by Sara Schoen
He sighed before it turned into a sarcastic laugh. “I should have guessed that wasn’t the end of the topic.” He glanced at me with a lopsided grin before continuing. “Let’s just say, it would be better if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m a massive disappointment to them.” The laughter in his tone faded away, only to be quickly replaced by remorse.
I knew I should stop pushing, but I couldn’t help it. Hearing about his troubles made mine seem a little more normal. It made me feel like he understood what I was going through even on a small scale. “Why would you be a disappointment? So far you’ve helped me too many times to count and one of them included digging me out of a cave in. That’s pretty impressive.” I smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. “My mom would be thankful to you for helping me. Though I’d also never tell her I was trapped in a cave in. She’d only worry more.”
A breathy laugh escaped his lips. “I’m glad someone is impressed. They’ve been disappointed since I was medically discharged from the army.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged, like it was no big deal, but I could see the hurt in his eyes as he answered my question. “I got into a bad car accident three years ago on my twenty-fifth birthday and had a few bad breaks after that. It’s honestly a relief in a way, but it wasn’t easy to explain to my family and they didn’t take it well when I became an EMT. Like saving lives and enjoying what I do isn’t enough. They just want more.” He scoffed. “Actually they just want me to take over the town. That would make them so proud.” Sarcasm dripped from his sentence so strongly it could have coated the grass beneath us. “It’s just that, I wish I could stay in Escape and not be held to his standards. I want to get away from my family name, that’s why I didn’t introduce myself fully when I first met you.” I remained silent and let him vent to me. He paused, but after a moment he started again. “When someone hears my last name, they have all these preconceived ideas about how I should act and who I should be. Girls,” he looked at me with an unreadable expression. “Girls see dollar signs, power, popularity, or something else if they know the Greystone name. I had hoped when I met you that I wouldn’t need my last name. I wanted to win you over without it, but as always, you already knew who I was…” He gritted his teeth as if holding himself back from saying more.
I think I pushed too far now.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I didn’t have any predetermined ideas about you because of your last name. I don’t care about your name. I like meeting a person and making my own opinions on them afterwards.” I smiled, but his hard expression remained.
“If I remember you stepped away from me.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t expect that reaction.”
I shrugged, but didn’t offer an answer. I hoped we would jump to another topic, but he fell silent. Guilt washed over me for opening up such deep wound in his life. I didn’t know what to say or do. What could I do? “Well, if we’re having a ‘whose life sucks worst’ contest, I hate to tell you this, but you’d lose.” He glanced at me curiously, waiting for me to continue, but I just let out an awkward chuckle. I can’t believe I just said that. Panic spiked in my chest. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest and my stomach threatened to make me puke. There’s no way to back pedal out of this, is there?
“Oh, really?” he asked, disbelief and curiosity lacing his tone. “Tell me all about it. What happened to bring you to a town more than half way up a mountain, which no one has ever heard of before they arrive? We might as well get the sob stories out of the way now.” He held out his hand for me to take when he turned down the Riverwalk trail, which went around the peninsula of the wellness camp and back toward our houses. I took it eagerly, needing the support to even tell the story.
I bit my bottom lip, unsure of how to begin. “Well, I guess you could say I’m on the run. Not from the cops or anything, but from an ex who won’t leave me alone.” He squeezed my hand as a gentle way to encourage me to keep going. I just never realized how hard it would be to tell someone who didn’t know anything about the situation already. Something like this could ruin a life; it’s ruined mine. “I don’t even know what to say...”
We walked in silence for a moment, taking our time around the river. “Start where you’re comfortable.” His voice sounded melodic and soothing to the point where I could feel the tears beginning to overflow as I thought about just how terrible my life had become because of Wes.
“I can’t go home. My family can’t come near me or they risk bringing Wes around.” Tears trailed down my cheeks. My voice cracked under the intense emotion, but I forced myself to power through. “You know, when someone breaks up with you, you expect that to be it. It’s done. But I couldn’t let go of him after he broke up with me.” My voice cracked under the overwhelming emotion. If I had let him go from the start, maybe I wouldn’t be here now. “I didn’t see the manipulation and abuse he put me through. Even after we broke up, he wanted to tear me down and be in control of me. He talked to me every day about how we could still be friends and possibly getting back together. He did it to play with my feelings.” Tears slipped over my eyelashes and trailed down my cheek. I held my head up and forced myself to continue. “Then he had his girlfriends call and scream at me, and then would yell at me for things I had said years before and claimed all I did was lie to him. Oh, and my personal favorite, he’d tell me how it was all my fault and how no one would ever want me. I’d never be worth anything to anyone so I should just drop dead.”
“Why didn’t you just stop talking to him?”
“Do you still talk to your family even though you know it will hurt you in the end?” I felt terrible for asking that. It was a low blow, but I knew it would get the point across.
He nodded, but didn’t reply.
I took that as my cue to continue. “He thought he could find someone better than me and he thought someone else would put up with his shit, but he was sadly mistaken. Even if he hadn’t lost the girl he dumped me for, I think he would have snapped anyway when I moved on.”
