Welcome to New Haven

by Dawn Doyle

  Just a few hours until the morning.

  They pulled up outside his house, and Holly got out to walk him to his door.

  Her phone beeped as she received a text message from her Mum, and she replied.

  H: Won’t be long. Just got back to Alex’s. X

  Alex held her face and she gripped his T-shirt.

  Holly didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay with him.

  No school tomorrow. No classes to interrupt our day.

  She felt a little happier knowing that, but she was still sad that they would be parting.

  “Buenos noches, mi chica preciosa. Te amo.” He whispered, lovingly.

  Holly understood what he had said to her and she smiled up at him.

  “Buenos noches mi chico especial. Te amo.” She replied, and he grinned before gently kissing her lips, pulling her tight one more time before he had to let her go.

  “Text me as soon as you get back, ok?”

  Holly knew he wouldn’t rest until she texted him. Letting him know that she was safe. She was the same way about him.

  “I will, babe. Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Alex watched Holly walk away and get in her car. She waved as she pulled away, and he turned to go into the house.

  The empty feeling in his chest and a churning in his stomach.

  Holly was driving down the road where Alex and Dev lived, and her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away quickly so she could see the road. She felt so happy and loved in Alex’s arms. There wasn’t anywhere she’d rather be than with him.

  “I love him so much.” Holly said out loud to herself.

  “I see that” a bitter voice spat from the back seat and Holly screamed.

  She looked in the rear view mirror as Stacey rose to sit up in the back seat.

  “Hello, bitch. Look who got out! Now keep driving the fucking car until I tell you where to go.” She said as she lifted a gun into view.

  Holly stopped breathing.

  Don’t panic! Please don’t panic!

  Babe, breathe for me.

  Holly could hear Alex’s voice, just like he’d told her before.

  She took a deep breath.

  “How…when did you get in here?” she asked. She was terrified that her dream would come true, with Stacey killing someone.

  Alex is safe. He’s not here. He’s safe.

  Holly felt better knowing that he wouldn’t be hurt.

  “You stupid cunt!” Stacey snapped. “I waited for you outside, and I got in the back when you were tongue fucking my property!”

  “Stacey, he’s not, and never will be yours. You need help, you’re sick” Holly said, calmly trying not to sound aggressive when all she wanted to do was hit her.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Stacey screamed, and Holly winced at the painful pitch in her voice. “You sound like them. I know what I want. I know they want me. Why can’t any of you see that?” Stacey cackled maniacally. “But…you’re good. I’ll give you that. Getting him to give in to you. Tell me this, though, British pig. Is he a good fuck? Have you even fucked him yet? Oh. My. God. You haven’t!” Stacey howled with laughter. “Oh…Oh. That’s so much sweeter for me. I’ll pop his cherry like the others. Even if he wants you, it’ll be me that’s fucking him.”

  Holly wanted to tear Stacey apart.

  She gripped the steering wheel tight. She had to stay calm… for Alex, for her parents. She didn’t want to do anything to cause Stacey to shoot.

  “Oh and don’t think about crashing the car. I’ve seen the movies and I’ll fucking shoot you if you try.” Stacey spat.

  Holly took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

  “When did you get released?” she asked with a calm voice. She was trying not to lose it. She couldn’t risk giving Stacey an excuse to shoot her.

  “Oh my dear, sweet, Virgin Mary white socks. They released me two days ago” Stacey said in a sweet voice as if in sympathy for Holly, whilst tapping the gum barrel on the side of the headrest. “They put a tag on me and told me it would go off if I left the house. They placed my mother in control of me. Put me in her care. Ha! All she had to do was make sure I stayed in and didn’t contact anybody.” Stacey burst out laughing. “Like that worked!” she continued to guffaw, wiping tears from her cheeks. As her laughter subsided, she cocked her head to the side. “I bet you’re dying to know how I got out aren’t ya? Aren’t ya?!” She asked, crazy eyed, and unhinged.

