Heavenly Hunted

by Aria Williams

  Indy looked at me for support, I didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Indy. If I go home, Bernie will know that it’s to protect me, and she may come after me for that exact reason.”

  I looked at Connor. Wow, he had become all mature overnight and wised up a lot. What he said was exactly true and could potentially happen. I didn’t know what was best. He was in danger at either address.

  “I don’t know, Connor, I don’t know anything anymore. Nate and I need to leave town.”

  Indy sat on the nearest bar stool, defeated. This wasn’t her at all. I had never seen her give up and admit failure. Where was the smartass, fast talking bitch who tried to run me out of town?

  “Indy, we need a plan and then we have to stick to it.”

  “I know, what do you suggest?”

  I wasn’t expecting Indy to hand all the decisions over to me. I had been good at planning surveillance, and assimilating myself into new situations, but this was a little different. I had been responsible for myself, but not a whole other person. What if I stuffed up and got Indy killed? I couldn’t have that over my head, it was a huge responsibility for a 21-year-old.

  I went outside to the boxing bag, put my gloves on, and proceeded to punch the hell out of it. I didn’t think this bag would last many more days, it had been given one hell of a beating. I stood on the opposite side of the bag looking into the house. Connor was arguing with Indy. He was refusing to leave her, this was going to be hard. I hated to admit it but I had to trick him into thinking that we would be taking him with us. This was going to be a real dog act, I hope he learns to forgive us as time goes by.

  I didn’t know how we were going to pull this off. I’m hoping that Indy has money stashed away somewhere. My funds had dried up when I crossed the line of bad to good, or maybe it was the other way around. Like I had with Indy, it was now time for me to gather as much information on Bernie that I could find. She had to have a soft spot somewhere, and once I found it, I’ll be aiming at it with guns blazing.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Indy

  My mind was made up. Connor would be moving back in with his parents one way or another, then Nate and myself will be leaving, most likely to live a life on the run, trying to outsmart Bernie at every turn. This was going to become a different reality that I had to get used to, no longer would I be free to do as I wanted and be who I dared.

  Nate handed me my phone this morning. The first thing I checked was my missed calls and texts; in total I had five calls and over eight messages. All of the girls had attempted to get into contact with me at least twice over the weekend. We did have plans to discuss shoes and hair for the upcoming grad, but unfortunately now, I wouldn’t be attending.

  The whole plan Nate had devised sucked ass big time, but I was totally on board and I knew he would make the big decisions I was too much of a pussy to make. Tomorrow was our second last day of school then we were on the run. We would go to school with Connor as we had planned and act as if nothing was wrong. I would play along with the girls discussing our plans for the grad while keeping an eye out for Bernie. I would probably wet myself if I saw her and drop to the ground, cradling myself into a tight ball, but Nate would be there to protect me. I could pretend for two more days.

  Connor was unaware of the full plan, he thought we were staying until the grad then leaving. Fact was that on our last day, we would ditch the two last periods and disappear after lunch time. Max would have all of the essentials packed and ready to go. Connor would finish school and wait for us to walk home with him and be met by no one. I couldn’t afford to let Connor in on our real plan. He would demand to come and could potentially waste a lifetime with us. We may one day find out how to stop her but that may take years.

  I was about to head into the backyard and make a phone call to AJ; it was time for him to know exactly what had been going on around here the last month. I dialed AJ’s number and he picked up on the third ring.

  “Hello, trouble, what are getting up to now?”

  I couldn’t help but let my laughter burst out. “Well, a boy came to town a few weeks ago…” I didn’t get to finish that sentence.

  “Really? A boy? You’re not in love, are you, Indy?”

  “Umm, that’s not what this phone call is about, Israfel, I’m being serious.” I preferred to use our real angel names when I was angry. Love whatever.

  “And so am I. Bit defensive, aren’t we?”

  “Get screwed. Are you going to let me talk?”

  “Sure, why not? This could prove to be very interesting.”

