dsbauden@att.net

Chapter Four

Ten o'clock came as it always does, right on schedule. I unlocked my door and welcomed another day of business doing what I loved. I had a few mannequins that needed to be dressed so I put that on my list of things to do for the day. I stepped in the workroom to grab some clothes for the dummies when I heard the doorbell chime to let me know someone had arrived.

I poked my head out to find no one. I scanned the store and decided that I must have been hearing things. I grabbed the clothes that I needed and set off to do my work. I hated trying to get the shirts on the mannequins, because these days they are so anatomically correct it's almost embarrassing when people walk in and I have plastic boobs in my face.

I had almost finished the first mannequin when I noticed that I had knocked her hand off. I looked down and I couldn't find it anywhere.

What the hell happened to it? It's not like it got up and walked out of here.

I got down on my hands and knees and began to crawl around like an animal looking for the hand.

God this is ridiculous.

"It's over there, under the table." She said.

I was under a display and was so surprised by hearing someone's voice that I smashed the back of my head on the shelf above me.

"Ouch! Dammit." I silently cursed as I rubbed the back of my head. "Thank you, I have been looking all over for this." I said as I grabbed the hand and stood to thank my customer.

"I can't believe I couldn't find" I started to talk in the direction of the voice when I noticed that my shop was empty. I frantically turned around looking for the owner of that voice. Thinking about it a little more, I realized that I had heard that voice before in my dreams. "Oh my God. It was her! It was that same voice." I steadied myself against one of my shelving units before I fell on my face again.

God, what the hell is going on? If this is some kind of joke, I really wish the

Pranksters would show themselves. I'm not finding this at all funny.

I'd had enough of this; I was really starting to get pissed. "If you are still here, show yourself! This is really getting old!" I screamed into the empty store.

I stood there and waiting for what seemed like an eternity, when I returned to my work. "This is getting outta hand anymore of this and I'll be forced to tell Crystal.

Oh, she'll love this. God I'm never gonna live this down." I breathed out. "I really must have hit my head hard yesterday. That's gotta be it. It has to be"

I shook my head and began to work harder than I have in a long time. I really needed to stay focused.

If I have anymore confrontations with this voice again, I will ask Crystal what she thinks it could be. I could ask her a hypothetical question, that way she won't know it's me. Yeah right, like I would just pull a question about ghosts out of my ass. She would see right through that. She knows me far too well. Ah shit. This sucks.

All day I had in the back of my head that nagging question of "who is the owner of that voice?" I just wished I knew.

I looked at the clock and again I missed lunch. If no one reminded me, I seemed to always forget or had too much to do to go and get something for myself. Crystal usually reminded me of my poor eating habits, but today she had a lunchtime appointment and didn't show up. I looked forward to our lunches together.

"Oh well, maybe we'll grab dinner or something together." I said to one of the

mannequins. "God I really need to get out more." I said as I walked back up to my front desk.

I looked around and felt a loneliness I never felt before. I had a pulling in my gut that I just couldn't explain. It didn't hurt or anything physical like that, it was just something very foreign to me. "I think I need a vacation." I sighed and put my head in my hands.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

Crystal came bounding into the shop at 5:45 with a huge grin on her face. I had given her a key to the shop years ago. It was much easier for her to let herself in. God knows she would just keep banging on the door until I let her in. That got real old, real fast.

"Hey girlfriend! You done yet? I'm starving!" She exclaimed.

I turned from my paperwork and smiled back at her. It was so hard not to when she was in a mood like this.

"Yeah, I just have a few more things to finish up. I'm quite hungry myself. I forgot to eat lunch again today." I knew this would get a rise out of her.

"God dammit Frankie! That isn't good for you! How many times do we have to talk about your eating habits? It's a damn good thing that I fed your ass this morning."

She seriously said with her hands on her narrow hips.

"Crystal I'm sorry." I loved that she cared so much. "I didn't have my usual alarm come in and remind me."

"What would you do without me?" She asked mockingly.

"I really don't wanna know that answer darlin." I said truthfully.

She smiled at me and took my hand in hers. "Come on, let's go eat. Nonnie is expecting us."

"All right, give me two seconds here and I'll be done." I said as I finished the rest of my paperwork for the day's business.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

We walked into Crystal's place to find Nonnie waiting for us on their couch. Their home was unlike what most people would expect from them. They lived very normally, if you wanted to use that word. They had a couch, a couple of lights, some nice artwork on their walls, the usual décor for a family room.

Nonnie looked up from her crossword puzzle and smiled at us. "Hey girls, are you hungry?" She asked.

"This one forgot to eat again, so let's make sure we stuff her to the gills." Crystal said while motioning towards me.

"Oh, I see. Well, lets see if we can make her eat some of my spaghetti."

"Oh, Nonnie, you know I could never turn that down." I said as my mouth began to water at the mere thought of eating her pasta. If Nonnie was in it for the money, she would make Chef Boy Ardee go out of business.

