Marie's Path

Chapter 25

The car's headlights illuminated the three men standing on the bridge. The sound of rushing water could be heard in the darkness below.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" Mr.Sorenson shouted extending his arms.

Axel looked over the bridge railing. "She was just a teenage girl, no older than Sang. You signed her death warrant," he accused.

"And I've lived with it everyday of my fucking life! I'm done!" Mr. Sorenson yelled rushing at Axel. He grabbed Axel before he could react, taking them both over the railing to the churning water twenty feet below.

"Axel!" Raven yelled running to the railing. "Axel!" He ran to the end of the bridge, bounding down the steep riverbank, before jumping into the water after Axel.

Marie stood frozen. "Nooo!" She screamed trying to get her muscles to move. Her body felt like dead weight as she tried to follow Raven. Finally making it to the top of the river bank, she stepped down into the tall grass. Her foot caught on an unseen tree root causing her to tumble down the bank.

Marie sat up in bed gasping for air, she was sweating and her heart was pounding. Feeling around on her night stand, she found her phone. Reaching over to turn on her bedside lamp, and quickly finding Axel's name, she pressed call. The phone rang once before she thought about what she was doing. Hitting the end call button she tossed her phone on the bed.

"Stupid! Stupid! Geez louise get a grip, it was a freakin dream! You can't call him-" She looked at the clock. "At four in the fucking morning! "

At that moment her phone rang. "Oh no, no, no!" She moaned staring at the phone wishing it would somehow disappear, but knowing she had no choice but to answer. If she didn't, he'd have everybody over. Picking it up, she held it to her ear but couldn't get her mouth to work.

"Marie?" Axel's deep voice was alert and demanding. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, sorry." Her voice cracked when she finally answered him and she cleared her throat. "I didn't mean to call, I wasn't thinking and-"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I had a bad dream is all, and called you before I was thinking clearly. I'm sorry I woke you," she said practically whispering into the phone.

"A bad dream. About me?" He asked in a low soft voice.

"Yeah, well, the both of you really."

"Raven and I are fine." His voice had a soothing quality to it that relaxed her. She heard a voice in the background. "Raven wants to know why you didn't call him."

"Because A comes before R?" She slapped her forehead as she said it, feeling stupid.

She heard his low chuckle. "Lucky me. Is Marc still asleep?"

Marie frowned. "Um, he isn't here. Was he suppose to be?"

Axel paused before answering. "Who stayed?"

"Nobody." Marie glanced over to Chase's empty dog bed.

"Someone is always suppose to stay, at least until your mother..."

"Axel?" She interrupted needing to know. "You didn't go to that bridge did you?"

"No. We know where it is now, but there's no reason to open up that can of worms."

"Alright, that's good then," she said with relief in her voice.

"Try to sleep, Marie," he told her softly. "We'll be home by evening, maybe sooner."