Finding Abigail (41 page)

The smirk
turned into a smile, as she winked at me over her brother’s and child’s bodies.
“Get up, we’re waiting.” Jen reached over and took Libby’s hand, pulling her up
off the bed and out of the room.

“I guess we
should get up.” I stood and pulled on my own yoga pants, which were blue. I was
wearing an old gray T-shirt of Noah’s, with the words Shimmer Lake High written
in navy blue on the front. I brushed my hair quickly and added a bit of makeup.
Finally, I took the locket out of the box and put it on my neck where it
belonged. “Come on, they’re waiting.” I moved to the door and stood gazing at
him, where he still lay in bed watching me.

“Go ahead, I’ll
be right out.”

I did as he
asked, and made my way out into the living room where Noah’s family waited.

The next few
hours was a haze of wrapping paper, excited squeals, and laughter. I missed
being around a big family. I was surprised I wasn’t depressed or missing my
own. I just enjoyed the day without any sadness. It was Christmas, a time to be
happy and thankful, and that’s what I intended to do.

Noah loved the
brown leather jacket and his CDs, but it was the chisel that inspired a long
kiss in front of his family. They cheered at the sight, thankful that their son
had finally found happiness. Except his brother-in-law, who yelled for us to
get a room. Noah winked at me as he drew away, sitting next to me on the sofa.
Noah had given me earrings and perfume and I decided I would thank him in
private.

“Oh Anna, thank
you,” Jen said.

I looked up
from my earrings and saw that Libby had opened her present. “You’re welcome.” I
had given her a signed special edition to my new book, a signed copy of
Wendy’s
Wish
and a signed copy of the
Wendy’s Wish
DVD along with the other
books Noah had been browsing through.

“I didn’t even
know the DVD was out yet.”

“It’s not, but
I have connections.”

Later, Sam,
Kathy and the kids came to exchange gifts. I was so excited to give Kathy her
gift, but when I opened the one from her, I laughed. I watched as she opened
hers, and held up mine. “We can go together.” We had gotten the same thing for
each other, a massage and manicure coupon for the spa in Martin.

“Hey, just what
I wanted,” she cried, grinning.

The boys loved
their gifts, the same thing I got Libby; they all agreed that it was way cool
that I knew a famous author. They still didn’t know who I really was, and
thankfully Noah’s family didn’t say my name in front of them.

“Anna, can I
have a cookie?” Libby asked me after we finished lunch.

“Not if she
baked them,” Sylvia commented, laughing.

I scrunched up
my face staring at her. “Hey, you know I can make cookies.”

She shrugged
noncommittally. “Yes, that’s true, but I better try them first.”

“Sylvia,” I
gasped, while the others laughed.

They left the
next day, and although the quiet was welcoming, I was sad to see them go. Noah
and I organized my stuff into his house, but I insisted on keeping my office at
the cottage. I was inspired there, and I didn’t want to mess with that.

I got a message
through Debbie that my family loved they’re gifts and I was happy to hear from
them, but I was no longer depressed after reading their letter. I missed them,
but I was happy and fulfilled with my new life with Noah.

Surrender

Winter turned
into spring; a year since I escaped was just a few weeks away. Noah wanted to
celebrate, saying we’d been together a year, he wanted to make it a happy
event, afraid I’d be sad or depressed. I agreed with him and chose to be happy.

That day, I was
just finishing up a chapter on my new book called
Angela’s Song
, which
was about a little girl with the voice of an angel, when Noah poked his head
inside the office. “I’m ready to leave.”

I saved my file
and jumped up, rushing to join him. I walked with him outside, following him to
his car. “I’ll miss you.”

He took my hand
in his rough calloused one, giving mine a squeeze. “Anna, I’ll just be gone for
the day. I’ll see you tonight.” His sapphire eyes gazed into mine, making it
harder to let him go. I was being ridiculous. He wasn’t leaving me.

The sun was
warm today beating down on us, the top of my head starting to get warm. The
soft breeze blew the scent of gardenias from the garden Sylvia had planted for
me when she visited us last month. I had yet to weed it, and they were getting
higher than the actual flowers. I hoped to do it before she returned, but it
was hard to focus on more than my book, Noah, not to mention Kathy and the
boys. I didn’t have time to weed.
What was Sylvia thinking?

Returning my
thoughts to the man next to me, I breathed in his scent. He had worked in his
workshop this morning and the smell of wood was stronger than ever. “I know,
but we haven’t been more than a mile or two apart for more than a few hours
since I moved here.” I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He rested his
head on mine as I snuggled against his chest listening to his heart beat. I
didn’t want to let go, because when I did, I knew he would get in his car and
drive off to Bellen Hill for a meeting with a potential client. The man was a
CEO of a company there, and insisted they discuss the cabinets for his new
mansion in person.

I felt him
stiffen against me. I glanced up to see him staring at something over my
shoulder. Then his eyes widened in horror just before he shoved me away from
him. The sound of a gunshot rang out as I hit the side of the house. My head
smacked against the stone with a crack; pain shot like a bullet through my
skull. I spun around, my head dizzy, to see Noah lying on the ground, blood
pooling through his blue dress shirt on his right shoulder—exactly where my
head had been laying seconds before. “Noah!” I screamed, rushing toward him,
leaning over his motionless body. “Are you okay?” I gasped, holding back the
sobs that threatened to over take me.

He opened his
eyes slowly, his eyes glassy and distant. He turned to me, focusing on my face.
He breathed deep and then gasped, “Run!”

“What?”

He looked
beyond me. “Run, NOW!”

Panic and
confusion overflowed my brain as I glanced over my shoulder. There was a man
wearing a black leather jacket and green baseball cap, and he was stalking
toward us. “Nick,” I whispered.

