Holding the card in her hand, she stared at it while she thought about her decision. He found her. No one else had—yet. She knew she didn’t want her old life back. When she had escaped from Trial Island and read the letter she had written to herself, it was obvious that the old Abby knew that she should not go back to her old life. After her brief run in with Bryce, she absolutely did not care to find out how she wound up with someone like him.
She walked out through the open doors and squatted next to the glowing embers. Holding the card between her fingers, she gave it one last look before flinging it onto the dying fire. She watched as the laminate on the card warped and curled a bit as the edges turned brown. A moment later it burst into flames, and within a few seconds was nothing more than a wisp of an ember that floated up from the fire and drifted off toward the sea.
Abby watched as it disappeared from view. Thinking about the letter she had written to herself, one line stuck out – There are lives that depend on your ignorance. She didn’t know whose life, or if that still applied with Bryce out of the picture. She hadn’t been that specific in her letter. She did know that she was very happy and content not knowing what she had left behind, and did not see the benefit of getting her memory back.
Walking into the villa, she closed the French doors behind her, stripped off her shorts, and climbed into bed next to Eric. Today did not happen, she thought to herself. I wish I could forget that, too.
* * *
Eric waited as several days went by. Morning jogs, walks through the forest, trips to the market, afternoon naps and the regular evening socialization. Abby was carrying on with her routine as normal, and Eric followed suit, only he was watching, and waiting.
The first day he wondered at what point she would bring up JJ. Eric had run into him at the market that day, and he had asked about her.
“How’s she doing?”
His genuine concern struck Eric. This man who had tracked them down – or really tracked Abby down – didn’t know them. But the look in his eyes, the crinkle of his brow, and the tone of his voice said that he was truly worried.
“I think she’s OK,” Eric said. “She went for a long walk last night and seems to be thinking things through. This has got to be a real trip for her, you know?”
“Yeah,” JJ conceded. “I can’t imagine what’s going on in her head right now.” He paused, looking from the market to the boatyard and the blue ocean beyond. “Don’t worry, Robert has taken care of me. Your secret here is safe, alright? But seriously, someone else is going to find you soon. I’m sure of that, and when they do...” He spun his finger around in the air, indicating everything around them, “...this place is going to turn into a circus.”
Eric laughed a bit. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. I don’t see that happening.”
“You’re underestimating two things, my friend. How big your story, well, Abby’s story, is back home. It went away for a while, but since it hit the news that she’s a mob wife on top of everything else, you can’t turn anywhere without hearing about the story or seeing her face. Second, the media will go great distances for a good story.” He looked around, “This place isn’t going to know what hit it.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m sure Abby will come to her senses eventually. Hell, if she doesn’t want to go back home, I’m totally fine with that. We’ll just go and hide someplace else.”
JJ looked at him hard, “You at least have to get her to talk to Robert, OK? It’s important. He’ll convince her.”
The second day, Eric figured she was still thinking and didn’t want to talk about it. She hadn’t brought up the subject, and he figured that meant he shouldn’t either. One thing he knew about Abby – if she set her mind to something, that was it. She had to bring up the topic before he tried to help her along.
By the third day, he began to worry if she was giving their situation any thought at all. This was a major point in her life. It was a defining moment. He loved their life here, too, but if he were in her shoes, he’d be looking for a way out. She didn’t need to make a snap decision, but she needed to decide something.
That same day, he found himself helping out in the market in the afternoon. Jay wanted to rearrange some of the heavier produce stands and needed his help. The sun was hot, and it had been a long afternoon, but they got it done before the evening rush.
JJ came by just as they were finishing up and asked Eric, “Got a minute?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Eric said with a smile.
They took up residence at a corner table in the barroom, where JJ bought them a couple of American beers.
“Has she talked to Robert yet?”
Eric shook his head.
Of course, JJ already knew the answer. He had spoken to Robert just an hour ago. “Listen, Eric, if you think it would help for me to talk to her again, I will. But otherwise, I can’t really stick around here too much longer. Robert is a great man and pays me very well, but I’ve spent the last few months exclusively searching for you guys. I’ve got other clients, and frankly, if I don’t get back east soon, I’m not going to have much of a business to go back to. You’ve got my info and Robert’s, and he knows where you are, too. Unless I’m escorting you back to him soon, I’m going to take off.”
Eric thought about it. “I get it. She’s stubborn. Honestly, I wouldn’t hold my breath. I think she’ll come around eventually, but you might be waiting a long time.”
Silence hung in the air for a few moments while they thought about that. “So,” Eric wondered aloud, “what else is going on back home, besides us?”
They spent the next hour, and a couple more beers, talking sports, politics, and those things men talk about. They laughed like old friends. As the place started filling up with young men giving up work for the day, they decided to move on.
“Listen, Eric, you seem like a good guy. Try to talk some sense into her, OK?”
“I will, I will.”
“I’m heading out tomorrow, alright? It’s going to take me a few days to cross all these damn time zones to get back to my own bed and catch up on my own life. I gave you one of my cards, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If she changes her mind, give me a call. The other number on there is Robert’s office in London. It’s his private line. Who knows where in the world he’ll be, but his assistant will get you through to him. Seriously, have Abby call him, OK?”
Eric reached out and shook his hand. “She will.”
“Alright. It was great to meet you. If you’re ever in Boston, look me up.”
Eric walked past the end of the village, into the trees, and down the dirt road toward their villa. He wondered, With Bryce out of the picture, what is she so afraid of? He decided the only way to find out would be to ask her.
* * *
Abby had been going through her usual routine over the past three days, but her mind was elsewhere. Did I make the right decision? Of course you did, she would tell herself. She could not go back. She was scared to find out who she was. Granted, it led to this life, but even she had to admit that was about to drastically change.
As she walked along the beach, her thoughts drifted to her sister. If she did go back, Sarah would be the first person she contacted. Of course, not knowing what transpired over the past ten years or so, she had to remind herself that maybe that wouldn’t be the case in reality. They were typical sisters. They had their arguments, but they always made up and had each other’s back. Until that last time.
Sarah was so mad at her. Losing their parents was tough on both of them, but especially for Abby. Sarah was a few years older and had always assumed a maternal role over Abby, especially in the months after their parents passed away. Abby was in college at the time, and when her grades began slipping, Sarah got on her. It was the fall semester of her senior year, and Sarah said that she should take the rest of the semester off and start up again in the spring.
“So what if you’re there an extra
semester, or even an extra year?” she asked.
Abby didn’t see it the same way. Yes, she was struggling, but where would she go? She couldn’t go back home to stay at her parent’s house. It was big and empty and would not do the least bit to help her through her mourning. And she wasn’t about to move in with her sister. Abby felt that if she left school, she might not come back, and didn’t want to take that chance.
She was lost, sad, and unsure of her future when she met Rick. He had personality, money, and weed. She first started smoking with a friend after going back to school right after her parents’ funeral. She had never done it before, but she immediately became a regular user. Her problems disappeared when she was high, and she liked that.
Rick came into town shortly thereafter. He was a supplier, not a dealer. She met him at a party and was immediately drawn to him. One thing led to another, and they became an item. She passed all of her classes that semester out of pity from her professors. The poor girl had lost her parents, so, of course, she was having a tough time. In the spring, as she started spending more time with Rick, the wheels came off. She attended class less and less and never saw her friends anymore. She was becoming a different person.
Sarah was constantly telling her she had to get rid of him; that he was bringing her down. “Mom and Dad are rolling in their graves,” she would repeatedly say. When Abby couldn’t graduate because she failed one of her last classes, Sarah lost it. They had a screaming match over the phone that ended with Sarah saying, “I don’t even know you anymore! You are not Abby. Whoever you are, lose my number until my sister comes back!”
Abby hung up. She was furious at her sister for telling her how to live her life. She was furious at her parents for leaving her. And she was furious at God for taking them from her.
The next day, driving over to Rick’s apartment, she got stuck in traffic in front of the college. She didn’t realize why until she found herself driving past the quad where a tent was set up and the graduation ceremony was about to begin. There were thousands of students in her graduating class, preparing to receive their diploma and be unleashed onto the world.
And where was she going? To see her boyfriend and smoke up.
That was her wake-up call. She pulled the car over and called Rick, telling him she couldn’t come by. The next day, she enrolled in the make-up course being held over the summer intercession. She tried calling her sister over the following weeks, but her calls when straight to voicemail and were never returned. Finally, she stopped leaving messages and soon thereafter, stopped calling at all.
Her class was only five weeks and would be done by the beginning of July. She would return home after that and confront her sister directly. She would show her that she’d put her life back on track, and that it was time to move forward.
The last week before she was to go home, Rick showed up at her apartment. He wanted to make up. He wanted to repent for whatever he’d done and wasn’t taking no for an answer. He was charming, and he wound up spending the night.
He was still there when she got home the next afternoon from class. She kicked him out, but only after telling him that she couldn’t be with him anymore; that he wasn’t good for her. He left, saying that he would see her around, but the days went by with no sign of Rick.
Abby finished her class and got her diploma. She still couldn’t get through to her sister, so she decided to ride out her lease until the end of the month before packing up and heading home. She spent most of the next few weeks at the beach, in between hunting for a job. At the end of the month, as she was packing up, Rick showed up again. This time he didn’t leave, and they spent the rest of the summer together.
