by Linda Cooper
***
We watched them for an hour as they drank, he kept trying to buy her more drinks, and it seemed like she was spilling most of them. Finally, he stood up and held his hand out to her. She took it, and they headed out of the bar. She glanced behind to us just before leaving.
My heart raced. “Alright, let’s go.” I had to force myself not to jump to my feet. My phone buzzed inside my pocket.
Just saw her get in the car. Boys in the house already have been waiting 20 min.
Sam stared at me, silently asking if everything was okay. I gave her a nod. “Let’s go. They boys are ready.”
I forced myself to act casual as we stood up, at least I was pretty sure it was casual and headed for the door.
***
I looked from the small white pit-bull to the two women heading towards me. Yup, they were going to have to sit in the back. If that was too bad for them, well, they were just going to have to suck it up.
I looked back down at Jas. She was all curled up under her blue fuzzy blanket, and I reached out to pet the top of her head.
Sam glanced into the window, scowled and made her way to the back, I grinned as I started the car.
“You and that fucking dog,” she muttered as she slid into the back seat. I chuckled.
In all honesty, I never would have dreamt of making a person sit in the back seat so a dog could sit in the front—until I met Jacob. Since we’d started dating, this dog had become like a kid of sorts, not quite a kid, but in some odd way the three of us were a happy family. “Alright, you ready to do this ladies?”
“Yup, let’s go!” Sam perked up.
I took a deep breath, put the car into drive, and headed for the address we’d agreed on. The drive was tense to say the least. There was no music, and there was no talking. I was focused on the road. Every car that came speeding towards us I was worried was a cop car, every light we came up to I panicked would turn red and I’d run it by mistake.
I let out a deep breath, trying to force myself to relax as I pulled into a parking spot right in front of a pizza place. Sam got out to grab us all a slice.
“So,” I glanced in the mirror and eyed my best friend. “You packed up everything you need?”
“Yea … I left letters to my family trying to explain all this … you know, without telling them anything, and I’ve got all the important stuff. My computer, family pictures, all that stuff.”
“Same.” The family pictures had been the first to get packed, along with a couple things from my great grandmas. Then it had been my favorite clothes, the ones that I’d eaten rice for a week to be able to afford, and then it was anything else I loved. Which sadly wasn’t much.
I cried leaving my apartment though. It was silly, but I’d cried the entire night after leaving. It was hard knowing I’d never be going back there again. Knowing that I was about to give up my life.
I snapped myself back to reality and turned to face Jade. She looked like she was thinking the same thing. I forced a smile; though it was a weak one, it did make Jade smile back. “This is crazy, right?”
“Yup. It’s fucking crazy, and maybe stupid, but if we’d have said no, we’d be regretting it for the rest of our lives.”
Jade gave a dry laugh. “I guess you’re right.”
“I normally am. It might sound dumb, but I really care about Jacob, I can’t bring myself to let him go off on his own while I stay here and try to keep living my life. It won’t work. I’ll get caught up in what could have been. Even if this doesn’t work out, I’ll know that it didn’t. I’ll know what happened. If I stay here, I’ll never know.”
Sometimes I wish I’d be as good at giving myself advice as I am about giving other people advice.
My heart skipped a beat as the back door popped open and Sam slid inside. She handed me and Jade a slice of pizza before tearing into hers. “So, now what?” she asked through a mouthful of pizza.
I shrugged. There wasn’t much left to do except wait. Thankfully, we weren’t waiting too long before we saw Kat on the other side of the street coming towards the car. She looked over her shoulder before crossing the street, her pace quickening as Jade popped the door open for her, then slid into the middle seat and buckled herself.
“Hey.” She sounded breathless as she sat down. Sam handed her a fresh slice of pizza.
“How did it go?”
“It … it was fine.” She looked pale and sounded like she’d just seen a ghost. I swallowed, turning away from her and starting the car. We needed to get away from here fast.
“Are you okay?” Jade asked.
“Yea … I’m … I just … I’m okay.” She stared down at her pizza. I couldn’t help but pray that she wouldn’t puke if she ate it. The guys had been in the house already waiting for him when he arrived, that much I knew, so the look on her face could only have to do with them.
What did you see in there?
***
I glanced in the mirror again. He was still there. I swallowed, my throat dry. What was I going to do? How was I going to get out of this?
I let out a scream of frustration. Tears still rolling down my cheek and pooling in the corner of my eyes. My vision blurred as I tried to blink them away. I could go to the police station, but I’d have to go down the 2. At this time of night, the highway would be empty, and I’d risk hitting a fox or a deer. But if I could get to the police station, I’d be safe, maybe I could even file a report and get something done about it.
They’d never been able to help me before, all they could do was set up a restraining order, but if I called them when he was following me it was like he knew, he’d be gone by the time they actually got there. So, I just gave up, after a while there was no point in taking them away from a potential situation where they might actually be able to save someone’s life.
Here. This was it, the turn onto the highway. I pressed my foot down harder on the pedal as I accelerated onto the highway. By now I’d gotten used to the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw he was gaining on me, so I pressed my foot down harder. The engine revved as I looked down at the speedometer. I was going 70 miles an hour, 75, 80. I glanced in the mirror again.
