Read Online Forgotten by Sarah J. Pepper - Free Book Online Page B

years
now. Reaching the corner, I took five steps forward. A speed bag
grazed the top of my pony tail. I took a step backwards and began
to punish the bag.
    Finding a rhythm, I drummed it. My
mind wandered immediately to the old man in my vision who defied
the laws of nature and became younger. The blood dripping from his
hands was so dark it appeared black. Was blood-lust the reason he
broke through my parents’ window, years ago? Had this man been a
killer his entire life and that was what the vision indicated,
because people just don’t grow young? He killed with a knife – that
much was obvious from the vision. I shouldn’t have been able to
recall so many details, because I still wore diapers. And until
now, I’d only seen visions of my life when I was older. The laugh,
his malevolent laugh, was so frighteningly familiar, like I heard
it in another life perhaps; or was my imagination getting the best
of me? Too many unanswered questions formed and my shoulders hurt
badly enough that I couldn’t keep them above my head any
longer.
    Even though Hector still had to show,
I ditched the speed bags. Memory serving me, I counted ten paces
back to where a skew of rolled up mats was stored. Flinging one in
the air, I smoothed it out and laid down to get in a quick abs
workout. Polishing off a series of different exercises to work the
muscles, I moved into the plank position when a pair of hands
pressed down on my shoulders, making the workout harder, by
tenfold.
    “ About time!” I yelled,
collapsing to the mat.
    “ You stink,” Hector said,
sitting down next to me.
    “ Well, I have been working
out for like an hour now,” I said, stretching out my
abs.
    “ Not like sweat, Winnie.
You smell like smoke,” he said like I was hiding something. The question
was: where had he been? He ducked as I pushed off the mat to tackle him. Pinning
me against the floor easily since I was at muscle failure, he
laughed. I tapped out.
    “ Please tell me you’re not
sucking on cancer sticks,” he said.
    “ I’m not that dumb,” I
said. “What was so important that you blew off our workout
date?”
    “ If you must know, I was
tying up a few loose ends at work,” Hector said. “Any particular
reason why you’re in such a mood today, or is it because Martha is
driving you nuts?”
    “ A weird dream kept me
tossing and turning last night.”
    “ Was it a good one?” Hector
asked slyly. The mat shifted under him. He was stretching for his
workout.
    “ It was a weird dream
because it involved this guy I can’t stand,” I admitted. Normally,
I’d only tell Bree details about any guy problems I found myself
in, but she was dead set on Jace and me hooking up. Her opinion
would be biased. Besides, Hector was different than other guys. He
wasn’t dateable. He filled the over protective brother role. “I
know this is crazy, but I just sort of get ill when he’s
around.”
    “ Lover’s sickness,” Hector
teased, but was polite enough to hold in a chuckle when I scowled
at him. “You used to get ill around me when we first started to
hang out.”
    “ Scratch that up to the two
concussions you gave me in the ring the first year I met you,” I
said.
    “ Well, what do you think
about him?” Hector said more seriously. “You’ve always claimed to
have such good judgment in people. Do you need me to put
–”
    “– Jace,” I interrupted.
“Jace Eatros.”
    “ Jace,” Hector repeated,
memorizing his name.
    “ And no, you don’t need to
put him in his place for me. I can handle him. I just don’t know
what he wants with me.”
    “ Let me know if he gets out
of line,” Hector insisted, like I knew he would. “He sounds like
the stalker type.”
    No, that would be the creepy,
twitching giant who followed me around after school. Jace at least
had the decency to make his presence known, no matter how
unwanted.
    ***
    From the smell of the house, John
already had the wings drowned in BBQ sauce. Martha had pop