Rebirth: The Awakening of Rebekah Elizabeth

REBIRTH

THE AWAKENING OF

REBEKAH ELIZABETH

BY

KIMBERLY JOHNSON

Copyright © 2018 by Kimberly Johnson

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN-13: 978-1720786337

ISBN-10: 172078633X

For my daughter, my little ray of light, and to my mother, thank you for all of your sacrifices.

I would like to say a special thank you to my friend Maria for encouraging me and inspiring me to act on my dreams.

Thank you, George of Literary Services, for helping me finish my dream, I never thought I’d get this far, and with your help we made it happen.

Thank you, Kristyn of Drop Dead Designs, for giving Rebekah a face and the presence to reach out of from the cover.

Thank you, Isabelle, for your support, encouragement, and words of wisdom.

You always said exactly what I needed to hear.

Prologue

Rebekah has had the same dream for as long as she can remember. It always starts with her in a long white gown running through the woods on a crisp, clear, full-moon night. The moon was so bright that it gave the night an eerie black and white hue. Closing in behind her was a pack of wolves. If she stopped to catch her breath, they would catch her and rip her to pieces. She stumbles and trips from exhaustion landing face first on the ground. She turned over and scooted on her bottom; keeping a close eye on the huge reddish-brown wolf leading the pack. It would snap at her feet the closer it got. The wolf seemed to get closer with the sound of each snap.

Even in her desperation, she could see the wolf’s eyes were a paralyzing violet color that gave them a magical glow. Those eyes seemed familiar to her. She couldn’t remember where she had seen that color, but she knew she’d seen those eyes before. She thought they were beautiful. She managed to turn over, shuffling on her hands and feet as if she was turning into a wild animal herself. She stumbled upright and began to run again with her heart nearly bursting through her chest, it was pounding so hard. Afraid to turn around and look at the wolf again; she continued to run; run as fast as she could. She could feel the hot, damp heat from the beast’s breath on her heels.

The sounds of the pack surrounded her, as she approached the cliff. She stopped at the edge sending bits of rock plummeting into the black abyss below. Watching as they tumbled silently into the bewitching emptiness below. She turned around, and took a step forward to run away, but stopped when she saw the moonlit silhouette of the oversized wolf lurking just shy of the tree line. It was watching her with its intense beautiful eyes. They are the only thing she could see clearly, but now they were glowing brighter, and even more beautiful with the same violet glow, and even more human like than before. All she could do was focus on those eyes in the darkness staring out at her amongst the growls.

She took a step back but stumbled on the crumbly cliff and almost lost her footing again. The wolf stepped out of the shadow of the tree line, streaks of golden blonde in its reddish-brown fur glowed in the moonlight, and its beautiful huge bushy tail danced behind it. Rebekah, mesmerized by the beauty of this creature, could hardly take her eyes off it. The wolf had her caught in its gaze. With its back arched and fur standing on end; growling so low that it chilled her to the bone, the wolf slowly crept toward her. It was frightening, but for a brief moment, it was clear, and Rebekah heard a voice, and the howls turned into whispers. Confused, she asked herself, Is that a voice? She tried to listen closely, but she could only make out …You have to… the wolf bore its teeth, and the last thing she saw were those eyes glowing in the darkness; everything goes black. She felt the cold seep inside her as she fell into the black abyss, as the wolf, with its head down, watched her. The last thing she saw was the wolf fading into the darkness leaving only the faint glow from its eyes.

CHAPTER I THE AWAKENING

Once Maria started looking after Rebekah; she excelled at her schoolwork and was able to complete her high school requirements a semester early and even made a few friends. It was like magic, the storm inside Rebekah had turned into sunshine.