“Abby,” Noah
breathed, sitting up, cradling his arm. “Go.” He hadn’t used my real name in a
year and it sounded odd coming from his lips.

I gazed at him
hesitantly, unsure of what to do.

“Please,” he
begged.

I closed my
eyes, tears running down my cheeks. “I can’t leave you,” I sobbed.

“He’s coming.
GO!” he yelled, his eyes showing the pain he felt. It was difficult for him to
yell, and I was adding to his pain by not doing what he asked, but how could I
leave him?

I nodded,
making a decision to lead Nick away from Noah. If he had any chance of
surviving this, Nick couldn’t be near him. “I love you,” I whispered, as I spun
around.

Nick was just
crossing the road at the edge of the driveway. He lifted the gun and aimed
again. I needed to get help somehow. But the best thing right now was to lure
Nick away from the man I loved. It was me he wanted anyway. I took off running
down the beach just before another shot ran out. This one went into the dock
with a hollow
thunk
as I rushed past, over the dunes and down to the
sand.

“Abbbyyy,” Nick
yelled in a sing-song voice. “Come on, honey. It’s time to come home. I won’t
hurt you.” He was using his sweet tone of voice, the one he reserved for his
nieces and nephew. I wasn’t falling for it though; he just shot at me. “Lets
just forget the last year and move on. I forgive you for leaving me.” His voice
held a hard edge to it, filled with venom, completely contradicting his words.

I kept running,
looking for somewhere to hide as I slipped and slid on the wet sand. All I was
wearing was the pink flip-flops I wore around the house. I hadn’t expected to
be running for my life or I would have chosen hiking boots.

Stop it!
Why was I thinking of footwear? I needed to find a place to hide.
Another shot rang out. I lunged to the ground into the wet sand, fear snaking
up my spine. My hands sunk into the mushy beach, sand clung to my fingers and
palms.

On all fours, I
glanced over my shoulder. Nick was at the edge of the beach standing on the
dune searching for me. When he saw me hunched on the ground, he grinned, his
eyes sparking with menace. “Hey, baby. Just give it up. You’re mine, remember?
I will always find you.” I didn’t stick around to hear the rest, I had thought
of a place to hide and took off running, just before another bullet pierced the
sky. I climbed up the dunes on my hands and knees and then stood up, running as
fast I could for Noah’s workshop.

When I got
close to the barn, I glanced behind me. Nick was nowhere to be seen. Noah’s
house blocked my view of the beach, hopefully blocking me from Nick. I snuck
around the side door and pulled slowly, hoping to avoid the creaking sound I
knew this door usually made. The hinges groaned faintly as I opened the door,
but thankfully not loud enough for anyone but me to hear.

Slipping
through the door, I rushed to the back of the large room. Nick’s voice erupted
from outside, and I glanced behind me, bumping into the table saw, making a
loud squawking sound. I froze, hoping he hadn’t heard it. But as I stared out
the tiny grimy window facing the lake, I saw his dark head bobbing my way. I
needed to find a place to hide now!

I spun around
the room, taking in the machines, the supplies, the desk, and nowhere that
would give me cover. Panic bubbled up inside me. It was useless, he was going
to find and kill me, what was the point in fighting it? Just as the pity
started to take hold, slithering its way into my chest threatening to smother
me, my eyes fell on a little utility closet Noah used for office supplies. It
had been a broom closet that he added shelves to. I rushed to the back corner
and opened it. It was deep enough for a body to fit. I yanked out a huge box of
paper from the bottom shelf and got down crawling into the tiny space. I had
just shoved the box of paper back to hide me and closed the door when I heard
the creak of the outer door.

I stared down
at the floor beneath me. Scraps of torn paper and dust balls filled the tiny
cracks in the concrete. I could hear the sounds of feet shuffling, and the odd
smack of hand on machine. He thought I was hiding under them.

I held my
breath, hoping that if I didn’t make a sound he would leave. No such luck.

“I know you’re
in here.” His voice was agitated; it was making him crazy that he couldn’t find
me. “Why do you run from me? I told you the first time we had sex that you were
mine. You can’t get away from me.”

He was trying
to goad me, and it was working. He didn’t own me. I belonged to no one but
myself. The anger was starting to rise, making me breathe harder. I closed my
eyes, and concentrated on calming down.

“You know, it
wasn’t easy to find you. Everyone in your life lied to me. Said they didn’t
know where you were. Your whole family are fucking liars,” he yelled, his
agitation spiking. Just like Debbie had said, he was definitely losing it. “Who
do they think they are, trying to keep you from me? I OWN YOU!” he hollered.
His loud booming voice bounced off the walls. The footsteps got closer. Panic
and fear crept up my spine, paralyzing me. “You know how I found you? That old
bitch Sylvia.”

I gasped when
he said her name, and then covered my mouth with my hand. My arm was shaking
with fear.

“I always
thought there was something up with her, since she moved the day you left. And
last week, I looked into her background. Turns out she has a bunch of cottages
in Shimmer Lake.” The sound of something heavy scraped against the floor—the
desk, I thought. He was looking behind it.
Oh shit he was close.

“And once I
arrived here, it didn’t take long before I found someone who recognized your
picture. She called you Anna. She really didn’t like you. She said you were
fucking her man.” A pounding sound rang out, startling me. He had punched
something, a wall maybe? The footsteps, got closer, and the door in front of me
swung open. “I knew you were a slut. You probably did fuck that Jason.” The box
of paper slid out. I edged to the back as far as I could go. His hand appeared
and grabbed my hair. He yanked it, pulling me out of the closet. