He turned on his laptop and booted up the internet.
We started our search by simply Googling, ‘Santa Cruz.’ The sites that popped up were typical. Town history, chamber of commerce, and other sites that would help you find more information on the inner workings of a city.
Mark clicked out of that page, and changed the search.
“Strange occurrences in Santa Cruz,” I read over his shoulder.
Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I figure we have to start somewhere.”
From this inquiry, all kinds of weird sites popped up, as the internet tried to match up the request.
Mark used the mouse to scroll down the page as we all looked for something to jump out at us.
Some of the things that popped up boarded on downright kooky. The beach was popular with leftover die hard hippies and their laid back attitudes and open use of drugs, which had caused some problems in the early eighties. Besides that, the most frequent item that popped up were the countless shark attacks over the years.
After a while, I stood up to ease my sore backside from sitting on the floor so long. Walking around the living room, I studied the formal shots of Mark as he progressed through childhood. Even as an adolescent, he had been handsome. I stopped in front of his high school graduation picture and smiled at his boyish grin as he held up his diploma.
“He looks so young in that picture,” Sam commented as she picked up the picture.
“He was, barely fifteen. I couldn’t have imagined facing college that young. I’m intimidated thinking about it next year and I’m three years older than he was.”
“I’m starved,” Shawn said behind me breaking into our conversation.
“Me too, there’s a great Mexican restaurant up the road I always go to. You guys want to give it a try?”
“I’m in,” Sam said, setting the picture back down.
Mark looked at me. “So am I, I love Mexican food.”
Chapter 9
Mark took us to a small family owned Mexican restaurant that was about a mile up the road from his house.
The parking lot was full and Mark circled the building before he pulled into a tight space between two oversized SUV’s.
When we walked through the doors, I felt like we had crossed the border into Mexico. The walls were covered in authentic woven blankets and the brightly colored Piñatas that ran along the rafters gave the restaurant just the right amount of festiveness. A live mariachi band walked around the room encouraging everyone in the restaurant to join in the singing, it was a great atmosphere.
Sam was practically humming as she surveyed the great deco, excitedly pointing out one unique piñata after the next. Shawn looked down at her obviously enthralled by her exuberant attitude.
“Hey Mark,” the man behind the counter greeted us. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get a table cleared off for you.”
“That’s fine, Miguel. Thanks.”
“I love this place,” Sam said as Shawn slung his arm around her shoulders. She pointed to another piñata that was fashioned like a giant maraca. “I love that one.”
Five minutes later, the hostess guided us to our table.
“Nice to see you again Mark,” said the pretty waitress as she passed our table.
“I eat here a lot,” Mark explained as I raised my eyebrows at him.
The same pretty waitress came back to our table and set an overflowing basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa on the table. “What can I get you guys to drink?” she asked with eyes on Mark alone as she popped her gum in the process.
“Cokes for everyone?” Mark said, looking at all of us for confirmation.
“Sure honey,” she said in a nauseating sweet voice.
Sam stifled a laugh, looking at me as the waitress sashayed away.
Shawn burst out laughing at Sam’s attempt to mimic her by fluttering her eyes at Mark.
To reassure me, Mark slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.
“Do you really think I have ever looked at another girl?” He whispered into my ear.
I shook my head, nervously working on the already low thumbnail on my right hand. I had never looked at another guy, and I knew he was the same, but knowing that didn’t help the small flash of jealousy that shot through me when she smiled at him like he was some kind of delectable dessert or something.
Mark gently pulled my hand away from my nervous gnawing.
“It’s always been you, nobody else,” he continued.
“I know, I just don’t like other girls to look at you. I know that seems possessive, but I can’t help it,” I tried to explain.
“Believe me I know. I’ve experienced it all week when I’ve watched the guys at school check you out when you walk by,” he said as I shook my head in denial.
With all the California blonde bombshells walking through the halls of school, I was pretty sure the male population of the school was too busy checking them out. The girls at school weren’t afraid to show off their long tan legs, and expose enough cleavage to keep the guy’s eyes glued on them.
“They watch you because not only are you pretty, but you also walk around all aloof, so you pose a challenge for all the young studs of the school. They can get the other girls any old time, but you have enough of a mysterious air about you to snag all of their attention. That’s the only reason Matt’s giving us a hard time right now, he doesn’t like the fact that you snubbed him.”
I didn’t agree with him. I personally felt that Matt was harassing us because that’s what Matt did. He liked to torment those around him. Mark thought I was pretty because I had been in his dreams all these years. If not for that, he would see just how ordinary I was. Not that I ever wanted him to think of me like that, it was flattering for him to call me beautiful.
The waitress came back to our table to take our dinner orders. While we were waiting for our food, we discussed the issue that was the most pressing.
The idea that there could be four more people out there that may also share our connection was a twist none of us had ever considered.