  For the next half hour I described the last month to AJ, not leaving out anything or anyone. He gasped when I fully explained what Nate was, who had saved his life, and what he could do. When I had finished bitching about my horrible ordeal, he started to tell me about his. This shit just got worse as the conversation continued. I thought that my love life was in shambles, I couldn’t even describe the stuffed up bullshit his was.

  “So you’re going to run off with this boy. Are you in love, Indy?”

  “What the hell? Of course I’m not—it’s called safety in numbers.”

  “Yeah, just keep on telling yourself that. If you want to use any of my houses, let me know and I’ll get the keys to you. Take care.”

  “Bye.”

  I pressed end on the call and leaned against the tree. Connor and Nate were training a few feet away from me. AJ had some nerve asking me if I loved Nate. He of all people should know that me loving a man wasn’t a possibility. I could easily ignore the way his tank top stuck to his chest to reveal his ripped muscles. I found myself wanting to run my hand down his pecs to the large v above his groin. I scolded myself hard. Bloody hell, Indy, get your dirty mind out of the gutter. Nate’s long hair fell over his face, framing his cheek bones, a small drop of sweat trickled towards to his mouth. That’s it, I’m going inside.

  I walked past Max, walking far too close, and he got the tiniest sense of what I was feeling.; Max stood looking at me, shaking his finger in the air with his other hand on his hip. All he needed was a pair of high heels and a handbag and he would have passed as Corrina.

  “Yo, girl, go get yourself into the shower and calm yourself down. And it’s about time that fine piece of ass is being appreciated in return.”

  What the hell was he talking about? Sometimes I think he confused his gender and acted more like a girl than I did. But I had to agree, Nate did have a fine ass.

  I climbed the stairs to my room. Max had left a few garbage bags on my bed and a medium sized suitcase. I locked my bedroom door and started to clean out my wardrobe. I was going to pack only the basics. I was throwing the clothes inside the garbage bags that I was going to donate to Salvo’s or Vinnie’s, I was only going to keep two sweaters, two pairs of trackies, a good set of jeans, three good tops and two sets of shoes. The suitcase only just done up, I had to sit on the top to allow the zipper to go all the way around. When I reached my very good clothes, I didn’t have the heart to give them away to someone I didn’t know. I grabbed a box and carefully placed my vintage dresses and designer jeans neatly inside. By the time I had finished, three more boxes were filled. I put one name on each box, trying to match the clothes with the personality of each of my friends. I made sure to give Corrina my killer heels. Max would make sure the boxes would end up with each girl when Nate and I left.

  I still had one little matter that would require my full attention. I needed to discuss this one with Nate. I grabbed my phone and send Nate a text, asking for him to come to my room when he had a spare five minutes and to be discreet about it.

  I didn’t expect him to be so prompt. Less than a few seconds after sending the message, he was knocking on my door. I sat on my bed and looked at the spot next to me, he responded but sat a large distance away. I looked at the gap, wishing him to move closer. That was so strange of me, because I didn’t want it to be a friendly gesture, but a romantic one. I wanted
to slap myself hard, it was Nate, for heaven’s sake… but that little voice at the back of my mind responded loudly, ‘Nate my saviour.’ Shut up, you annoying little voice.

  Taking a deep breath to rid myself of unrealistic thoughts, I was now ready. “I want to take Lucky with us!”

  “Mmm.” That was all Nate said. I could see he was thinking and trying to look at the entire picture and if it was in our best interest to be dragging a dog around with us. I know he had a soft spot for him, they had both bonded. Lucky wasn’t just my puppy anymore, but Nate’s also.

  “I just don’t know. I would like to say yes but what happens if we have to leave suddenly and he’s not with us?”

  I sat in silence for the next few minutes. Hopefully Connor would take him to his parents’ after he discovered we’d left. I hated to ask Nate, but I had to. “I’m all ready to go; does Connor suspect anything?”

  Nate looked deep into my eyes—I knew he wouldn’t lie to me. I had discovered the hard way that he was fully committed to me. He would guard me till he died to save his own soul.

  “I don’t think he does, but I can’t be 100% sure.”

  I moved up the bed, sitting lengthways, and leaned my head against the wall. Nate moved up the bed and did the same as me. I was afraid that he was going to leave my room. I recognised the feeling I felt for him as being the hero effect; it would wear off in a few days.

  I had thoughts swirling around in my head, the kind that were better off spoken out loud to relieve the pressure. I felt this was a good moment to release the flow of these.

  “I didn’t expect to be moving on so soon, it feels like I have unfinished business here. I’ve developed relationships, and skipping out on them and simply disappearing on these friends of ours isn’t fair to them at all.”

  Nate moved over a little and grabbed my hand. He patted it gently. I wanted to slip my hand through his and hold him.

  “I don’t think we have a choice. If we stay, someone will get killed.”

  That just about summed up everything. We sat in silence for hours. Depression started within my heart and gradually worked its way over to Nate. Nothing supernatural occurred for my mood to be transferred, we had both developed meaningful relationships. I had sworn to never become close to humans again and once more failed. Nate had lost something so different. My heart bled for him. Like myself, the benefits of friendship proved to be a challenge. Those we came in contact with would always be in grave danger. Personally, I should have known better.

  The cordless phone on my desk started to ring. I opened my eyes, surprised I had fallen asleep. I was reluctant to move from this comfy position, it had just the right amount of firm softness to ensure the best sleep. I closed my eyes. The answering machine would get the phone call, and if it was important, I would be able to ring back. Something moved under my hair. A nervous panic shot through me—I was petrified of spiders.

  “Are you going to get that or not?”

  I scrambled off my bed in a flash. My mouth dropped open, I was dumbfounded. No words could described how stupid I felt at this moment. My comfy pillow had been Nate’s chest and his hand was the spider I had been scared of.

  I grabbed the nearest magazine and rolled it up, leaning over to smack Nate with it. “You’re an absolute jerk, Nate, this isn’t funny at all.”

  “What are you talking about? We were just sleeping, that’s all.”

  “You planned this. I suppose I’ll be the object of your amusement later.”

  “What? Of course not.”

  “Your f—” The f-bomb was just about to slide out of my mouth until the answering machine clicked and a message started to record.

  I hope I have the right number—I need some help. My boyfriend came over after he finished at the pub today and demanded sex. He had lipstick all over his collar. I questioned it—he slapped me in the face and threw me against the wall. He started to unbuckle my jeans to have sex with me. I screamed out no so many times but he hit me on the head and I blacked out. I’m pregnant with our first baby, I need help.

  I dropped to the bed. I could feel my eyes become wet. The contents threatened to spill over, these were the first real tears I had felt since falling from heaven. Resisting the urge to cry was no good, all of my emotions had pooled into one. I let myself succumb to the hurt and sobbed quietly to myself. Nate placed his hand on my back, it then moved around to my shoulder and pulled me towards his body. I fell into his arms and wept till the tears came no more. My bedroom door opened slightly and a foot came a step inside my room, then the person backed away. I didn’t want an audience. The pain of having to sit back and do nothing to help this girl was torture.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Nate

  I was contemplating something pretty stupid. The fact that I was still thinking about it confirmed how totally in love I was with Indy. My sweater was getting wetter as she bawled her eyes out on me. I was now feeling a double whammy of hopelessness. I couldn’t get Bernie to leave us alone, we had to leave our friends, and now, to add more shit into this bubble of crap, Indy was falling apart because she couldn’t help this girl that really needed it.

  I had thought that if we did the unthinkable and went to help this girl together, she may gain a small amount of her old self back. I needed to think this through. There was so much that could go wrong if I didn’t set firm boundaries. I let go of Indy. She had calmed down enough for me to get up and walk to the window. I was going to check to see if Bernie was outside; these days she didn’t bother to hide herself, she was in full stalker mode now and loved to throw stones at our window at night. It wasn’t helping Indy’s night terrors one bit.