  “Well…” Stacey put her hand to the side of her mouth as if telling a secret. “I slipped her a little su’m su’m from my medicine cabinet.” Stacey giggled to herself. “She’ll wake up…Hmmm…tomorrow night? Dumbass kept her keys in her pocket! All I had to do was get to the car, and I’d be away. The tag…well…the guy who put in on told me they would know, immediately, if I tampered with it so I had only a short amount of time to get away before they showed up.” Stacey laughed again. “Oh, and this is the best bit!” She said, practically bouncing in her seat with excitement. It was like watching a child talk about their ‘best day ever’.

  “I opened the door and pressed the fob to unlock the car. I used extra sharp scissors to cut through the strap and then threw it in the middle of the room, and I bolted out of there! I figured if they thought I was still in the house, they wouldn’t rush over. The guy said the straps were too difficult. He obviously didn’t count on me sharpening the scissors like a fucking scalpel! I dumped my Mom’s car and took a cab. Genius, huh?” Stacey laughed again at her own admission. Giving Holly a detailed account of how she escaped. “Just keep driving, bitch” she spat, back to her original mood. She was insane alright.

  “Where are we going?” Holly asked, still calm. She didn’t know how she was doing it. Stacey had a gun pointed at her and making her drive to who knows where. All Holly could focus on was Alex’s voice in her mind.

  Breathe, baby. I love you Holly.

  “Piper’s Farm please driver!” Stacey chirped.

  Holly’s stomach lurched.

  Piper’s farm, about ten miles north of North Creek, was a derelict farmhouse in the middle of a huge area of land.

  At one time, it had been a busy visiting farm. People used to go there to see and feed the animals, visit the café, restaurant, and the large children’s play park.

  Now, all that stood was a couple of walls of the original building and a large brick storage shed.

  Oli had told Holly the story of how a gas leak, in the kitchen, had caused an explosion that burned down the house and animal enclosures, which went up quickly because of the straw. The barns burned down to nothing except for the metal beams.

  It was pure luck, or on purpose as some people thought, that the owner had let the animals loose in their grain pastures earlier in the day.

  It had made Holly sad to think how a family had lost everything in the split second it took for the gas to ignite.

  Now, she was close to that too. She didn’t know what Stacey had planned to do or whether she was going to be alive much longer.

  Holly’s phone rang, and Stacey snatched her bag from the passenger seat. She had a strong feeling it was Alex. She’d been gone for almost fifteen minutes without a text saying she was home. She only lived about five minutes away. Her Mum knew she would’ve held on to Alex for as long as she could and would’ve given her thirty minutes, tops, before calling.

  “Awww.” Said Stacey sarcastically. She answered the phone.

  “Hey, babe. Are you ok?” Holly could hear Alex’s voice in the quiet of the car.

  “Oh hi, babe” Stacey said in a sickly sweet voice.

  “Who is this?”

  “Aww, you forgot about me already baby cakes? Never mind, I’m sure I can jog your memory, Alex”

  “Stacey!” Holly heard Alex yell.

  “That’s right honey. Your one and only”

  “Alex!” Holly screamed. She wanted him to hear her. To let him know she was alive, and she
could hear him.

  “Shut up or I’ll fucking kill you!” Stacey shouted.

  “If you hurt one hair on her head I’ll kill you!” Alex screamed at Stacey.

  “Don’t say that, my darling, it just upsets me. Now, don’t bother calling again, because you’re never. Going. To see. Holly. Again.” She spat.

  “Holly!”

  “Alex!” Holly screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Stacey opened the window and threw out the phone.

  “Ah. What a nice chat. I like him.” Stacey said with humour in her voice.

  “You’re sick. You’re fucking sick! You’re not going to get away with it, Stacey.” Holly cried. The hot tears falling down her face and dripping from her jaw.