Yes, it's just that good.

Dinner was eaten in silence since it was rude to talk with your mouth full. Nonnie's spaghetti always did that to me. I usually ate the stuff until it didn't taste good anymore. This night was no exception.

Crystal got up and walked into the kitchen to start the dishes. I patted my belly and leaned against the back of the chair. "God Nonnie, you did it again. That had to be the best meal I have had in weeks."

"Aww, thanks child. You only say that since you don't eat on a regular basis." She smiled at me.

"No it's not like that at all. I really just love your cooking. You can taste every ounce of the time you spent making it. Thank you again for inviting me over to eat with you." I said as I stifled the air trying to escape through my throat.

"You are welcome. I'm going to go to my room and make some phone calls. Have a good night." She said as she got up.

"Good night Nonnie." I got up to go help Crystal in the kitchen.

"Do you want some help cleaning up?" I asked as I peeked my head into the kitchen.

"Grab a towel. I'll wash 'em if you dry 'em." She smiled.

"Man, you guys have a dishwasher, why don't you just throw all of the dishes in there?" I asked as I motioned to the appliance.

"Nonnie hates the smell of the dishwater soap. She much prefers her glasses to smell like Palmolive." She smirked.

"Oh come on, you are gonna tell me if you snuck in a few glasses in the dishwasher, she would know the difference?"

"You bet your sweet ass she would. Then I would have to deal with her, so don't even try it." She accused.

"OK, OK" I laughed.

I was trying to figure out how to ask Crystal about this voice in my head without her freaking out on me. God knows I have never shown an interest in this stuff before. She will probably have a heart attack. I figured I should just get over it and just come right out and ask her. The moment I reached this decision her eyes pinned me with a questionable stare.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"Are you going to ask me your question or not. You have had the strangest look on your face for like the last fifteen minutes. It must be a doozy since you can't come right out and say it."

God she knew me so well.

"Well actually I do have kind of a strange question for you."

"Well spit it out. You look like you are going to waste all of that food that Nonnie made for you."

"I'm not going to be sick, Crystal." I hoped. God I was so nervous.

What if she thinks I am going insane? Just say it dammit.

I took a deep breath and met her eyes again. "Crystal, have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched, I mean not by a physical presence either I mean oh God, what do I mean?" Crystal touched my arm and took me to the kitchen table.

"Come here and sit down and really try to tell me what is going on, OK?"

"OK." I took another breath. "Last night, ok, I had this dream, remember? Well I had a couple of them."

"I remember. What about them?" She softened her voice.

"Well, this morning when I was in the bathroom getting ready for my shower, I could have sworn someone was watching me brush my teeth. When I turned around, no one was there, but I swear I saw something in the mirror. That's what made me start coughing, it wasn't my toothbrush I was just freaked out. Then when you handed me my towel, I thought I was gonna find a person that didn't belong in my bathroom."

"What did you hear? Anything?" She was genuinely concerned.

"No, not at that time. All I know is that I felt the strangest sensation in my belly, and then the hair on the back of my neck was totally standing on end. Then it was gone." I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. She wasn't going to razz me, I couldn't believe it.

"What else Frankie. I have this feeling that you have more to say." Shit, how does she do that?

"Today in the shop. I heard the bell ring when I was in the stockroom. I looked out to find that no one was there. So I continued doing my work. I was dressing up one of the mannequins. I knocked off one of her hands and couldn't find it anywhere. I got down on the floor and started to look for it. Then someone said 'It's over there, under the table', I banged the back of my head on the shelf above me I was so startled by the voice. I grabbed the hand and stood to thank my customer for finding the elusive appendage, but there was no one there."

"You are sure you heard someone say that, and didn't imagine it?" She asked.

"No Crystal I heard it with my own ears. It wasn't just any voice either, it was the same voice from my dreams. I don't know what is going on here, but it is starting to get to me." I confessed.

"It must be since you are actually talking to me about this. I know how you feel about all of this stuff." And she really did know.

"So what do you think this means Crystal? Am I just hallucinating from the blast to my head yesterday?" I really needed to know.

"No I don't think that is it at all." She stopped.

"Well, what DO you think it is. I can't take much more of this. Things like this may happen to you everyday, but it is really not my cup of tea."

God this is just so weird.

"Frankie, do me a favor OK?" Crystal looked at me dead on with a totally serious expression on her face.

"OK, what?"

"When you go to sleep tonight, if you have another dream like you had, write down anything you may remember from it when you wake up."

"What will that do?"

"When you awaken from a dream all of it will be really fresh in your mind. I wanna get a better idea of what is going on. It may be that someone is trying to reach you from the other side."

"You have GOT to be kidding me. Why me? What did I do to deserve that?" I said more loudly than I had wanted.

"I don't know Frankie, but it sounds like she is looking for you. Just do as I ask , please? If it doesn't happen, then we can just write it off as a strange happening. If it does happen again, maybe Nonnie and I can help whoever it is find out why they are here."

"Oh God, you aren't gonna tell Nonnie are you? She will never let me live this down. She has always called me the non believer."

"This isn't something that Nonnie will joke about. Trust me on that. She takes this very seriously and won't kid around." She said with a serious look on her face.

"Where is Nonnie?"

"She went to her room to make some phone calls." I answered.

"Oh all right. So tonight try and write down anything you remember." She said again.

"OK Crystal if anything happens tonight, I will write down as much as I can remember." I agreed.

"Good girl. Let's go to your place and watch a movie." She suggested.

"OK, you are on." I smiled.

"What do you want to watch?" She asked.

"It's your night to pick."

"Aw Frankie, I picked last night." She whined.

"OK, OK, how about The Matrix?" I asked knowing that she would cringe.

"Sure."

"What no argument?" I couldn't believe it, she always argued about that movie. So what if I've seen it 25 times already.

"Nope, I said it was your turn to pick, so you get to pick."

"OK, now I am scared."

"Don't be scared, but don't be surprised either when the next film we watch is something not to your liking."

"Oh no, not another romantic comedy." I dreaded those. She would get all teary and mushy on me.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"I can't wait." I said as we walked out her kitchen door, which led to the stairs to my place.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

The movie ended with Crystal sound asleep leaning against my shoulder. How could she sleep through a movie like that? There was more gunfire in the last half-hour to keep the dead awake. But here she was, sleeping like an angel on my shoulder. It was late though and I needed to go to sleep myself.

"Crystal? Crystal honey, wake up." I gently nudged her.

"Mmm, is it over?" She said as she stretched on the couch.

"Yep and you missed it."

"I'm sorry Frankie, I guess I was sleepy."

"You're always sleepy, but it's a cute quality."

"Gee thanks." She smiled and rubbed her eyes again with her fists, God I love that.

"Ok sleepyhead, I think I need to get to bed myself. Do you want me to walk you down?" I said as I stood. I took her hand and helped her to stand.

"Nah, I'll be ok. Night Frankie, and remember what we talked about." She said as she hugged me.

"Yes, I remember. I will bring a pad and pencil to bed with me tonight." I hugged her back.

"Good, I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. Bye." She said as she gave me a wink and headed home.

"Bye hon." I waved and headed down the hall to get ready for bed.

I turned down all the lights and walked into my room. I went to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. I clicked off the light to the bathroom and headed to bed.

I stripped off my clothes and jumped into cool sheets. 'Damn I forgot the paper' I got up and walked my naked self into my kitchen. I grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil and walked back to my room.

I put the two items on my night table and got comfy again.

"All right whoever you are, I am ready for you now. Come and get me." I wasn't sure if those were the right words to use, considering I didn't know what was going on or who the voice was for that matter. Oh well what's said was said.

I closed my eyes and waited for my body to surrender once again to sleep. I didn't have too wait long.

Chapter Five

Help me I think I'm falling in love too fast. It's got me hoping for the future and worrying about the past. 'Cause I've seen some hot hot blazes come down to smoke and ash. We love our lovin', but not like we love our freedom

My eyes drifted open as I heard my alarm turn on. "Damn, again with Joni Mitchell.

They need to change the deejay on this channel." I leaned over to hit my alarm, but it wasn't there.

Holy shit, where the hell is it? Now I was starting to panic. There must have been someone in my house last night. Why the hell would they take my alarm clock? Why is it that this song won't stop playing? Where was the music coming from?

I rubbed my eyes again and sauntered over to the window. I looked down and I felt my mouth fall open and pressed my head to the glass.

"What the?" My eyes didn't believe what they were seeing. I was looking down at my neighborhood, but it looked like it did in the seventies.

Jesus what is going on? The Twilight Zone ended years ago, but I'll be damned if I don't feel like I'm there now. I thought to myself.

I went to bed naked, but here I was with clothes on, and ones I don't remember buying that's for sure. I had on long ass bell bottoms and a gray top with a big flower in the middle of it.

I think I need some fresh air. I'm going to take a walk outside I think and try to clear my head. Where the hell is that music coming from?

As I got closer to my bedroom door the music seemed to be getting louder.

Shit, whoever stole my alarm clock is messing with my stereo and is STILL in my house.

"OK, Frankie, you can handle this." I blew out a long breath and grasped the doorknob.

I slowly walked through the doorway and minded all the creaky spots on the wood floor. I felt like a cat burglar sneaking through my own house. "Jesus!" I whispered, there was a shadow of a person hanging on the wall. My heart was totally racing, but I needed to call someone, anyone at this point for help. Then he spoke.

"Honey, can you help me for a minute?" I heard the voice, but I couldn't believe my ears. This man sounded just like my father.

"Just a minute Frank, I'll be done in here soon." I heard the woman say.

I pressed the back of my head against the wall for support.