We stopped talking when our food arrived. Mark was right, the food was excellent. I was famished, lunch had been hours ago. As we ate, our conversation became more light hearted as Shawn kept us laughing with stories about things that go on at the Boardwalk. He was a great story teller and we soon had a good grasp on the kind of people he worked with.
“They are definitely different than us,” he said with a smile.
After dinner, we headed back to Mark’s house to resume our conversation. I settled myself on one the comfy couches, tucking my legs up under me. Mark sat down next to me which of course sent my heart off its normal rhythm. Sam and Shawn took the other couch and Shawn tucked Sam up against his side.
“Well, I’m not sure what the picture means,” I said, opening up the conversation. “But, I don’t know if I buy all of your theories. They all just seem too kooky for me, this is real life not some fantasy book,” I said, looking at Shawn.
“How do you know? Maybe this connection is from some kind of radioactivity coming from another planet,” Shawn said as we all burst out laughing. “Hey, I’ve read lots of sci-fi and that’s always what it boils down to. Some alien life form or something like that,” he tried to explain as we continued to laugh.
“I’m not sure that’s the reason for the connection, but Shawn is right, even the ridiculous things need to be examined. People just don’t walk around feeling some odd connection with others, and they don’t have dreams every night about the same person. We need to explore everything, look into things that could have created this link between all of us. We also need to consider the fact that there are four others out there that could potentially be just like us,” Mark said, sobering up the lighthearted atmosphere.
He was right, as much as we would like to be normal teenagers, the plain and simple fact was, there was nothing normal about us. We had never been normal though we may have tried to pretend to be, but there w
as no denying our abnormalities.
“You know what I’ve been thinking?” Sam finally said.
“What?”
“Well, if there are only four couples in this picture, but eight children all together in the picture, it stands to reason that some of us must be related.”
Mark and Shawn looked up from the computer at Sam’s words. Neither seemed shocked at the suggestion, but I was reeling from the idea.
“You mean you think Mark and I are related?” I said, horror ringing through my words.
Mark took my hand trying to calm me. “Not us,” he said with a slight smile in his voice. “Shawn and I think that maybe you and he are brother and sister.”
“That would explain why you look so much like Shawn,” Mark told me.
Brother and sister? Shawn and I were siblings? All my life, I had often wondered if I had any other family members, and here I was possibly sitting with my brother. I glanced at Mark, he didn’t look surprised, and neither did Shawn.
“We suspected it as soon as I saw you standing next to Shawn when Sam introduced him to you. It’s hard to deny your resemblance to each other,” Mark said.
He paused.
“Is there more?” I asked.
“Well, we speculated that maybe Sam and I are related also, but we discarded it right off the bat. First, our builds are completely off, with her being a ‘shrimp’ and all. Plus, our skin tones don’t match. Which means that possibly, one of the other kids in the picture might be my sister,” he added. “Sam’s brother could be one of the other boys in the picture,” he continued.
I looked over at Sam’s face and could tell from her intrigued expression that she was as curious as me. “A brother,” she said in a weepy voice. The idea gave me a lump in my throat that matched the look on Sam’s face. It was obvious she was as shocked as me.
Shawn instantly got up and put his arms around her to comfort her.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I’m trying not to cry.”
Shawn picked her up and placed her on his lap, rocking back and forth rubbing her back as he showered light kisses on her face.
The emotional connection between Sam and Shawn was obvious. He was immediately able to calm her down and neutralize her emotions.
Watching Sam’s reaction to the news hit me in a profound way. I never felt the wave of confusion come. It came out of nowhere and knocked the air right out of me. I had been struggling all night to keep my emotions in check, but this newest development in our conversation had finally triggered it and the emotions finally won.
Instead of turning to Mark for his strength and healing touch, I did what I always have done. I closed myself off from everyone else and bolted toward the bathroom. The sickness hit me wave after wave and I threw up wretchedly in the toilet. Finally, the waves subsided and I rested my head weakly on my hand.
I felt a cool rag being placed on the back of my neck.
“Has it passed?” Mark asked, in a concerned voice.
“You have to touch her Mark. It will speed up her recovery.” I could hear Sam tell him, but her voice sounded far off as the pounding in my ears drowned everything else out.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a moment,” I said, hoping he would just leave. If my body hadn’t just been overrun by emotions, I would have been embarrassed.
Mark ignored the hint and reached out to rub my back. I instinctively shied away from his touch, embarrassed to have him so close when I had just puked up an entire days worth of food. He insistently leaned in even closer, and I could feel the heat radiating out of him. An electric current seemed to flow through us, and I could feel the sickness beginning to ebb away. I kept my eyes closed as his touch soothed the rest of the sickness away. I finally let all my inhibitions fade and I leaned back against him, using his body heat to try to contain the chills that began to creep over my body.
Mark felt my sudden quaking and scooped me in his strong arms. I kept my eyes closed as he walked down the hall. He laid me on a bed and pulled a blanket up around me. After he had the blanket tucked firmly around me, he crawled on the bed beside me and pulled me snuggly in his arms.
