Majestica;
First Glimpse
by
Rebecca Mize
Published by Rebecca Mize.at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Rebecca Mize
All rights reserved
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
To my mom and dad, for always supporting me and encouraging me to write. I love you both. Thank you for always being there for me.
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Chapter 1
My life had always been normal. Nothing really exhilarating or dangerous had ever happened to me. I had the typical life of a 17 year old girl. My world revolved around school, boys, and friends. The most I ever had to worry about was finishing a paper for English class, or whether or not I was going to get asked to the school dance. I was living a simple, ordinary life. That is, until I met Jace, and my world was changed forever.
Growing up in the small town of Bolder, Alaska had its ups and downs. My dad worked for an oil company that transferred him to this town ten years ago. He moved my mom, me, and my little brother, Kyle, to Alaska when I was seven years old.
Bolder is an absolutely beautiful place to live. The town sits by the sea and is surrounded by mountains in every direction. I’ve always loved waking up smelling the fresh sea air and taking in the view of the vast mountain range. The people in this town were all welcoming and friendly, and after ten years of living here, I got to know the majority of people in the town.
I knew everyone at my school, and was able to make some really great friends throughout the years. But knowing everyone meant that everyone knew me. And that meant that everyone knew every little insignificant thing that happened in my life, which could get pretty annoying at times.
The boys at my school were still pretty immature. I only had two boyfriends in high school so far, and even though they were nice and we had fun together, I never really felt a strong connection to them. I only went out with them because I felt I had to. I didn’t want to hurt them by saying no, and I kind of just wanted to see what it was like to have a boyfriend. I had never fallen in love, and I wanted to experience that feeling. I wanted the kind of love that my parents had for each other. They loved one another with their whole hearts and would do anything for each other. I couldn’t wait to have that. Waiting for a new boy to move to this small town (and hoping that he would be “the one” and we would fall madly in love) was a long shot, but I could still dream.
The summer before my junior year of high school was a warm Alaskan summer. I had just turned 17 and wanted to plan a fun trip with my friends. My parents were sort of strict and protective, so they had never let me go on a vacation with just friends before. There always had to be adult supervision. But this summer, for some reason, (maybe they were tired of listening to me beg and plead with them), they let me go on a trip with my friends. It was just a weekend camping trip, but I was super excited.
I met my four other friends that were going on the trip at Megan’s house a few days before, to plan for the trip.
“Hey Lacey,” Megan greeted me as she opened the door. “We’re all upstairs in my room. Come on up.”
I followed her up to her room and sat on the bed next to the other girls and tried to get caught up with the conversation. Nikki, Katie, and Brooke were already there gossiping about boys.
“So me and Katie went out to lunch yesterday and we were talking about our camping trip,” Nikki began, “and guess who was there? Adam and Troy! They over heard us talking about it, like where we were going and who all was coming, and then they said maybe they’d take a camping trip there at the same time as us. And when they were leaving Adam said, ’Maybe we’ll see you this weekend’ and he gave me his cute smile. He is so cute!”
“But Nikki,” I protested, “This was supposed to be a girls only trip. I told my parents there wouldn’t be any boys there.”
“Yeah Nik,” Brooke agreed. “That’s what I told my parents too.”
“I know,” Nikki said as she rolled her eyes. “I don’t know for sure that they’re coming. But even if they do, you don’t have to tell your parents that boys were there. Plus, they said Steven and Mark were probably coming too, and you know that Mark really likes you Lacey.”
“Yeah, but I don’t really like Mark.”
“Why not? He’s cute.”
“Yeah, but I just have never felt any strong feelings towards him.”
“You don’t have to have feelings for every guy you go out with, ya know.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Katie chimed in, “but I’ve got dibs on Troy. He’s hot! And I think he likes me too.”
Katie and Nikki started going on and on about the boys, while I started thinking about how different I was from Nikki. She had had a ton of boyfriends. She had kissed and made out with a lot of different guys. She didn’t care about having a connection with them. She didn’t care about finding love like I did. She just liked having attention from guys, any guy. I’ve known for awhile that Mark liked me. He’s a nice enough guy, but I just didn’t have the feelings like, ’Oh I can’t wait to see him again’ or ’I want to know more about him.’ I always thought that when I found ’the one’ that I would know instantly. That feeling would just be there, and I would have that strong connection with him right away, and I hadn’t felt like that with anyone yet. So I didn’t want to lead Mark on by going out with him when I knew things wouldn’t work out in the long run.
I guess I was different from most girls my age. Most of the girls I knew just dated a bunch of different guys for the fun of it. They liked the attention that guys gave them. But I was looking for a meaningful relationship. I wanted someone that really loved me for who I was. And I didn’t know any guys my age looking for that kind of a love.
“Okay,” Megan interrupted my thinking and Nikki and Katie’s conversation. “Let’s start talking about our trip. Let’s forget about boys for a minute and start deciding who’s bringing what.”
We sat there talking about the trip for another hour. Megan’s mom brought us up some snacks while we planned. I ended up being responsible for bringing half of the food. The more we talked about the trip, the more excited I got. It would be fun to get away for a weekend with just my friends.
