A Fresh Start

by Grace, Trisha

  While turning on the engine, Mr. Seymour asked, “Do you have your gun with you?”

  He grimaced. He’d given his to Paige and it was probably in her handbag back at his house. “Please tell me you have yours.”

  Mr. Seymour grinned and pushed his shirt aside, revealing a black pistol. “I have another in the trunk.”

  “Perfect.”

  Paige sat up straight and stretched her back as the credits for the first Lord of the Rings began rolling.

  It’s time.

  “Do you want to get some rest? You seem tired.”

  “It’s the medicine; it’s making me a little drowsy.” She shifted herself away from Daniel and turned to him. “Which of our rooms will we be changing to the master bedroom after we get married?”

  “Why don’t you decide?”

  Paige could see that her question pleased him.

  She nodded, her focus moving toward the window as she pretended to be thinking through the question. After a moment, she finally gathered her courage and asked her intended question, “What about the garden? Can we plant some lavender or something? I don’t know much about plants, but I love the scent of lavender.”

  He grinned at her, nodding.

  Hopping to her feet, she returned his grin and asked, “Can we see the garden? Do we have one in the backyard? Imagine how nice the house will smell when the lavender is blooming.” She widened her smile and stretched both her hands out toward Daniel.

  Her lower jaw trembled from the ache of holding her smile, and she forgot how to breathe.

  She dropped her hand when Daniel didn’t reach out for her. Voices screamed in her head, telling her how her plan had failed and how she was going to die for it.

  Personally, based on all the things Daniel had written in the letters, based on how he had behaved, she would prefer death to whatever Daniel could do to her.

  Her smile faded, allowing her jaws to get some rest. She couldn’t give up now, she’d played his game all morning.

  I’ve never failed a test. I’m not going to fail this. “You don’t want me to go outside,” she mumbled. “It’s all right, I’m tired anyway. I think I’ll take a nap in my room,” she said softly, purposely looking away from him.

  She only realized the problem after a moment.

  She couldn’t leave Daniel alone, not now. If he were to turn on the TV and find some news about her, he’d find out what she had done at the store. She pressed her lips into a thin line, her thumb rubbing against the ring on her index finger.

  Taking in a deep breath, she tried calming herself down. There’s a way, there’s always a way.

  But she couldn’t think of any. She’d backed herself into a corner. So she did the last thing she could. Jesus…

  She couldn’t remember any bible phrases now.

  Daniel reached under the coffee table and pulled out a gun.

  She drew in another sharp breath, this time, involuntarily.

  But instead of pointing the gun at her, he slipped it behind him and took her hand. He led her out the front door, his hand firmly gripping onto hers.

  Though he had led her out, he didn’t give her any shoes. She walked around barefooted, carefully stepping over the twigs and anything she suspected would hurt her feet.

  She took her time, taking small, tentative steps. She didn’t dare to complain or ask for her shoes.

  Daniel was probably still judging if the decision to let her out of the house was a right one, and she didn’t want to do anything that would get her hauled back.

  “Oh, this would make a great spot for the lavender. We can find another plant with white flowers. It’d make the whole place look so pretty. What do you think about roses?” She turned to him, then pointed to an area nearer to the house. “We can plant a row of it there.”

  “Won’t the scent clash? I thought you love the smell of lavender.”

  “I don’t think roses have much scent. I heard it takes three roses to get a drop of rose oil. Unless we’ve a lot of them, I don’t think it’ll make a difference.” Taking another few slow steps, she jumped over a few twigs and turned back to face the house.

  She scanned the area. “We can plant a lot of stuff, but we should definitely plan. Otherwise, we might end up with colors that clash.” She took a step to the side, purposely stepping into the small ditch with the darker shade of grass.

  She leaned precariously to the side and screamed as her ankle gave way.

  A sickening crack of her bone startled Daniel as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her straight.

  Paige lifted her right leg and reached for her ankle with a deeply etched frown. “My ankle,” she moaned.

  Releasing her hand, Daniel moved and bent over her ankle.

  Her skin on the outer area of her ankle was red and there was a sharp pain shooting up her leg. She clenched down on her jaws and dropped her leg.

  Daniel got on one knee and examined her ankle, gently lifting it onto his knee.

  With a deep breath, her heart racing, she raised her leg, kneeing Daniel in the nose.

  The pain in her ankle hadn’t fully subsided yet, but it’d pass.

  As Daniel fell back against the floor, she caught a glimpse of bright red blood flowing from his nose before sprinting out the direction where the car drove in.

  She kept her head straight, her eyes staring ahead as she sprinted through the woods. Everything around her seemed to fade as her mind focused on the directions she had to keep while avoiding the trees.

  Behind her, a loud ‘boom’ rang.

  She ducked her head, her shoulders and arms flinched up to her ears in reaction.

  But she kept running.

  Statistically, there was a good chance that she wouldn’t be hit by the bullet as she ran. Even if she were hit, it probably wouldn’t be a vital organ.

  She wasn’t sure if that statistic was actually in her favor. If she got shot and could no longer run, she’d wish for it to be a vital organ.