“Why is he after you? He’s following you all over the country, to what means?”
I shook my head. “To be honest, I’m not sure. He wants me back is the easiest answer, but it’s more than that. He wants someone he can control, use, and manipulate. He wants who he left behind and she’s not here anymore.” I sighed, fighting the images of him standing over me ready to end our never-ending game of cat and mouse. “He’s told me many times that if he can’t have me then no one can.” I touched the knife scars on my arm instinctively. I never wanted to run into him again. I might not be able to escape again. “So, now he has a habit of scaring away any guy who shows an interest in me, including friends, and continues to isolate me after so long...and for a while I really believed that it was my fault. For a long time I thought I didn’t deserve friends, and that I just wasn’t good enough.”
“And now?”
“Now I know I am, but I’m too scared to go after anything. He’s trapped me before. He’s done terrible things, threatened worse, and I worry he’ll follow through sometime. So I run, and I’ll continue to run until he either stops or he dies.” My words hung like a noose around my neck, tightening the longer Gage remained silent. My house came into view on the horizon, the single light on just as I left it. Would he come here? Would he find me? Would I have to run again?
Gage gripped my hand tightly as the tears became overwhelming. When I started to shake, he pulled me toward him and held me. I gave in easily. I had craved the comfort of another person for too long. I needed it.
“It’s going to be okay, Mia. I won’t let anything happen to you while you’re here. I’ll protect you. I may be a disappointment to my family and want to remove the stigma associated with my last name, but it does mean that I have some pull in this town. I have enough friends to make sure you stay safe when I’m not around. You have nothing to worry about. Not while I’m here.”
We stood huddled
together for a while so I could collect myself. I eventually pushed away, determined to go home and be alone. I needed time to lick my wounds and he needed time to take in all the information I’d just thrown at him. I told him the dark secret I carried with me everywhere I went and he didn’t even bat an eye. There was hope.
I pulled away, eyes puffy and wet. Our wonderful evening had been ruined. Wes always ruined things, and now I did because I couldn’t escape him. Gage looked me over, worry clear in his eyes. I didn’t have anything to say to ease him. I couldn’t say anything to make it easier. For a moment, his eyes drifted to my lips. I thought he’d lean forward, but instead he nodded and took a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting to make sure I made it inside my cabin safely.
I hesitated for a moment. I had opened up to him and he accepted it. He embraced it even and said he’d do his best to keep me safe. That’s more than I could have ever imaged when I stepped off the bus two months ago. I didn’t expect to find a town I felt at home in, filled with people who treated me like family, and a man who I felt safe with and connected to. How did that happen in such a short time? He’s easy to talk to, unafraid my past, and determined to be with me. How did I deserve him?
“Mia, are you okay?” His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “I can leave if you want. I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable or—”
I took his face in my hands suddenly, shocking him, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. We relished in the kiss for a fraction of a second before I panicked. Thoughts of Wes—what he would do to Gage if he saw us right now—swept through my head. I let Gage go almost instantly and then turned and ran to the front door, leaving him on the corner with a bemused smirk on his face and probably a new determination.
When I made it to my door, I turned to see him still standing at the corner. He waved before he turned and went back to his house. I smiled, replaying our conversation in my mind. I just hope he’s right. I hope there’s nothing to worry about because I’m tired of running.
Chapter 9
“How come your new girl didn’t come with you today?” Kayla’s tone said it all. Was I embarrassed? Did I want to keep her from meeting the family? Was I worried they wouldn’t like her? She always had to know my business, even as kids, and being twenty-six didn’t change that. It had to be a little sister. Though Deacon had mentioned his younger cousin, Lily, did the same thing. So maybe Kayla took too much interest in my life because I was her only sibling. She couldn’t tamper with anyone else’s life except me. Which means if Kayla wasn’t involved in something in my life, then she’d bother the hell out of me until she knew every detail. “Are we too much to handle for the runaway? And don’t give me that look, you know Mom and Dad are going to ask the same thing. Everyone in town is asking about it.”
I grit my teeth, trying my best to ignore her. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything about Mia. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut? Oh, right, because I knew that was worse than if I just gave her what she wanted. Kayla had a habit of cyberstalking anyone I talked to for longer than a week. Mia didn’t have any social media accounts though because she didn’t want Wes finding her, which made it nearly impossible for Kayla to stalk her, and because I had been dating Mia for almost a month now Kayla was getting impatient. She wanted to preserve the family name or something like that. She knew most people dated her for our name as well, that’s why Jason took Greystone after they got married. Not that she’d admit it, but she knew what people saw when they heard our last name or made the connection with where we were from.
“Who is she? What is she doing here? Why is she so secretive? You don’t give us much to go on and I find it odd she has no online presence. Everyone has one, yet she has nothing. I can’t even find her family.” She slapped her manicured hand down on the marble table. It didn’t move the drink in front of her or effect mine. She tapped the table again when I didn’t respond, probably for emphasis.