On the way back to my house, Brooke walked with me. Out of all my friends, I felt the closest to Brooke. She was always so nice and caring and was one of those people that truly wanted everyone to be happy. She was more like me with the whole boy thing. She hadn’t had many boyfriends either, and would rather find someone she could connect with and fall in love with rather than date a bunch of different, random guys that she had no feelings for.
“Sorry Nikki invited Adam and his friends to our camping trip,” Brooke said to me. “She really shouldn’t have done that. And please don‘t feel pressured to talk to or go out with Mark because I know you‘re not interested in him. I know you just went out with your first two boyfriends because you felt pressured to, like you had to just because they asked you. Just wait for a person that you really feel something for.”
“Thanks Brooke,” I replied, gazing at the mountains as we walked. “I’m not going to go out with Mark. I’m not going to go out with anyone I’m not interested in. I’m going to wait for the right guy. I think you’re the only person who really understands what I’m looking for. I’ll just wait for my knight in shining armor to find me.”
I smiled at that thought. I think that’s what every girl wants deep down. A knight in shining armor. A prince to come rescue her and fall in love with her so they can live happily ever after. I knew those were just fairytales, but I still believed in them. I believed in finding true love.
As we approached Brooke’s house, I hugged her goodbye and continued down the road to my house. My home was a little farther from town but I loved its location. It was a quaint little home up on a hill overlooking the sea on one side and protected by the mountains on the other side.
As I walked up the driveway, I noticed my little brother, Kyle, sitting on the front porch steps with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
“Hey little man,” I said, ruffling his hair as I sat down on the steps next to him. “What’s wrong? I thought you were going to play baseball today.”
“Billy’s a jerk,” Kyle grumbled.
“Uh oh. What’d he do now? I see your elbow is scraped up,” I replied pointing to his bleeding elbow.
“He wouldn’t let me play. He said I wasn’t good enough. And he pushed me down and I came home. I hate him.”
Billy Randolph was twelve years old, the same age as my brother, but Billy was big for his age. I think he thought that because of his size, he could push other kids around. He was always bullying my brother, and I didn’t like it. I’ve always wanted to go say something to him, to make him stop being mean to my brother, but Kyle never let me do it.
“That’s it Kyle,” I said as I stood up. “I’m going to talk to him. He cannot push you around like that. He needs to be stopped.”
“No Lacey,” Kyle begged, as he reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me. “Please don’t go down there. Please don’t say anything to him. That will just make things worse. He’ll never stop teasing me if I have my sister go down there and talk to him for me. Just please don’t Lace.”
I knew he was right. If I went and talked to him, it would do no good. Kyle would just be laughed at and made fun of even more.
“Fine,” I said. “But one of these days, somebody’s going to have to do something to stop him from picking on you.”
I didn’t like seeing my little brother sad, so I changed the subject. I picked up his baseball mitt and grabbed another from the garage, and started playing catch with him. Kyle was such a sweet kid. He didn’t deserve to be picked on. I just wished there was a way I could help him. I wanted him to be happy. He deserved happiness. I would have to find a way to stop Billy from being mean to him.
I hung out with my brother the rest of the day, making sure to make him laugh, and keep a smile on his face.
Over the next few days, I gathered the things I would need to take on my camping trip, and bought some food for the trip, and organized everything so I would be all ready to go Friday morning.
Megan picked me up in her truck at 9am. The rest of the girls were already in the truck ready to go. On the way up the mountain, we gabbed about all the things we were going to do this weekend and how much fun we were going to have.
It didn’t take too long to get to our campsite. As I stepped out of the truck onto the soft grass, I took in a deep breath of the clean mountain air and looked around at the beautiful scenery surrounding me. The tall green trees, the rolling hills of long green grass as far as my eyes could see. I’d been here many times before on camping trips with my family, but it was still a breathtaking view.
“We should set the tent up first,” Megan said, taking charge. “Let’s put the tent here.” She pointed to a clearing in between the trees.
Megan was a take charge kind of girl. She knew what she wanted, and made sure to get it done. She was the practical one, the organized one, the one who ordered everyone else around, although not in a mean way, and made sure everything was planned out. While I was the one who got out of the truck and looked around, taking in my surroundings, Megan was the one that wanted to get to work right away, setting things up. It was good to have an organizer in our group.
We all got to work right away, setting up our tent, gathering wood for a fire for later, and organizing our campsite.
By the time we got done trying to figure out how to put the tent up, we were ready for a break.
“Let’s go down to the lake,” Katie suggested.
We gathered up some towels and some snacks, and headed down to the lake.
The lake was beautiful, with its crystal clear blue water. And the surrounding mountains that reflected off the rippling water was breathtaking. This was a popular lake for the teenagers of Bolder to hang out at on a Friday or Saturday night. My friends and I had been to many bonfire parties by this lake.
Right now, there was no one at the lake. We splashed around in the water for a while, but the water was a little too cold to stay in for very long. Me, Brooke, and Megan threw a Frisbee around, while Nikki and Katie laid out in the sun on their towels. We enjoyed the rest of the day by the lake, just running around, laying out, gabbing, and eating. It was a fun, relaxing day.
