Lovecraft and the Brothers Grimm

"It's complicated," she said.

"I'll make time." He sat down on the sofa. Vivian curled up next to him and leaned up against him. That must have been some date! I sat on the other side and she told him to put his arm around me.

"Anyone who doesn't love Collins doesn't have a chance with me," she told him.

"I want to love her, but she won't give me the time of day," he said.

"He wants me to run for him," I told her. "I didn't want to tell him why I wouldn't."

"I really like him, Collins," she said. "Please let me tell him."

"It will really mess us up if he ever tells anyone," I told her. "We'd have to move again."

"Collins, I just risked my ass for you," he said. "What do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"She's cautious, and I want her to be," Vivian told him. "She's been through a lot, Mason. She's had a really rotten time for the last year and she's scared. So am I. She's had a lot of bad things in her life and she doesn't trust easily."

"I'd never allow anything to happen to either one of you," he said. "If you don't trust me, I'll have to live with that. It's a shame though, I really like you, too, Vivian, and I think Collins would be quite a star."

I twisted his head around so I could look in his eyes. I could see that his feelings were a little hurt, but he didn't have any lie in his eyes.

"Aunt Vivian, is it okay?" I asked her.

"Follow your heart, baby," she told me.

"Vivian is my aunt, but we're not related," I told him. "I guess you noticed that she's white and I'm black. Her brother adopted me when I was three. I never knew who my birth parents were until last year. My birth mother was a whore in Kenya. My dad and I had a boating accident. He saved my life, but he drowned doing it. It was on the news and my mother, my birth mother, heard about it. She's a psychopath. She tried to kidnap me and take me back to Kenya with her. I was seventeen, and I think if she ever got her hands on me, I'd be in big trouble. She tortured and killed people in the opposition political party in Kenya, Mason. Child Services was going to take me away from Aunt Vivian and we had to disappear. We wound up here. That's why I can't run. I can't afford to have my name in the paper or on any public records. We're afraid that crazy bitch will find me."

He just sat there for a while. He shook his head. "That's quite a story, girls. Jesus Christ! No wonder you didn't want to tell me. I swear to God I'll never tell anyone. What if I could fix it so you could run, Collins? Would you do it?"

"It's all she's ever wanted to do," Vivian told him. "How could you do that?"

"I'd have to tell one person," he said. "I'd have to tell my uncle. He's the president of the University. He'd never tell anyone. We could put her on the roster under another name. Maybe we could use her middle name or something.

"No, it's really unusual," I told him. "I never even knew my last name."

"Well, I guess it can be whatever you want it to be then," he said. "How about Paula?"

"Why that?" Vivian asked.

"He has this silly idea that I look like Paula Patton," I said. "You know, 'cause all black people look alike."

They laughed. "You mean the actress?" Vivian asked. "Oh my God, Collins, you do look like her!"

"Bullshit," I said. "Anyway, I'd love to run. Maybe I could just practice with you a while and then we'll see if I'm competitive. How does that sound?"

That's what I did. I never won a race. I could have, but we thought it would be best if I finished second or third. I was back doing what I loved more than anything, and knowing I could have won was enough for me. I was earning points for the team and I was running.

My junior year I was running in the park and I heard someone coming up behind me. That's very unusual for me. Nobody ever kept my pace. When I looked back, I saw a guy I knew. He was an engineering student with whom I had a couple of classes. I picked up the pace a little and he fell back. When he sped up I did, too, until we were nearly sprinting. I was faster than he was, but I was getting gassed. I stopped and he nearly ran me over.

"Hi," I said.

His lips were moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying. "Something wrong with your voice?" I asked him.

He pointed at his ears and I got it. He was deaf. "Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean anything. I didn't realize you were hearing impaired."

I felt like an idiot when he reached up and pulled my earbud out. He was laughing.

"I hear just fine," he said.

That laughter lit his face up like a beacon. He was taller than I was, which I liked, and his eyes were this soft brown color that made me weak in the knees. He had long very curly brown hair and he was deeply tanned, as if he spent a lot of time outside. He was thin, but not skinny and I liked him for that laugh.

"You're Collins, right?" he asked. "I have a class with you. You can run like a deer. I've never met a girl who was faster than me."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember your name," I told him.

"It's Gregg," he told me. "Gregg Wade."

"Well, Gregg Wade," I said. "Do you want to run one more lap with me?"

"I can't imagine anything I'd like better," he said.

We ran a lot of laps together. It took him three days to ask me out. We went out six times before he kissed me. We spent every spare minute together, and we ran together every day. This guy affected me like no one else ever had.

One of the Greek clubs sponsored a dance and he asked me to go. He couldn't dance, but we had a lot of fun. Vivian was out with Mason, and when I got home, I invited Gregg in. We cuddled on the sofa and watched The Office on Netflix. We were both big fans and we were giggling like little kids when Vivian and Mason came in. We all talked a while and Vivian came and whispered to me.

"I'm going to make love to him tonight, Collins. Don't embarrass us."

I squeezed her and took Gregg to my room. I think he was surprised, but I told him I wanted to give Vivian and Mason some space. We played music and danced some more. I rubbed up against him and I was getting really horny. I pushed him down on the bed and unbuttoned his shirt.

"What are you doing, Collins?" he asked.

"Do you want me to unbutton mine?" I asked him.

"Oh, my God, yes!" he sounded hoarse.

I pulled it out of my skirt and slowly unbuttoned it, giving him a little tease. I had on a very skimpy bra, and you could almost see the tops of my nipples. They were rock-hard and plainly trying to punch their way out.

"My God, you're beautiful, Collins," he breathed.

"Show me," I told him.

He pulled me close and kissed my belly button. I shivered and he stood up, laying me down on the bed while he kissed me. He was obviously very excited, and I slowed him down.

"We aren't racing, Gregg," I told him.

He got a grip and I let him unhook my bra. It fastened in the front and he popped the catch. His breath sucked in with a gasp when my tiddies popped out, and his lips were all over them. It was driving me wild! I sat up and took off the blouse, slipping my arms out of the bra straps and pushing his shirt off. We made that skin to skin contact and my nipples scraped across his chest. He had chest hair and it felt incredibly rough against my sensitive nipples. He was all long lean muscle, and I knew I had to have him. I felt his fingers fumble at the zipper on my skirt and I helped him. He knelt and pulled it down, leaving me just in my panties. They matched the discarded bra, and he ran his hand up and down my legs.

"God, I love your legs," he said. "You're the hottest woman I've ever seen, Collins. Do you know I love you?"

"You've never told me before," I said. "I think I'm in love with you, too, Gregg. Let's find out."

Both of us were virgins, and it was a little awkward at first. We knew the theory, but it took us a while to get the execution down. It hurt pretty badly at first, but he was patient and gentle, and it started feeling really good. He came before I was ready, but he didn't stop. I loved the look on his face when he came, and I loved the way it felt inside me. I think he was pretty big. It certainly felt that way inside me, and his pleasure got me excited and I blew up. I had rubbed myself off plenty of times, but this was a whole new ballgame. He lasted quite a while and I came several times.

I knew we'd get better with practice and I wanted plenty of practice. He gave it to me. He spent the night in my bed and I got my pussy eaten for the first time. I gave him my first blow job, too. I decided I liked dick, and I was going to get as much as possible. We explored and played and got very excited until he just pounded into me the last time. I came like a bomb and it must have been pretty good for him, too, from the noises he was making. I was sore as hell the next morning, and we just did oral when we woke up.

I just put on an old shirt and went to the kitchen. I made breakfast, and Vivian came in after a minute and helped me. She had a big smile on her face and when the guys came in, they looked at each other with big shit-eating grins. I threw a piece of toast at Gregg, and Vivian and I giggled like little girls.

Mira proved to be the proverbial bad penny that just kept turning up. I always figured she found us through my last track meet, my senior year. It was an accident, under a pretty weird circumstance. We were in a track meet at Oregon and I was running well. I knew I could win, but I was planning to let a Washington runner pass me on the homestretch. She came outside and we matched stride for stride down the backstretch as she started her kick.

We were ten yards ahead of the third-place runner and suddenly the Washington runner was gone. I learned after the race she pulled a quad and went down. There was nothing I could do. Later, I wished I had faked an injury, but I didn't think of it at the time. I won the race and that qualified me for the Pac 12 championship.

