d never been comfortable in nature. The downtown streets of any city were safer to her than out there. But she waited.
Finally, a tall, slender woman had walked down the gentle slope toward her at least she’d assumed it was a woman. The hoodie concealed her hair and shadowed her face but the build was slender, feminine.
“Thank you for coming. I really appreciate this. Can you tell me what you know?”
“Why are you so interested?”
“Because I think we had the same things happen to us. I was drugged, kept in a hotel, naked for a week. I have disturbing memories but I’m not sure if they are real or imagined. I don’t remember how I got there. And I was left a code similar to yours,” Tarin said.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Who could make this up? How do I know I can trust you, either?”
She nodded. “My story is much the same but I met a guy in a bar, an older guy. He bought me a drink. I didn’t pay attention to what the man looked like but he was old enough to be my grandfather. I thought... hell I don’t know what I thought. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. When I awakened in a hotel room several days later, I discovered the room was in my name and paid for but that’s impossible. I didn’t have that kind of money. And I’d never been there before. In fact, I’m not sure I could find it again. I wanted to run and hide.”
Tarin took a step forward but the other woman stepped back. “I wanted to offer you my sympathy.” She hadn’t blamed the woman for stepping back. That was definitely not her strong suit, offering a shoulder to lean on. She had no idea how to do that.
“Anything else that you can remember? Or that happened afterward?”
The woman’s piercing blue eyes studied her suspiciously. And that’s when it happened. Both their heads swiveled to look across the creek at a snapping sound. The movement beside her had Tarin turn back in time to see the woman sprinting away. Tarin started to run after her but her heel got tangled in the grass. She thrust out her hands as she started to fall.
~~~~
“Oh my god!” She sat upright, her eyes wide open.
“What is it? Are you okay?”
Tarin looked wearily at Jen who was standing across the room, her hand on Graham’s arm, leaning in close as though in an intimate conversation with him.
“I’m fine. Sorry I nodded off. I really need to be going.”
“Actually, I have to get to work. Nice meeting you. See you later.” Jen stood on tiptoes to kiss Graham’s cheek before hurrying out the door.
Tarin blinked a few times, partly to wake herself up but also to convince herself she was safe now. She shuddered as she realized how close she had come to being seriously injured or even killed. She wasn’t sure it had been an accident or events had unfolded on purpose—and if they had, did the woman set her up?