Later at night, we made a fire by our campsite and sat around it, roasting marshmallows and having a nice conversation until Nikki ruined it.
“So Lacey,” Nikki started slowly. “I really think you and Mark would make a cute couple.”
I rolled my eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you Nikki, I’m not interested in Mark,” I shot back at her.
“But you haven’t even given him a chance. You won’t know if you have a connection with him unless you hang out with him more. Kiss him. See if there’s any sparks.”
“I’m not going to kiss him. I’ve talked to him plenty of times. There’s no connection there, no spark, nothing. So just drop it. Why do you keep pushing it anyway?”
“Well, now don’t get mad, but Adam and Troy weren’t going to come here this weekend if Mark and Steven weren’t coming, and I really wanted Adam here, and the only way Mark would come is if he thought he would have a chance to be alone with you, so I kind of told Adam that you would spend some alone time with Mark.”
“You what?!” I was so mad I could feel my face getting red. “Nikki how could you! What do you think alone time means to a guy? I’m not doing anything with him! I can’t believe you would put me in that situation! You are unbelievable!”
I stood up then, and walked away. I didn’t go very far since it was dark and I couldn’t really see where I was going, so I sat down against a tree and put my head in my arms. I could still hear the girls behind me, arguing.
Nikki was really selfish. She cared about boys more than her own friends. This was supposed to be a girls weekend, and she just had to invite boys. And now Mark was expecting to be alone with me. To do what? Talk? Kiss? Make out? More? I had never done anything more than that. And I didn’t want to right now. Especially not with a guy that I didn’t have any feelings for. Nikki really put me in a bad situation. And then when I turn him down, I’m going to look like a stuck up person who thinks she’s too good for everyone, and I’m really not like that at all. I just don’t want to be with a person that I don’t love and who doesn’t love me.
Brooke found me then, and came over and sat down beside me.
“That was really stupid of Nikki,” Brooke said softly. “I can’t believe she did that. Maybe the boys won’t even come tomorrow. And even if they do, we can all stay together as a group. You don’t have to go off by yourself with Mark just because that’s what Nikki promised them. Just don‘t worry about it. You don‘t have to do anything you don‘t want to do.”
“Thanks Brooke,” I said, leaning my head against her shoulder. “You’re a good friend.”
We sat there for a while in silence. Then, since I was getting sleepy, we decided to go back to the tent. The other girls were already in the tent, and nothing else was said that night as I climbed into my sleeping bag. Luckily, everything we did earlier in the day had worn me out, so I didn’t have the energy to lay there and think about what Nikki had done before I fell fast asleep.
When we woke up the next morning, nobody really said anything to each other as we each got our own breakfast of granola bars and Pop-Tarts to eat.
I was sitting alone on an old log, when Nikki came to sit by me.
“Look Lace,” Nikki said, with a ’please-forgive-me’ look on her face, “I’m really sorry for saying that to Adam and for pushing Mark on you. I know me and you are different when it comes to boys, and I should have respected that. That was really wrong of me to put you into a situation like that. I’ll explain things to Mark and Adam when they get here. I’m sorry.”
I looked at her and gave her a little smile.
“Thank you for your apology,” I said, since she looked like she really was sorry. “I forgive you.”
“Thanks.” She smiled back and gave me a hug.
“Yay! You guys made up!” Katie exclaimed, as she ran over to us and hugged us both. “Now let’s go to the lake!”
The five of us headed to the lake again. It was a little cooler out today, so I wore jeans and a t-shirt, instead of shorts and a tank top. We took a walk along the lakeshore, played a game of volleyball, ate lunch, and sat around a fire we made, and talked. We were all having a great time.
It was late afternoon, and I was beginning to feel relieved because the boys hadn’t shown up yet. I was hoping they had found something else to do. But I had hoped too soon.
All of a sudden, Adam and Steven came jumping out of the trees behind us, trying to scare us. We all jumped, and Katie and Nikki screamed.
“You scared us!” Nikki exclaimed, walking over to Adam and hitting him in a playful manner on the arm.
“That was the plan,” Adam said, as he grinned back at Nikki.
I noticed Mark and Troy walk through the trees next, each carrying a pack of beer.
“What’s up ladies,” Troy shouted as he walked towards us.
Great, I thought to myself, they’re going to get drunk, and try to get us to drink. Alcohol is just going to make things so much worse.
Nikki came back and sat down, with Adam next to her. Troy sat next to Katie, Steven between Brooke and Megan, and of course, Mark came and sat by me.
“Hey Lacey,” Mark said as he smiled at me.
“Hey Mark,” I answered back, not really smiling.
“You girls been having fun out here?”
“Yeah, we’ve been having a great time.”
I was trying not to make eye contact with him, and trying to keep my answers short. I didn’t want him thinking I was interested in him.
Troy started passing around beers. Me and Brooke were the only ones that didn’t take a drink.
“You sure you don’t want one?” Mark asked me.
“I’m sure,” I replied.
I wasn’t really interested in drinking. And I wasn’t interested in having these loud, obnoxious boys here, ruining our girls weekend.
