by Liz Lovelock
“Hello, beautiful,” Jacob whispered into my hair. Something about him was different; I’m not sure what, though. “You’re late, why?” And there it was, that tone, the tone that killed any and every cell of happiness you might hold within you.
“Sorry, I got caught up with Melodi. She needed my help with some things at home,” I lied. It was unbelievable how easy it was to lie to him now. There was still fear involved regarding getting caught, but I couldn’t think about that right now.
He nodded, seeming as though he accepted my answer. “Let’s eat. I’ve already ordered for us, I hope you don’t mind.”
Now, why would I mind? Because you’d done it every other time we’d gone out. If only I could say that out loud to him. I wasn’t too keen on a confrontation in the restaurant again.
“Sounds great. I’m sure I’ll love what you’ve ordered for me.” I smiled, placing a sickening kiss on his lips. As I pulled away, he grabbed my wrist tightly and pulled me back into him, forcing his lips hard onto mine and causing me to taste the metallic tang of blood as he bit my lip. I tried my hardest to keep it together. He willed my lips to part, and as I did he explored my mouth. This was the hardest thing by far, but I knew I needed to go with it.
He pulled back looking satisfied. “Now that’s a better greeting to give your future husband.”
My heart instantly stopped. He couldn’t be serious.
“Um…Jacob. I told you I didn’t w…want to g…get married,” I stuttered. I really didn’t want to do this right now. He still hadn’t let go of my wrist. Instead, he tightened his grip and began leading me to the table. I refrained from struggling due to the increasing pressure and pain. He stopped, gestured for me to take a seat, so I did. He slid into the booth beside me, making my escape harder.
“You don’t get a choice, Abby. You’re mine and no one else’s. Especially not my half-brother’s.”
I couldn’t keep the shock from my face and it was clear he could see right through my visage.
“Wha…what are you talking about? I hardly know him.”
“You really think I’m that stupid? Just because I’m out of town doesn’t mean I haven’t kept a close watch on you.”
Oh my goodness, this man needs to be in a mental institution. How can anyone be as possessive as him? Has he done this to other girls or am I his first?
“Yeah, we hung out as friends, but nothing more. I promise,” I begged, trying to pull my hand away without success. He just tightened his grip.
“Stop lying,” he hissed at me. “You will be mine forever and nothing you do will change that.”
I was about to reply, but the waiter came over to deliver our meals. Turns out it was the same waiter that took care of us the night I ran out. Well, doesn’t this day just get better and better. I gave him a nervous smile and looked down at the table. Jacob still hadn’t let me go. I should have known better and stayed away.
The plan we had in place at that moment was looking more and more like the best idea ever. How was I going to simmer this whole situation down? Jacob scared me right to the very pit of my existence. His touch caused my skin to burn; he was one vile man. If I can get him put away, and keep other girls from being his victim, then that’s what I would do, even if it costs me everything. My family, my friends, and even Blake. He was the one real thing in my life right now. Of course, I loved my family, but to have someone like Blake hold me and tell me it would all be all right made it ten times easier to live with the long-term decision I’d made.
The waiter placed our meals down and gave me a cautious look that said, “I remember you and I see what he’s like.” I gave him a weak smile and then he turned to leave us.
“When should we tell our families about our upcoming nuptials?” Jacob’s question stunned me. So much anger and frustration at this man was building up within me. Why couldn’t he let me be? Surely he saw how unhappy he’d made me. Okay yes, once he was the most perfect guy, but then after I gave myself to him he changed in so many ways. His possessiveness became so much worse and then he became abusive and unpredictable. I should have made my move back then before we’d gotten to where we are now, but I was stupid and naive to think he’d change, or even wanted to change. People like Jacob are who they are and there was no changing him.
What’s that saying? A leopard can’t change their spots.
What do I say to him? Time to throw things into motion and, let the pieces fall where they need to.
“How about we discuss that tonight when I come over?” A cloud of anger washes over his face and his eyes become hard.
“Who says you’re welcome at my house? Do you still have the ring?”
“Yes.” I reached into my bag and pulled it out.
He snatched it from my hand. “Why aren’t you wearing it?” he growled at me, causing me to slide a little away from him in fear and shock.
“Be…because I wasn’t sure what our relationship status was after my foolishness the other night. I’m sorry about that.” It was incredible how the lies kept falling from my lips. I’d never been one to lie to anyone, but now my life was going to be full of them. It wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world to know what you’re about to do to your family.
“Fine, come over tonight and we will discuss it. I have to go now, enjoy the meal.” He didn’t even try to kiss me; he just slid out of the booth and walked away. As soon as he was out the door the waiter came by with the check.
Are you freaking serious?
“Sorry about this, Miss.” He placed it down on the table and walked away.
I hoped Jacob got what was coming to him. I managed to eat some of the meal, only just being able to keep it down. I paid the check and went home to plan for tonight’s events. The nerves began to kick in and I knew they’d get worse as the day wore on. I messaged Blake and informed him of what went down.