Over time, Rebekah became increasingly estranged from her mother and closer to Maria. Maria encouraged her to attend community college and get her associates. Rebekah was able to get credits from her AP classes, and she took a full load in school and attended summer school. She met her first real friend, Natasha, while working at a bar near campus. Rebekah was finally at a place in her life where she was not angry any more, and she was able to make meaningful and lasting relationships. She met Lindsay in her online study group for a class she was taking: Fairy Tales, Fables and Folklore, and when Rebekah decided to move to the city, Lindsay was more than happy to share an apartment with her while they finished school. The three of them were always together, even though Natasha and Lindsay didn’t always get along.

It had been several years since Rebekah had talked to her mother, and she really considered Maria to be more of a mom, speaking to and visiting her regularly. She treated Rebekah more like a daughter as well. Rebekah had never been happier, she no longer felt anger toward her mother and her loyal friends had chased away any feelings of loneliness. Unfortunately, Natasha had to move away to help with the family business, but still kept in touch with Rebekah, even though she didn’t see her as often as she would have liked.

Natasha was a night owl and loved to go out to the bars and clubs partying until dawn. That’s how she met Rebekah; Natasha was at the bar where Rebekah worked one night and the two became instant friends. They would meet up after Rebekah’s bar-shift and hang out. When they decided to move in together, they would always manage to miss each other since Natasha worked during the day at a clinic owned by her family in the next city about 35 minutes away. Natasha came from a very old and established family. Her family was very close, and she spent a lot of time traveling back and forth. Funny, she always seemed to miss out when the girls did something during the day; she was always gone. All of a sudden, she had to move out to be with her family and to prepare to take over the family business out of state. She made a point to say goodbye to Rebekah, but Natasha disliked Lindsay’s free spirit, and made a point to leave and say nothing to her.

Soon afterwards, Lindsay met her now current husband, and Rebekah got a place of her own. Rebekah had a job and her own place, and she finally felt like she had a place in this world. One day Rebekah received a letter without a return address, she eagerly ripped open the envelope curious of its origins. Rebekah gasped when she saw it was from her biological mother, Angelica. She had not spoken to her since before she finished high school. It was as if her mother fell off the face of the earth, and all the anger and sadness came rushing back. How could you walk away so easily? she thought. It wasn’t like you were a pregnant teenager and gave your baby up, I was damn near grown when you bounced. She refused to read it and threw the letter away. She didn’t want those old feeling to come back. Rebekah was happy now, she finally felt normal.

A few weeks later, she received a phone message from her mother asking her if she experienced any uncontrolled changes. That particular question triggered something in Rebekah, and over the next couple of weeks, she became withdrawn, that nightmare she used to have as a kid returned. She was not sleeping well because of it and became irritable, snapping at everyone for any reason. Lindsay became concerned and Natasha was gone, so she felt like it was up to her to bring Rebekah back to her old self. So, she came up with a plan to get Rebekah out of her funk, and of course to also have a little fun in the process.

Now, Lindsay was the wild child of the trio. Lindsay never spoke of home and the girls have never met any of her family. Lindsay always managed to get around the subject of family, and she would tell them that the girls were her family now. You name it, Lindsay has probably done it. One guy managed to hold Lindsay down long enough to get married, and there was even a kid on the way. Nevertheless, the thought of a family quickly ended when Lindsay lost her baby. She kept everything to herself, and she refuses to talk about it. She acts as if it never happened. It put a strain on the newlyweds and they began to drift apart. Duncan is a young lawyer, and he has acquired some high-profile clients. He works a lot and Lindsay is at home alone most of the time. She is free to do whatever she wants, with whomever she wants, or so she thought.

Lindsay hatched a plan to get her husband to pay for a mini vacation, since a long weekend was coming up, hoping this would bring Rebekah out of her depression. She planned for them to go out of town for the weekend, and Rebekah thought maybe they would go to the beach or rent a cottage by the lake. She wanted to do something relaxing, simple. Rebekah has been feeling anxious lately, and she was angry with everyone and everything. The fact that Angelica wants back in her life really made her furious. She had been gone for years, and Rebekah felt like a storm was coming with Angelica’s return. She also remembered that relaxing and simple never happens when Lindsay is involved.