After about an hour of sitting around the fire, talking, and everyone but me and Brooke getting drunk, Nikki and Adam came up with the crazy idea to go swimming.
First of all, it was too cold to go into that water. And second of all, none of us were wearing our bathing suits.
“Come on! Let’s go!” Nikki shouted as she started running towards the lake, throwing off her shirt and jeans as she went. She was in her bra and underwear, and Adam took off his shirt and pants, and was in his boxers. He picked Nikki up by her waist and carried her into the lake. Katie and Troy followed them, throwing off their clothes as they ran into the lake after them.
“Come on girls,” Steven said, as he threw his arms around Brooke and Megan’s shoulders and started walking them towards the lake.
Brooke glanced back at me with a look of concern on her face.
“Lacey, are you coming?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
“No, I don’t really want to freeze in that water,” I answered. “You go ahead though.” I tried to give her a look that it was okay; that I’d be fine here with Mark. But as I saw Steven and Mark exchange a glance and a grin, I began to think maybe it wasn’t a good idea to stay here with him.
But I watched as Steven took Brooke and Megan away. Brooke and Megan didn’t take their clothes off. They just rolled up their jeans and joined the others in the water.
Me and Mark sat in silence for a minute, watching them all splash each other in the lake.
“That was smart of you not to go out there,” Mark said to me. “I bet they’re all freezing.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m already kind of cold sitting here. There’s no way I would get in that water.”
Bad mistake to say that.
“Here, let me help warm you up,” he said, as he moved over towards me and slipped his arms around me and started rubbing his hands up and down my arms.
“Thanks,” I said, trying to inch myself away from him, but smiling at him, so as not to hurt his feelings. “I think I’m okay now though.”
He lowered his hands to his sides, and I stood up.
“I think I’m going to go back to the tent for a while,” I said, starting to walk away from him. “I’m not really feeling good. But you should go have fun with them.” I waved my hand towards our friends.
“I’ll walk you back to your tent,” he said, standing up and walking towards me.
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that. Our campsite’s not that far.”
“But I want to.”
The way he was looking at me, I figured I probably shouldn’t argue with him, so I let him walk with me. I figured I could just fake a stomach ache when I got to the tent, and he’d leave me alone.
As we walked back to our campsite, we made small talk, mostly joking around about how crazy Nikki and Adam were. As I saw the tent, I felt a sense of relief.
Good, I thought, Mark didn’t try anything. I can go in the tent and relax, and he can go back to the lake, and everything will be fine.
We were in front of the tent now, and I was bending down to unzip it.
“Well, I’ll see ya later Mar-” I started to say, when he interrupted me.
“Lacey, wait,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him.
We were standing in front of the tent now, face to face, his hands on my arms, holding me there in front of him.
That relief I had a minute ago suddenly vanished and a new sense, a sense of fear came over me.
“Look,” he said, staring directly in my eyes. “I really like you. And I think you’re really hot. And I think you should give me a chance.”
I could smell the alcohol on his breath.
He grinned at me, and started rubbing his hands up and down my arms again.
Oh no, I thought, this cannot be happening.
I started to slowly back away from him, one step back at a time.
“Mark,” I began to say, “You’re a really great guy, but I just don’t have any feelings for you. I’m sorry.”
He kept grinning at me, like he hadn’t heard what I had just told him. And he kept walking with me. As I took a step back, he took a step forward, still not letting go of me.
I tried to push his hands away, but instead he just moved his hands to my waist.
“Mark, please stop. I’m really not feeling good, and I just want to go lay down. I just want to be alone right now please.”
I kept pushing at his hands, trying to get them off me, but it was no use. He was rubbing his hands up and down the sides of my waist now.
“Come on, Lacey, don’t be like that,” he said, still grinning at me.
I was backing up faster now, when all of a sudden I stopped. I couldn’t go back any further. My back was against a tree.
Mark slid one hand to the small of my back, pushing his body closer to mine, while his other hand slid under my shirt and started moving up my body.
“Don’t do this Mark,” I cried. “Please stop!”
He pressed his lips roughly against mine. I turned my head away, so he started kissing my neck.
I started panicking. I didn’t know what to do. This could not be happening. I could not let this happen. My heart was beating a million miles a minute from fear. I had to stop this.
I started screaming. I pushed him and hit him, punching my fists into his arms, but it didn’t budge him.
“HEELLLPPP!” I screamed. “MARK STOP!”
“Nobody can hear you,” he whispered in my ear.
I knew my friends wouldn’t be able to hear me. They were too far away. But I still screamed anyways.
Mark grabbed my hands and put them above my head, and held onto my wrists with one hand, while his other hand slid down my body. He stepped back an inch away from me to start unbuttoning my jeans, so I took advantage of this opportunity. I took my knee and shoved it as hard as I could between his legs.
“Ooohhh what the hell!” he cried as he let go of my hands and hunched over in pain.
I turned and ran. I ran as fast as I could away from him. I just concentrated on the ground and the trees, making sure not to trip and fall, or run into anything. I just wanted to get away from there as fast as I could.
“GET BACK HERE!” I heard him yell from behind me as I ran.
I didn’t turn around. I just kept running.