I knew it was a mistake, and both Aunt Vivian and Mason thought I should withdraw. I did, but that turned into a story, too. It got some news coverage, but we didn't think much about it.

It was the week before finals and I came home from the gym to an empty house. I just figured Aunt Vivian was out somewhere. I showered and put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I wondered downstairs, fluffing my hair with a towel and I saw a piece of paper taped to my laptop screen. I read it and it directed me to a Dropbox account. What the fuck?

I logged on and there was a single video clip. I played it and a man I had never seen before began speaking. "Collins, make this easy for everyone. We have your Aunt Vivian and Gregg. Bring your passport to the airport and ask the airline for your ticket. You're flying to Taipei, via Vancouver. When you land in Taipei, you will be met. As soon as you're in place in Taipei, we will release your aunt and boyfriend. If you don't do as we ask, they die. If you speak to the police, they die. We won't harm you, or them. The opposite, in fact. We have big plans for you and it's nothing bad. This is the only way we can get your attention, and my employer is very sorry we had to go to these lengths."

That was it. I copied the file and logged out. I thought to log back in, but when I tried, the box was gone. This was some professional shit. I had no idea what to do. I have no idea how long I sat there in my chair. I don't even know a single thought I had while I sat there. When I came to awareness, it was dark. My first thought was that I should eat something, for some reason. I heated a can of soup and made a grilled-cheese sandwich. I wasn't hungry, but I desperately, hopelessly, needed something normal to do.

My brain began to function as my hands worked, and the helpless tears of rage, fear and frustration began to flow. Why me? What could anyone possibly want with me? I had nothing, I was no one; why would anyone do this? I couldn't function well enough to figure out who or why, and I had no idea what to do. I took a couple of bites of my sandwich and a couple of spoons of soup before I began to feel nauseated. I threw it away.

Through that long night I paced, I swore and wept bitter tears. I broke things and hurt my hands beating on things. As the day was breaking, I had no idea what I was going to do. It seemed that I had no choice but to do what they wanted. I damn sure didn't trust the police, so I was going to have to do what I had to do. I packed my suitcase, found my passport and took a last look around, hoping some idea would come to me, some clue I had missed. There was nothing but silence.

I opened the door and turned back to look again. I became lost in my thoughts until I heard a soft voice behind me. "Hello, baby girl."

I froze. I was hallucinating. It was the voice of a ghost, an echo from the past. I wanted so badly for it to be true, for my desperate fears to be taken away, for all my dreams to be answered. My shoulders sagged in defeat. Now I was losing it to the degree that I was fantasizing.

"Aren't you going to speak to me?" There it was again.

I covered my ears. "Stop it!" I screamed. "You're dead! Leave me alone!"

Even through my hands over my ears, I heard that familiar chuckle, like a bear growling. Two huge arms came around me and I saw that familiar ring. "Where are we going, baby?"

I spun in his arms and looked up into his face. My vision dimmed and I felt myself slumping as my legs would no longer support me. Blackness closed over my eyes, leaving only a tiny point of light, which dimmed and the blackness claimed me.

When I awakened, there was something cold covering my face and someone was holding me. I was disoriented, and I began to struggle. "Easy, baby girl, I got you." It was that voice again!

I took the cloth off my face and he was there. "Daddy?" I whimpered.

"Yeah, it's me. Do you know how long it took me to find you? You're good at hiding, Collins. I'm going to have a few words for that sister of mine."

"What... how... you're dead!" My voice was small and shaky. I reached up and touched his face, ran my fingers through his beard. A hysteria was growing in me like that wave that had destroyed my life. I sat up and buried my face in his chest, just like I had when I was a tiny, hysterical sobs shaking me. I clung to him fiercely, as if the strength of my grasp could stop him from ever leaving me again. He just held me and whispered his love in my ear until my wild emotions came under control.

I just rested there for a while, reveling in the comfort of his arms. My father was alive! My world had been upside down. Now it revolved on its vertical axis and everything was right. Then I came to my senses. It wasn't, and my tears began anew.

"No, no, don't cry, sweetheart. Please, Collins, you're breaking my heart. Talk to me, baby. Where were you going with your suitcase?"

