Chapter
34: The Calm Before The Storm
A thick, black cloud quickly approached from the northern skies. Lightening flashed in the distance as thunder crashed through the air. Chance began to run away from the churning storm, stumbling on dead shrubs and rotting leaves. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to escape this horrible world, but as she fell to the ground in front of a large rock, she knew there was no way out.
Chance scrambled to her feet and began to run again. She pushed her legs to go as fast as they could, but to no avail. The dark thundercloud had already come upon her. Chance stopped running and looked around the barren wasteland of dead trees and bushes finding only two large stones jutting out of the ground a few feet ahead of her. Thinking they would shelter her, she ran in their direction.
As Chance approached the two stones, she realized they weren’t natural. They were two carved gravestones. The first one she came to had a large hole in front of it and was blank. The second, though, had been freshly covered with dirt and flowers lay at its head. Chance slowly read the stone in horror. “Darren S. Hayes. 1972-2001.”
Chance ran her fingers over the letters trying to absorb the frightening scene. Tears welled up in her eyes as she let out a terrified howl. “NO! He’s not dead!” she cried.
Another flash of lightening pierced through the sky. Chance looked up to see Scott hovering above her. “Let me go, Chance. Let me go,” he whispered through the thunderous booms around him. “You have to let me go.” As she stared up at the sky, Scott disappeared and a bolt of lightening came down from a cloud and landed a few feet away from her.
Chance screamed as she shot out of bed and straight into Dan’s arms. She panted her relief when she realized it was just a dream. Tears streamed down her face as she held onto him.
“It’s okay, Chance,” Dan whispered in a comforting tone. “It was only a dream.”
As Chance’s breathing became more regular, she let go of her hold on Dan and said, “That was the worst dream I’ve ever had.”
“Care to talk about it?” he asked. “Because you scared the hell out of me when I came in to wake you. I stood at the door and watched you toss and turn. I didn’t know whether or not it was the right time to be disturbing you. What were you dreaming about?”
“It was so fucked up,” Chance began. She explained the dream to Dan and waited to see what he had to say about it.
“I have no idea what it could possibly mean. I can’t decipher dreams for shit. Sorry Chance,” Dan replied.
“I’ll talk to Darren about it,” she said.
Dan stood up and ruffled her hair with his fingers. “Get dress, we have to be at the airport soon.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The heat of the day was beginning to fizzle out as Dan and Chance sat back to back on the plastic chairs at LAX that afternoon. Chance had fallen asleep against Dan’s back as he read “The Grapes of Wrath.” They still had an hour before Darren was scheduled to arrive, and both were killing time to the best of their ability.
Dan could feel all of Chance’s weight pressing against him and soon began to feel uncomfortable. He tried straightening up, but found himself in a worse position than before. If he moved around anymore, he risked waking Chance from her much needed sleep. Dan knew she had been up all night writing something at the kitchen table. He had woken in the middle of the night to get a drink when he found her hunched over scribbling pages upon pages and throwing out what she didn’t like. He didn’t care much for what she had written. He didn’t want to pry into her personal life.
Just as Dan was about to readjust his position for the forth time, he heard Chance moan, “Darren.” She sounded a bit depressed and he knew she was having another nightmare. It was time for her to wake up.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance was in the middle of another strange dream when she felt her back being gently lowered. At first she thought it was all in the nightmare, but she woke up suddenly to find Dan, his emerald eyes masked by sunglasses, hovering over her.
“You had another nightmare,” he pointed out.
“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” Chance retorted as she heaved herself out of her chair.
Dan rolled his eyes. He was expecting her outburst. “Go back to sleep,” he said, looking down at his watch. “You still have 45 minutes before Darren gets here. Besides, you look exhausted. I know you were up all night writing. Did you get a new song idea or something?”
“No, I was writing my thank you to Darren,” she answered. “I must have wasted over a hundred sheets of paper by the time I got it to perfect. I didn’t get to bed until five this morning.”