Little did they know that this girls’ weekend would change their lives in such a way that life as they knew it would never to be same. As Friday afternoon rolled around, Lindsay arrived at Rebekah’s and they started out on their journey to unknowingly end the normalcy of their lives.

Hey Bee-otch, Lindsay says as Rebekah gets into the car. This is going to be the best freaking weekend EVER! Are you ready?

Rebekah always tried to keep Lindsay grounded when they would go out, and knew deep down inside she loved her husband, Duncan. Lindsay always wanted to be a mom but later in life, and Rebekah had no explanation as to why Lindsay acted the way she did. She hated it but loved it at the same time. She loves Lindsay’s care-free spirit. Lindsay was one of two friends that Rebekah had over the last few years, and she has always been there for her through all her breakups and breakdowns, through all the sleepless nights.

During the drive, Lindsay mentions to Rebekah, You know Beks, maybe you could find the one this weekend. I feel it; something is going to happen, something that is going to change your life.

Seriously Lindsay, you better not be trying to hook me up again, Rebekah replied.

See that’s what’s wrong with you, replied Lindsay. Not all men are like Robert, geez I’m sorry. I didn’t know Robert was having issues; I didn’t know he was a thief either. Duncan didn’t tell me he was in the middle of a messy divorce either. He just said he was a good guy. Look, forget about all that, this weekend you need to keep an open mind, and have some fun. Besides, I’ve been worried about you lately; you don’t come over as much, and you seem to be withdrawing from everyone and everything. You seem to be changing, what’s up with you?

"Lindsay, I didn’t mean anything about that... Fuck him. I’m fine. It’s… my mother has been trying to contact me. It has been years since I’ve talked to her, and now she acts like she is so concerned for my safety, my life, my well-being. She has been calling me leaving cryptic messages on my phone; I don’t even know how she got my number. She is asking me weird questions like if any crazy shit out of the ordinary has happen. Hell, I thought she was dead. I thought she took off on one of her trips and died or something. It seems like every time I think she is gone for good; she pops up.

We were never close. She was gone a lot when I was young. We never really talked, and she never spoke of my father or family. If it were not for a friend of hers, I would not be where I am today. I had a hard time growing up; I always felt different, and I was never able to fit in and make friends easily. My mom was never there for me when I needed her the most. So now, when she calls, I try to ignore it; I got nothing to say to her. She probably wants some money... Lindsay, I’m just… I don’t know. I feel like… I’m missing something. I feel like there is something I should know; and with my mother calling me, it really has me thinking. I know nothing about my family; who I am, where I came from; nothing. Since she has called, I feel like she is checking up on me; hiding something, and it has me feeling more and more uneasy."

Hey, you know, talking to your mom might solve a lot of that. She is your mother after all, crazy or not. Hey it could be worse. I don’t even know mine. I was raised by my grandma. Oh God Beks, you are starting to drag me down with you. You really need to have some fun, blow off some steam. By the way, and don’t freak out… but a friend gave me his invitation to an exclusive party… it’s private, by invitation only; some real secret shit. So that is what we are going to do! Crash this damn party and have a blast.

Really? Lindsay what the hell? We could get raped or killed or some shit. Besides, I thought we were going to do something quiet. Why don’t we do a spa day and a nice dinner? I’m not in the mood for all that secret, exclusive bullshit. I really don’t want to be around a bunch of people. Can’t we just do something relaxing, and quiet… simple?

Lindsay was already shaking her head disapprovingly. Bitch; that is boring as hell, I got a get out of jail free card and I’m gonna use it. We are going and yo ass is gonna have some fun, and so am I, probably more than you.

Ugh, I’m guessing you are hooking up with someone, I don’t get it, why are you even married.