If I kept going this speed, I could get there in no time, but he was still gaining. I glanced down at the speedometer again. 85. I forced myself to look at the road, resisting the urge to look again in my rearview mirror and struggled to control the car as I went around a bend. My eyes scanned for anything that might jump out at me. Why had I done this? This was going to be the death of me, wasn’t it?
“Fuck!” I screamed. I glanced down at the notebook in the passenger seat. If only I could write something. Thank them … tell Preston how I felt about him … tell them all how much I loved them.
I gasped as I felt the car rock to the side. I could see his headlights so close to me. My eyes flicked to the mirror. He was right behind me. My heart dropped into my stomach as he bumped into the car again, and this time I felt myself lose control. I wanted to close my eyes and wait until it was all over, but I couldn’t. My eyes locked on the trees I was headed for. I slammed on the breaks, launching forwards as I hit the front of his car. I tried to steer away from the large oak. The car slid.
My right hand reached down and grabbed the emergency brake. I pushed it down. Too late. Something thudded against the ground as the car hit one of the smaller trees in the group. I let out a deep breath, my heartbeat was getting faster and faster. Reaching for the console, I pulled it open and grabbed the knife that I always kept in there. I unlocked my door and pushed, but couldn’t get it open. I groaned as I tried reaching for the window crank and unrolled it. I looked over my shoulder. There was no sign of him. Thank God.
Once the window was down, I looked around once more and climbed out. This was it. I was either going to get away or have to kill him. My palms were damp with sweat as I clutched the knife so tight my nails had begun to cut into my skin. I ignored the blood that b
egan to mix with sweat as I looked at the wreck.
His entire front end was smashed into the back of my car. I swallowed dryly as I stared at the mess. The two cars were pretty much merged together. He twitched in the driver’s seat. He turned his head and stared at me as he reached for the door. Shit. I turned on my heel as I heard the pop of his car door open. I scrambled to get away. I wasn’t going to fight him if I didn’t have to.
Luke
It felt so odd to be in here. His house was so nice. I never would have expected it. I’m not sure why, but it was just so nice. It was clean and well put together. Apparently, he worked in an office of some kind where you had to wear a suit. That was pretty much all he owned.
My head turned towards the back of the place as I heard something shatter.
“What was that?” I snapped to anyone who would answer.
“No clue, it came from back here,” Dom said leading the way towards the back room.
We found Priest in what must have been the bedroom. A huge bed with silk sheets, two dressers lining the one wall and a bookshelf on the other. Priest stood beside the bed, a picture frame broken at his feet. I stepped towards him, but he refused to look at me. For the first time since the day that we buried Becky, I saw a tear run down his cheek as I bent down and picked the picture up. I wasn’t surprised by what I saw, but my heart still dropped into my stomach. He stood behind a girl, years ago. He didn’t have grey hair back then. Her hair was so blonde, her red lipstick, that AD/DC shirt that she loved more than anything else. His arms were wrapped around her, and his lips touched her cheek. I couldn’t help the rage that boiled up inside me as I tore the picture in two.
“Guys!” Dom hissed. “Go get a plastic bag.”
“Right,” Jacob spoke behind us.
“You can’t go doing that; otherwise it will be obvious that it was us.”
He was right. We had a life we had to worry about now.
The front door opened. We all turned to stare at it. “That’s him,” Dom whispered. We all sunk into the shadows as we heard him coming towards the room. Jacob must have hidden from him, thank God. I closed my eyes as I saw the hall light flick on. This was it. He pushed the door open to his room, stepped inside and flicked on the light. I saw Kat. She looked nervous.
His eyes locked on the broken photo on the floor, trailed up and around the room until they locked on Priest.
Priest lunged towards him. Jacob appeared in the doorway blocking his escape as Priest grabbed him, his fingers tightening around the man’s throat.
“No one is here to save you this time,” he snarled.
“Get out!” I shouted to Kat. She nodded, turned on her heel, and ran out of there.
His fingers curled around my wrist and pulled me back to him. I raised the knife to stab, but he deflected it easily.
“Stop!” he yelled. “Stop it!”
I felt something hit my cheek as I struggled against him. I stumbled back and fell. He advanced on me, his fingers tightening against my wrist. I tried to scream, but he dropped down onto my chest. My head hit something hard and I felt all the air leave my body. His hand clamped down on my mouth. “Don’t make a noise,” he demanded. I stared at him, my body going limp. I only had one thing left to do.
I rolled onto my stomach, and he adjusted his grip on me, pinning my arms behind my back. I don’t think he realized what I was about to do as I raised my head.
“I didn’t kill her,” he blubbered. “She did it to herself.”
“She did it to get away from you!”
“No!” He sobbed. “Please, please don’t kill me. I loved her.”
Priest’s fingers tightened around his neck.
***
I, Becky Jackson, killed myself. It takes a strong will to know that you are about to die and still to do something. It takes an every stronger will to force your body to hit something as hard as it can.
