A Fresh Start

by Grace, Trisha

  “Just put her in the crib.”

  “You think I haven’t tried. She’ll cry.” Travis stretched his hand over placing the baby into Justin’s arm. “See, perfectly fine. Goodnight for now.”

  “You haven’t even told us their names.”

  “You’re holding Jessica. Paige is holding Joyce.”

  “Welcome to the world, Joyce.” Paige smiled at the sleeping baby.

  Justin hadn’t realized he was staring at Paige until she glanced up at him.

  “Oh, my phone is vibrating.” Paige handed the baby back to Amy and reached into her back pocket for the phone. “Mrs. Seymour,” she said, and went out of the ward to answer the call.

  “You’re in trouble,” Amy sang the words.

  “What did I do?”

  Amy shook her head with an indulgent smile. “You’re so in love with her.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “You don’t see how you look at her. And for the first time in my life, I actually think you’re happy.”

  “I’ve never been unhappy. It’s you guys who keep assuming that I am.”

  “Maybe, but you’ve never been happy.” Amy stopped talking and looked over at the door when Paige reentered.

  “They’re here, coming up right now.”

  Amy nodded and arched her brow at Justin when Paige wasn’t looking.

  There had been plenty of times when Justin had been happy. He was happy when the Seymours bought him a bicycle for his birthday, when the Seymours helped him with his work and cooked for him while his mother was still passed out on the couch, when the Seymours opened their home to him while he was avoiding his mother who was suffering from a hangover.

  Those were the only times in his childhood that he felt like a normal child.

  Then there was the first check he received from the first house he’d flipped.

  But he had to admit that things with Paige was different.

  He had never felt like that about anyone. It was a different sense of happiness from what the Seymours had given him.

  He tried to put into words what he was feeling, thinking, but he couldn’t.

  Looking over at Paige again, he was only sure of one thing—he didn’t want to go back to life without her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Paige turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around her. She listened to the water drained down the pipe and waited. Her hand was on the door knob, but she closed her eyes and paid attention to the sounds in the house, listening to make sure there weren’t any strange noises.

  When she realized what she was doing, she shook her head and stepped out without waiting for the sound of water dripping to stop.

  Justin had fixed up the window grills, added a security chain to her door, fixed up the new doorbell he’d told her about, and installed the motion sensor set right at the entrance into her street.

  Now, whenever some walked or drove into Marquardt Avenue, the alarm in her house would ring.

  She looked over at her unmade bed and smiled, glad to be back in her own house.

  Though the Seymours told her that she was welcomed to stay at their house for as long as she wanted, she moved back into her own house last night.

  She didn’t care if Cole would show up again and if she’d start getting the dreaded letters, she was done hiding.

  For over three years, she’d allowed herself to focus on the fear of having someone constantly watching over her. She’d allowed the loud screaming voice of fear to take over every inch of her life.

  She was done entertaining fear and all the thoughts that brought her nothing but anxiety. She promised herself that she’d start saying ‘no’ to her fears.

  Justin was right. The stalker was obsessed with her. The control was hers, not the other way around.

  For prudence sake, she had decided to make some tiny adjustments.

  She had pushed her usual jogging time back half an hour. There would be more cars on the road then and it’d be safer for her.

  Placing the gun down by the dressing table, she got dressed.

  Usually, she’d grab her cell phone and head over to the Seymours. It was just a short distance between the two houses. If she needed anything, she could always come back to get it.

  But today, she took her handbag and slipped the gun in.

  She was determined to make it a habit. She didn’t want to be caught off guard without her gun again.

  The guilt she’d felt for Cole had completely evaporated. She wished things didn’t have to be so ugly, but he seemed determined to make it so.

  She crossed over to the Seymours without a single glance over her shoulder. Justin was already seated on the Seymour’s porch, there was nothing for her to worry about.

  “Good morning,” she chimed.

  Though she had moved back to her own house, Justin remained at the Seymours.

  She took the handle of her bag and gave it a light shake. “I remembered to bring the gun.”

  Justin nodded with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” She moved over to him.

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “You look worried, and that worries me.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with Cole or your stalker.”

  She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I didn’t think it was about that.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  She nodded and reached over to take his hand. She couldn’t quite figure out if he was frustrated or concerned. “Is it your mom?”

  “She broke up with her latest boyfriend; says she needs money and a place to stay.”

  “What did you say?”

  “To check herself into rehab.” He looked down and twirled the phone in his hand.

  “And you’re feeling bad about that?”

  “No. I told her long ago to choose between alcohol and being my mother. She made her choice. I’m not going to enable her.” He looked over at Paige, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “Do you think I’m a horrible son?”

  “No,” she answered without any hesitation. “I think you have the courage to do what many cannot. And the fact that you’re so tortured, even though you know you’re doing what’s best for her, shows that you’re an amazing son.”

  She leaned over and gave him a hug.

  The way Justin handled the situation with his mom made her feel ashamed of how she dealt with her own problems. He was definitely affected by it, but he didn’t allow his feelings to take over.

  It must pain him that his mother chose alcohol over him.

  He could have chosen to be resentful and to use his alcoholic mother as an excuse to become one. But he didn’t.

  And here she was, handing control of her life over to a stalker who had caused her nothing but misery.

  She took in a deep breath and pulled away from him. “You’re doing the right thing, you’re a great son.”

  Justin cracked a genuine grin. “Thank you.”

  She shrugged and pulled him to his feet. They went into the house and had breakfast, during which Paige asked if she could have more practice with shooting.

  Everyone was more than willing to help.

  Once they finished their breakfast, they all helped set up the things while Mrs. Seymour guarded the kitchen, keeping Mr. Seymour from raiding it.

  Since food was out of the question, Justin picked up fallen leaves and taped them to the trees for Mr. Seymour to use as target shooting.

  They spent the next two hours practicing. This time round, she was more comfortable with the gun. Before each shot, she would take in a deep breath, then squeezed the trigger. Her cringe reflex was getting more manageable, and she learned to control her arms, preventing them from jerking upwards as she fired.

  “You’re getting better,” Justin said as they sauntered out from the Seymours’ house after packing up.

  She beamed brightly at Justin, th
en turned toward the white postal service van that drove into the lane. She felt her gut twisting inside her even before the mailman opened the car’s door.

  Justin took her hand and continued toward her house. “It’s normal to receive letters. I’m sure there are bills you have to pay.”

  Right, there wasn’t a need to get so tense over a few mails.

  But when the mailman pulled out a stack of letters, she swallowed hard.

  Even before she consciously registered the source of her panic, something in her brain began ramping up the fear. Then, she caught up with her instinct—the cream colored envelopes.

  She closed her eyes and forced herself to take in a deep breath, not realizing that she’d stopped walking.

  “Paige Watson?”

  She had promised not be controlled by her fear. “That’ll be me.” She took the letters from the mailman and continued into the house.

  Justin followed her without a word. He took one of the cream-colored envelopes off the top of the stack and opened it. He twisted his lower jaw and took in a deep breath.

  “I’m fine.”

  Justin narrowed his eyes, observing her for a moment.

  “Paige—”

  “I really am,” she affirmed. “It doesn’t matter who this person is. Behind all the letters, flowers, and photos, he’s just human. This is why you taught me to shoot.” She sat with the stack of letters still in her hand. “The envelope and the paper are different. They’re similar, but different.”

  Justin sat next to her, still scrutinizing her.

  “I am fine.”

  “You’re being very brave, but I don’t want you to hide behind a mask. If you’re afraid, you’ll let me know?”

  “I’m scare, but I’m also sick and tired of this.” She threw the stack of letters onto the coffee table. “Fear is feeling, so is anger. I think it’s time to get angry.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Paige smiled. “Besides, this time round, I have the advantage. Like you said, there are limited places where he can watch me. It’s a small town, there’ll be talk if anyone notices someone new.”

  Pushing her hair behind her ear, Justin ran the back of his finger down her cheek. “All that is true, but promise me you’ll still be careful.”

  She nodded and read through the letter in her hand. “There’s something different about the words.”

  “What does it say?”

  “No, literally. I think the font is different or something.”

  Justin’s brow drew closer as he lifted the letter closer to his face. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Paige read through the letter again. Something was wrong about these letters. She placed the one in her hand down and picked up another.

  She perused through all the letters, reading each of them several times.

  Then, the new motion sensor alarm that Justin installed rang. Her head snapped toward the window as the sound of engine got louder.

  Setting down the letter in his hand, Justin got up and moved over to the window. “Cole,” he said already moving back toward her.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Cole was the last person she wanted to see. She wasn’t interested in dealing with his strange behavior today.

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  “No, I will.”

  Justin opened the door before Cole could press the doorbell.

  Stepping out from behind Justin, Paige stated without any emotion, “Cole, I’ve told you, we’re not getting back together. Please, just go. I’m not in the mood to deal with you today.”

  “What’s wrong?” Cole asked, his voice infused with concerned.

  His calm behavior surprised her.

  She shook her head. “I got the letters again.”

  “Let me see.”

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t need your help.” She turned to go back to the couch, but Cole suddenly grabbed her arm.

  “Looks like it isn’t safe for you to continue staying here. Leave, leave with me. I can help you, just like I was doing before.”

  “I’m not moving.”

  “What? It was perfectly fine for you to up and leave New York when it was me, but now you don’t want to leave because of him?”

  Again, the Cole she’d seen in the past few days returned.

  Without turning to Justin, she could feel the waves of fury rolling out from him.