"Oh Beks, you know Duncan is great guy, he is everything a girl could want, except he is never home. I have everything I want, I have a perfect life... but that’s just it, it’s perfect. No excitement, no thrills, and no adventure and there is no passion, or lust, love or whatever. He doesn’t satisfy this hunger that is inside me. Don’t get me wrong, I do love him in a way, and I did love him, once. I thought he was the one, but then life happened, I happened. I don’t get butterflies; my heart doesn’t skip a beat when I think of him. None of that shit happens when I think about my husband. We got married because I got pregnant. Duncan does not satisfy me.... Shit... was that a shitty thing to say? Ok it was... a really shitty thing to say… but fuck it; it’s the goddamn truth. THERE I SAID IT!"

As Hotel Loup De Sang comes into view, Lindsay says, Ahhh shit, get ready bitch, we bout to do this.

Rebekah and Lindsay pull up to the hotel, and Rebekah stares at the beautiful building—white with shimmering images barely visible all over it, and the doors and windows trimmed in gold. Lindsay hops out to greet the valet, (who looks like he was about 18) he asks to park Lindsay’s Mercedes.

Lindsay replies, Sure, you can park it and anything else you want, and winks.

Rebekah responds with, God Lindsay, can we get checked in first before you start hoeing around.

Lindsay laughs aloud and says, Oh shit, Beks, my bad, but dayum isn’t he cute. Oh my God! You do not know how good this feels to just be out. I feel free. I can do whatever the hell, I want, and no regrets. Rebekah, you only live once and you might as well take advantage of what little time you have left in this life. You never know when it’s gonna end.

As soon as they walk in, Rebekah starts to feel this heavy feeling in her chest; her palms start to sweat. Her heart is beating so hard, she can feel it in her neck. It reminded her of the pain she would feel in her dream. They make their way over to the front desk, and Rebekah finds a nearby place to sit. She doesn’t want Lindsay to know that she is feeling ill. Rebekah is sitting near a large window; she closes her eyes and tries to take deep slow breaths. She feels the warmth of the sun; the sounds of the hotel seem to get farther and farther away from her. She can feel her whole body getting warmer. Lindsay laughing at her suddenly snaps her back to reality, right when she felt herself slipping away.

Bitch, you about to fall asleep! Girl, come on! We are checked in, let’s get ready for dinner. You better not weasel out on me!

Rebekah jumps and starts laughing. NO, Lindsay. I was not about to fall a-fucking-asleep. Geez you scared me. I was in deep thought… dayum.

During dinner, Lindsay does most of the talking, telling Rebekah that she comes here to workout at the gym on Peoria, and she flirts with the waiter. In turn he gives them a discount on their meal. Lindsay asks him if he knows about the invitation only party going on tonight and flashes her invitation; surprised, he tells her that it is a very exclusive party for people from here. Only the elite have invitations like the one she has. He points to a symbol on the front. He let her know that he hopes they can hook up later when he gets there. While in the elevator, Rebekah, curious about where they are going, starts asking questions.

Ok Lins, what is the deal with this damn club; you haven’t said too much about it. Did you hear how the waiter guy said it was ‘exclusive’ like you weren’t supposed to have that damn invitation? More importantly, what did he mean by elite? I’m sorta creeped out.

For God’s sake Bekah, calm down, I got it from Roman323, and fuck it; I got it and we are going. Where tha fuck is your sense of adventure? It’ll be fun. It’s not like you’re going alone, replied Lindsay.

What the hell Lins, what the heck kind of name is Roman323? And my fucking sense of adventure is somewhere SAFE! replied Rebekah.

Oh Rebekah, it’s a guy I cybersex wi… I mean, chat with. Oh, we have been doing it for years, his real name is James and he is a personal trainer at Wolf’s Gym. He is actually why I come here. We’ve hooked up a few times. He is fucking awesome; literally.

Rebekah replies with, God, Lindsay, you are such a slut; what about your husband? Did you forget you have one?

Yea, I know, and no I didn’t. Fucking Duncan is always gone. He even takes off in the middle of the night to help his ‘clients.’ I’m not stupid… Besides, what’s a girl to do? Shit I got needs too, chuckles Lindsay like none of this is a big deal.

