Read Online Back to Yesterday by Pamela Sparkman - Free Book Online Page B

were sent to do a search of the area.”
    Levi led the Germans away from the barn, preventing me from hearing their conversation. He pointed to the barn and then pointed to the house. His lips were moving and I had no idea what he was telling them. Maikel stayed by his father’s side, not speaking.
    I had to wonder if Levi was handing me over to the enemy. His last words repeated in my head: “ I’m going to do what I have to.”
    I felt sick all over again.
    Then I thought about what Maikel had asked me the day before: “Does anybody know where you are?”
    No one knew where I was because I didn’t have a radio, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have used it for fear the enemy would overhear the transmission, compromising my location. I would have protected Levi and his kid, not wanting to bring them trouble. However, I didn’t know that Levi was friendly with the enemy either.
    How could I have been so stupid?
    Thinking back from the first memory I had when I stepped out of the wreckage, I scrambled to find the clues I had missed. Were there clues? My mind flipped through the encounter at a frantic pace and my memories started overlapping one another. Levi, Maikel, mules, friendly smiles, and late night talks blurred the lines and I didn’t know fact from fiction anymore. Then an image of blue eyes and red, red lips flickered in and out like a movie projector. When the image froze in place, I couldn’t see beyond her face. She was smiling that smile of hers, and I smiled too, remembering the exact moment I had taken that mental picture. It was right after I had taken her flying, when she jumped in my arms, happiness lighting up her face.
    The image was so real, so vivid, that my arms extended out in front of me, ready to touch the smooth skin on her cheek.
    “Sophie,” I whispered.
    I could feel her. She was there. She was right there . And then her face twirled into a fine mist until she…vanished.
    Sophie!
    The barn door slid open with a loud thud, snapping me out of my haze. Heavy footsteps approached. My heart pounded like a stampede of wild horses and a thousand spider legs scuttled down my spine.
    They were coming for me .
    I pinched my eyes closed, knowing what being a prisoner of war inside Nazi Germany meant for me and I knew I had a decision to make.
    “Get up,” someone said.
    In a blur, I was on my feet and my 44-caliber was aimed at the man’s head.
    “Charles,” Levi said with wide eyes. “Put the gun down.”
    “Hands up! Where are they?” I shouted.
    “They’re not here. They left.”
    “I don’t believe you! Where are they?”
    “Papa?” Maikel said with a tremble in his voice.
    Never taking his eyes off me, Levi stated in a calm voice to his son, “It’s okay. Charles is just scared.”
    My eyes darted back and forth between father and son while I continued to hold the gun to Levi’s head. “Don’t mess with me. I heard you. You’re friends with them.”
    “Let me explain.”
    “Did you lead them to me, Levi? Did you tell them where I was?”
    “No, I swear.”
    “WHERE ARE THEY?”
    Sweat dripped down Levi’s forehead, his hands shook in the air. “I told you. They left. Son, tell Charles the Germans left.”
    “Don’t,” I seethed. “Don’t make the boy lie for you.”
    I felt crazed, insane. My mind looped and tumbled, trying to make sense of everything. One minute I was in a room with Sophie and the next I was…
    “He’s telling the truth!” Maikel cried. “Papa told them he hadn’t seen or heard anything.” When I glanced at the boy, tears were streaming down his face. “We both lied for you.”
    A knot lodged itself in my throat, regret coursed through my veins, and the remorse I felt for scaring the kid made my blood run cold.
    I lowered my weapon and took a couple of steps back. I looked at the few embers that still glowed red and I fell to my knees remembering how I had burned Sophie’s letter.
    When Levi started towards me, I held up my hand.