What the hell kind of joke is this anyway?

I needed to see this with my own eyes. I tried to control my breathing and gather up enough courage to peek into the living room.

"Come on Frankie, you can do this." I whispered my own support to myself.

I slid down my hallway that was now empty of all my pictures. I was so close to the front room I could barely breathe. I heard the song end and start back up again.

I think this alone is going to be the death of me.

Help me I think I'm falling in love again

Joni kept singing without a care in the world.

Well she has the "help me" part right I need it really badly right now.

One more step and I would be able to stretch my neck into the family room to see my unwanted guests.

As I looked, my eyes instantly welled with tears. There was my father sitting at the kitchen table trying to fix something. I lay back against the wall to try and hold myself up. I took another quick look around to see that my furniture was all gone; only to be replaced by the furniture I remembered from my childhood. I saw the record player; you know the kind that if you left the arm all the way to the side, the record would keep playing?

Man I haven't seen a 45 record in ages.

"Sweetie? I'll only be a second ok?" The woman popped her head up from behind one of the counters.

Jesus Mary and Joseph it was my mother! God she was more beautiful than the photos I had. I can see why my dad fell for her.

This was too much. I felt my knees start to give, so I grabbed onto the wall for dear life.

What the hell is going on? This just isn't funny anymore. I have seen enough to know that I need to get the hell out of here NOW.

I slowly walked back into my room, which was now clear of any evidence that I was even here. My room was empty save for a few boxes of things left in one of the corners.

"I have to get out of here." I said to myself. I went over to the window and opened it slowly. I climbed over the fire escape to the ladder, just as I did when I was a teenager to sneak out with Crystal.

I moved my numbing body down each rung of the ladder. When I reached the sidewalk I took another look around. My dad's shop was still there, and looking across the street I could see Mr. Hooper's butchery, but everything was different. Crystal's grandmother's palm reading shop wasn't even here.

God, this is really whacked.

I heard movement above me and saw my dad's head peek out of the window. I stared at him but he didn't see me. He shook his head and closed the window.

Guess I won't be going back up there anytime soon.

"What the hell am I going to do now?" I asked aloud only to get stares from strangers wondering who I was talking to.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

As I made my way down Sheridan Road, I saw the campus come into view. I knew there would be people there that didn't care that I was loony and was seeing shit from nearly thirty years ago.

Man, Rogers Park used to be a nice place. It has gotten pretty bad with crime now or then or fuck, this is ridiculous.

"I am in Oz, in clothes that I don't recognize, no money to my name." I reached into my pocket to find a twenty dollar bill. "OK, twenty bucks to my name, don't know where I got it from, but I'm not questioning anything anymore." I knew anyone within an earshot was gonna grab me and commit me to the nearest mental hospital.

I walked a little further to find a tiny diner.

I think a blast of caffeine will be just what the doctor ordered.

I pulled on the handle and as soon as the door opened, I smelled the greatest aromas coming from this place. My stomach growled in agitation, so I thought I'd get something while I was here. I went up to the counter and sat down. The waitress had her back to me, but I could tell that she was young. Perhaps she was a student at the university.

"I'll get your order in just a minute." I heard her say.

I blinked twice after my head started racing with disbelief.

That voice, it was her! Jesus!

She slowly turned around and I found myself lost in the deepest green eyes I had ever seen. My eyes slowly took in the sight before me. Long blonde hair tied back away from her face. Full lips with the tiniest dash of color to them. Beautiful bone structure in her cheeks and jaw. God this was the most angelic face I have ever seen. Her skin was like porcelain, not a flaw to be found.

"Did you want to order something darlin'?" She asked again with that beautiful voice.

"Uh" I so profoundly answered. God I couldn't feel my tongue. "Yes I would." I finally managed to put a sentence together. It wasn't much of one, but hell I was proud at that moment.

"What can I getcha?" She said as she smiled the most amazing smile at me. God she needs to stop that so I can breathe again.

Damn, what couldn't she get me?

"Can I see a menu please?"

Whoa, good girl Frankie.

"Sure Hon, here you go." She said as she handed me their menu.

"Thanks." I nervously smiled at her.

"Just holler when you are ready, ok?" She asked.

"Sure, thanks." I answered. Thank God she walked away. I needed to calm down. I didn't think I could eat right then if I wanted to. I probably would have lost everything as soon as I ate it.

I really wish I knew what was going on.

I looked around and noticed a newspaper on the seat next to mine. I saw that it was the Tribune and picked it up. I took a drink of water from my glass and spit out the contents as soon as the date flashed in front of my eyes.

April 22, 1974

I was coughing and gasping for air as more water jetted into my lungs. The waitress came over to my side instantly.

"Are you ok? Breathe in through your nose and out your mouth slowly." She said as she softly rubbed my back. Funny how you are extremely aware of things like that when you are choking.

My breathing slowly returned to normal and I looked into her eyes again. God I could have gotten lost in them.

"Thank you. I guess my water just went down the wrong pipe." I smiled weakly.

"Well, that's a relief. I would hate for one of my customers to choke to death." She smiled back.

"I think I am ready to order."

"OK." She said as she went behind the counter again. "What'll you have?" God I was thrown back into that bad Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer ad with that Elvis impersonator.

Hello time warp.

"I will have scrambled eggs, a side of bacon, and toast."

"Anything to drink with that?"

"Yeah I'll have a Diet Coke."

"You mean Diet Pepsi?" She corrected.

"No, Diet Coke." I corrected right back at her. There is a HUGE difference.

"Umm I don't think there's such a thing. We do have Tab and the new sugar-free Sprite though." She offered.

"No, I need caffeine, better make it Diet Pepsi."

God, do they still make Tab? Man I wonder if Diet Coke has even been invented yet. I need to watch myself from now on.

She placed the beverage in front of me and I realized that she was wearing a nametag. "Annie" What a perfect name for her. I watched her interact with the rest of the customers in the diner. Everyone seemed to love her. She was talking with an elderly man that kept smiling at her. She just patted his head and touched his cheek as she took the check from him.

I wonder what that was all about.

I heard the bell come from the kitchen and Annie walked over to the window to get what looked to be my order. She walked over to me and placed the plate down in front of me.

"You aren't from around here are you?" She smiled.

"What gives you that idea?" My eyebrow went up on it's own accord.

"You just seem a little out of sorts is all. I can read people pretty well." She gestured to the diner. "It comes with the job I guess."

"God, I bet." I smiled at her. "I guess you could say that. I used to live here, but it has changed a whole lot since I was here last."

That wasn't really lying, was it?

"The neighborhood is going through quite a bit of change. It seems to be for the better though." She smiled.

I took a mouthful of food and started to hum my appreciation. It had seemed like forever since I had had something to eat. I lifted the glass to my beverage and proceeded to drink almost all of it in one gulp.

"Easy darlin, you'll get a stomach ache." She soothed. "So what are you doing here? Visiting family?"

"Yeah you could say that. I just saw my parents this morning." I smirked.

"Oh, from the look on your face, it doesn't seem like it was a good visit." She softly replied.

"Well let's just say that they weren't expecting me." I winked.

"I gotcha, kind of a surprise visit?"

"Yeah, exactly." I answered.

Although it was me who was surprised and not them.

I smiled back at her adorable face and continued to eat every ounce of food on my plate.

"So umm, " I started nervously. "Have you worked here long?"

"About two years. I am a student at the university so this helps with the bills."

"What are you studying?"

"Creative writing."

"A regular William Shakespeare eh?" I kidded.

"Well, not yet, but maybe someday." She winked back at me.

God I think I'm gonna faint. Get a hold of yourself Frankie Jesus!

She was called over to another customer thankfully, now I could try to digest my food. The wall clock showed it was about twelve noon. I wondered how long I could stay there without it looking conspicuous. I didn't want her to leave my sight, ever. I needed to find out more about her. Why was I hearing her voice in my dreams? She didn't seem to recognize me at all.

I just don't understand how we fit together. I know how I would like us to fit together. Whoa, easy there tiger, you don't even know anything about this girl.

"I am getting off in a half hour, do you have any plans for the rest of your stay here" She trailed off.

I guess this is where I tell her my name. Duh,

"Frankie." I outstretched my hand to take hers in mine.

"Frankie." She smiled sweetly giving my stomach another run for it's money.

"I, uh, actually, no, I have no plans today. What did you have in mind?" I inquired.

"Well, I was gong to take a walk down by the beach. You don't see many April days in Chicago that are over seventy degrees."

"Very true. Do you want me to wait for you?"

"If you want. My boyfriend will be here to pick me up. I'm sure he won't mind giving you a ride."

Boyfriend? Damn, well it was nice while it lasted.

"If it doesn't get you in trouble with your boss, sure I'll wait." I smiled trying to hide my disappointment.

"Great. Well if you see a big burly guy with longish brown hair, that's Billy. Just let him know who you are and you guys can wait for me. Sound good?" She said hopefully.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I smiled.

Man I haven't smiled this much in months.

"Great. I'll see you in a bit. I have a few more people to serve and then I'll be done." She grinned.

"See you soon. I'll keep watch for Billy."

"Excellent. Bye." She said as she disappeared into the kitchen. I don't know why I agreed to going out with her and her boyfriend. I'm just a sucker for a beautiful face, and she definitely fell into that category. Here goes nothing. A tall longhaired guy walked into the diner.

That has to be Billy.

He looked over at me and I smiled at him and approached.

"Are you Billy?" I asked.

"I'll be whoever you want me to be baby." He said as I swallowed back the bile that had found its way into my throat.

"Well, Annie said someone with your description would be coming in here soon. I just assumed it was you. I apologize if I was mistaken." I said through clenched teeth.

