colorful character in his line was… She could
hear the puzzle pieces sliding into place with a definitive thwack
as she watched the man being dragged away.
“Wallace
“Coyote” Granger… a bad man, Gem.” Alistair gazed at her.
“No!” She shook
her head. “Wait, Dad, you can’t do this. He needs to get to the
next town, he needs to meet Mary!”
“Gem, what are
you talking about?” Ruby frowned.
Gemma ignored
the question and looked back to her father. He knew. He knew
exactly what she was talking about.
“ Can’t we
just let him go on to the next town? The people have their money
back. He won’t rob again. I know his history! He gets this woman
pregnant and falls in love with her and she-”
“That’s enough,
Gemma.”
“But Dad!”
“It’s time to
go.”
“No. Please.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “He won’t exist anymore.”
Her father’s
stare remained unwavering and emotionless as their bodies
disintegrated back to the present.
Chapter Sixteen
Anastasia National
Park, Florida – 2011 AD
“NO!”
Gemma’s body
curled over itself as she fell to the sand. She didn’t care that
she was naked and exposed. All she cared about was the fact that
the space Harrison had been standing in was now empty. Because of
what her family just did, he no longer existed. Coyote didn’t
escape, he didn’t make it to the next town and he never met Mary.
Harrison’s family line was broken and so was she.
She gazed at
the empty space where her boyfriend should have been. All she saw
was ocean. The waves lapped against the sand like they always did,
running back and forth in their unique rhythm. She suddenly
despised the normalcy of it. How dare they not surge and swell. How
dare the sky not open up with sheets of tears!
Harrison was
gone.
He was
gone!!
Unless he just
went to wait for me back at the garage?
The idea was
genius!
Jumping from
her spot, she raced for her clothes. The sight must have been
comical as she tore up the beach, zipping up her shorts, shooting
her arms through her tank top and hopping on one foot while she
pulled on each sneaker. Grabbing her marred helmet from the ground,
she shoved it on her head and jumped onto the bike. The engine
roared as she zipped out of the park and back towards Chatsworth
Classic Cars. She probably broke every land speed record on her
way, but it didn’t matter, she was about to wrap her arms around
Harrison’s waist, cling to his body and never let go. She would
apologize for not trusting him. She would see Gabe if she had to.
Whatever it took.
The first piece
of her soul broke away as she squeezed the brake and felt the bike
lurch to a halt outside Mike’s Motorworld. The sign was yellow and
fading, the paint on the building cracked and peeling. There was no
cleaning area to the right of the forecourt and the happy family
feel of a cheerful mechanic’s was replaced with the grimy stench of
underpaid workers.
A thin grease
ball of a man with a cigarette teetering between his lips
approached her bike with a lustful eye.
“Nice ride.” He
pulled the cigarette from his mouth and let a stream of smoke ooze
through his lips. “What can I do for you today?”
Gemma’s face
scrunched with disgust as she shook her head. With quivering
fingers she reached for the accelerator and moved her bike away
from the garage. Her mind was blank as she wove through the streets
of St Augustine.
It wasn’t
long before she was sitting outside 176 Ninth Street. The beautiful
home that housed the blended Granger/Chatsworth family looked the
same. The essence of a happy home permeated from the double story
house, but the cars parked outside were different. The swing and
slide set out front had not been there the night before and the
squeals of toddlers’ play coming from the backyard couldn’t
possibly belong to Sam and Justin. This home belonged to somebody
else. Gemma’s soul now lay in shards on the pavement.
Her mind was
too numb to cry,
hear the puzzle pieces sliding into place with a definitive thwack
as she watched the man being dragged away.
“Wallace
“Coyote” Granger… a bad man, Gem.” Alistair gazed at her.
“No!” She shook
her head. “Wait, Dad, you can’t do this. He needs to get to the
next town, he needs to meet Mary!”
“Gem, what are
you talking about?” Ruby frowned.
Gemma ignored
the question and looked back to her father. He knew. He knew
exactly what she was talking about.
“ Can’t we
just let him go on to the next town? The people have their money
back. He won’t rob again. I know his history! He gets this woman
pregnant and falls in love with her and she-”
“That’s enough,
Gemma.”
“But Dad!”
“It’s time to
go.”
“No. Please.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “He won’t exist anymore.”
Her father’s
stare remained unwavering and emotionless as their bodies
disintegrated back to the present.
Chapter Sixteen
Anastasia National
Park, Florida – 2011 AD
“NO!”
Gemma’s body
curled over itself as she fell to the sand. She didn’t care that
she was naked and exposed. All she cared about was the fact that
the space Harrison had been standing in was now empty. Because of
what her family just did, he no longer existed. Coyote didn’t
escape, he didn’t make it to the next town and he never met Mary.
Harrison’s family line was broken and so was she.
She gazed at
the empty space where her boyfriend should have been. All she saw
was ocean. The waves lapped against the sand like they always did,
running back and forth in their unique rhythm. She suddenly
despised the normalcy of it. How dare they not surge and swell. How
dare the sky not open up with sheets of tears!
Harrison was
gone.
He was
gone!!
Unless he just
went to wait for me back at the garage?
The idea was
genius!
Jumping from
her spot, she raced for her clothes. The sight must have been
comical as she tore up the beach, zipping up her shorts, shooting
her arms through her tank top and hopping on one foot while she
pulled on each sneaker. Grabbing her marred helmet from the ground,
she shoved it on her head and jumped onto the bike. The engine
roared as she zipped out of the park and back towards Chatsworth
Classic Cars. She probably broke every land speed record on her
way, but it didn’t matter, she was about to wrap her arms around
Harrison’s waist, cling to his body and never let go. She would
apologize for not trusting him. She would see Gabe if she had to.
Whatever it took.
The first piece
of her soul broke away as she squeezed the brake and felt the bike
lurch to a halt outside Mike’s Motorworld. The sign was yellow and
fading, the paint on the building cracked and peeling. There was no
cleaning area to the right of the forecourt and the happy family
feel of a cheerful mechanic’s was replaced with the grimy stench of
underpaid workers.
A thin grease
ball of a man with a cigarette teetering between his lips
approached her bike with a lustful eye.
“Nice ride.” He
pulled the cigarette from his mouth and let a stream of smoke ooze
through his lips. “What can I do for you today?”
Gemma’s face
scrunched with disgust as she shook her head. With quivering
fingers she reached for the accelerator and moved her bike away
from the garage. Her mind was blank as she wove through the streets
of St Augustine.
It wasn’t
long before she was sitting outside 176 Ninth Street. The beautiful
home that housed the blended Granger/Chatsworth family looked the
same. The essence of a happy home permeated from the double story
house, but the cars parked outside were different. The swing and
slide set out front had not been there the night before and the
squeals of toddlers’ play coming from the backyard couldn’t
possibly belong to Sam and Justin. This home belonged to somebody
else. Gemma’s soul now lay in shards on the pavement.
Her mind was
too numb to cry,
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