  Shaking that thought out of her head, she swerved to the side and ran out toward the road.

  She had headed in the directions of the trees for some form of shield against the bullet, but she couldn’t stay in that path for too long or she might get lost.

  Regulating her breathing, she widened her strides and kept pushing forward like she did each morning during her run.

  Another loud shot caused her to instinctively arched her shoulders forward and bring her head in. But even as she did that, she noticed a piece of the tree bark chipping off right before her.

  Keep moving, it won’t hit you.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  “Turn left here,” Justin stated while his eyes remained on the Google map application.

  Mr. Seymour turned into the street, and Justin noticed the drop in volume of the car’s engine.

  On the highway, Mr. Seymour had driven as fast as he could, cutting cars that were moving too slow for them, changing lanes just so they could push that little faster toward where Paige was held.

  Justin hadn’t rushed him. Mr. Seymour probably didn’t want Paige to be in Daniel’s hand for another second longer than she had to.

  Once they were over the turn, Mr. Seymour sped up, following the Justin’s instructions through several windings. Halfway through, Justin noticed the pointer on the speedometer dropping lower.

  He was about to hurry Mr. Seymour when he heard a muffled gunshot.

  The shot sounded distant, but the muscles around Mr. Seymour’s eyes tightened as he scanned the surrounding area. The sound appeared to have triggered the soldier in him.

  Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Mr. Seymour took out his gun and passed it to Justin.

  “Slow down,” Justin told Mr. Seymour. If fake Daniel was the one shooting, it could be because Paige had made a run for it. He quickly pulled out the gun’s magazine to ensure that it was loaded.

  Staring out, Justin watched for any movements in the woods while Mr. Seymour further slowed the ca
r.

  “Stop!” Justin shouted when he saw a silhouette dashing toward their car. Holding out his elbow, he braced for the impact of the sudden brake.

  He looked up from the dashboard as he heard a thump on the front of the car and found a wide pair of eyes staring back at him. “Paige!”

  The shock and fear melted from her face as Justin pushed his door open.

  Just as he got outside, he heard another shot.

  He bent down behind the door just as the windshield shattered. His head snapped toward the noise, then peered over at where Paige was standing. “Stay down!” he shouted.

  He couldn’t see her, but there wasn’t any blood over the hood of the car.

  He looked over his shoulder and back at Mr. Seymour.

  “I’m fine. Get her!”

  Flinging the gun back into the car, Justin hollered again, “Paige, stay down!”

  Mr. Seymour pumped two shots from his gun, giving Justin some cover as he ran toward Paige.

  He looped his arm over her back and pressed her head against his chest before dragging her over to the driver side of the car.

  He’d just sat Paige down safely in the car when Mr. Seymour shouted, “He’s running!”

  He had to end this today.

  “Stay here,” he instructed Paige. He took the gun from Mr. Seymour and sprinted after Daniel.

  He entered the woods, pausing for a moment to listen to the loud crunching sound of dried leaves being crushed as Daniel ran.

  Three rapid shots reverberated through the woods, and the loud crunching stopped.

  Justin moved behind a tree, his arm raised and ready to take a shot while his eyes continued sweeping through the woods.

  One more shot pierced through the woods, followed by several rapid shots.

  The police, he thought.

  Carefully, he moved toward where the gun shots were coming from. Though the crossfire seemed to have ceased, Justin was careful of where he was heading.

  “Officer down! Officer down!”

  Justin craned his neck when he heard the frantic voice. Lowering his arms, he hastened his steps. He stepped closer to the young officer who was keeping his hands on an older officer’s wound.

  “Stop moving!” The young officer fumbled to reach for the gun when he noticed Justin.

  Despite holding on to the gun, he held out his arms by his chest. “I’m Justin Doyle. You’re here for Paige Watson, right? I’m her boyfriend.” He looked over at the older officer. “Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes scanning their surroundings.

  “He ran that way,” the officer said through clenched teeth. “I shot him, too.”

  Justin didn’t know if he should go after Daniel or stay and help the officer.

  “Go, I’ll be fine. It’s just a flesh wound.”

  He nodded and was about to go after Daniel when he remembered what all this was about, or rather who, it was about. Daniel had planned all this thinking he’d be with Paige forever; he wasn’t going to run and give up everything.

  Damn. He shouldn’t have left Paige and Mr. Seymour behind. He sprinted back the direction he came from, emerging from the woods and returning onto the road where the car was.

  “Are you all right?” Paige got out of the car and ran toward him.

  He wrapped his arm over her shoulders but kept his eyes on their surroundings. “You need to get back inside. He’s coming for you.”

  “Are you hurt? I heard the gunshots.”

  Justin turned her back toward the car. “I’m fine. Stay inside.”

  “Justin!”

  He instinctively ducked, pulling Paige along with him, when he heard Mr. Seymour’s voice.

  He pushed Paige in the car and pressed her down against the floor. “Stay down!”

  Paige’s hands covered over her ears as another few shots fired toward their direction. Each time he tried to get up and catch a glimpse of Daniel’s position, shots would be directed toward them.

  He heard a loud, explosive shot. Without even looking, he knew it was Mr. Seymour’s rifle.

