A Keeper's Truth Read Online Free PDF Page A

Her long blonde hair sweeps the floor. She lifts
her head, her chest rising and falling, grappling for air. Her nails hold tight
to his sides. His skin is dark, tanned, and his jet-black hair hangs chin
length in disheveled curls. Tattoos of intricate wave-like symbols cover large
portions of his body, the sun providing a radiance that nearly gives life to
the raised contours.
    I can’t
believe this is happening. How is this happening? I scan the room, frantically
searching the faces of people within view, but no one looks in their direction.
No one cares at all.
    My muscles
lock in place, stunned motionless. I can’t take in enough air and my chest
heaves in protest. I try to scream. Only a gasp escapes my lungs.
    He looks
at me, his eyes an unnatural shade of blue. For a moment he seems to stare
right through me, as if I don’t exist. Then his lips part and he belts out a
snarl, displaying two rows of thin, needlelike teeth.
    Holy shit.
What the hell is he?
    My eyes
grow wide and my heart quickens to a dangerous rate. A deafening ring vibrates
the walls of my skull and the tray trembles in my hands. All this, yet I can’t
look away. He radiates evil, and I have the sense to know I should be afraid. I
am afraid. But I’m scared for the woman in his arms. What the hell is he doing
to her?
    “What’s
up?”
    My gaze
flickers to my right, where Karen stands beside me with her arms crossed, a
concerned expression on her face.
    “Don’t you
see it?” I shriek. “Them?”
    “Them
who,” Karen says, stepping back. “The guys in the suits? The tanned one is
rather hot, although long hair doesn’t do it for me.” She shelters her eyes
with her hand. “Cool stools.”
    This is
insane! She doesn’t see him? Them?
    “Is it
Sonia? The woman with him, is that your neighbor’s daughter?” I search Karen’s
face for a sign, anything to show she sees what I see, that I’m not imagining
it, but it’s blank.
    “Right
there.” I scream and point, but when I look back they’re gone. “What the hell?”
I turn in circles. They’re nowhere. “They’re gone! Gone!”
    Karen
pries the tray from my fists and sets it on a ledge then turns to cup my cheeks
in her hands, forcing me to look at her. “Tess, you’re scaring me.”
    “They were
there,” I say, my voice a whisper. “I swear.”
    Karen
moves to inspect my face. “Who was there, honey? Customers?” She looks around.
“There’s a lady with a baby, an older couple eating bagels, some business men
huddled for a meeting. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    I squeeze
my eyes, holding them tight. My fingernails gouge my ribcage, now throbbing
from a lack of oxygen. This can’t be real. He wasn’t real. I must be seeing
things.
    I peer
past Karen as the men in suits rise to leave. The guy with dark skin and the
slightest hint of a tattoo showing around his collar looks in my direction
before walking out the door. It’s him. I think. It looks like him. Sort of. He
doesn’t seem to notice me.
    “He’s
normal, and his eyes aren’t blue. And where’s the girl, the one in his arms?”
    “Whose
eyes, Chickpea? What the hell are you talking about?”
    I move to
stand by the door, watching them walk down the street through the glass, four
men in business suits, not a woman around.
    “Where is
she?”
    Holy shit,
I’m having a serious mental breakdown. This is it, the moment I’ve dreaded my
entire life, the moment I become my mother. Meyer’s death pushed me over the
edge. I need help. I need a doctor. I shake my hands out, panicking. Abby. Who
will take care of Abby?
    I search
for Karen and spot her talking to someone behind the counter. She turns and
walks toward me, a foam cup in each hand. “Here,” she says, handing me a cup.
“It’s a double shot latte. Kill the caffeine ban.”
    I take the
cup. “Air, I need air.” I open the door and step outside.
    Karen
follows, sliding in beside me. “Did you see someone who reminded you of,”