God I don't like him already.

"Where is Annie? She better not be late getting off work again. I got shit to do." He grumbled.

"Well she didn't say that she was going to be late. If she is no big deal, I got no where to be." I challenged.

"Well I'll give her five minutes, after that I'm outta here." He stated.

What a dick.

I rolled my eyes and watched the clock over the kitchen doors.

God please let her be on time. I don't want to commit murder in the first with an asshole on second. What the hell does that mean? God, Annie just be on time.

Just as I was going to have to control myself Annie walked through the doors with thirty seconds to spare.

"Girl you are damn lucky you are on time." He walked up to her and grabbed her upper arm rather roughly. "You said twelve thirty. You know how I hate to be kept waiting." I saw fear shining through the pale green eyes that were so bright a half-hour ago.

"Sorry Billy. I won't be late next time." She weakly smiled.

"Well see that you aren't, or I won't be here when you come out." He released her arm and started walking towards the door. "Well, are you coming or not?" He grouched again.

"Yeah, come on Frankie. Let's not waste this wonderful day. You don't mind that I invited her do you Billy?" She asked tentatively.

"Whatever, let's just go." He said as he stormed out the front door.

God, I really don't like him, at all.

I gave her a tiny smile and out of pure reflex rubbed her back. "Well, he was pleasant."

"You just have to get to know him. He is really very sweet." She defended.

"Oh, I'm sure. I hope to have someone like that father my children." I deadpanned hoping she wouldn't take offense.

Luckily for me she burst out laughing. "Thank you for that. Sometimes he just gets, well, nevermind. Let's go enjoy that sunshine." She beamed while hiding what looked to be pain.

"Good idea. After you," I said as I held the door for her.

"Thanks M'Lady." She winked as she left the diner.

Ahhh, if only,

Chapter Six

The ride to the beach was a quiet one. I could feel the tension between these two, it was very thick. She sat between us in the cabin of his truck. The closeness of her body was making me twitchy. She needed to leave this bastard. And soon. Billy's pick-up truck stopped at the Northeast Beach of Campus, right off Pratt Lane. It was truly an awesome day, and many other patrons felt the same way.

"Wow, how many days do you see like this in April eh Billy?" Annie said excitedly.

"Yeah babe, just point me in the direction of the keg. Corey said he was gonna have one down here today." Billy said looking around. His eyes landing on his target,

"There he is, let's go. I don't want to wait for a cup." He said as he bolted from the truck to find his nectar of the gods.

"It's nice to see a man with priorities." I joked. The look on Annie's face was forlorn. "What is it Annie? Did I say something wrong?" She turned slowly to look at me.

"No, I just don't like him to drink so much. He just won't listen to me. Every time I bring it up we fight and he gets really upset and then he, well let's just say I don't bring it up anymore." She finished quietly.

I was really pissed off now.

If he has done ANYTHING to you, I will kill him where he stands.

My protective feathers were ruffled tremendously. There was something inside of me that needed to protect Annie with everything that I had. I wasn't about to let her down.

There is such a sorrowful look on her face. She was so excited just a few minutes ago. I need to stop her sadness. It is too nice of a day to feel like this. I'll try to talk to her about this another time. She doesn't look like she wants to talk about this anymore.

"What d'ya say we find a volleyball game or something to watch?" I suggested.

Her face instantly lit up. "What do you mean watch? Let's go kick some ass!" She said with an amazing fire in her eyes. She dashed out to the game already in progress.

Annie ran up to some friends of hers that were there and asked if they needed any more players. I stood at the sidelines of the pseudo playing court and waited for a signal from Annie.

Annie's face was beaming from the sunshine and the adrenaline rush of wanting to play.

She is absolutely adorable, and straight. I need to remember that.

I was taken out of my thoughts by a snapping set of fingers in my face. "Frankie? Darlin, you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, do we get to play?" I asked hoping to be able to take out some aggression on an unknowing ball.

"Yes ma'am, this is Betsy, she lives on my floor." She introduced, "Betsy this is Frankie, we just met earlier today. She is very nice." She leaned over conspiratorially to Betsy, "And she is very attractive, don't you think?" My face instantly blushed and I tried to turn away. Annie caught my face with her fingertips, and spoke directly into my eyes. "You are darlin, don't take for granted what you have been given freely." God, those were words to live by. "Hell, you could have anyone here if you wanted!" They both started laughing, and Betsy chimed in,

"And we do mean anyone!"

Was that a hint for her or Annie? I am rooting for the latter.

"Thanks. I guess I'm just not very good at accepting compliments." I said almost shyly, surprising even me.

"Come on Frankie, let's go kick some ass!" Betsy said as she put her arm around my shoulders and led me towards the team.

The three of us took the front row of our little squad and awaited the serve from the other team. I took the middle, Betsy was front right, and Annie the front left.

