Everly
My knees go weak when Zeke stares at me.
Holy moly.
The man leaves me breathless.
I make my way over to the girls and tie my cape around my neck. I've never worn anything so beautiful. When I saw the dress on the mannequin at the store, my mind couldn't compute the fact that I was going to wear it tonight. Luckily, our dresses have corset backings, so the fit is perfect.
I've spent the day practicing walking in the heels with a goal to not look like a newborn deer taking steps for the first time. I feel confident and sexy; two feelings that are as foreign to me as they are exciting.
"Okay, ladies!" Thea sings, "Time to go."
I walk towards the door but Danny stops me, "Listen, Evie," his tone serious, "stay with the girls tonight. Downtown can get hectic on Halloween. Don't leave your drink unattended and don't eat or drink anything that a stranger gives you."
Smirking at his authoritative stance, I smartly add, "And remember 'stranger danger'."
Danny grumbles, "I'm serious, Everly."
I reach up to adjust the goggles hanging from his neck, "I know you are. Please remember that I am a grown woman. Yes, I've been somewhat removed from common social interactions, but I'm smart and I will be alert."
Smiling, Danny replies, "Promise?"
"Cross my heart," I respond.
The girls and I pile into Caylin's SUV and head for downtown. With the radio blasting through the speakers, we sing along and laugh as we travel behind Jack and Bev.
Caylin reaches forward and turns down the volume. "Okay, Everly Anderson! Spill," she demands.
Meeting her eyes in the review mirror, I ask, "Spill what?"
"Don't play coy with us, Evie," Thea says.
I smile at her use of my nickname, "I'm not playing anything!" I laugh.
"Zeke and Evie sitting in a tree..." Bel teasingly sings. The girls, all but Serenity, join in the chorus. My cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Bel looks at me and says, "Seriously, Evie, You could cut the sexual tension with a freaking knife."
Dropping my head in my hands, I let out a groan, "Was it that obvious? Please tell me it's not that obvious," I beg.
The response is a resounding, "Yes!"
Thea takes in my discomfort, "Don't worry. Bel is more in tune with these type of things. She pointed it out to us. But don't be upset, Evie. The two of you are really cute."
"Cute?" I ask through my hands.
"He's flippin' hot!" Bel announces.
"Bel," Thea scolds.
"What?" Bel replies. "He is! I call em like I see em and Zeke James is a muscle mass of eye candy. Plus, he's a genuinely good guy and lest we forget the next alph-"
"Bel!" Caylin interrupts. "Less talk about Zeke and more discussion about Mason. I saw you staring at him tonight."
"I was not," Bel retorts.
"Were too," Serenity chimes in from the backseat. I look back in disbelief. All this time and she's never spoken a word.
"Oh, shut it, Seri!" Bel demands. "For your information, I was staring at him because he's wearing eyeliner."
"And, what?" Caylin laughs. "Did it bring out the blue in his eyes?" Everyone laughs as Bel scowls.
Laughing, Thea sighs, "I love Halloween."
A couple hours later, I am being pulled into another booth by Thea. We've managed to visit most of the vendors and shops. Danny wasn't joking when he warned me about the craziness of downtown tonight. Zombies, witches, and pirates are drunk and disorderly as the music blasts from speakers strategically placed along the road. My feet are starting to ache in these heels that I once adored. Why do girls wear these things? Catching my reflection in the mirror, I remember, because they're cute.
The booth we are currently perusing through is selling lotions, soaps, rocks, crystals, and other Native American wares. As I study a dream catcher hanging from the booth canopy, a voice greets from behind me, "Well, hello Miss Everly." Turning around I grin when I see the warm smiles of Doc and CeCe.
"Hi," I give CeCe a hug, "Is this your booth? I should've known by the familiar jars of healing ointment."
CeCe grabs my hand and replies, "It is. I sell most of my wares online or through our home, but I like having a booth at festivals and community markets. I meet a lot of my customers this way," she explains.
"CeCe!" Thea exclaims as she and the girls approach.
"Girls, I see you've befriended our Everly?" she asks. "Wonderful. Everly, you look beautiful tonight." She says as she gently caresses my cheek. Silently examining where my old injuries once were.