  I looked at the tree that Bernie had been leaning against for the last two nights, there was no sign of her. I looked everywhere else, everything looked normal. I walked over to the phone, picked it up, and handed the receiver to Indy. “Now you’re going to ring that girl back and tell her we’ll help.”

  Indy didn’t move, she didn’t blink for a whole minute. She was shocked because I was being stupid and condoning this behavior.

  “You need to promise me that we’re only taking this lady to the police to file charges and going back to her house to kick that son of a bitch out, changing all of the locks, and giving her every single support group hotline number we can. No crazy shit and you’re not throwing him out, either; I am.”

  Indy still sat there, gobsmacked. I could have thrown a punch at her and she wouldn’t have moved an inch. I leaned down and got in front of Indy so that we were at eye level. “We can do this but we have to move now. Bernie has gone home, for how long is anyone’s guess, but we’re going now.”

  “What about Connor and Max—if she finds out we’ve gone…”

  I had already thought about this. “They’re coming too, now MOVE!”

  This time Indy wasted no time. She rang this girl back and got all of the necessary details. I ran down the stairs to tell the boys that we were going on a road trip.

  Max looked at me. “We can’t go now, I’m cooking Connor a frangipani slice.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? Fine, stay here by yourself and deal with Bernie.”

  “Well, when you put it like that, I’ll turn off the oven till we get back.” Max strutted to the oven and delicately turned the dials.

  I grabbed a bag and threw snacks into it, anything I could find that wouldn’t spill all over Max’s car went into the bag. I checked all of the windows, making sure they were locked. I turned the TV onto the movie channel and left it down low. I hoped that would fool Bernie for a small time into thinking that we were still home, even though one of the cars would be gone.

  “Max, we’re taking the beetle,” I said as I picked up Lucky.

  “That dog is not riding in my car, Nate.”

  “So you’re going to take the blame when Bernie discovers we’ve gone and she possibly hurts Lucky.” I didn’t mean to be this nasty, I just needed Max to understand that Indy would react un
expectedly if something happened to the dog.

  Max walked away pissed, mumbling under his breath. This car was his baby. I promised myself to get the car detailed for him if Lucky had a little accident.

  By the time Indy came down the stairs we were all ready to go. Connor was fighting over the front seat. He didn’t want to sit with Max, regardless of all the yummy cooking that Max did it wouldn’t make a difference, he still had eyes only for Indy.

  I didn’t care where he sat as long as they shut the hell up and didn’t argue as I drove. Max complained about that decision, too. I simply explained that if Bernie had a car nearby and chased us, that I would be the better choice to drive as I had done a crash course on defensive driving tactics at high speeds.

  For the first few kilometres of the trip, Max sat with his hands gripped tightly to the seat and eyes glued to the road. Within the first half hour, his posture relaxed and he pulled out a nail file that was in his door and started to give himself a manicure. I glanced over a few times. I thought the technique he used to iron our clothes was fastidious, but now looking at the care and precision he took to file his nails, I wondered if Max suffered from a perfectionist syndrome. Every single nail was filed at a perfect angle. God, it’s going to be a long trip.

  Chapter Thirty

  Indy

  I sat in the back with Connor while Nate drove and Max rode shotgun. I was a ball of nerves. I kept looking behind me every few minutes to make sure there were no cars following. We had successfully left before Bernie returned to her favorite tree, bloody psycho bitch. I had Lucky on the floor between my feet, Nate had made the last minute decision to let him come. He feared that once Bernie found out we’d left, she was going to be mental. We didn’t know if animal abuse was in her talents but we weren’t going to risk it. I got comfortable next to Connor and closed my eyes, we were in for a long drive, one I didn’t particularly look forward to, but this girl named Naomi lived five hours away. We wouldn’t be home till the early hours of the morning. I can predict my tired and cranky mood tomorrow, watch out, boys!