I don’t know how long I ran for, but I had no idea where I was when I finally stopped. I bent down, putting my hands on my knees, as I gasped for air.
My mind was racing. Had that really just happened? What would have happened if I hadn’t gotten away? Why had I let myself get into that situation in the first place? I should have just stayed with my friends. Although, they were all drunk, and I didn’t like being around them when they were like that, but I still shouldn’t have let myself be alone with Mark. I never thought he would do that though. I guess alcohol can really make people do bad things. I can’t believe he thought he could do that to me. Why had Nikki even invited him here? I felt relieved that I had gotten away, but also angry that he thought he could do that to me. And how many other girls had he done that to? How many didn’t get away in time?
I made myself take some deep breaths. I had to calm down.
Finally, my breathing began to slow down a little, and my trembling had stopped. I stood up straighter and looked around me.
Great, I thought, I’m lost in the mountains.
Luckily, the sun hadn’t set yet, so it was still light out. There were tall trees scattered around me, and what looked like a clearing in the trees a few yards ahead of me. I began to walk towards it. As I was walking, I started thinking about what my dad had always warned me and my brother about. He always told us to stay in the areas and on the paths that we knew. Don’t go wandering around in the mountains. I never did go wandering until now. There were stories about tribes that lived in these mountains. People talked about hunters and hikers going into the mountains, probably getting lost in tribal territory, and never being heard from again. I didn’t know if these tribes were really dangerous or not, like people in my town scared you into thinking, but I guess the people in these tribes really didn’t like people trespassing on their lands.
I was too angry right now to be scared about where I was though. I didn’t want to go back to the lake anyways. I’d stay out here all night. I didn’t care. I wouldn’t be able to handle seeing Mark again.
I walked through the trees and took ten steps into the clearing. I was on the edge of a cliff. It was beautiful. I could see forever. Mountains and trees and fields and valleys. A breathtaking view.
I carefully sat down on the edge of the cliff, my legs dangling over the side. It was a long ways down, I had noticed as I sat. But it was gorgeous. I sat there for a while, staring out into the vast openness, thinking about so many different things. I was so glad I had gotten away from Mark when I did. What he was going to do to me was something I had never done before, and something I wanted to wait to do with someone I really loved. How easily he could have ruined that for me. I was lucky I got away. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to face him again. And should I tell people what happened? I’ll tell my friends. They should know what kind of person he is. I couldn’t tell my mom what had happened though, because boys weren’t even supposed to be there. If she knew boys were there and that one of them had attacked me like that, she’d never let me out of her sight again.
As I sat there, with all these thoughts running through my head, I noticed the sun was beginning to set. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous against the mountains. The sky had turned a beautiful shade of pink, purple, and orange, giving my surroundings a soft glow of beauty.
As much as I wanted to stay here and enjoy this spectacular view, I knew I should probably get back to the tent before dark. Or at least try and find my way back there. I wasn’t sure exactly how to get back there, but I think I knew the general direction I had come from. I was calm now, and I didn’t want to have to panic again, being alone in the dark trying to find my way back to the campsite.
As I stood up, the rocks under my right foot gave away, causing my legs to fly out from under me. The right side of my body hit the edge of the cliff. I reached my hands out to grab onto something to keep me from falling. My arms slid across the dirt as my body started sliding over the edge of the cliff. There was nothing to hold onto. Just as my hands were about to slide off the edge, I grabbed onto a rock jutting out at the cliffs edge.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I was dangling off the edge of a cliff and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t die here. I couldn’t die like this. Nobody knew where I was. There was no one here to save me. I didn’t want to die. I started to panic. And for the second time today, I was screaming for help.
“HEEELLLPPP!” I screamed as loud as I could. But what was the use. No one could hear me. I was all alone. I had to try and save myself.
I dug my feet against the side of the mountain, trying to get a footing, but the dirt and rocks just crumbled and fell down the mountainside. It was no use. I started to scream again.
And then the rock I was holding onto started coming loose from the dirt, and at that moment, I lost all hope.
This was it.
I was going to die.
*******
Chapter 2
As I watched the rock come loose, there was nothing I could do. I thought about my family. My parents and my brother would be devastated not knowing what had happened to me. And there were so many things I would never get a chance to experience. Like finding my soul mate and falling madly and deeply in love with him. Starting a family with him. There was nothing I could do about that now. I was going to fall to my death. I never thought I would go like this. There were so many knots in my stomach; it felt like I was going to be sick. I didn’t know what else to do. I started praying.
Please, please, please save me God. Please help me to get out of this situation. Please help me to survive this. Please save me.
I watched as the rock loosened some more, and I closed my eyes, waiting for death.
The rock was just about to break lose and fall, when I felt a warm, strong hand grip my wrist.
My eyes flew open, and I looked up and saw an angel. Or what I thought was an angel.
My heart stopped and I gasped.
He was beautiful. His dark eyes bore deeply into mine. His dark hair swept across his forehead. His lips were pressed together and his strong, squared jaw line was taut, as he held onto me. His bronzed skin gave off a soft radiant glow around him.
It seemed like with no effort at all, his strong, muscular arms pulled me up onto the cliff side to safety.