“Then I guess it was a bad idea for me to wake you when I did. At least I wouldn’t have gotten that smart-ass comment from you. Sorry,” Dan apologized.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to be so mean. It’s not your fault. That dream would have woken me sooner or later. It’s driving me nuts. I don’t know what it stands for, but I’m afraid it’s something bad. The more I think about it, the more possible it seems that Darren might die,” Chance explained. “You saw what happened to Scott. I lost him, but I didn’t have a dream about it. Oh, what is all this supposed to mean! Should I consult a psychic about it or what?”
Dan thought it over for a few minutes then suggested, “You could, but you can also talk to Daz about it beforehand and see what he thinks.”
“I guess it can wait until then,” she replied.
Chance was about to make herself more comfortable when she heard a voice over the PA system say, “Ladies and gentlemen, American Airlines flight 1052 from Sydney to Honolulu to Los Angeles should be arriving momentarily. Please meet your party at gate B-12. Thank you.”
“Dude!” Chance screamed as she jumped out of her seat. “The plane’s early!” Dan was close to making a smart remark, but had no time to as she dragged him towards the door to wait for Darren.
The fifteen-minute wait seemed endless to Chance as she stood eagerly at the door waiting for the passengers to walk out of the plane. Her wait was finally over when she saw Darren step out the double doors wearing a think jacket, black pants, a hat, and sunglasses.
“Ah!” Chance shrieked as she jumped into his arms and kissed him. “I missed you so much,” she said, hanging onto him as if she’d never let go.
“I missed you too,” Darren replied. “Now, could you get off me? It’s attracting too much attention.” His voice sounded more annoyed than playful. Chances slowly backed off, but not before looking him over to make certain her feelings were correct. Surely enough, Darren’s eyes told his story. They were puffy read and teary, and she knew it wasn’t from crying. His exhausted face told her more of his condition, and from the looks of it, his sluggish movements told Chance he was sick.
“Daz, what’s wrong?” she simply asked.
“Nothing,” he replied, moving further away from her as they headed towards baggage claim.
“Darren, you’re hiding something from me,” Chance said sternly. Darren and Dan both turned towards her, surprised.
“I’m not hiding anything from you, Chance. What the hell makes you think I am?” Darren almost yelled.
“That reaction and the fact that you called me maybe three times during your whole trip. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I’ve been having nightmares!” The argument had begun and there was no stopping it now.
“I’m sorry, Chance. I was busy. I had…”
She cut Darren before he could say more. “Too busy? You could have made time! Darren, I’m your fucking girlfriend! You’re supposed to make time!” Chance yelled.
By now a crowd had gathered around them. Dan stood back waiting for something to happen. Darren still hadn’t replied to Chance. Dan could see he was coming up with an excuse. That when his mind automatically clicked, Colby. This was the same thing that happened between her and Darren right before the big breakup. By the time Darren had come up with an excuse, Dan grabbed his arm and led him away from Chance.
“This isn’t the time or the place to be having this discussion,” he said as he looked back to see Chance still fuming. She kept her distance up until they got home. That was when she’d dig into Darren.
Unfortunately for her, Dan got to him first. He led Darren into his room and closed the door. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re cheating on Chance,” Dan said in a harsh voice. “I saw you do it to Colby, but I will NOT let you do it to Chance.”
“What!” Darren yelled back in disbelief. “How could you possibly think that? I would never, EVER do anything to Chance that would hurt her in ANY way. I haven’t called her because I’ve been in the studio for the entire two weeks I was out there. I was working on the album and trying my hardest not to get sick. I thought that today I might get a little rest, but no, I end up pissing Chance off. Dan, I am telling you the truth. You of all people know how much I love her. Just believe me this one time.”
Dan could see the sincerity in Darren’s eyes as he pleaded with him. He sighed and turned towards the door without saying another word. He headed for Chance in the living room with Darren following close behind him. She sat on the couch farthest away from them and turned around to see Darren walking up to her. She crossed her arms and looked away from him.
“Chance, I’m sorry,” Darren apologized. She didn’t say a word and just kept her head turned away from him. “Chance, please, listen to me.”
