Following Her

by Melody Anne

  “Welcome! Enter only if you dare.” The kid at the door was wearing a Scream mask, tilting his head and coming close to Ella’s face. She tensed, but she didn’t back off, just clung tightly to Axel’s hand. Hey, this was great already.

  “Here we go,” he said as he led her inside.

  The normally fearless woman was practically sewn to his side as they made their way down dark hallways with creepy crawly things rushing past them, and lights flickering, while eerie music added to the atmosphere.

  Axel had seen better houses, but this one wasn’t bad. When they came to a scene with a mad doctor carving the guts out of his latest patient, Ella began to shake.

  “Seriously, it’s not real,” Axel said, beginning to feel bad for pushing her to do this.

  “Oh yes it is, my dear. And you’re next,” the bloody doctor said as he made eye contact with Ella and rushed forward with his hatchet.

  Axel was about to tell the kid to back off, that she was seriously freaking out, when she suddenly wasn’t clinging to him anymore. Before he could stop disaster from happening, Ella clocked the kid right between the eyes before she turned to run back the way they’d come, but she managed to get tangled in some wires and instead fell right on top of the kid she’d just knocked out.

  Another couple came around the corner, saw the commotion, and the girl screamed, causing even more chaos to break out in the small hallway.

  “Help! Help!” the girl behind them screamed. “Someone is really getting killed!”

  “Calm down! Everyone just needs to calm down,” Axel said, beginning to get really annoyed with the flickering lights and creepy music accompanying the entire scene. “Ella, let me help you.”

  He was trying to take her hand, but she was pushing away from him and the kid, now with fake blood all over her, which made her continue to slip and slide on the floor. “Get me out of here!” she finally screamed.

  The lights came on and an announcement came over the speakers. “Everyone please calmly proceed to the exit. There are signs illuminated now. We’ll get the show back on as soon as we deal with the hysterical woman in the doctor’s lab.”

  “Ah, crap,” Axel muttered as his eyes connected with Ella’s. He had a feeling this was a little bit worse than her last haunted house experience.

  “Look, lady, you’re ruining everything,” the kid behind them said as he stepped around them and stomped toward the exit.

  The kid she’d knocked out was coming to as his friends rushed forward. “You hit Tommy?” a freckle-face kid said, glaring at Axel.

  “No, I did. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here,” Ella said. “Did I hurt him?”

  Tommy was coming to, sitting up and shaking his head. “What happened?”

  “I’m so sorry. I hit you,” Ella said, her voice shaking.

  “I got knocked out by a girl?” he asked, seeming far more horrified by that than the fact that he’d been knocked out.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” Ella repeated as she reached out a hand.

  “Dang! You have a mean right hook,” the kid said, not looking nearly as scary with the lights on and the music off.

  “I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  “It’s okay. I usually get hit at least once or twice, but that’s the first time I’ve been knocked out,” he said with a crooked grin.

  “You’re taking this well,” she said with a watery smile.

  “You’re hot. Can I get your number? You can make it up to me,” he said. The kid couldn’t have been more than nineteen, if that.

  “No, she’s not giving you her number. We’ll just get out of here now,” Axel said, finally able to grab her arms and help her stand.

  They didn’t say anything more as they made their way to the exit. He hoped no one would notice them and they could sneak off before she was embarrassed any further.

  Of course, that only happened in a perfect world. The minute they stepped outside, they saw the couple who was behind them and the girl told the crowd that Ella was the woman who’d caused the whole mess. Then the crowd booed them.

  Axel wanted to pummel them all, but instead he rushed her to his car and got them the hell out of there. “I’m sorry, Ella. I shouldn’t have taken you. I really thought you’d be a little scared but still have fun,” Axel said once they were far enough away that they couldn’t see the house anymore.

  “I’m just really embarrassed. Can you take me home?” she asked meekly, making him feel even worse.

  “Of course.” They drove in silence to her house, and she was still trembling when they pulled into the drive. He wasn’t sure if it was fear or embarrassment or what, but he knew he wasn’t going to just leave her there.

  “I’m fine. You go on home,” she said when he walked her to the door.

  “Nope. I’m coming inside, making you a nice cup of hot tea, and then I’ll rub your feet,” he told her, inviting himself in.

  When she didn’t fight him, he knew she was having a difficult time keeping it together. She always put up such a strong front that this was the first time he’d seen her vulnerable side. He sort of liked being needed.

  After settling her on the couch and popping in a chick flick, he had no clue which one, he went into the kitchen and made her a cup of herbal tea, adding a little sugar and honey, just the way she liked it.

  Bringing the tea to her, he then sat on the other end of the sofa and suffered through the movie while rubbing her feet. When her eyes grew sleepy, he pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.

  His night of sex was certainly off the table, but as he carried her to her bed, he realized that this was better. A week or two ago he would’ve told someone they were crazy if they suggested he’d be satisfied by doing nothing other than carrying a woman to bed and holding her.

  But in this moment, as he laid her down on the comforter and pulled her up against him, and his own eyes closed, he realized he was exactly where he wanted and needed to be.