  “It’s okay.” He took his hand off Paige’s back and ran his hand through his hair.

  “Damn. The gun jammed,” Mr. Seymour complained, his hand quickly dismantling the gun.

  “Stay down,” Justin instructed Mr. Seymour, right before another bullet went flying into the car. This time, it went past the broken windshield and breaking the rear windshield.

  The glass flew, most of it spilling out.

  Justin placed his hand over Paige’s hair and tried to shield her from any of the flying glass. “It’s okay, just stay down,” he repeated.

  They couldn’t sit around waiting for Daniel to ran out of bullets.

  Since Justin couldn’t get up, he dropped to the ground, pressing himself to the concrete road. Between the tires and the narrow width of vision, he couldn’t see much.

  He pushed his body back and again peered through the gap under the car.

  This time, he finally saw Daniel’s slow, jerky movement toward them.

  Wherever Daniel’s wound was, it was pretty bad. The blood stain had stretched down to his ankles, nearly touching the rim of his pants.

  It was difficult to get into a good shooting position, but Daniel was getting closer.

  He had to take a chance.

  Releasing the safety catch, his index finger moved over the trigger and squeezed.

  The first bullet missed.

  Justin quickly adjusted his aim and fired a second shot before Daniel had time to retaliate.

  The second shot hit Daniel in his left ankle. He collapsed onto his side, his pale face now clear to Justin.

  Daniel stared back at him with deadpan eyes; the life fading out from his eyes. Despite that, the gun in Daniel’s hand twitched. He was determined to take someone along.

  Justin shifted the gun, his finger placed right beside the trigger, ready to give it another squeeze if necessary.

  He didn’t want to, but if he had to put one bullet through Daniel’s head to end this whole thing, he would.

  Before he had to pull the trigger, a pair of legs moved over to Daniel and kicked the gun away.

  Justin got to his feet and glowered at Mr. Seymour. “He could’ve shot you.”

  “I’ve seen enough to recognize when a man is dying.”

  Justin sighed softly and knelt back down, rubbing his hand on Paige’s back. “It’s all right, Paige. It’s over.”

  She sat up and looked over at him, her hands still cupped tightly over her ears.

  He reached over and gently pulled her hands down. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

  She wrapped her hands behind him and buried her face in his chest.

  “He can’t hurt you anymore,” he repeated, pulling her tighter against him and running his hand through her hair. “Come.” He helped Paige out of the car and pushed her hair away from her face. “Are you all right?”

  They both turned their heads when they heard the sirens.

  “Paige,” Justin whispered, getting her attention. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No.” The word came out almost like a sigh.

  He frowned and leaned his face closer. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and stepped closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Hmm?”

  “When the time comes that you have to leave Pine Bluffs, I’ll go with you.”

  Justin lifted her off his chest and scrutinized her face. “And your job?”

  “I’m not taking it. When I was in college, I used to work on accounts for people. They’d email or mail me their receipts and I’ll settle the accounts for them. It was good money, I can do that again.”

  “Do you want to?”

  “I want to be with you.”

  Justin bent down and kissed her. “I love you.”

  She beamed at him. “I love you, too.”

  He gave her a peck on her nose and looked over to Mr. Seymou
r who was still standing over Daniel’s body.

  “He’s gone,” Mr. Seymour said.

  “You shot him?” Paige asked.

  “No.” He shook his head. “The police did.” He glanced down at her feet and took his shoes off. Bending down, he slipped her feet into his shoes. They were way too big for her, but it was better than having to walk barefooted. “I know where the police officers are, should we join them?”

  Mr. Seymour took another look at Daniel’s body and nodded. “You bought her something,” he said nonchalantly.

  “Right.” He went over to the back seat and took out the brown paper bag, shaking the bag of any remnant glass pieces. “I’m sure you’ll like these.”

  “You got my note,” she said the moment she saw the bag.

  “Yeah.”

  Paige looked around and asked, “Where is Andrew?”

  Justin turned to her. “Don’t freak out. Daniel reversed into him and ran over his prosthetics when he tried going after you.”

  Her eyes widened, and she immediately stopped.

  “He’s fine,” Mr. Seymour assured. “We tried getting it back in shape, but it wasn’t too successful.” He laughed.

  “We should give him a call.” Justin gave Paige his phone. “Let’s get this over with and go home.”

  Epilogue

  Paige looked out at the runway of JFK airport and returned her attention to the photos on her phone. She grinned at the photo of Jane and herself, taken at the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History.

  It had been nearly a year since her kidnap by Daniel. Turned out his name was Daniel, just not Daniel Mansell.

  Daniel Shaw had two previous conviction on harassment. He’d stalked two women before her and twice, he was only made to go through psychiatric treatment.

  Detective Linden had told them that if he hadn’t died, there would be someone else. People like Daniel only escalated in their obsessive behavior.

  Every detail of that day was vividly etched in her mind. She remembered the paramedics arriving and pronouncing Daniel dead.

  She remembered stopping by Sandra’s shop on the way back to Pine Bluffs, hugging her and thanking her for everything.