We lay there quietly for a while as his soothing presence slowly began to help my weak body recover from the sickness. It seemed to take longer than normal because I had dealt with so many emotions in one short week, but finally, the chills receded and my mind began to drift as my body begged for rest.
“Before you go to sleep, you need to call your mom.”
He was right. I got so comfortable lying there in his arms, I’d forgotten all about my mom. I started to sit up, but Mark pushed me lightly back down.
“I’ll go get your cell phone.”
He was back within a few moments and handed me my phone. I dialed my mom’s cell number and waited for her to pick it up.
“Hey honey,” she said as soon as she answered.
“Hey Mom, Sam and I had such a good time tonight, and Sam asked if I wanted to stay over,” I said, trying to inject enthusiasm into my voice.
“That’s fine,” she said, sounding thrilled. I knew she was ecstatic that I had finally made a friend.
“I’ll call you in the morning.”
“That’s fine, have fun.”
I hung up the phone. I should have felt guilty for lying to my mom twice in one day, but the bout of sickness prevented any other emotions.
I closed my eyes as Mark continued to hold me in his arms. My mind drifted and I sunk into a deep sleep.
My sobbing woke us both up. I felt him wrap his arms around me.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m never going to leave you,” he murmured in my ear.
The sobs subsided at his soothing words. He was here with me. I loved him so much, and it was so hard to be ripped away from him every night. He continued to whisper in my ear, telling me how much I meant to him and soon the dream faded away.
“Do you feel better?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment, and surprisingly, I did feel better. I felt grimy from the sickness that gripped me last night, but besides that I felt much better.
“I think I would like to take a shower, but besides that, I feel much better. I’m so sorry you had to see that again. Would you believe, I’ve never had this many episodes in one week? Well, except when my dad died.”
“That’s what worries me,” he told me. “Sam says it’s not good for you to be having so many episodes.”
He brought up something I had been wondering about.
“Why isn’t Sam having these attacks?” I asked him.
“We talked about it while you were sleeping. Sam thinks it’s because of the rough childhood she had; that she is able to control it better. Plus, she thinks that a lot of this is fear, and she dealt with fear enough when she was growing up, so it doesn’t affect her as badly; not to mention the most important thing, which is letting Shawn sooth her.” He said chidingly.
“I know. It’s just a little tough for me to let someone in. I’ve spent my life handling all of this on my own.”
“Come on, I’ll get you some clean towels so you can take a shower,” he said, changing the subject as he helped me to my feet.
He left me at the bathroom with clean towels and a new toothbrush. I turned on the water. While I waited for it to heat up, I looked in the mirror, cringing when I saw my reflection.
“Oh my gosh, I look terrible,” I moaned.
My eyes were swollen from the tears and my skin was pasty from throwing up so much. Every hair on my head seemed to be sticking up in every direction from sleeping on it. I resembled a scarecrow in a corn field. I could not believe I let him see me looking this bad.
I stepped into the spacious shower and let the water wash over me, wiping away the last traces of the sickness. I stayed in the shower for a long time, gathering my thoughts and finally, filing some of the information away.
I finally turned off the water and dried off. Mark had given me a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt; I pul
led them on, dropping the towel at my feet. They were baggy, but I didn’t care, they smelt just like him. I inhaled deeply enjoying his scent.
After I brushed my teeth, I left the bathroom and went off to search for Mark. I found him in the kitchen; he was finishing up fixing two cups of hot chocolate.
“I thought you might want a pick me up,” he said as he handed me one of the steaming mugs. “I thought we could take these out to the patio while the others sleep.”
Now that he mentioned it. Where were Sam and Shawn and where were they sleeping?
As if he could read my mind, Mark smiled. “Sam’s crashed in my dad’s room and Shawn took my room,” he said.
I felt relived. I knew that Sam was her own person, but for some reason I felt responsible for her. I knew I was being a hypocrite. Hadn’t I slept in the arms of the love of my life? Sure, I had been sick, but still.
We headed out to the patio. It was only 4:00 a.m., but the temperature outside was nice and mild. Mark helped me settle onto one of the patio chairs.
I took a sip of my hot chocolate. “That’s good,” I said as the hot chocolate ran down my throat.
“I added extra chocolate,” he said with a smile.
I returned his smile as I took another drink of the rich concoction. I could definitely get used to this. This is how it will be if we ever married, I thought wistfully to myself as a whole new warmth spread throughout my body.
“It’s so nice out here,” I said, sighing.
“I know what you mean, there’s nothing like the sounds of the ocean. Especially at night, the ocean seems to have a mysterious feel about it.”
Mark reached over and grabbed my hand. I studied his warm masculine hand in mine. I cringed when I saw his nice even fingernails next to my own ragged ones. My nails looked pitiful in contrast. I really need to stop chewing on mine, I couldn’t help thinking.
Shawn and Sam joined us on the patio shortly after dawn.
Mark and I had spent the last two hours talking about anything and everything. Mark asked me about college and I told him my plans to go to school locally.