  She was running away. Even knowing this, it didn’t make her change her mind. The lovemaking was too intense, too perfect, the soft moments too overwhelming. The conversations were deep and meaningful, and she hated to spend a single day without him.

  What did all this mean? It meant that she was scared. It meant that she wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. Because ultimately it meant that she had feelings for Axel, feelings she didn’t know how to deal with.

  “We’re worried about you, Ella,” Reese said as she stood in Ella’s office doorway next to Maycie.

  Jumping, Ella looked up from her desk and smiled. “Why in the world would you be worried about me? I’m better than I’ve ever been,” she lied with a megawatt smile to accompany it.

  “Can we say denial?”

  “Can you say meddler?” Ella fired back.

  “Yes, absolutely I can say that because I’m your best friend who just so happens to know you too well to allow you to lie,” Reese said as she and Maycie came and sat on opposite ends of her desk. Ella had given up hope long ago that they would use chairs like normal human beings.

  “I’m great. My ex-boss will soon be in prison, my new job is going well. I may even get to try a case someday. My boy—” She stumbled over that word. “The man I’m seeing makes me happy, and I feel great all the way around.”

  “You can’t even put a definition on the whirlwind relationship you’ve been having with a dynamic man who makes you smile and laugh and open up, and you’re telling me you’re fine?”

  “I don’t need to put a label on our relationship. The two of us are just fine.” That was the problem. She didn’t know that they were fine. She didn’t know anything at all because they didn’t talk about what would happen when Felix’s trial, which had begun two days ago, was over.

  “Why do you try to lie to us? Haven’t you figured out it’ll never work?”

  “I’m not lying. I just . . . I don’t want to ask questions, I don’t want to j
eopardize what we have. I can’t do that,” she admitted.

  “Have you thought about the fact that you may ruin it if you keep running from how you really feel? Look, I know I’m not the one to give relationship advice, since all of my relationships seem to end before they begin, but I’m telling you, girl, that if a man looked at me the way that Axel looks at you, I’d jump onto him and never let go,” Maycie said.

  “I don’t think I want to risk it. If I scare him away, I’m afraid I won’t feel like this with another person. I know this doesn’t sound like me. I know I’m always the strong one, the one who seems like she can handle anything, but I’m not strong when it comes to Axel.”

  “I think you should just be yourself and tell the guy how you feel. I can guarantee you that he’s going to be happy about it,” Reese piped in.

  “You’re wrong. Guys like Axel don’t settle down. They hang around while times are good and then run the second things look like they’re getting out of control,” Ella insisted.

  “Then why in the world would you want to give your heart to a man like that?” Reese asked.

  “I don’t. It wasn’t my choice.”

  “Ella, giving your heart is your choice. You choose who is good enough to deserve it, and you choose if he’s allowed to keep it.”

  Ella leaned back as she tried to process those words. “But I didn’t exactly give him my heart. I can’t say that’s how I feel at all. I don’t know how I feel,” she argued.

  “Obviously you do, or he never would’ve lasted this long.”

  “I don’t want to talk about him anymore, please. I’m not getting any work done, and I think I just need to get out of this office,” Ella said as she stood.

  “Where are we going?” Maycie asked, jumping down from her desk.

  “The mall,” Ella and Reese said together. And just like that, they let it go. The women left her office and made it to the shopping center in no time flat, and Ella felt the pressure weighing on her chest ease.

  Being with her girls was better than therapy.

  Their trip to the mall ended all too soon since hunger pangs were making them weak, so they decided on dinner at their favorite restaurant. They were only on the road for about five minutes when a large black van pulled up behind them and began tailgating. “What in the world?” Ella said, her heart racing as she saw the van in her rearview mirror.

  “What’s going on?” Maycie asked as she turned and looked out the back window before gasping.

  The van that was following too closely swerved to the left and then came so close to Ella’s bumper that her heart lodged in her throat.

  “Speed up before this drunk moron smashes into us,” Reese insisted.

  Ella hit the gas pedal and sped up, but the large van followed, and right before she turned a corner, the idiot hit her bumper, pushing her through the stop sign and nearly getting them sideswiped by another vehicle.

  “Pull over. This idiot is going to pay,” Maycie demanded.

  “No!” Reese shouted. “I think that’s exactly what he wants you to do. You need to go straight to the police station.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ella shouted. She didn’t know if she should stop or not, but the car that hit her wasn’t backing away. And she couldn’t see inside his windows through the heavy tinting, even though he was literally on her bumper.

  “I don’t like this, Ella. Get out of here,” Reese said.

  She didn’t have to be told twice. She hit the gas and changed directions, heading for the police station instead of the restaurant. The car stayed with her, hitting her bumper again and sending her car out of control.

  “Hold on!” she shouted, but before the words were even out, she felt the impact as her car slammed into a ditch and flipped a 180, making her lose all sense of direction.

  Shock immediately settled in, but then a whole new fear arose as Ella twisted to see Reese groaning in the seat next to her.

  “Maycie, are you okay?” she yelled, not able to see her friend in the backseat.

  “I think so. My body feels like I just spent two hours at the gym with my evil trainer, but I think other than that I’m fine,” she said.

  “Reese?” Maycie then asked.

  “I’m okay, too, I think. My head is pounding. I think it met up with the windshield and the windshield won,” Reese said, attempting to make a joke.

  “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault,” Ella said, knowing that ignoring the danger surrounding her had just put her friends in jeopardy.

  “Don’t you dare say that!” Maycie snapped. “I’m so glad we’re here with you and you didn’t just go through this alone.”

  Before any of them could say another word, Ella’s door was ripped open, and all three girls let out an ear-piercing scream.

  “It’s just me!” Axel shouted. It took a moment for them to quit screaming, and then Ella’s body began shaking as she realized they were safe.

  “The ambulance will be here in just a minute. Is everyone alert?” Axel asked, his hands running over Ella as he looked in on her first.

  “We all seem to be fine, just shaken up,” Reese replied.

  There was a pause before Ella turned and looked at Axel with suspicion. “Were you following me?”

  “Yes, I was,” he said, sending her a glare.

  A myriad of words passed through her brain, and then the ones that came out shocked her, Axel, and her friends. “Thank you.”

  He was going to say something when his phone beeped and he looked down. Then he looked up and smiled at her, his real smile. “We got him, Ella. Maverick was with me, and I jumped from the car when he went after the van while calling the cops. He pushed Wade off the road and the cops are already there. This bastard is going down, along with his boss, and you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

  Emotions flooded Ella, but it wasn’t all joy. They’d caught the grunt Felix had hired to harass her, and now that he was surely going to jail, it was unlikely he’d be able to afford to hire anyone else. But didn’t that mean she didn’t need Axel around anymore? She should be consumed with happiness, but instead she found herself close to tears.

  Maybe it was that she was in shock. She really didn’t know. And she didn’t get a chance to say anything else because the paramedics showed up, and after checking all three of them, they were told they’d be sore, but other than that, they were fine.

  It was time to go home. And it might just be time to say good-bye forever to the man for whom she was falling hopelessly.

  “I find your actions despicable, Mr. Monsone. You, as an attorney, may think you’re above the law, but I guarantee you that you are not. The jury has come in with your sentence—guilty—and I’m enforcing the maximum time afforded by the law, twenty-five years.”

  The courtroom erupted at Felix Monsone’s verdict. Ella thought this moment would bring her joy, thought this was what she needed for closure on a bad chapter in her life, but she felt oddly numb as she sat there and watched the man who had threatened her, tried to intimidate her, and tried to kill her. She felt slight relief that he’d be behind bars, but other than that, she felt nothing.

  “Let’s go.”

  Turning, she found Axel holding out his hand—and still she felt nothing in this moment. It was quite odd, really. She looked back at Felix and their eyes met, his expression nasty, his mouth compressed. Then he lifted his hand and swiped it across his throat. Still, she felt nothing.

  “Don’t worry about that scumbag. He’s going where he belongs, and now he’ll be behind bars with several unhappy people he helped put there, along with the people he sold out while trying to make a deal,” Axel said.

  “Yes, he’ll be where he belongs,” she echoed, her voice a monotone.

  Rising from her seat, she took Axel’s hand and allowed him to lead her from the courtroom. Why was she so stoic? Why couldn’t she feel anything? As they walked from the courthouse, she followed him to his SUV, grateful he was there to shield her
from the reporters trying to ask her questions, not that she could hear them past the strange buzzing in her ears.

  It all seemed so surreal. The trial had been so fast. She’d been warned it could take months, and instead it had begun and ended within two weeks. All the while, Axel had barely left her side, especially after the car crash, even though that had landed Wade in jail, where he couldn’t harm her.

  “You didn’t have to stick around after Wade was arrested,” she said with a brittle laugh that sounded anything but humorous.

  Was this the reason she was so upset? Now that the case was over, now that her ex was moving into his new luxury accommodations, she wouldn’t have an excuse to have Axel around. She’d just begun thinking of him as her . . . well, as her boyfriend.

  But he wasn’t, was he? They’d never defined their relationship. Yes, they went out on dates, and yes, they made love often, but they’d never spoken of exclusivity or anything regarding their future.

  Was he going back to the FBI? She had all these questions, but for some reason she was afraid to ask him. Maybe because then he’d have to answer. And what if she didn’t like what he had to say?

  “Why don’t we go have a drink and celebrate this victory,” Axel suggested.

  “No, I think I’m just going to go home,” she answered.

  He paused for a moment and she couldn’t read at all what he was thinking. “That might be best. It’s been a trying day,” he said, turning the SUV around and making his way back toward her place.

  “Yeah,” she said automatically. Not really. It should’ve been a trying day and her ex should be all that was on her mind right now, but he was almost an afterthought.

  All she seemed to care about was what was going to happen between Axel and her. How could she have become so dependent on one person in barely a month? It made absolutely no sense.

  He pulled into the driveway and she reached out a hand to stop him from exiting the car. “I really need to be alone right now.”