Charlotte. A visit to Charlotte’s would calm my nerves; we could talk about unimportant things and then maybe this nervous tension would leave my body for a while. I grinned as I pulled my phone from my pocket, dialling her number.

She answered on the fifth ring. “Hey,” she chirped.

“Hi. Are you home? I need to get out of the house and just do something normal. Want to hang out and watch a movie or something? I’ll bring something sickeningly romantic,” I suggested hopefully.

She chuckled. “Sure. I’m home, come on over.”

I smiled gratefully. “Okay, see you in a bit.”

After disconnecting the call, I flushed the toilet to keep up with the act that I’d needed to go, then silently slipped out of the bathroom and headed to the hallway closet, pulling on my jacket and grabbing my purse. Once I said the words to my dad I knew I’d need to make a swift exit before he changed his mind and refused to let me go. I stepped into the lounge, seeing him and Alex sitting there still watching the same car chase programme.

“Dad, I’m going to Charlotte’s for a while.” I smiled sweetly, hoping he wouldn’t refuse.

His head snapped up in my direction, his eyes narrowing disapprovingly. “What, now?”

I nodded. “I’ve just called her. We’re going to watch a movie. I just need to get out of here for a while and do something normal,” I persuaded.

He nodded, pushing himself up and throwing the TV remote control to Alex. “Okay. Let me just find my shoes,” he muttered, picking up his coffee mug and downing the contents.

I shook my head, looking at him pleadingly. “Dad, I’ll just drive. I’ll go straight there. No stopping. I’ll even call you when I arrive,” I suggested. “I just need a few minutes alone. I’m going insane with all this protective caveman stuff that you two have been subjecting me to lately,” I whined, begging him with my eyes and sticking out my lip. “Please?”

He sighed, not looking happy about it in the slightest. “You go straight there. No stopping at all, understand?” he instructed sternly. I nodded, grinning now. “And you call me the minute you get there. It’s about a ten minute drive. If you haven’t called me within fifteen minutes then I’m coming looking for you and I’ll lock you in your room until they find the guy who’s behind all of this.” His green eyes bore into mine and I could see the seriousness of this now. If I didn’t call he would have no qualms in locking me up forever, that much was obvious from his expression.

“Deal,” I agreed, stepping forward and going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Can I borrow Mom’s car?” He grunted in agreement, nodding towards the car keys that hung in the hallway on the key rack. “Thanks. I’ll call you as soon as I get there,” I promised as I practically skipped out of the room and grabbed the keys to my mom’s little red Rover.

As soon as I stepped out of the front door I sighed as the fresh air hit me all at once. Seeing as it was already dark outside, I tilted my head up, taking in the starry sky in all of its glory. Looking up at the stars brought on a round of nostalgia as images of camping with Luke came flooding back. I sighed sadly wondering if we would ever get back to that point again where we would do that. Depressingly, I wasn’t sure of the answer still.

Knowing I was short on time and that if I stood there for too long my dad would come out and insist that I not go at all; I quickly headed to my mom’s car. Her remote central locking wasn’t working again it seemed as I pressed the unlock button on the key. I smiled to myself as I shoved the key in the lock instead, twisting and unlocking my door. I slid in, cranking up the heater to full blast as I started the engine and pulled out, heading down the road quickly.

By the time I got half way to Charlotte’s I remembered that, in my haste to leave the house, I hadn’t picked up a movie like I said I would. I groaned in frustration, hitting my hand on the steering wheel. Then a thought occurred to me. Dad said that Charlotte’s house was a ten minute drive, but he was wrong, she only lived five minutes’ drive. It was Beth who lived ten minutes away. That would give me an extra five minutes before he was expecting a call. That would give me time to stop at the movie rental store that was around the corner from Charlotte’s. Pleased with my plan, I indicated off of the main street and headed to the rental store.

By the time I got there I still had ten minutes before I had to put in a call to my dad. Locking the car, I darted out into the store heading for the rom com section at the back. Choosing the first Matthew McConaughey movie I came across, I headed to the checkout to pay.