I was alive.
This angel had saved me.
I was so weak with fear, my legs gave out, and I collapsed into his arms. I threw my arms around his neck as he held me up.
Tears started streaming down my face. I was so happy to be alive and so grateful to this angel that had saved me. I had just gone through so many emotions, my head was spinning.
This angel was so patient, he stood there holding me without a saying a word, until I could compose myself. It took me a couple minutes to calm down, stop crying, take a deep breath, and be able to stand on my own again.
I slowly unlocked my arms from around his neck, wiped the tears from my face, and took a step back to look at my rescuer.
He was tall, but not too tall, and well-built, with strong, muscular arms, and a lean body. He had a tattoo on his right arm, a band that wrapped around the top of his arm, and a few scars on his hands and arms. I liked his rugged appearance.
I was still speechless, and wrapped up in his beauty, so he talked first.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a gentle voice.
“You saved me,” was all I could manage to get out.
“Well, it looked like you needed saving. You were just about ready to fall there.”
“Are you an angel?” I felt stupid for saying it, but how else did he manage to save me at just the right moment.
He laughed a short, low chuckle.
“No, definitely not an angel,” he said, grinning at me now.
His voice was mesmerizing, and the way his mouth curved upward, giving me a half smile, I could not look away.
How could someone this good looking not be an angel? I had to force myself to blink, and swallow, and think. I didn’t want to come off as totally crazy, although it was probably already too late for that, so I tried to think of something logical to say.
“How did you know I was here? How did you find me?” I asked, still not able to take my eyes off of him.
“Well, I sort of have the ability to know when people are in trouble,” he replied coolly.
My eyes widened with disbelief.
“And it also helped that you were on my land, so I was close by, and could hear you screaming,” he said as he grinned at me again.
“Oh, I’m sorry for trespassing on your land. I was camping with my friends and I ran off and I got lost and the view from here was so pretty I just had to watch the sunset for a while, but I was going to find my way back to my tent. I really didn’t mean to trespass. I’m really sorry,” I rambled on, remembering what my dad and others had warned me about trespassing on these tribes lands.
“It’s okay,” he said, still smiling at me. “You didn’t do anything wrong. The view from here is beautiful. It’d be hard not to stop and watch the sunset. But you got to be careful near these edges.”
I was expecting him to be mad that I was on his land, so I was relieved when he didn’t seem to care that I was trespassing.
“Yeah, I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing. Those rocks just crumbled right under my feet, and I went down. I’m just so thankful that you were nearby and heard me and came and saved me.”
“Well, I couldn’t let you go falling down a mountainside.”
I smiled at him.
“My name is Lacey.” I stuck out my hand towards him.
“Hi Lacey. I’m Jace.” He reached out his hand to mine and shook it.
“I guess I should have introduced myself first, before I flung myself on you and started crying on your shoulder,” I said, embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”
“That was a traumatic incident for you. There was no time for introductions. And I couldn’t let you just fall to the ground and cry.”
I smiled shyly up at him. He was so sweet. Why did people in my town think that the people who lived on these lands were dangerous? This guy was so kind and caring. I wanted to stay here and talk to him all night. But the sun had just set behind the mountains and it was getting dark. And I still had no idea how to get back to my campsite. I didn’t really want to go back there, but I didn’t want my friends to be worrying about me.
“Well, I should probably get back to my friends. They’re probably worrying about me. You wouldn’t happen to know the way back to Stout Lake would you?”
“I know this mountain like the back of my hand. I can get you anywhere around here. But it’s getting dark, so I better walk with you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I said, even though I really wanted him to. “You’ve already went out of your way for me enough today.”
“Yeah, but I really wouldn’t want you falling off another cliff today,” he said with a grin. “So I’ll just make sure you get back to your friends safely.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling at him. “Thanks.”
I liked the thought of that, of him wanting me to be safe. My own personal guardian angel. I smiled at the thought.
We walked in silence, side by side, for a while. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of him, but I thought he would probably think I was even more crazy if I stared at him the whole time we walked. So I was glad when he looked at me and started talking, to give me an excuse to look into those gorgeous eyes again.
“So why did you run off from your friends?” he asked, seeming concerned.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell him exactly what happened, but I felt I owed him an explanation of why I was on his land, so I decided to tell him.
“Well,” I began hesitantly, “ this weekend was supposed to be a girls only camping trip, but my friend Nikki invited some boys we go to school with, and I guess one of the guys liked me, so when the guys got there, they started drinking, and everyone but me and this guy that liked me decided to go swimming. I didn’t really want to be around them when they were drunk, so I went back to the tent. Mark walked me back to the tent, even though I didn’t want him to, and I tried to tell him I wasn’t feeling good and just wanted to go in the tent and lay down, but he wasn’t listening to me. He kind of attacked me. He grabbed me and started kissing me and was holding me there and I was trying to push him away, but he was too strong. But luckily I was able to get away. I kicked him in between the legs and just ran. And that’s how I ended up where you found me.”
I didn’t mean to tell him that much, but once I started talking, everything just came out. I never would have opened up that much to someone I just met, but he didn’t feel like a stranger to me. I felt comfortable around him.
