Page 46 of Claimed

“Rave…”

God, I’ve missed her. Talking on the phone is just not the same as having her with me. I can’t believe she’s here.

“I thought you were going to Jamaica for Christmas?”

She pulls back and gives me an empathetic smile. “I am. I can’t stay but when Gage called, I knew I had to come see you.”

“How long?”

“I have a flight back to Miami this afternoon then I catch the last one to Kingston.”

I take her hand and drag her back to the bedroom. If I only have her for a few hours, I’m going to make use of it. She sits on the bed and I lie with my head in her lap, closing my eyes as she strokes my hair.

“Talk to me, Rave. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“I figured you haven’t been telling me the whole story, but at least you sounded okay on the phone. Why have you been hiding this from me?”

“I…please, I don’t want to talk about it. Can we just…stay like this?”

“Whatever you need. Just know I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”

“Thank you.”

The time flies by. Before I know it, Gage is at the door telling Toni it’s time to go. I walk her out, clutching her hand.

“When will you be back?”

“After New Year’s, but I promise I’ll come spend Spring Break with you.”

“Thanks for coming.” My voice breaks as the tears threaten to fall. She kisses my cheek, wipes the moisture from her own, then she and Allah drive away in the Charger. Gage wraps his arm around my shoulders and takes me back inside. He tries to get me to eat, but everything is like cotton in my mouth.

“Close your eyes,” he whispers as we sit at the bar. I do as he asks, waiting patiently as he places something around my neck. “Okay. Open.”

He’s replaced my ‘12 Gage’ necklace. We never did find the original one. This one’s a little different, though—it has my name on it, too. It should make me happy, shouldn’t it? As I rub the pendant between my fingers, I feel…nothing. Exactly the way I’ve been feeling for God knows how long.

“Thank you.”

I leave my stool and lumber back to the bedroom, straight to my artist’s table. For weeks, I’ve been seeing the same image in my nightmares. It becomes clearer each time, and I’m hoping the identity of the masked figure will be revealed soon. I draw that image over and over each day, trying not to forget any details. By the time Gage comes to get me for dinner, my fingers have begun to cramp.

“Babe, sit with me for a little.”

I sit next to him on the edge of the bed and stare at him expectantly. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rectangular box before turning to face me.

“I was going to give this to you tomorrow, but I want you to have it now.”

I take it from his fingers and flip the lid. There’s a silver charm bracelet sitting inside. He picks it up and I give him my hand so he can clasp it around my wrist.

“This,” he begins, fingering the first charm – a tiny barbecue grill, “is for the barbecue where we met.” He moves to the next one, a miniature motorcycle. “I gave you a ride home that day. You’re the first andonlywoman to sit on my bike.”

The next one is a monkey, so I raise a curious brow. He chuckles in amusement.

“Monkey bread. That was the night you agreed to be mine.”

The next one is a blue bead. That one I can figure out. There’s also an artist’s palette, and a treble clef – my favorite color, my art, and love of music.

“We can add more when you want, or I can get you different ones. I just thought –”