I managed to choke out the words and I could feel him stiffen and then relax as the story spilled out. He was very quiet. "Dad, what are we going to do?" I pleaded with him, needing him to find a solution, needing him to be my rock.

"Shh," he placed one of those huge fingers on my lips. "Let me think, honey."

I kissed that finger, then clasped my hands around that huge hand and held it to my face, cupping my cheek in it.

We sat there in silence for so long that I almost fell asleep, the sleepless night and emotional ringer I had been in leaving me drained.

He hugged me close and I stirred. "Let's go, Collins," he said. You've got a plane to catch."

"But..." I began.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes, of course, but..."

"I've got this," he said. "I want you to do exactly what they told you to do. Once you get word that Viv and Gregg are safe, I want you to tell them you need to speak to Vivian, okay, just to prove she's free and alive."

"Okay, but..."

"Just listen. I want you to tell Vivian these words. She'll know what they mean. She'll do what she needs to do, I'll know, and I'll get you out of there, okay?"

I nodded. "What do you want me to tell her?"

"Tell her that the princess is in Nairobi with Dynaelectron. She'll know what that means. She'll call me and I'll take care of everything, okay?"

"Yes, I'm so scared, Dad."

"I know. Me too, but I think they'll want you happy and cooperating and they won't harm Viv and Gregg."

We got my shit and went outside. He grinned at me. "You've still got the truck," he said. "I'm surprised you didn't sell it."

I really didn't want to feel like smiling, but I did. "I hate it," I said. "I was selling it next week."

That got me a chuckle and I handed him the keys. It was a ways to the airport and I needed to know.

"What happened, Dad? Where were you, and why didn't you let me know you were alive? I thought you drowned. God, Dad... I was... I was..." I couldn't go on.

He put his big paw on the back of my neck and rubbed me like he had since I was a tiny. "I remember telling you to swim for it, and I knew I wasn't going to make it," he said. He choked up a little. "I went down and I don't remember anything for a while.

"When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I had a nasty knock on the head; I didn't know who I was or where I was for a while. I was in and out, and by the time I had my wits about me, you were gone, Viv was gone, and I had no idea where you were. They later told me they found me under a dock three miles down the beach from where we were. Someone knew CPR and they kept me going until an ambulance could get there and shock me alive again.

"Every day, I searched for you. I wore Google out, and nothing. You and Viv are too smart. It wasn't until I saw that you had pulled out of the PAC 12 meet that I got wind where you were. I came as soon as I could. I was mystified about why you two just disappeared. I guess I know now. This has got to be her, Collins. Nothing else makes sense."

He wouldn't tell me what he was going to do, but he spent the rest of the drive and the time it took me to board my plane on the phone. He was just as infuriating as before he died, I decided.

It was almost more than I could do to leave him at the TSA gate. I'd just found him again, and I didn't want to let him go. He had to unwrap me from around him and push me toward the TSA people. "Don't stress, baby," he said. "Have I ever let you down? I got this."

I smiled through my tears. "Well, yes, you fucking died on me," I said. He got a big laugh out of that, and I was proud enough of my sense of humor that it gave me the strength to walk through the gate.

If it was Mira or someone else, they at least put me in business class. I had plenty of room. I drank a can of Sprite and some cranberry juice. I sat there, lost in my thoughts for a while, then the night and the events of the day caught up with me and I slept. I woke up briefly when we landed in Vancouver, but I didn't have to change planes, and I was soon dreaming again. They weren't good dreams and I woke up with a start, my heart pounding.

We were descending into the holding pattern. After the usual shit to get my ears working again, I put on some eye makeup. I was going to look good if they killed me. A little lip gloss, and I was as good as I was going to get. I checked through with no trouble, got a stamp on my passport and collected my bag. No one met me and I had no idea what to do. I wondered around for a while and finally decided to step outside. I immediately saw a black limousine with a sign on the back window that said, "Collins Drake."

I suspected that wasn't a common name in Taipei, so I though it was for me. I knocked on the passenger window and the back window on that side rolled down. I thought they must want me to get in back there, so I was obliging. There was a partition between me and the driver, but there was an envelope on the seat. I opened it and read. "Ms. Drake. Your aunt Vivian and Gregg have been released. There are refreshments. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. You aren't going to be hurt in any way."