But as I was telling him about what Mark did to me, I saw his face dramatically change.
It scared me a little.
His eyes narrowed, and seemed to get even darker. His jaw clenched tightly together and his hands formed into fists.
“He should not have done that to you,” he said in a low, menacing voice. “He’ll pay for it.”
“Oh,” I hesitated, not really sure how to respond, “No, it’s okay. I didn’t tell you all that so you could avenge my honor or something. Once I started talking, everything just sort of came out. I didn’t mean to make you think I wanted you to do something about it. I’m fine. I got away, so it’s okay now.”
He must have noticed the scared look on my face, because after looking at me, his jaw unclenched and his face softened.
“Sorry,” he said, unclenching his fists. “It just really makes me angry when guys think they can take advantage of and hurt women like that.” He looked deep into my eyes. “You deserve to be treated with respect.”
Staring into those eyes of his, I started to get weak in the knees. My heart started fluttering. He just met me and he cared about me and respected me. He was amazing.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling at him. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole walk back to the tent. After everything that had happened today, I was now happy. Being with him and talking to him had made me happy.
Walking back to the campsite, I rambled on, telling him about my friends and my family, and he smiled and listened and asked questions, like he really was interested in what I was saying.
It was completely dark out by the time we reached the tent. But luckily the moon was bright enough for us to see where we were going. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to find my way back by myself.
We stopped walking before we got to the tent, and turned to face one another.
I really didn’t want to say goodbye. I could’ve stayed there all night and talked to him. I didn’t want him to leave. What if I never saw him again? I couldn’t let that happen. My heart actually started aching at the thought of never seeing him again.
“So do you want to come meet my friends?” I asked, hoping he would say yes.
“I better not. I got to get back home and you‘ve got to get some rest. You‘ve had a long day,” he said, as my heart sank.
I lowered my eyes and looked down, afraid that I would start crying if I looked in his eyes again. Of course he didn’t want anything to do with me. I was just some crazy girl he found dangling off a cliff. And he was a beautiful angel. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I don’t know what I was thinking.
He must have noticed the depressed look on my face because he added, “Maybe next time though.” And his warm hand reached out to touch my face, sliding his fingers along my jaw line, and lifting my chin up to look him in the eyes again. “I want to see you again.”
My face lit up. He wanted to see me again. I couldn’t help but smile. My heart started fluttering again. This couldn’t be real. Was I dreaming? If so, I didn’t want to wake up from this dream. I didn’t want his soft, warm hands to leave my skin. I didn’t want his eyes to leave my gaze.
“Meet me at the lake around noon on Monday,” he said, dropping his hand back down to his side.
“Okay,” I breathed. I was so caught up in his touch and his gaze that I found it hard to get words out.
“Have a good night,” he said, smiling, as he turned to leave.
I watched him walking away. I wanted to run after him.
“Thank you again for saving me!” I shouted after him, not wanting our encounter to end.
He turned his head back towards me, and giving me that cute half-smile grin of his, said, “Any time.”
And then he was gone.
I took a deep breath and turned towards the campsite, and walked to the tent. I was in a daze. My thoughts were racing, my heart was racing. I had just met the most incredible guy. I already wanted to see him again. I tried to compose myself as I called out for my friends.
“Hellooo?” I shouted. “Brooke? Megan? Are you guys here?”
All four of them came rushing out of the tent when they heard my voice. I was almost knocked down as they embraced me in hugs.
“Lacey, where were you?” Brooke asked, frantically. “Are you okay? We were going crazy worrying about you.”
“What happened Lace?” Katie asked, concern in her voice as well. “Mark said you started complaining about not feeling good and that you wanted to be alone, and then you ran off into the woods.”
I shook my head in disgust. “Mark is a liar and a dirt bag. I’m fine now, but no thanks to him. Did the guys leave because I cannot handle seeing Mark right now.”
“Yeah, they left a little while ago,” Megan answered. “We were just about to go out looking for you. Tell us what happened.”
I started explaining to them what Mark did to me, how I ran off and got lost, how I almost died falling off that cliff, and how this amazing guy, Jace, had saved me.
They were stunned, speechless, by the time I got done telling my story. It was silent for a minute, as they all stared at me with wide eyes, and then I was embraced in hugs again.
“Oh, Lacey, I am so sorry I invited the guys here and told them you’d spend alone time with Mark,” Nikki started babbling. “I cannot believe he did that to you. What a complete jerk! I am so sorry Lacey, really, I will never put you in that situation again. I’m just glad you got away from him. I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t believe you almost fell off that cliff!” Brooke exclaimed, with tears starting to form in her eyes. “You could have died!”
“Thank goodness that guy came along at just the right time to save you,” Megan added. “I’m so glad he heard you and got to you in time.”
“You seem okay with everything now,” Katie said. “You’re not acting like you just had a near death experience. And the way you were talking about that Jace guy, I think you like him. Your eyes lit up when you were talking about him. You like him, don’t you?”
I could feel my face get hot as Katie accused me of liking Jace. It was true though. I had just met him, but I felt such a strong connection to him.