The bored looking cashier was just scanning my membership card when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket announcing a new message. I frowned and pulled it out. Dad’s obviously jumping the gun, I thought as I shook my head, grinning as I opened the text message that had come through. Only it wasn’t from him. It was from an unknown number.

‘What are you doing out all alone?’

It felt like someone ran an icy finger down my spine as I twisted, whipping my head from left to right, trying to see if some deranged killer was there. All I saw though was an empty video store and rows and rows of DVD cases. My heart was slamming in my chest as panic made my ears ring.

“Miss, that’ll be four bucks,” the assistant announced.

My phone buzzed again, another message. I gulped, looking down at it with wide eyes as I tried to regulate my breathing.

‘I see you. Do you see me?’

My feet were moving before I could even comprehend what I was doing. I streaked across the store as fast as my legs would carry me, ignoring the assistant shouting me. In my haste I practically ran into the door, fighting with it for a second as I tried to push it even though it was a pull. My whole body was shaking by the time I came to my senses enough to pull the door.

As I stumbled out onto the street I bumped straight into someone who was going into the store, almost knocking us both over. “Hey, slow down!” he cried angrily. I screamed as his arms closed around me. My panic was at an all-time high, my pulse drumming in my ears as I thrashed and screamed, shoving myself away from him. “Whoa, careful! What’s wrong with you, girl?” the guy snapped, shaking his head at me and glaring as he righted himself. “Aren’t you even going to apologise for almost knocking me on my ass?”

I was hyperventilating now, my tears made everything blurry as all I could think about was getting away, running, finding help. My hand was still clutched my phone so tightly my knuckles were hurting. I whimpered, shoving my hand in my pocket and looking for my keys as I turned and ran towards where I’d parked my car about two hundred yards away.

Get in the car. You’ll be fine in the car. The car, salvation, was getting closer and closer, my target seemed achievable and just within reach. It’s just fifty yards now, Maisie. Just get in the car. I chanted the instructions over and over in my head as I yanked my keys out of my pocket. The car was about twenty steps away now, but my hand was shaking so badly that the keys slid out of my hand. Where I was running they hit my foot, skidding into the road and straight under the car parked three cars away from mine.

“Damn it!” I hissed.

“Maisie?”

The sound of my name being shouted made my muscles tighten all over my body. My head whipped up, seeing a guy a couple of hundred yards away. His face was hidden because of the angle of the street lights beating down on him.

I gasped, immediately ducking between the cars that were parked along the edge of the street. I dropped to my knees, crawling around to the other side. I leant down quickly, seeing my keys just behind the tyre at the back of the car next to the one I was crouched behind. Footsteps sounded, getting closer. I held my breath, willing my heart to quieten because the sound of it hammering in my chest was sure to give away my whereabouts.

The footsteps were closer now. My eyes widened as I crawled quickly to the next car, leaning down and reaching behind the tyre, but I couldn’t find my keys. My hand slapped at the ground under the car, my fingers finally grazing the cool metal of a key. “Oh God, come on, please?” I whispered, fumbling again, touching the tip of the ring with my finger.

The footsteps were the other side of the car now. I looked down under the car, seeing sneakered feet walk past the other side of the car to me, heading to the spot a few cars up where I’d darted between them. I knew I needed to move. The taste of my own blood filled my mouth as I bit the inside of my cheek, frozen, wondering if I could even move if I tried. Some burst of energy seemed to come from nowhere as he took another step towards the other end of the car from where I was.

By sheer luck, my finger caught the loop of my keys and I shoved myself to my feet. My heart sank as I suddenly realised that I wouldn’t be able to get to my car now anyway because it was too close to where the guy was. I swallowed awkwardly where my mouth had gone dry, and decided that my best chance was to get back to the movie store, lock myself in and demand that they call the police.

My feet were on the move again as I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could towards the store. But because I was shaking so badly I somehow managed to roll my ankle to the side. I yelped at the pain, stumbled, and lost my balance. I slammed into the concrete floor, throwing my hands out to protect my face from hitting the floor. My hands and knees scraped across the pavement as I fell. My phone skidded along the floor, my purse opened spilling the contents everywhere, but I didn’t care. I whimpered, getting up on to all fours, ignoring the burning pain on my hands. My gaze was firmly focused on the door to the store that was illuminated merely two hundred yards away from me. I had to make it.

