Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“Needles?” I tried to sit up, but Jakob shook his head and pushed me back down.

“I don’t know what he was planning to do with them, but I have my ideas.” He pulled me into his arms. “I don’t know how a man like that could even think of harming an innocent woman.”

“I was so scared when I was up in that tree.” My voice was soft as I remembered how scared I had been. “I couldn’t even allow myself to think, because all I could think about was you. What if he killed you? What if something happened? What would I do? How would I survive? I couldn’t even allow my mind to think about the possibility of your getting hurt. It scared me so much. My whole body shut down on me and went numb. I closed my eyes and waited for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t even look down. I just held on to the branches and waited, thinking about nothing.”

“I’m sorry.” Jakob looked despondent for a few seconds, and then he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m safe now, Bianca. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

“I know,” I whispered. “I’m trying.”

“What can I do to help?” His fingers stroked my face.

“Just hold me,” I whispered, and pulled him down next to me. “Hold me and talk to me.”

“What do you want to talk about?” His arms slipped around my waist, and he pulled me toward him.

“I don’t know.” I closed my eyes and thought about the photograph. “I want to think of happy thoughts.”

“What makes you happy?” he asked gruffly.

“Seeing you alive.” I smiled at him. “And thinking about my parents.” I sighed. It always came back to my parents.

“Tell me about them. What do you remember about them?”

“I remember that my mother used to love to bake.” I talked idly. “Chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. Every Sunday, she would make them.” I smiled at the memory. “Even after she died, my father would take me to a bakery on the Lower East Side and we’d get cookies and milk.”

“He really tried to keep her memory alive, then?”

“Yeah, though, I don’t know if that was a good thing now.” I sighed. “He loved her so much, and when she died, a part of him died with her. I always felt like he was just waiting to pass away so he could join her.”

“He never dated anyone after that at all?”

“Never. A couple of times when I was a teenager, I tried to set him up, but he always told me no. He said that no one would ever have his heart but my mother and that it wouldn’t be fair to date anyone else, because he knew no one could ever replace her.”

“He seems like he was obsessed,” Jakob commented, and I frowned.

“I wouldn’t say he was obsessed.” I shook my head but kept my tone light, as I didn’t want to argue. “He was just a man very much in love.”

“Your mother was lucky to find a man so devoted to her.”

“Yes, yes, she was.” I looked up at the sky and stared at the stars. “I think they were both very lucky to have found each other.”

“Most people don’t find love like that.” Jakob’s tone changed, and I turned to face him.

“Tell me about your mom. She must have been a wonderful lady to have a son like you. She must have been so proud of the man you became.” I stared into Jakob’s eyes, and he stared back silently. I wasn’t sure if I had annoyed him with my question, as he didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry, we don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”

“She was beautiful.” His voice sounded distant, as if his mind were far away. “She was so beautiful that people used to say she should have gone to Hollywood. She would have been a big star.”

“Describe her to me.”

“She was tall and slender, with long brown hair and big blue eyes.” He smiled at the memory.

“Do you look like her, then?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Thank God.”

“Tell me more about her. What did she like to do?”

“She was a hard worker, dedicated to her job. She was also a great provider. She never took a penny from my father, yet she managed to send me to the best schools. I was her pride and joy.”

“She must have loved you very much.”

“I suppose she did. When I was four a talent scout approached her. Offered her a chance to go audition for a movie in Hollywood. Only, she wouldn’t have been able to take me with her, so she turned it down.”

“Did she like acting?”

He nodded, and his lips pressed against mine softly before he continued. “She used to love singing and dancing.”

“I bet that must have been nice. I can’t really remember what my mom and I used to do together, aside from baking on Sundays, but I always used to imagine us putting on family plays and dancing and singing.”

“My mom used to sing to me every night. She used to love making up songs. There was this one song that she sang that was so beautiful. Everyone would stop and listen when she sang it. I used to love it, and I would sing it with her every opportunity I had.” He looked at me sadly. “That was until the day I realized what I was singing.”

“Do you still remember the song?” I asked softly. I wanted to hear the song, and listen to his voice as it comforted me in the darkness of the night. He turned to look at me then, and the expression on his face made my heart melt.