“I can’t believe you’re going so far as to try to find her family. That’s a little too much, don’t you think? You don’t even know her. Have you ever heard of a little thing called privacy?” My tone came out sharper than intended, but I couldn’t help it. I felt like every time I came to Dad’s house I had to be on the defensive. Give it ten minutes and it will shift from my choice of women to my choice of jobs. I’d have to hear the stories about how he had done great things, is still doing great things, and how I’d end up as nothing. Of course, he’d never directly say that, but it came through loud and clear with his tone and how he talked about me. He may not like the choices I’ve made, but I didn’t need him making me feel like shit about it constantly.
“You know we have to know who each person is. We don’t know anything about this girl except small tidbits of information. There are multiple Daniels families in Virginia. I can’t track down who she is. I don’t like that and you know Dad won’t either.” She didn’t bother glancing around to see if Mom or Dad could hear her. They wouldn’t be home until Dad finished the last possible second of his time in town hall. Even if he finished on time he could be over twenty minutes late just from talking to people about the old times or sharing stories about his past before he made it back to Escape Estates, which was ridiculous considering that the small, upscale housing community rested only about seven minutes from Escape. I wish it was further at times.
“I don’t know a lot about her because we’ve been dating for only a month. I can’t force her to talk about her past if she doesn’t want to. She opened up once and told me what she felt she had to and I’m okay with that. You should be too. You’ll meet her when I think the time is right.”
She scoffed, leaning away from the table, obviously taken aback by my comment. “I should be okay with her possibly leading a psycho into town and letting him kill anyone who gets in his way? You should be taking this more seriously. This guy she told you about has a record, and his social media is filled with places he’s been to look for her!”
I sat up straighter, putting down my drink to look her in the eye. “Are any of them near here?” I didn’t bother commenting on how she had taken Wes’ name and found out he had a record. Determination and suspicion worked in her favor for things like this.
Kayla rolled her eyes. “I see that woke you up.” She shifted in her seat, crossing her legs and taking her sweet ass time to answer me. She pulled her blonde hair back into a pony tail and looked at her phone’s screen to check her make up before turning back to me. “No, none of them are around here. Last I saw, he was in Texas looking for her. That was about a week ago.”
Her answer didn’t settle the paranoia in my gut. After watching her cry and pour her heart out to me, I felt the overwhelming need to protect her. That’s the only reason I told Kayla anything. I wanted to know what this guy was like and Kayla had nothing but bad things to say about him. I didn’t want him showing up here. “He could get pretty far in a week.”
“It would be a shot in the dark for him to end up in Escape and you know it.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a pleased smile as if she had won the argument, but if I learned anything from my time in the military it’s that everyone could surprise you, and never in a good way. “As for her, she’s here now and we know nothing about her. I know you told me to stay away, but it’s either me or them, which do you prefer?”
I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “I know, I know. I’ll figure it out, but it’s none of their business since Dad practically disowned me for not following in his footsteps. I’ll talk to her. I want to get to know her more before you guys start bombarding her with questions she’s not comfortable answering. This is her life; she will handle it how she wants and I’d prefer not to have you guys scare her away.”
“He didn’t disown you. Don’t be so dramatic.”
I glared at her. She’s the dramatic one. I ignored her for less than twenty-four hours and she cried then
hit me until I talked to her. I just continued and pissed her off more. Yet I’m the dramatic one after Dad kicked me out of his life when I first returned from the army, broken, disheartened, and looking for support. I had been on my own for two years on active duty, but I came home to be with family and when I told him I hadn’t returned to take his place he lost it.
“Then why did you come back? Just to tell us you messed up again? If so, get out and don’t come back. I’m not wasting my time with you when you don’t take what I give you.”
I had tried to tell him I had come home out of respect, to tell them myself and to start over while I healed. He didn’t listen. All he heard was that his only son had failed again and wouldn’t be taking his spot in town hall. Thus, ending the Greystone ‘rein’ in Escape. Escape was home, I could leave, but then I’d just be running away and I needed to stand up for myself eventually. This is my life, not his. I got to make my own life choices and that included choosing what job I worked, who I dated, and when I brought that person into my family problems. Though, maybe now with Jason taking his spot, Dad would lighten up on me and we could mend what was left of our relationship. I shook my head, pushing that impossible reality out of my mind. No need to get my hopes up.
“I’m dramatic, Kayla? I’m the dramatic one in this family? Really?”
She laughed, knowing where I was going with this.
“You once kicked my door in with your heel because you thought I took your phone.”
She snorted from laughing so hard, and clapped remembering what happened. “You said, ‘I have your phone’ and then ran into your room!”
“But I never took it off your desk and then you turned around to slam your heel into my door.”
“First thought was, “Oh crap, Mom is going to be so pissed”.” She laughed, tipping over slightly in her chair. I contemplated leaning over and knocking her seat over, but she was too far from me. No wonder she picked the seat furthest from me. She knew I’d do it too.