Quick footsteps behind me sounded, and before I even had the chance to panic and push myself back to my feet again, hands clamped around my upper arms. My natural reaction was a piercing scream that echoed off of the cars and walls of the buildings, cutting through the night and making a bird take flight into a nearby tree.

Chapter 24

“Maisie, Maisie, Jesus, what’s wrong with you? Stop screaming! What have you hurt? Have you broken something?”

“Get off me!” I screamed, trashing, trying to wriggle out of the vice like grip that was wrapped around my arms. “Get the heck off me, you psycho!”

Almost instantly the hands disappeared. “I was only trying to help you up,” the voice snapped behind me. “Stop shouting and screaming, people are gonna think I’m hurting you or something. I’ll end up arrested again if you don’t stop!”

Arrested again? What does that mean? I blinked a couple of times, looking over my shoulder, trying to get my emotions under control. Zach scowled down at me as he took a step back, holding up his hands innocently. His eyes were concerned as he regarded me worriedly.

I gulped, pushing myself up to sitting, keeping my eyes on him in case anything happened. Was it just coincidence that those texts were received saying someone could see me and then Zach was there? I didn’t know the answer. But just the fact that he was standing there was surely a sign of his innocence. The police had let him go, which meant they hadn’t found anything in his house that connected him to the phone calls.

“Are you okay? What were you running like that for? You looked like you were going to shit a brick,” he muttered, lowering his hands, moving slowly as if he was trying not to startle me or anything.

“I was frightened. I…” I gulped, my voice barely above a whisper. “I need to go. There’s someone watching me. I need to get home!” I awkwardly tried to push myself up but as soon as I got half way an agonising pain shot through my ankle making me drop down to the floor again and yelp.

My eyes glazed over as I clenched my jaw, trying to think of anything else. Zach squatted down in front of me, his hands instantly going to my ankle. “Stay still. Let me see,” he cooed.

“I need to go home,” I croaked, looking longingly at my car before glancing up and down the street, waiting for some knife wielding maniac to jump out and hack me to pieces. My whole body was trembling now. Cold seemed to seep into my very veins, turning my blood into ice. My teeth knocked together loudly, so I clenched my jaw, trying to keep myself focussed by watching what Zach was doing.

Zach shook his head, carefully unlacing my sneaker and easing it off along with my sock. “Let me just take a look and make sure it’s not broken before we move you,” he instructed. I closed my eyes as he felt and prodded at my ankle causing more pain to erupt in little bursts. “This isn’t broken. I think it’s just sprained,” he said finally.

All of a sudden my emotions got the better of me and I burst into tears, covering my face with scratched hands and pulling my good leg up to my chest.

“Maisie, shh, it’s alright. Are you okay?” Zach’s voice was soft as one of his hands stroked the back of my head and the other rubbed on my shin.

I peeked through my fingers, seeing that he was looking at me with worried eyes. “I’m okay. It’s just my ankle really,” I croaked.

He groaned, leaning forward and pressing his forehead to my temple. “Let me see these,” he cooed, taking hold of my wrists and pulling my hands away from my face. I looked down at my hands too, seeing lots of tiny scrapes and grazes with blood oozing out in parts. “These don’t look too bad. We should get the dirt out though.” He pulled the bottom of his sweatshirt up, wiping my hands gently, brushing off the dirt and little stones that were there before blotting the blood away. “I suppose you think I’m the one that killed Sandy too, huh? That’s why you were running from me,” he observed, his voice sad as he kept his gaze firmly locked on my hands.

I gulped. Did I think it was him? I was just frightened in the heat of the moment; I didn’t know that the guy who shouted my name was Zach. Would I have run if I did? I didn’t think so. Now that I knew it was him, my heart rate had started to slow down, the fear had started to ebb away, and I was actually incredibly glad that he was here. I wasn’t frightened of him in the slightest as he crouched there tending to my wounds.