"Incoming!" Screamed one of girls in the back row. I looked up to see the serve coming right for Annie. She watched the ball come right for her. She connected solidly with the ball and bumped it to Betsy who in turn set it up for my spike. I eyed the ball and leapt as high as I could.

WHACK!

"YES!" The girls on my team shouted as my shot landed in between two girls on the other team in the back row.

"Way to go Frankie!" Annie beamed at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

This was easy. Although, I think I had quite an advantage over them.

"Annie! Get your ass over here!" Billy shouted from the sidelines.

"Billy, I'm in the middle of the game here, give me a couple seconds ok?" She asked.

"No, I want you now! Move it girlie!" He gruffed.

Annie's face fell as she walked over to him. "Hey, sorry guys, I'll be back in a sec." She said.

I couldn't help but watch the interaction between them. Billy was an asshole, plain and simple, I just didn't understand what Annie saw in him. She could do so much better than him. She deserved much better than him. He was just too stupid to realize what he had.

Annie walked over to Billy and again he grabbed her upper arm roughly. "When I ask you to come over to me, you do it! Not in a few seconds or minutes. Now means now!" He sputtered.

"I'm sorry Billy, what is it that you wanted?" She quietly asked.

"We need more beer. Go to the store and get another half barrel." He pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to her. Annie took the wadded bills in her hands as she took his keys. She weakly smiled at him and he leaned down for a kiss. He grabbed the back of her hair roughly pulling her head back to face him. She whimpered slightly as she let him kiss her sloppily.

She pulled back and started to walk towards the truck. Billy slapped her ass as she walked away and downed the rest of his beer. He laughed with his buddies about his role in their relationship.

"Damn bitch, never listens to me. I'll straighten her out later on. You think you can embarrass me in front of my friends? I'll teach you some manners," He trailed off when I approached him.

"What do you want?" He asked as he staggered and tried to focus on me.

"Something tells me that even a dog wouldn't obey you. If she has any sense to her at all, she'll leave your sorry ass. Since I believe she has more sense than you'll ever have, it's just a matter of time." I really wanted to lay him out, but something told me that this wasn't a good time for that.

"Bitch. You sure don't know shit about women. Annie likes the way we are. Don't you baby?" He yelled out to her and she nodded slightly. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"See? She ain't going nowhere. Not without me anyway." He smugly said as his friends joined him in his snickering.

God I want to make him eat the sand under my shoes right now. Calm down Frankie, if Annie doesn't want your help, you can't make her accept it.

My thoughts took control and I didn't feel the slight tug on my sleeve.

"You want to come with me to the store Frankie?" Annie asked. "I gotta pick up some beer for the guys." She asked with a look that almost pleaded with me to come with her.

"Sure." I said as I eyeballed Billy. "Asshole. Don't say I didn't warn you. She'll be gone before you know it." I smiled at him in a feral kind of way.

Pop taught me that sometimes if you smile just so, people will understand your passion without having to feel it smash against their skull. This was one of those times that I wished I was smashing something against Billy's skull.

It's not like he didn't deserve it. Bastard.

"Let's go Annie." I smiled a sweet smile her way and turned towards the truck.

"Hey Bets! We'll be back in a few, OK?" Annie shouted at our teammate.

"Sure guys! See you soon! Don't do anything I wouldn't!" She shouted back to us.

That was an odd statement. This day is getting odder by the second. Who am I kidding? This is the oddest fucking day I have EVER had.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

We walked to the truck in moderate silence. Annie looked distraught, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Her so-called boyfriend had just humiliated her, and you can be guaranteed that it wasn't the first time. We got in the truck and sat in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked softly.

She looked up with tear filled eyes that almost broke my heart. "I don't know why he has to drink so much. He is never like this when we are alone. I'm sorry that you had to see that, being that we just met and all. Thanks for sticking up for me though." She added as she gently touched my forearm.

"Who wouldn't stick up for you? He was being a real jerk and he needed to be told off." I explained.

"Well, still, thank you. I really appreciated that."

"I'll do it again if I have to Annie. He shouldn't treat you like that. Drunk or not, he was an asshole. Forgive me for saying so."

"No need to apologize, Billy was being an asshole. I just need to stick up for myself more. It's just," She trailed off. "Well let's just say he doesn't like those discussions." She said to the air above her as she rested her head against the seat and blew out an exasperated breath.

"Annie, I know you and I really don't know each other well, but can I ask you a personal question?"

Her eyes returned to mine. "Sure. I can't promise I'll answer, but you can ask." She smiled weakly.

"OK, there is no easy way of asking this, so I'm just gonna ask."

"Ok." She fully focused in on me.

"Does Billy hit you?"

She turned in the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. I could see tears rolling down her face. I reached up to wipe away her tear when she flinched at my touch. Her face went from showing sadness to fear in a matter of milliseconds.

"Hey, Annie? You don't ever need to be afraid of me. I would never lay a hand on you. Please know that." I said in my most gentle but most reassuring tone.