Chapter Nineteen
Abby
Three Years Ago
I stood in front of the mirror, my reflection staring back at me. After tonight, I would no longer be known as Abby White. I would now have a new name and papers and new bank accounts had been set up using my new name. Blake handled it all. I supposed being a police officer he had connections with people who could do this kind of stuff. He informed me today that everything was in place and ready to go and that I only had to worry about the setup.
I turned my back to the mirror and glanced around my room. A mixture of emotions ran through my body. I felt sad for what I was about to put my parents through and was scared out my mind. Blake would always be here for me, I knew that. He did say he would try to visit wherever I was. It was funny that I didn’t even know where I was going yet. It was one big mystery to me.
A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” I yelled, as I scrambled around to finish getting ready. I couldn’t take anything with me. I’d managed some keepsakes, only a few photos and trinkets, though. They meant the most to me and if my house were burning down, my photos would be the first thing I would grab.
Looking up, I saw Melodi poking her head through the door.
“Hey. Where are you off to? You look good.” She smiled as she sat on my bed.
“I’m going to see Jacob.” Silence crackled through the room. Her screwed up facial expression told me everything I needed to know.
“Really? How can you still be with him?”
“I’m not really with him. He has changed since we met and I can’t deal with it anymore, so I’m going there tonight to end things.” I was a little hesitant as to what to tell her because I knew Melodi and if she thought something was up, then she would never give up.
“Oh…do you want me to come with you? It makes me nervous to think what he might do when you end things.”
I sat on the bed with her and took her hand. “Everything will be all right. Yes, he has changed, but he would never do anything harmful to me.”
“Pfft…whatever. I don’t trust him. Let me com
e with you, please,” she practically begged me. It broke my heart that I couldn’t do this with her by my side. I didn’t know how I was going to get through this, I was not going to have any support and it shattered me like a glass window getting a rock smashed through it.
“It’s okay, Mel, really. I won’t be long,” I lied. Another lie that sealed a nail in my so-called coffin. The thought of my parents burying an empty coffin chilled me to the bone. I was half tempted to pull out.
How am I going to leave Blake?
He had awoken a new life inside of me. Every morning I woke up and he was the first person that was on my mind. He was the one person I wanted by my side forever, and now I couldn’t have that because of this monster. Blake’s touch gave me tingles on my skin and flutters in my heart. I knew I’d only known him for a short time, but when you know and feel it in your heart that something was right, you couldn’t help but want that in your life forever.
Melodi nodded reluctantly giving in.
“I hope everything goes well tonight. I expect details tomorrow.” She smiled as she got up and walked out my room, leaving me emotionally raw and open like a gaping wound. A small tear escaped my eye, and I quickly swiped it away. I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and took one more look around my room, leaving it how it was and knowing that I wouldn’t be coming back here again. I turned around and walked out the door without looking back.
I shouted out a goodbye to Mum and Dad and it hurt that I couldn’t go give them a proper goodbye. Grabbing my keys, I walked out Abby White and was ready to assume my new identity.
Blake and I had decided to quickly meet in the park on the bench where we first met that short amount of time ago. As I walked across the park, I saw him waiting. He wasn’t looking my way, so I stopped and took a moment to drink in his perfection. I remembered our last night together, only a few nights ago, he promised me that he would never stop trying to end this so that we could be together and that I could come home.
He caressed every part of me and drank me like a cold drink on a hot summer’s day. The touch of his lips against mine as I devoured his taste, my body tingled with anticipation. Every touch he’d gently placed on my skin lit up my heart and made me feel new emotions I never knew existed in an intimate relationship. Blake had opened up my eyes to a new kind of life and a special type of love. He, now and forever, would completely own me, heart and soul.
Snapping out of my pleasant daydream, I began walking across to him again. When he saw me, his face lit up with a smile and he got up rushing over to me. I couldn’t help but smile back. When he reached me, he wrapped me in his arms and gently brushed his lips against mine.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, but he didn’t release me from his embrace. He clung to me tightly, knowing that this would be our last embrace for who knew how long.
“I’m so worried, Blake. I honestly don’t know if I can go through with this. There must be another way?” A lump began to form in my throat. Blake released his arms from around me and brought his hands up to hold my face. He tilted my head up slightly so our eyes met. His emerald green eyes shone with admiration and love.
“He’s a man that wouldn’t take any notice of a restraining order seriously. I’ve seen him with you Abby, and I know what possessiveness looks like. I’m trained to notice that type of behaviour.”
I knew he was right. “I know, but I’m giving up so much. Do you know how hard it is to say goodbye to your twin sister, to know that she’s going to believe you are dead in the next day or two? To not be able to say a proper goodbye to my parents…” Tears began to well in my eyes and fall down my cheeks, but they weren’t there for long because Blake brushed them away.
