Shadows of the Past

Chapter 4

 I felt a hand on my face, lightly patting my cheek and could hear someone talking but I couldn't make out the words. It was like I was under a waterfall, with a rushing in my ears and every sound around me was muffled as I struggled to open my eyes. Suddenly everything was clear, and I could hear the worried voices of my best friend and the closest people I have to family asking me to open my eyes. I tried to sit up, rubbing my face, and shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. Looking around groggily, I was met with the concerned stares of the three most important people in my life.

"Are you okay Rosie? You went out like a light there hun," Mary was the first one to break the tense silence that had fallen over us. "You gave us quite a scare there for a second, it's a good thing we were all sitting down, and an even better thing that this young man you brought with you was quick enough to keep your head from hitting the counter. We moved you to the floor to lay you down in case you were in shock or something, and Rick here was this close to calling an ambulance when you woke up," She rambled on, and I could see how scared she was.

"I still say we should call someone to check you out, just to make sure nothing serious is wrong or anything." Rick had always been a mother hen so this wasn't really surprising, but it did feel a little bit much, after all it's been a stressful few weeks and I've never dealt with stress well. I have this nasty habit of just pushing down pretty much all of my negative emotions and bottling them up until I explode. It's a problem that I've been working on since I left but old habits die hard.

"I second that actually, you've been running yourself ragged for months Blake. A little checkup couldn't hurt, and it would definitely make the three of us feel a little bit better," Dez spoke up, catching me off guard slightly. I thought that I was handling things better than I really had been apparently. It didn't help that all three of them had known me long enough to be able to read me like an open book.

"I'm okay y'all, but if it'll make you feel better, I can stop by the doctors tomorrow. I'm just really overwhelmed with everything, and I guess it all hit me at once. I'm sure that I'll be fine so please don't freak out," I consoled them. The last thing I need is everyone else hovering and walking on eggshells like I'm made of glass or something. "Now, let's backtrack a bit. You said that Jackie was..." I paused slightly, trying to find my words. "You said she was killed a week ago? Do they know who did it? What day was it? She checked in to see if I was still coming last Monday and it didn't seem like anything was wrong." I had so many questions, but the most pressing one that came to mind is who could have done this? Jackie was such a sweet, caring, and beautiful soul. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want her dead.

"They don't know who it was or why, nothing was missing from her apartment, and she was found on Wednesday morning by her roommate who was just getting home from a friend's house she had spent the night at. The police figure someone broke in around 2AM and the noise must have woken her up because she was found in the kitchen. That's all we know right now, but I'd be willing to bet the sheriff is keeping some important details quiet so as to not alarm the rest of the town. Gun sales have gone up like crazy this weekend alone, so I don't blame him for trying to avoid a mob of worried people shooting at every shadow they see at night." Rick was very calm and reasonable with his answers but for some reason I had a feeling he was still holding something back in his explanation. Still, I knew better than to push when he was already so worried about my health. He'd tell me eventually, I just had to give him some time to calm down.

"Okay," I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, "we should probably go check in at the Bed and Breakfast soon, but we'll be back after the dinner rush I swear," I said, pushing myself up from the ground, brushing off my clothes before holding out a hand to help Dez up.

"You make sure she gets some rest and goes to see the doctor alright? I'm leaving you in charge of keeping her from collapsing again," Mary instructed Dez sternly, before pulling him in for yet another tight hug.

"Yes ma'am, I'll do my best, but we all know she doesn't tend to listen very well." Dez promised. He pulled away to shake Rick's hand as I hugged Mary. "It was really nice to meet you both, I look forward to us meeting again," he was sucking up a little bit now. I couldn't blame him, its hard not to want Mary and Rick to like you.

"For the love of God, please take care of yourself Rosie. It'd kill us if anything bad happened to you," Rick said as he pulled me in for one last hug, squeezing me tightly before finally letting go.

"I will, I promise. I'll call the doctor's office in the truck to see if they can fit me in for a checkup tomorrow just in case," I assured him. "We'll see you in a few hours, but we really do have to go check in soon." With that, Dez and I said our goodbyes and left the diner, climbing back into the truck and heading for the quaint little family-owned B&B a few blocks over. Making sure to keep my promise, I called and made an appointment for a checkup at the doctor's office for the next afternoon while Dez checked us in. Hopping down from the truck, I walked towards the B&B, still looking down at my phone and not really paying attention to where I was going. Just as I looked up, I walked directly into someone, knocking us both to the ground.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, are you okay?" The sweetest almost musical voice said, and I looked up to see the most gorgeous green eyes I've ever seen.

"I'm okay, are you alright? I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking either," I laughed slightly, and I could feel my cheeks flush slightly out of embarrassment.

"I'm perfectly okay, the only thing hurt is my pride. Here, let me help you up." The woman that I had collided with got up and reached out a hand. Smiling, I took her hand and she pulled me to my feet, her hands were soft but surprisingly strong. "I'm Evie, I'm here visiting my aunt Ruth for the next couple of weeks or so," she introduced herself, still holding my hand tightly.

"I'm Rosalind Donovan, but everyone just calls me Blake. It's nice to meet you, I actually grew up here but I'm just visiting for now" I responded, still smiling slightly.

"Blake, you coming?" Dez called from the door.

"Just a sec!" I shout back. "It was really nice to meet you, here's my number, text me and we can get coffee or something while I'm in town" I handed her a business card and ran to the front steps where my best friend was waiting.

"It was nice to meet you too!" Evie called from the sidewalk. I turned to wave but she was already walking away. I couldn't help but wonder if she would use the card I gave her or just throw it away in the first trash can she found.