Wake to Dream(71)

His palms rubbed the length of her bare arms before he released her to retrieve the dress from the closet. Coming back over to her, he helped her step into the expensive material, taking his time to fasten the small buttons that ran the length of her back. She’d protested against the cost of the dress, especially because it would only be the two of them at the wedding, but Max had insisted.

Turning around, Alice looked over the beautiful cut of the black suit he’d chosen to wear, the silver grey vest that matched his tie. With a white shirt underneath, he looked dapper and worthy of the life of ease and leisure he lived.

Taking Alice’s hand, Max led her from the bedroom, down the stairs and out into the space that would eventually be her garden. The officiant waited for them beneath the thick boughs of the live oaks, the moss hanging from their branches creating dancing light and shadow over the patch of land where they stood.

The wedding was quick, their vows those that had been used for years by husbands and wives that came together before them. When the officiant left, they remained beneath those stately trees, Max staring down at his new bride with possession behind his eyes.

"We're married, you and I. You are now my wife."

His expression grew serious, his focus severe.

“Until death, Alice. Promise me.”

Her eyes shimmering with tears of happiness, she nodded her head.

“Until death,” she promised.





12:38 p.m.



“It was the beginning of a dream,” Alice whispered, her voice breaking as the memories flooded her mind. “At least, I thought it was a dream.”

Her head turned to face the doctor, her body balled on the couch with her back pressed against the backrest. Her bent legs were tucked up against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly to hold them in place. Slowly she rocked where she sat, the springs of the couch creaking with the subtle movement.

“But the dream didn’t last, I assume. How long were you married before the truth of the man you married started coming to light?”

Her eyes clenched shut to remember the first time Max’ anger caused her harm. “A year, maybe a little less. He was always so busy working on the basement. He wanted the entire house finished. He was so particular about those things. Everything had to have its place. Everything had to be in order. Everything had to be perfectly clean. He said it was because he didn’t want things to be ugly – not like us.”

Leaning forward in his chair, Dr. Chance waited for her to open her eyes. Once he knew he had her full attention, he said, “You’re not ugly, Alice. What occurred to you when you were a child didn’t make you an ugly person.”

A bark of humorless laughter blew over her lips. “Didn’t it? If it wasn’t for what my father did to me, I might have made different decisions when the truth of Max came to light.” Her voice shook over the words, her body beginning to tremble as bits and pieces flooded back, images she could never erase from her mind.

“I was the perfect target, it seems. I’d been conditioned by my father to accept abuse, and Max used that to his advantage. I was tired. I was estranged from my family. I had no friends.”

“He took advantage of not only your life, but also the love you had for him. He was a predator, Alice.”

“And I was the perfect prey,” she answered.

Slapping a tear from her face, she stared at the doctor with bruised and swollen eyes. “I would have thought I’d be stronger than I was. That, perhaps, what my father had done to me would have taught me to run at the first sign of abuse.” She shuddered, clenching her eyes shut against the memories. “I don’t understand the dreams, Doc. Not the direction they took or the way the memories got jumbled. Why did you keep taking me back to discuss my father? How did you know that he had anything to do with the events of my life with Max?”

Settling back against his seat, the doctor tapped his pen against his notebook before reaching up to reposition his glasses over his nose. “I believe you put yourself in the place of a captive woman because you couldn’t face something far more frightening: the fact that you ran away from one abusive man, just to end up in the arms of another. I thought that by remembering the actions of your father, it would open you up to remember what occurred with Max.”

She sighed. “Well, it worked. That and reminding me of the damn price I paid for the luxury Max had given me. For the life he’d chosen for me.”

Glancing at the clock ticking on the wall, the doctor looked back at her. He didn’t need to remind her that time continued marching forward to an unknown end.

“You have to keep going, Alice. We have to piece together this puzzle in time.”

Alice shook her head, her arms tightening even more over her legs. “It’s not going to save her, Doc. Time has already run out.”

Giving her a patient and thoughtful look, the doctor spoke softly when he said, “We’ve established that the dreams are memories, Alice. Why do you still insist this has something to do with you sister?”

A violent tremor coursed over Alice’s body, screams erupting in her mind because she allowed herself to go to that place.

It was the truth that broke her apart completely, the memory she never wanted to face.

“Because it has everything to do with Delilah, Doc. Of that, I’m entirely certain.”