May 21st, The Promise

     Today the prompt was to write a non-linear story.  The following is an excerpt from a work in progress.

     Sirens screamed in the night as smoke billowed from the twenty-nine floor apartment building.  Jesse looked around frantically for his younger sister Sabrina, but she was nowhere in sight.  He had to find her, had to make sure the mad man that had started all of this hadn’t won in the end and taken her out.  He should have listened to her months ago when she told him she thought she had a stalker following her.  He’d thought she was just paranoid because of that special skill that she’d just learned she had.

     He’d raced to the hospital when he’d gotten the call on his radio.  It was just the two of them now and he’d promised their parents that he would watch out for Bree.  After all, he was the older brother.  They hadn’t expected to die that night.  If they had, they would have made sure that there was someone else there for Bree because they knew how dangerous his job was.  His parents were the kind of people who would leave nothing to chance.  They always had a backup.  Working for the government as they did, it was second nature to them.

     The only one to survive the accident that night was his seventeen year old sister, Sabrina.  Two weeks she was in a comma, then when she’d finally come to, she hadn’t recognized him, at least, not at first.  For nearly nine weeks she’d dealt with unbearable headaches because the accident had fractured her skull.  Of course she hadn’t been in the hospital all that time.  She’d been released to his care after the third week.

     Bree made her way gingerly toward the kitchen, her hands were on either side of her head, as if holding them there could diminishes the pain she was feeling.  She needed to get back to normal because it hurt her to see the pain in Jesse’s eyes when he looked at her.  She knew that if he could take the pain away he would.  She didn’t remember everything yet, but bits and pieces were returning to her.  Now she just needed to know why she had a meltdown every time she had to go somewhere. 

     Jesse was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and what remained of his plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him.  He looked up as she entered the room and forced a smile to his face.  “How are you feeling today?”

     She grimaced, “Not much better.”

     He nodded.  “I need to go into the station today.  I’m out of vacation time and need to get back to work.”  He set a cell phone onto the table.  “I got this for you in case you need to call me at any time.  All you have to do is hold down the number two button and you will get my cell phone.  I’ve cleared it with the brass that as long as you are recuperating, I’m available to you at all times.”

     Bree sighed.  “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

     Jesse stood and gently cupped the back of her head in his hand.  “You are no bother.” He softly kissed her temple before reminding her, “You call me for anything.”

     Bree smiled wanly.  “You might regret that.”

     Jesse smiled.  “Nah.  Never.”

     She was reluctant to let him go, but she knew that she couldn’t keep him from his job any longer, so she stayed silent as she watched him clear his dishes and leave the house. 

     It was so still in the house without Jesse’s presence.  She’d never been afraid to be on her own before, but for some reason, ever since the accident, she’d had this enormous feeling of dread.  The dreams that plagued her were so real she wasn’t sure what to make of them.  It wasn’t as if she was seeing herself do something, but rather as if she were looking through her own eyes at what was happening.

     Taking a deep sigh, Bree decided to try and work through some of the homework she had from the past month.  If she didn’t get caught up soon, she wouldn’t be able to graduate with her class in four months’ time.  She really needed to be able to start the fall semester if she was going to take advantage of the scholarships she’d already received. 

     She made her way to the den where Jesse had set up her computer for school.  Some days there was so much work for her to get through she didn’t think she would ever get it done.  The pain wasn’t as bad these days, but it was still there at the edge.  The dreams on the other hand were a different matter.  She wasn’t sure Jesse would understand if she were to tell him about them.

     They had started while she was still in the hospital.  The man came to the car, the look in his eyes when he looked at her was enough to give anyone nightmares.  She’d watched as he’d looked at her mother and then her father, the dead look in his eyes giving her the impression that he hadn’t expected them to survive the impact.  But they had.  She had the feeling that that’s why she was in as much pain as she was.  Somehow she had unknowingly protected her parents long enough to get them to the hospital.

     The sound of a deep voice being cleared had her looking at the computer screen as she realized the time for her first class to start had come and gone.  Her first period history teacher, Mr. Feinstein should have been looking back at her, but apparently he was off sick today and they had a substitute.  The man on the screen was drop dead handsome with shoulder length black hair, eyes as dark as midnight, and a smile that would light up the galaxy with its brightness.  She felt her cheeks heat as she realized that he’d been watching her for some time.

     She stammered an apology as she said, “I…I…I’m sor…sorry, I…I didn’t catch that.”

     He smiled, causing her breath to hitch in her throat.  His eyes twinkle with amusement as he said, “I’ll excuse you this time.”  He winked at her before saying, “I was just going over the assignment regarding the Pendleton Project.”

     Blinding lights flashed at them.  Her dad swore as he struggled to keep them on the road.  The sudden impact from behind threw her into the side window.  Excruciating pain ripped through her skull as she heard a solid crack.  She felt the fear emanating from the front seat and knew that it was imperative to protect whoever was there.  She felt her energy draining as that thought kept repeating in her head, “Protect them!”

     She felt a warm light enfolding her in its embrace as the substitute teacher spoke soothingly to her.  She frowned as his words penetrated, but she had no idea how she was able to understand him as she had never taken French in her life, yet she knew he spoke that particular language as well as what he was telling her.  “You are safe, little one.  I will protect you.  You are safe.”