"Thanks, CeCe. I am doing great and we are having so much fun." I reply.
As she and the girls begin discussing her new lotions and soaps, I go back to the dream catcher that had caught my eye. Examining the intricate craftsmanship, I am startled when Doc speaks from beside me. "It's a beautiful mandala, isn't it?" he asks.
Unfamiliar with the term, I question, "Mandala?"
"It means, 'circle.' For my people, everything we do is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. The circle of life, and the path from birth to death. The unification of man, nature, and the spiritual in a cyclical form. The mandala is a way to connect with the creators."
Stepping forward, Doc takes the dream catcher off the hook and fingers the stitching, "Legend has it that a Sioux woman struggled to put her child to sleep. Desperate for help, she went to a medicine woman who gave her a ring of willows with spider webs laced through the center. The medicine woman explained that the child suffered from nightmares, and the willow ring and web would serve to filter the bad dreams out, allowing only good dreams to visit her sleep. As a mandala, the dream catcher serves a double purpose. One, it allows us to utilize the filtering power of our minds. It also brings our attention to the intricate construction of our lives, and how we have the power to create and rebuild it as we deem fit. It's a reminder that our thoughts are powerful, and have the ability to make our lives an incredible dream or a horrific nightmare."
Lost in his explanation, I think about the nightmares I battle on occasion. Both while awake or asleep. "Does it really work?" I ask.
With a smile on his face, Doc hands me the dream catcher, "Why don't you take it home and find out," he says.
Baffled by his generosity, "I can't take this. At least let me pay for it," I stammer.
"Please, Everly. Your money is no good here. I insist." Doc contends.
After exchanging 'goodbyes' with Doc and CeCe, the girls and I head back to where the guys are performing. Mason told us to be back in time to sing my duet with Zeke. Butterflies flutter in my belly when I take in the crowd that has gathered. The stage is located in Basin Spring Park.
According to Micah, the park is renown for its healing waters from its early recorded days by the native American Indians who were followed by intervening White men. Over four-hundred settlers gathered around the water source and eventually, the town was built.
I watch concert goers as they stand in the park circle and engage in the guys' performance under the curved Band Shell stage. Listening to Zeke's raspy voice serenade the audience with a Johnny Cash classic, my body begins to react to his musical spell.
Caylin leans towards me, "Serenity is going back to Healing Grounds. She's had about as much people as she can tolerate. She can take your dream catcher so it doesn't get smashed in all this chaos."
Nodding my head in understanding, I hand my gift to Seri, "Thank you."
Her eyes meet mine and once again, chills break out across my skin. "You're welcome," she hastily replies as she scampers off through the crowd.
Bel drapes her arm over my shoulders and announces, "She likes you."
Taking her word for it, I focus my attention back on Zeke. Watching him play his guitar and sing is one of the sexiest visions I've ever beheld. The stage lights enhance the effects of the performance, mesmerizing me as I sway to the music. I close my eyes as the slow ballad transports my mind somewhere else. Zeke's voice washes over me and I feel the soul of their performance filter through the air.
Suddenly, a cold chill runs its fingers along my spine. Like a bucket filled with icy water, it shocks me out of my state of euphoria. I open my eyes and scan my surroundings.
Something is off.
The guys are still playing and the girls are lost in the lyrics, unaware that something is wrong. Searching the faces of those around me, unsure of what I am looking for, I begin to feel a wave of panic surge on the inside.
As I jerk my head to my left, I observe a man standing twenty feet away from me. He is staring directly at me. However, it's not his furious glare or darkened eyes that frighten me.
No, what frightens me is the familiarity in his stance. What terrifies me is his greasy, stringy brown hair that hangs over his shoulders that I remember falling into my face when he was on top of me. What horrifies me are his fisted hands that I recall hitting and groping my body. What petrifies me are the three, jagged scars etched across his face. The scars that I left on his clammy, putrid skin.
"Billy," I gasp.
Sometimes the monsters of your past don't need a disguise to sneak up on you. They don't need to wait until you're asleep to haunt your dreams. Sometimes, monsters just wait until you least expect it before they pounce.