“I’m truly sorry for you having to go through this, but for right now this is the only way. If we can cause trouble for him, then we might stand a chance that you won’t need to be gone for long. I will always be here for you. We will have those new phones, and I’m the only one who knows your new name. You can contact me at any time and if you ever need me, I will always be there for you,” he said his words full of conviction. I knew he wasn’t too keen on this idea either because it meant time away from each other.
I nodded in acceptance. “What if I mess this up or he really does do something to harm me?”
“He won’t. I think you should leave your necklace, the one you have on now so I will know that you actually got away.”
I placed my hand over my necklace, the necklace that Melodi gave me for my birthday. I never took it off. At least if I left it, she would have something to remember me by. Although I knew she wouldn’t need that. Being twins, we sensed each other. I remembered Mum telling us one time that if one was upset, so was the other, yet we could be in separate places.
One time, when we were five, I was with Dad and Melodi was with Mum. Dad and I were at the hardware store when all of a sudden I got sharp pains in my knees. They hurt so bad that I was in tears. Dad rushed me home and when we got there, we discovered that Melodi had fallen off her bike and skinned both her knees. I wondered if she would still feel my presence when I would be apparently dead.
“Okay. I need to go, or I’ll be late and he won’t like that.”
We both released a heavy sigh. This was the moment we’d been dreading, yet anxiously waiting for. Blake placed his lips on mine and our kiss was tender and full of passion. Soon our hands were touching every part of each other, memorising everything.
“I wish we could have one more moment together,” Blake whispered against my ear, his breath tickling me.
“I know. Why couldn’t you have found me sooner?”
“I’m sorry, I was blind for so long and wasn’t looking until that day I saw you there upset and down. Something within me wanted to help you, then that something grew from wanting to assist you into wanting to be a part of your life. I wanted to save you from the hell you’d been living and to show you what heaven on earth can be like with the right person.”
His words wreaked havoc with my emotions, especially my heart. I was so angry that I couldn’t have my piece of heaven on earth with Blake. Instead, I had to leave and possibly never come back.
“Where is all my paperwork?” I couldn’t allow my heart any more pain. I needed to distance myself from everything and that included Blake, even though I knew he was my one and only.
He produced an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to me. “Do you remember what I said about setting the scene?”
“Yes,” I said bluntly. He went into full details the other day about how I needed to set out the blood and to make it look like an argument had taken place.
I took the envelope. “Thanks for everything…I think. I guess this is it for now.”
“Yes it is, and I promise I will try to come see you as soon as I can.” Sadness filled his voice.
With his words spoken, I said nothing more but turned to leave. As I started walking away, Blake grabbed my arm, pulling me back into his solid chest and kissing me with everything he had.
Our final goodbye for who knew how long. Possibly forever.
Chapter Twenty
Abby
Three Years Ago
As I drove to Jacob’s, I couldn’t help the tears that had begun to fall. Nothing seemed to be stopping them; they were like a leaking tap that you couldn’t fix.
Everything I once knew was about to change forever.
Pulling up outside his place, I mentally set my emotions in check. I grabbed the blood bag I had stored in a small cooler box and put it in my handbag. My hands hadn’t stopped shaking; it actually felt like my whole body was trembling, like an electric current was pulsating through me.
I glanced up at the front door and saw Jacob was there waiting for me in the doorway. He was like a hawk, always watching and waiting for its prey. Putting on a fake smile, I began to set this plan in motion. As I stepped out of the car, I thought the night air was cooler than usual. I didn’t know if it was just me, or if it
really was the weather.
I arrived at the door, ready to greet Jacob, who was standing there with a stone cold look of disapproval on his face.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, acting all doe-like.
“You’re late, dinner has been ready for the last ten minutes, and you can’t even bother to call or text me and tell me you were going to be late?”
“I’m sorry. I got held up. Melodi needed some help with a few things.”
“Save your pathetic excuses for someone who actually cares.” After that punch to the gut with his vulgar words, he turned and stalked back inside. Just what I needed was him in a foul mood. But, there was a plus side, maybe it would work in my favour.
I walked in, closing the door behind me. I kept having to remind myself to breathe because I was so frightened of what was going to happen. For all I knew he would kill me for real, or do some serious damage, and then I’d be stuck in the hospital for who knows how long and I wouldn’t have an opportunity to get away.
“Smells delicious in here, baby,” I announced as I walked into the kitchen. His dining room adjoined it. The dinner table was set perfectly aside from the horrid carnation flowers that sat dead centre. He was taunting me as he knew I despised this type of flower. He went all out with the gold rimmed crystal goblets filled with a lush pink bubbly wine he had just finished pouring. I doubt he would have done this, or even cooked the dinner himself for that matter. It was probably prepared by one of his lady maids that he employed. I guess when you’ve got money you can have what you want without worrying about consequences.
I didn’t get a reply from him. Instead, all I got was a grunt. Seriously, he was like a child who didn’t get his own way.
“Oh, come on, don’t be like this. Isn’t this meant to be a nice night?” I smiled, trying to simmer down his temper that was already brewing. I hoped he couldn’t hear the fakeness that was in my voice.