"I'm sorry Frankie, " She started. She looked out towards the beach and took a deep breath before continuing. "No one, Knows anything, No one has ever even bothered to ask. It took a total stranger to see all of this. You don't feel like a stranger to me though. I'm so comfortable with you; it's almost scary." She turned to face me and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how to leave him. It's always been this way. My dad was the same way with my mom, well before she left us."

"She left you with your dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, He had never hit me, so I guess she thought I would be safe. She just knew that she had to leave. She left me a note though, wasn't that thoughtful? That was over ten years ago. I've never heard from her since."

Somewhere in this conversation I found a very sad and lonely girl. She was becoming a statistic. Raised by a father who beat her mother, who in turn started beating her, and now she was dating a man who beat her too.

If I have anything to say about this Annie, you will not turn into a statistic. I'll do everything in my power to make sure that you stay safe and loved. I'll make you see how much you deserve those things, and more.

"Frankie?" She broke me from my reverie.

"Sorry, kinda spaced out there for a minute. You know, my mom left my Pop and me when I was two. So I kinda know where you are coming from. The only difference is that my Pop didn't beat me." I said honestly.

"You were one of the lucky ones that's for sure. It just makes you wonder why, you know?" She rhetorically said, I knew she wasn't looking for an answer.

"Well, if you need help with Billy, I'll be here for you, I promise." I said as I noticed her rolling her eyes. I took her forearm gently but firm enough for her to face me. "A Camarelli never breaks a promise." I said very seriously.

"Thank you Frankie, I think I might even believe you." She replied.

"Good, because I'm very serious about this." I finished as she took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Let's get this damn thing over with. I can't believe that they drank all of that already. This party only started a couple hours ago." She said disbelieving.

Annie started the engine and we headed off to liquor store. We drove down Sheridan Road and I was still in shock from all of the changes that I was witnessing.

We drove past the 400 Theater and I looked at the Marquis. The Godfather Part II. My head was spinning so badly I felt like I was in Back to the Future.

"I think I liked the third Godfather the best." I said without thinking,

"The third Godfather? Frankie, there are only two."

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb Frankie!

"I meant I liked this one the third time that I saw it."

Smooth catch idiot. Hi Annie! I'm from the future, where you invaded my dreams with your voice. Remember me? God!

"Oh." Annie said as she was eyeing me suspiciously.

"I need some music, do you mind if I turn on the radio?" I quickly asked.

"Sure, I could use some myself." She said as she leaned over to turn on the radio.

She was turning the tuning knob like mad. God I forgot how radio's used to look without a CD player or a cassette deck in them. I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen an eight track in there somewhere. She finally settled on Elton John's

Bennie and the Jets.

Hey kids, shake it loose together,

The spotlight's hitting something

That's been known to change the weather.

We'll kill the fatted calf tonight

So stick around,

You're gonna hear electric music,

Solid walls of sound.

I had always had a soft spot for Elton John. It made me happy to see that she felt the same way. I watched her as she sang along with the melody as the chorus kicked in. She had a beautiful singing voice.

Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet

But they're so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets,

But they're weird and they're wonderful,

Oh Bennie she's really keen.

She's got electric boots a mohair suit,

You know I read it in a magazine,

Oh! Bennie and the Jets.

I smiled as I watched her slam out sound of the B's in the word Bennie over and over again. I looked over at her and she started to look a little fuzzy to me. I rubbed my eyes and tried to sharpen my vision. I felt myself get extremely tired and was helpless to fight it off. I closed my eyes thinking that if I rested for a second or two I would feel better. My eyes were shuttering close and I could see Annie talking to me but I couldn't hear her voice anymore.

What the hell? Annie? Can you hear me? Annie? Annie? Why aren't you answering me? Annie? Annie?

"Annie? Annie?" I heard myself mumble.

"Frankie? Come on sweetheart, wake up." I heard a familiar voice say. "Frankie? You are dreaming Hon, come on wake up." I finally recognized the voice, but it wasn't Annie, it was Crystal. Oh shit, no,

My eyes slowly opened to find concerned brown ones staring back at me. The curly brown hair and deep brown eyes were unmistakably Crystal. She looked down with a small smile on her lips.

"Welcome back darlin. Are you ok?" She asked, but I couldn't speak. After a couple of attempts I finally took a deep breath and concentrated on forming words that were so hard to annunciate.

"No, it couldn't have been, God damn it." I closed my eyes as they were filling with tears.

"Frankie? What's wrong? Shh, why are you crying?" She gently asked as she stroked my sweat soaked bangs.

"I can't believe it was just a dream. I just cant, She was right here I touched her Crystal, Oh God," I rolled onto my stomach and began to cry mournfully. I felt a loneliness I hadn't felt since my Pop passed away.

I really hope that the bastard playing with my emotions is getting a good laugh now, because if I ever find them I won't be responsible for my actions.