“No, you listen!” Chance screamed as she stood up to face him. “I’m so fucking sick of all this. Leave me alone! I don’t wanna talk to you anymore!” With that, she walked into her room and slammed the door.
Darren flopped down on the couch, the stress too much to handle. He closed his eyes and fell asleep before Dan could say anything.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance walked out of her room two hours later after thinking about what had happened. She realized it was wrong not giving Darren a fair shot at explaining the situation. Then again, this wasn’t the first time one of these arguments had broken out between them. Chance walked into the dark living room to find Darren asleep on the couch. As she came closer, she could see he was shivering. Beads of sweat dripped down his red face.
Chance took a detour to the closet and found a warm blanket. She wrapped it around Darren and sat down beside him. Her hand gently slipped over his forehead feeling his soaring fever.
“Darren,” Chance quietly said trying not to startle him. “Wake up, honey.” He slowly opened his eyes and blankly stared at her.
“Leave me alone,” he barely managed to whisper.
“Don’t speak,” she replied, placing her finger over his lips. “You’re very sick.” Chance stood up and headed for the kitchen. “Stay awake. I’ll be right back.” She soon came back with a bowl of ice cubes and dishtowel. She sat down beside the couch and put the ice cubes in the towel then placed it on top of Darren’s forehead. He coughed, the pain all over his body reaching the point where he could barely breathe. He winced when Chance gently dabbed the cold towel over his neck and chest.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Darren asked. He brushed a few strands of her black hair away from her face with his trembling hand as she looked up at him.
“Because I realized I should have given you time to explain things to me, and I’m sorry I didn’t,” Chance said. “And maybe because I love you.”
Darren smiled; it was comforting to her hear words. He closed his eyes again and began to nod off as Chance dabbed his forehead with the towel again. He watched him become more placid and peaceful. She knew he’d finally get the rest he needed from a stressful job. As she slipped the blanket over his chest again, Chance heard a knock at the door. She shot a glance at the clock on the wall to find it was nearly eleven.
Chance stood up and walked to the door. She looked through the peephole to find Shiri standing outside. Chance quickly opened the door and welcomed her inside.
“Hey, what can I do for you?” Chance whispered not wanting to wake Darren.
“I need a place to stay for a few days because my apartment building is being fumigated and I didn’t find out until I got home from work today, which was about twenty minutes ago. I didn’t even have time to grab some clothes,” Shiri explained.
“You can stay here, just be very quiet. Darren is really sick and he just fell asleep,” Chance replied. She led Shiri towards her room and added, “I think I might have something that’ll fit you. Hold on, let me rummage through my closet.”
Chance found an extra pair of pajamas for Shiri then headed back to the living room to check on Darren. With him still being asleep on the couch, Chance sat down on the floor and held the towel to his forehead. Shiri stepped out of the room and headed towards Chance. She sat down across from her and looked at Darren.
“He looks really bad,” she observed.
“I know. I feel really bad for bringing this on him. We had a fight today and I got pissed, stressing him out even more,” Chance said, explaining the situation as best as she could.
“What was the fight about?” Shiri asked as she made herself more comfortable on the love seat.
“He didn’t call me while he was on his trip.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn.”
“Oh, please. I’ve learned enough about life in these last six months. I don’t need another lesson from you.”
“I wasn’t about to give you one,” Shiri retorted.
Chance smiled. “You know, we act a lot like sisters,” she observed.
“That is so strange. It almost seems like we are, you know?” Shiri replied.
“When I first met you, I somehow felt this connection immediately. I don’t know what came over me, but I thought I knew you in another life or something,” Chance said.
“That’s so weird, I also had that feeling,” Shiri told her, yet she felt like she was lying to Chance. She didn’t want to tell her that she actually thought it was her sister.
“Hey, I got a question for you. Do you ever get strange dreams right before something really big happens?”
“Actually, it’s more like a psychic thing that happens to me. I feel something happen to someone. It’s a family thing. All the Appleby women have this gift that makes them feel things about their loved ones. We can actually sense something when it goes wrong. And from what I’ve heard, we can pass it onto the men just by sleeping with them for one night. If they’re the right one, then they can feel what happens to us even when we’re miles away,” Shiri explained.