“Yeah, I guess I do sort of like him,” I said, smiling. Then I started going on and on about how gorgeous he was, how sweet and kind and caring he was, and how strong the emotions I was feeling towards him were.
The five of us ended up huddled together in the tent, chatting into the wee hours of the night.
After everything that had happened today, I was happy. I fell asleep with Jace’s face in my mind.
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and packed our things up to go home. We decided to go relax by the lake for a while before we left for home.
I wasn’t mad at Nikki anymore for inviting the guys here last night. If she wouldn’t have done that, then I never would have run off and gotten lost, I never would have been at that cliff, and so I never would have met Jace. I had dreamt about him all night last night. I couldn’t get him off my mind. And I couldn’t wait to be back at this lake tomorrow to see him. I didn’t tell anyone I was seeing him tomorrow. I knew my friends were curious about him and I didn’t want them showing up here to meet him tomorrow. I wanted him all to myself.
As I laid there by the lake, I had a strange feeling. I felt that he was still here with me. Still watching over me, making sure I was safe. Just like a guardian angel would do. That feeling made me happy. I looked around several times, and never saw anyone, but it just felt like he was with me.
We only stayed at the lake a couple hours before we decided to head home.
Megan dropped me off at home first. As soon as I walked in the door, my mom was asking me all kinds of questions about my weekend. I decided not to tell her about what happened with Mark, or at the cliff, or Jace. She would freak out if she knew what Mark tried to do to me, and that I almost died at that cliff, and my dad wouldn’t like that I was on tribal land. So I just told my mom I had fun, hanging out at the lake, and making bonfires at night.
I hung out with my brother the rest of the day, playing video games and watching movies with him. I liked that he didn’t ask questions like everyone else did, and I didn’t need to talk much around him, which gave me more time to think about Jace. I still couldn’t get my mind off of him. I just wanted tomorrow to get here already so I could see him again.
I laid in bed awhile, later that night, with so many questions running through my head. Would he remember to meet me at the lake tomorrow? Was he just saying he wanted to see me again because of how sad I looked when he didn’t want to meet my friends? Was he thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him? My head was spinning with questions. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep, anxious to see him in the morning.
*******
Chapter 3
The next morning, I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. I was both nervous and excited.
It was hard to stay calm and act normal as I sat across from my mom at breakfast.
“So what are your plans for today?” my mom asked me.
“Um…” I hesitated, “I think I’m just going to hang out with Brooke today. Can I borrow the car? In case we want to cruise around.”
“Sure. Just be careful.”
I really hated having to lie to my mom, but in this situation, I felt I had to. There was no way she would want me going to the mountains alone to meet a guy I had just met. I didn’t really know anything about him, and yet I felt safe with him. I felt that I could trust him.
I raced up to my bedroom after breakfast and stared into my closet. What was I going to wear? I didn’t know what we were going to do, so I didn’t know what to wear. It’s not like this was a date though. We were just hanging out. Why was I making such a big deal out of this? I had never cared this much before about what I wore. It’s like I was trying to impress him or something. I knew I wanted a guy that liked me for who I was, not what I looked like, but I still felt the need to wear something that would catch his eye.
After throwing about half of the clothes in my closet on my bedroom floor, I finally picked out a short sleeved, form-fitting, sort of low-cut, red shirt, and a pair of nice fitting denim jeans. I didn’t know what colors looked best on me. I always considered myself average; long, light brown hair, hazel eyes, thin, but not too thin. I definitely didn’t come close to his beauty, but I could hope that he would see something in me.
I hurried up and showered, put on my clothes, and ran downstairs. As I grabbed the car keys off the kitchen counter, I yelled to my mom, “See ya later, mom!” and ran out the door before she could ask me any other questions.
I jumped in the truck and took off up the mountain. I was going to be early, but that was okay. I couldn’t wait around the house any longer. I needed to see him again.
As I drove down the narrow, tree-lined road heading towards the lake, my nerves started getting the best of me. I started feeling dizzy, and I had so many butterflies in my stomach. I had never felt this feeling before. Even with my first boyfriend, I had never felt this nervous-excited feeling when I was about to see him. This was all new to me.
When the lake came into view, my heart started beating faster. He was already there, sitting on a rock, looking out onto the lake. He turned to look at me, when he heard my truck. He was still as gorgeous as I remembered him.
I parked my truck, got out, and started walking towards him. He stood up and started walking towards me. I was so nervous, I was shaking. We were staring in each other’s eyes as we walked towards one another.
“Hi,” he said, giving me that adorable smile of his, when we were a few feet away from each other.
“Hi,” I answered shyly, as I smiled back at him.
“You look beautiful,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Thank you,” I replied, blushing.
I was so nervous I didn’t even know what to say to him. He was wearing loose fitting jeans and a tight white shirt underneath an opened, black button up shirt. The definition from the muscles in his chest showed through the shirt, and his russet colored skin just popped against the white of his shirt. I wanted to compliment his beauty, but was afraid I would just go on and on about how hot he was and just embarrass myself. Luckily, I didn’t have to embarrass myself because his brain was still coherent, and could think of something to say.
“I’m glad you came,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you would.”