  “Oh. I know” Stacey replied as-a-matter-of-factly. “But…Alex wants you. That way there are no more distractions for him. Oh, and anyway, if you hadn't had been there tonight, I would’ve killed him instead. You can die happy knowing you’ve saved his life.” Stacey cocked the gun. “Now just fucking drive and shut your fucking mouth.”

  “Noooooo!!!” Screamed Alex as he tried to call Holly’s phone again. It just rang out.

  “Honey what’s wrong?” Evie asked, full of concern as she ran into his bedroom, seeing him on the floor, terrified tears running down his face.

  “Stacey…Stacey’s got Holly!” He growled in pain.

  “What?!” Screeched Dev as she ran in. “She’s in custody!”

  Alex frantically dialled 911.

  “I…I want to…report a…a…kidnap. My girlfriend. Holly…Edwards. Stacey Scutter…has taken…her. About…fifteen minutes…ago” Alex was trying to talk to the emergency operator and he was barley getting his words out. His insides were churning, his heart was pounding furiously and he was shaking in fear.

  The operator continued to question him, and he tried to answer her.

  “I called Holly… as she hadn’t… texted me… she was home. It should have…taken five…minutes. I called her…and Stacey answered.” Dev collapsed to the floor, on her knees, next to Alex. Hands over her mouth, tears spilling down her face.

  “I…I don’t know. But, it…sounded like they…were in the car. Stacey was in…custody for…stalking me and breaking…into my house. She wasn’t supposed to be out. The police said they…would tell us…if that happened. She wasn’t supposed to be out!” He yelled into the phone.

  Alex couldn’t breathe. His chest felt tight, and he was gasping for air but he couldn’t take any in. He couldn’t see anything because of his tears.

  “Alex!” Evie cried out. “Rami take the phone! Alex is having a panic attack!”

  Alex, upon hearing his Mom’s words, understood now how Holly felt when this happened to her.

  The fear, the terror, it built up until all sense of control was gone and sheer panic set in. The burning in his lungs was painful and his heart was beating erratically and hard. So hard, it felt like it was going to come up and out of his throat.

  He felt his Dad pry the phone from his hand as Evie held him tight, trying to soothe him.

  “Hello” Rami said into the phone. This is Alex’s father.” Rami explained what Stacey had done and confirmed what Alex had said. “Holly was driving a Ford Focus ST-2”

  Evie was holding Alex and trying to get him to put his head down and take deep breaths to calm him. Dev was shakily dialling a number on her phone.

  “I think my daughter is calling her mother…thank you.” Rami said before ending the call. “They were dispatching cars as we were speaking” He said anxiously. “An officer will be over right away to take more details.” He said as he ran his hands over his face.

  “G…P…S…” Alex managed to say as he gasped for air.

  “Kim, it’s Dev.” She said through sobs. “I’m sorry to ring so late…um…it’s Holly. Stacey’s…taken her.”

  Kim’s screams could be heard in the room.

  Rami was helping Evie in trying to calm Alex who was getting up off the floor.

  “Alex, son. We’ll find her. Breathe, son, breathe.”

  Alex wanted to get up and just go and find his Holly. He needed to get out. He needed to do something. Dev was explaining to Kim, what had happened outside and mentioned what he had said about GPS.

  “We’ll come to you. We’re on our way.” She said and ended the call. “Holly has ‘find my iPhone’ switched on and Oli’s going to log into the cloud to find it” Dev said to Alex.

  “We need to find her. She can’t hurt her, Mom, she can’t!” He cried as he ran for the door.

  “We’ll find her sooner now.” She assured him as they all followed.

  On the way to Holly’s house, Alex kept trying her phone but getting no answer.

  “Alex, we’re going to find her.” Dev said through free flowing tears and she held onto him as she sobbed uncontrollably in the seat.

  “Please be ok, please be ok.” He said over and over as he rocked back and forth. He felt sick, terrified and helpless all at the same time. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to run…but to where? He had no idea. They had no choice but to find out where her phone was and hope that it picked up the signal.