“Oh, wow that is so cool,” Chance replied.
“So, why do you ask?”
“Well, I’ve been having this really weird dream about Darren and Scott. I start off in this dark world, and there’s a storm beginning. I find myself running, and after what seems like hours, I finally find these two stones. One has a big hole in front of it and the other has fresh dirt with Darren’s name on the stone and the date he died. Then from out of nowhere Scott appears in front of me and tells me to let him go. I don’t have a clue as to what this dream means. What do you think?” Chance said, hoping to get some help with her situation.
“Are you over Scott?” Shiri asked, hitting the nail on the head. Chance knew she had never gotten over her old flame. Not going to Scott’s funeral had left her unable to receive the closure she needed to start all over again. She tried to tell herself she was over him, but a part of her heart wouldn’t let go.
“No,” Chance quietly replied. She twisted the diamond ring around her finger several times unconsciously as Shiri watched.
“You’re still wearing his ring,” she observed. She took Chance’s hand and looked at it. “I can see why you don’t wanna let this go. That rock is huge. But maybe this is what’s holding you back and making you dream those dreams.”
“I can’t let go of this ring. It’s the only thing I have left of Scott,” Chance almost choked as she remembered the horrible night he gave her the ring.
“You’ll still have his memory, and that’s all you need. That ring is just giving you bad luck.”
“How can something so small give me bad luck?” Chance retorted, skeptical of Shiri’s reasoning.
“Were you wearing it when you jumped off the bridge?” Chance nodded. “And when Dan fell down the stairs?” Again, she nodded. “And you’re wearing it now as Darren lays beside you near death.”
Chance shot a look at Darren’s sleeping body to see he was getting worse. Maybe Shiri was right about the ring. Maybe it was giving her bad luck. Unfortunately for Chance, her stubbornness was getting to the best of her.
“If he gets any worse, I’ll take it off,” Chance said. She stood and headed to the kitchen to refill the bowl with ice cubes. When she returned to the living room, she noticed that Shiri had taken her spot beside the couch and was gently stroking Darren’s forehead with the back of her hand.
“He looks so sweet,” Shiri said as she looked up at Chance and smiled.
“Yeah, he’s got the cutest sad puppy dog eyes I have ever seen,” Chance replied as she sat down beside Shiri. “No wonder I love him so much.”
“So does Danny. They get to be so hard to resist.”
“He’s letting you call him Danny?”
“Yeah. Don’t you call him that?”
“I do, but he’s never allowed anyone else to call him that. He gets so pissed when Rebecca calls him Danny that he won’t speak to her for days. You’re lucky. He must really like you.”
Shiri smiled. “Well, I really like him too.” In a whisper she added, “Actually, I think I love him.”
“Oh, my God!” Chance squealed with delight. “You two are perfect for each other!”
“Thanks, Chance.” Shiri’s smile grew wider as they hugged. “I’ve never been so happy in my entire life.”
“That so sweet. I swear, when I saw you two together, I knew it was meant to be. I hope you’re as happy as Darren and I are.”
“I’m so glad you think so. You’re the only one. Majandra, Emilie, and Katherine don’t seem to think so. They think I’m gonna end up getting hurt, but I know better, and so do you. You know Danny better than they do. You know he’s not the kind of guy that’ll break your heart. He told me about what Alexia told him just before she died. She said he was the only guy that had treated her like a woman and not a toy. I seriously doubt he’ll break my heart on purpose,” Shiri said.
“I know he won’t. He’s a great friend,” Chance replied. She looked at her watch to see it was nearing two in the morning. “Maybe we should get to sleep. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, the last thing I need is a headache in the morning.”
“Problem: where am I gonna sleep?”
“Take my room. I’m gonna stay with Darren tonight just to make sure he won’t get any worse in the morning because we’re gonna be screwed if he does.”
“Don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine,” Shiri tried to comfort. “Get some sleep.”
“Night,” Chance said.
“Night,” Shiri replied as she disappeared into Chance’s room.