  She wrenched her arm from his hand and stepped away. “You should go. Stalker or not, I’m not getting back together with you.”

  Cole stretched out his hands and clutched onto Paige’s shoulder, shaking her.

  She gasped at his sudden action, her throat tightening.

  In one action, Justin pried Cole’s hand from her shoulder and pulled her back behind him.

  “You won’t be able to survive without me!” he yelled.

  A sense of rage exploded within her. She held Justin back as she saw him leaning forward with his hand clenched in a fist.

  Immediately, Justin dropped his fist.

  She stepped beside Justin and squeezed his hand when she felt his hand tightening around hers. “Is that what you think? That as long as the stalker has his hold on me, you can control me? Drew was right all along, you have been using this to manipulate me.”

  As she said that, a sudden realization dawned upon her.

  She stormed into her house and gathered the letters before returning to Justin’s side. With all the letters in one hand, she flung them in Cole’s face. “I knew something was wrong with the letters. That’s because the stalker didn’t write them, you did,” she seethed. She couldn’t remember a time when she was this angry. “Get out of my sight. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

  The shock on his face said it all.

  There was no surprise or anger at her accusation. He stared at the letters and struggled to form a sentence. “Paige—”

  “No. There’s nothing you can say that would excuse your despicable behavior. There’s nothing in the world you can do to get me to take you back. Get that into your thick skull,” Paige said, her finger jabbing forward. “We are over. Next time you show your face here, I’m going to call the police.”

  Cole took a step toward her and Justin moved forward, putting himself between them. “Stay. Away. From. Her.”

  Paige knew it was probably taking everything in him to stop himself from hitting Cole.

  Justin slammed the door close and let go of Paige’s hand to close the curtains.

  “Well, I guess the good news is that the stalker hasn’t found me,” Paige said as she returned to the couch. “I can’t believe he did this; he saw what the letters did to me. How could I have been so blind?”

  “You’re not blind, just too trusting.”

  Paige looked over at Justin and gave him a small smile. “Thanks, for not jumping in when I was dealing with Cole.”

  He shrugged it off, not saying anything else.

  Andrew would never have allowed her to confront Cole like that. He would’ve stepped in before she could even open her mouth.

  She could sense how irate Justin was, but instead of responding to his feelings, he controlled it for her and trusted her to deal with the problem.

  “What are you thinking of?” she asked as she noticed his faraway gaze.

  “The letters, you’re sure it isn’t from the stalker?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “It’s different from those I used to receive. For one, whenever I got a hate mail, there would be one along with it that apologizes for what was written. But today, all of them were hate mails.”

  “What if it’s because he’s so angry that you left?”

  “Maybe. But every letter I’d received were of the same type of letter and envelope. Even the font in each of the letters was exactly the same. I can’t be a 100% sure, but something doesn’t feel right with the letters I got today. And if he didn’t send them, won’t the natural response be ‘what the hell are you talking about�
�?”

  “True,” Justin agreed.

  “Why?”

  “If it’s him, at least we know who to watch out for.”

  “Well, whoever it is, he hasn’t found me yet. Maybe he won’t ever find me. Maybe he’s moved on to a new target.”

  He pressed his lips together, forming a thin line. Then pushed up a corner to form a patronizing smile.

  “You don’t think so?”

  He turned, angled his legs toward her, and leaned forward. “I won’t let you go. If you were to disappear, I’d go looking for you. Your crazy ex didn’t, and still doesn’t, want to let you go either.”

  “I may be wrong, but you sound jealous.”

  “Would you like it if I have women knocking on my door every day?”

  She smiled, she hadn’t thought about it like that. “I don’t have guys knocking my door. Just one who isn’t quite right in his mind.”

  “Are you trying to change the topic? Or are you trying to ask me how many women have there been in my life?”

  “Tell you what, the next time he’s here, I’ll shoot him. Not at him directly, probably in his general direction. I’m sure he’ll get the point then.”

  He laughed, then continued. “And I promise, there won’t be any ex knocking on my door.”

  “That’s a difficult promise to keep, unless you have a crystal ball or something.”

  “You’ve told me your secret, I’ll tell you mine.”

  Paige narrowed her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly.

  He reached over and gave her forehead a tap with his index finger. “Don’t worry, I’m not crazy. I don’t have a crystal ball,” he teased.

  “I know that,” she said and waited for him to continue.

  He exhaled through his mouth, seemingly considering his words. “I don’t do relationships.”

  “Okay,” she replied. That explained why he wouldn’t have any ex looking for him, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

  He did introduce her as his girlfriend when they were out house hunting for him, but it probably was just a ruse; an easy explanation for her presence.

  “So, I won’t have anyone who would come looking for me,” he added.

  Was this his way of saying he wasn’t interested in having a relationship with her?