  Alex could feel the anger and fury building in the pit of his stomach. His sobs slowed, replaced by growls of rage. Stacey had been released, and they hadn’t been warned. She had been allowed out to terrorize them again, and now she has Holly.

  Holly.

  His whole world had been taken from him and was in the clutches of a deranged lunatic.

  If she were hurt, in any way, there was going to be hell to pay.

  Alex’s murderous thoughts crashed through him as they pulled up outside Holly’s house, just as four officers, from two police cars, were walking in.

  Alex saw red, jumped from the car and ran into the house after them. He saw officers Dixon and Jones, plus two others he hadn’t seen before.

  “You let her out! You caused this!” He screamed as he charged for them.

  Rami had run in quickly and grabbed hold of Alex, Oli joining him.

  “Son, you need to calm down.” Said Rami, gently. “Assaulting the officers isn’t going to help.”

  “It’s their fault!” He roared as he struggled against the grown men. Alex was too wild and strong for them to hold him. The two unknown officers stepped in to restrain him too.

  “Mr. Valencia, we understand how upset you must be…” Dixon began.

  “How the fuck can you understand?! Have you had someone you love kidnapped by a fucking deranged stalker?! Have you?!” Alex growled.

  “No” Dixon said, simply.

  “Then don’t fucking tell me you understand, when you know shit about it!” Alex shouted, still trying to attack him.

  Rami and Oli, with the help of the two officers, got Alex to sit down. They stayed close incase he charged again. Kim moved to sit next to Alex and pulled him in for a hug.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, honey.” Kim said through her tears.

  “She should never have been let out. I shouldn’t have let her go.” He said. “I didn’t want to. I wanted her to stay…” Alex started to hyperventilate again.

  “Alex…” Rami said, dropping to the floor next to him.

  “I’ve got paper bags.” Said Oli, and he left the room, to return a few seconds later with a brown paper bag.

  “Breathe into this, son.” Rami said in a soothing voice as Evie rubbed his back to try to calm him.

  “Find her.” Alex said between breaths. “Why are you still here?” He asked as he tried to stand.

  “Son, you need to get your breath back” Evie said calmly.

  “I have to find her!” Alex said as he took deep breaths.

  Dixon’s phone rang, and the room went quiet.

  “Dixon. Yes. Where? Good.” He hung up the phone and turned to them.

  “The tracker showed them heading towards North creek”

  “Tracker?” asked Dev.

&n
bsp; She’d been sitting on the floor on the other side of Alex. She’d stayed silent through the exchange between Alex and the officers. Alex knew Dev was truly scared when she was quiet.

  “I had a tracker installed on her car.” Said Oli. “After what happened last week, I asked the mechanic to fit one.”

  Alex could’ve kissed Oli right then.

  He realized that was why the officers hadn’t gone straight out, searching. They were waiting to find out where the car was so they were headed in the right direction. Who knows what could happen if they’d gone far, the wrong way?

  Alex’s panic began to subside, knowing that they would be going to where she was.

  The officers made a move to leave.

  “I’m coming too.” He said as he stood.

  “That’s not a good idea. We don’t now if Miss. Scutter is armed.” Said Jones, holding up his hand to stop Alex.

  Like that would stop him. There was no way anybody was keeping him from going after her. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to sit around with his thumbs up his ass whilst the officers were going to find his Holly.

  His perfect Holly.

  I’m coming, babe. I’m coming for you. I love you.

  He repeated the words to himself, as if he could send his voice to her.

  “If I don’t come with you, I’ll drive there myself. I don’t give a fuck. You or anybody else, aren’t going to stop me.” Alex knew his voice sounded somewhat menacing. Just how much, he wasn’t sure, but the way Jones’ face paled, gave him a good idea it was high on the ‘oh shit’ scale.

  The officers took a deep breath and looked to the parents.