Rebekah and Lindsay get up to their room; they drink more wine and start getting ready. They discuss what they are going to wear, and Lindsay tries to talk Rebekah into wearing something totally out of character. Nevertheless, Rebekah makes it a point not to get all dressed up; she puts on a nice shirt and some jeans with some Mary Janes.

While Lindsay puts on a skirt so short she cannot bend over and a tube top with knee-high boots. Of course, her body is amazing—the best money can buy. This leaves Rebekah feeling a little overdressed. Rebekah is incredibly toned and has great skin. She doesn’t realize how naturally beautiful she truly is. She defiantly grew out of that awkward kid stage. Despite everything, Rebekah is happy to be out with Lindsay, and her spirits do seem to be up. Even though she knows she will most likely end up alone while Lindsay finds a guy to hook up with. But Rebekah always has a good time with Lindsay, even if they do not spend most of their time together. The girls make their way downstairs and get into a waiting cab.

The club is near the pier in the warehouse district. This is strange since there are no clubs or bars in that part of town. There is one warehouse that gets rented periodically and someone hosts private events there. Lindsay commands the driver to take them to the Forbidden Fruit, the warehouse on the pier.

He turns around and asks them if they are sure, and says, You girls might want to think twice about going there; you are not from here. Those pop-up raves can be dangerous for you girls, things can happen, and then the club and everyone is gone the next day.

Lindsay laughs and says, Yea, like we want to go hang out with our driver; nice try, dude, we are not interested. She motions for him to turn around, and drive.

Rebekah nervously looks at her, and then turns and looks at the hotel. She was beginning to think that this might not be a good idea since they have never been to anything like this before and are about an hour away from home.

Rebekah starts to ask the driver a question, Lindsay jumps in and orders Rebekah not to talk to him, and yells at the driver, Just drive, and stop being creepy! Lindsay leans over and whispers to Rebekah, You are not backing out now; we are already in the car; there is no turning back. I need this, and so do you. Let’s have some fun, and whatever goes on tonight stays between us.

When Rebekah and Lindsay pull up to the club, a black stretch limo pulls up behind them and Natasha steps out. Natasha is of average height, brown golden curly hair with blonde streaks, and pale blue eyes.

Rebekah jumps out and yells Nata!! Oh my God what are you doing here?

Natasha thinks to herself, What the hell is she doing here? She is not one of us. Natasha is surprised and a little concerned for Rebekah’s safety. She quietly says, Umm, wow, I never expected to see you here, Rebekah, Natasha takes a deep breath and speaks in a lower annoyed voice, and oh look... Lindsay is with you.

Rebekah asked Natasha how she heard about this place. Natasha tells her that her uncle owns a few clubs back home in New York, and he happens to own this warehouse. Here, he hosts raves whenever he feels like it. So, I have been promoting. He has a special clientele that comes for these parties. They are strictly invitation only for our ‘special’ clientele. By the way, how did you get an invitation? Not that I mind, but this is a pretty exclusive party. I’m glad we ran into each other. It is really popular back home.

Rebekah’s says, Oh, Lindsay got an invitation from some guy she knows. So, your uncle is basically throwing a huge rave because his special friends like to party? Wow, must be nice to have money like that.

Lindsay walks up and interrupts, Where the heck have you been; you moved away, and I haven’t seen you since. What Lindsay does not know is that Natasha hates her and thinks she is trash.

Oh... hi Lindsay I’ve been really busy.

Oh, but you keep in touch with Beks.

Rebekah cuts in and says, Fuck Lindsay, do you have to be a freaking bitch all the time...

Lindsay responded with, Fuck it, let’s just go in.

As they approach the door, the bouncers are at least 6’5" and weigh at least 250. These men were nothing but solid muscle, and they are dressed in black pants and red shirts. They immediately notice Natasha and motion for her to come forward. Natasha whispers something to the guards, and they motion