I watched every second of it as I came down towards the rocks. I heard his scream, it was the last thing I heard, but I was just glad he wasn’t the last thing I saw.
I couldn’t fight anymore, and I couldn’t kill him. It was either going to be me or him, and I wasn’t going to let him kill me. I wasn’t going to let him control me anymore. He’d already done that too much.
Because of him, I was constantly looking over my shoulder, I had my four best friends take me anywhere. Hell, I was scared to go to the restroom alone in public places.
No. This was done now, and strangely I was happy.
***
“You didn’t love her. If you’d have loved her half as much as I did, you would have left her alone.”
The man crashed against the floor.
Jacob stepped in as he reached out for Priest. We hadn’t come here to torture him. We’d come here to make things right. Dom stepped forwards. The knife slipped from his pocket as he closed the distance between him and Becky’s murderer.
My eyes locked on him as Dom slipped the knife under his throat. The man cried louder, begging us not to kill him.
“How did she die?” Dom’s voice was quiet.
“She killed herself.” I could hardly understand him. “She … she hit her head.”
“Trying to get away from you?”
“No! ... er, yes … I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I just wanted her to listen. I wanted to talk to her.”
Dom stared at him with disgust. “You took advantage of a little girl, and when she caught on to how disgusting it was, she broke up with you and you stalked her. You made her life hell. You scared her so much she killed herself.”
It was all over too soon.
We’d planned for this our entire lives and then it was all done. There was no fight, there was no explanation.
Dom stood as the body slumped to the floor, blood already pooling around it. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small plastic bag and handed it to me. “Put this on the bed.”
I nodded, taking the long blonde hair strand from the bag and placing it on the left pillow. I swallowed dryly realizing what we’d done.
I didn’t know how to feel about it, my brain was still trying to process it.
“Let’s get out of here.” Dom’s voice was toneless as he headed towards the door. Before leaving, we turned the air on high in hopes that would help slow down the discovery of the body.
No one said anything as we made our way towards the back door. We slipped out into the fresh night air, and I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. Jade texted, letting us know that they had crossed the border. I let out a deep breath. The girls were safe and in a hotel apparently, which meant all that was left was getting us over the border.
It was easy to slip out the back yard and into an alley. I listened carefully but couldn’t hear sirens. Good. We made our way to the parked car in less than ten minutes. Jacob drove as Dom changed out of his jeans, and we were on our way. I listened the entire time for sirens of some kind, but I didn’t hear a single one.
Priest
We left the car with a friend of mine in North Dakota, who promised he would deal with it for us, for a price, of course. We were going to Canada with about $400 each. Thankfully, we might be able to get in on a little bit of the farming before winter hit. That would give us enough to get on our feet again, and with all our new credentials, we’d be set to go as long as we could stay under the radar.
We crossed into Canada sometime around midnight on foot. I looked around. The sky was cloudless, and there were so many stars out here away from the city. It was the same in Dakota too.
“Let’s take a break.”
I slipped my backpack over my shoulders and pulled out my water bottle. I drained most of it in a matter of seconds before pulling out a sub I’d packed. Jacob pulled out something as well as we all stood around in silence. The entire night had pretty much been silent.
“So, we should have about another two-hour walk,” Dom said, checking his new phone. I nodded.
I wasn’t sure I could trust m
y voice to say much at this point in time. All this walking in silence had me thinking a lot.
It felt so odd. “I can’t believe it’s finally done.” My own voice surprised me as I packed away the sub and motioned for us to keep going.
“It does feel kinda strange,” Jacob admitted. “We spent our entire life waiting for this, planning it, finding him. And now it’s all done … so what now?”
“Now, we start a new life. We give up on our old life, we forget as much of it as we can, and we move on.”
“We’ve all got someone to live for other than each other.” Dom nodded. “The girls, and in Jacob’s case his dog.” He smirked softly. Jacob laughed, but they were both right.
“Maybe I’ll get engaged.”
Everyone turned to stare at me. “What?” Luke choked out.
“You heard me. Maybe Sam and I can get our own place, and I can put a ring on her finger. It wouldn’t be a big wedding or anything.” I had my great grandma’s engagement ring. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it had sentimental value though I wasn’t even sure if it would fit Sam—or if she would accept it.
“I guess if she agreed to come out here with you, it must be a big deal. She must actually love you.”
“You sound surprised.” I rolled my eyes. I’d seen the way his girlfriend looked at him. There was no doubt that she loved him more than anything. “It’s not unheard of.”
“You must really love her too,” Dom remarked. He didn’t need to say it, but we all knew I hadn’t loved someone outside of these three guys in years since Becky broke my heart when I was a kid.
“I wonder if they have found him yet.” I hoped that would change the subject.
“Probably not. Are you guys going to buy a place before getting married? What if she says no?”
“Then I’ll wait. If she wants to buy a place first, then we’ll buy a place first. It might be better than living with all eight of you.”
Jacob laughed loudly. “You can get a dog. I hear there are lots of pit-bulls in need of a good home there … here.” He paused. “It’s so hard to believe that we’re in Canada.” He let out a low laugh though I didn’t actually think he found anything funny.