Abby knew she had to get her life in order and he couldn’t be part of that, but there was something about him that kept drawing her back in. Maybe it was his looks, maybe his money, or maybe the slight air of danger he brought to her life. More than likely, it was all three.
Outside their villa, Abby kicked the sand in frustration. As hard as she had tried over the past year, she had no specific memories of the past ten years, and how the changes in her life had worked out. That bothered her to no end. She did know that life had not been good to her, but lacked any details.
Do I really want to go back and re-live what happened?
Her instinct said no. She had a good life now and felt that she shouldn’t mess with it. Still, something tugged at her mind as she tried to go to sleep at night. It was an unquenched curiosity. What was so important to forget that I had my own memory erased? Who am I trying to protect? Me, or someone else? She fell asleep thinking about this, and those thoughts haunted her dreams all night.
8
THEY WERE BOTH a little sleep deprived. Eric usually slept like a rock, but Abby’s tossing and turning all night kept him awake. When Abby tiptoed out of the bathroom early in the morning, Eric was already making his morning tea.
He looked at her. “What are you so afraid of?”
She rubbed her eyes, asking, “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, so stop pretending that our lives are not going to change. We have to address this.”
She walked away shaking her head. “I don’t know what you’re saying, Eric.”
Eric prided himself on his even temperament, but he was in no mood to be even-tempered today. He yelled at her back, “Abby, stop it! Whether you like it or not, we’ve got to make some changes. This has happened, and we have to talk about it!”
She walked down the steps and plopped down on their unmade bed, staring out at the pounding surf. She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but they wouldn’t stop coming.
Eric sat down next to her and handed her a tissue, “Hey, sorry I yelled, but we’ve got to talk about this.”
“I just...” She was trying to compose herself before she spoke, but couldn’t.
“It’s OK to cry, you know. You are human, I think... right?” He smiled with a comforting twinkle in his eye.
Abby cracked a slight smile back. After drying her eyes, she gestured out the doors with her hands. “All this. It’s so beautiful. I don’t want to give up what we have. I love our little world.”
“So we’ll change our geography and build a new world together. We can do that, you know. We did it once and can do it again. We don’t have to go back to our old lives.”
“What if we can’t? What if we have to go back?”
He shook his head. “No one is making us.”
Abby was quiet for a long time before she spoke. “I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of what I’ve got locked up here.” She tapped her temple with her finger. “I’m thinking of getting my memory back, but I’m scared. And you should be, too.”
He put an arm around her and thought a minute before he said, “He’s gone. He’s gone for good, and you’ve got nothing to be scared of anymore.”
“I’m not scared of him, Eric. I’m scared of losing you. What if there’s something in my past you can’t handle? What if I’m not someone who you can be with? What if I’m not someone I can be with?”
“I love you, Abby, and there’s nothing about your past that can change that.”
Abby gazed into his eyes. “I keep playing all these scenarios in my mind. What if there’s someone else? What if that’s who I’m protecting?” He smiled back at her, a little dumbstruck, not sure what to say. “Whatever I left behind was important enough to give up my entire life. Why would I do that? Why would I forbid myself to know what’s in my past?”
“Abby, whatever it is, it’s in the past. It’s been over a year since you walked away from that life, and you haven’t gone back. I’m sure if you left someone behind, they’ve moved on.”
“I don’t know. I get this feeling in my stomach that says I can’t hide forever. In my letter, I was obviously scared for my own life, but for others, too. The part that says ‘lives depend on your ignorance’ keeps sticking with me.”
She was thoughtful for a moment, and then spoke without taking her eyes from the ocean. “What if whatever I left behind was so important that I would never be able to keep myself from returning if I knew about it?”
Eric sighed. “Then there’s only one way to find out. You can’t torture yourself about this for the rest of your life.”
“But...”
“But nothing.” He hugged her tightly and laid her down on the bed. “I love you, and that means I love everything that comes with you. We’ll deal with whatever you’ve got locked up in there, together.”
She closed her eyes. Why did JJ have to find them? Why did Bryce have to die? Damn it, life would have been easier if he was still out there. She cursed herself for the thought. He was a piece of shit who deserved to die. She regretted that she didn’t end him when she had the chance. That would have avoided this whole mess.
“Abby,” Eric said.
She lay still with her eyes closed. She knew that when she opened them, this life was over.
“Abby?” Eric said again.
She prayed that everything would work out and opened her eyes. “OK.”
“OK?”
She smiled, “Yes.”
“Good. I don’t want to rush you, but JJ said he’s heading out today. Let’s catch him before he leaves so we don’t have to wait for him to come back.” Eric knew he was rushing her, but he did not want to give Abby the opportunity to change her mind.
They got dressed, donned their satchels and headed down the path to the village hand in hand.
Escape, the Complete Trilogy Page 28
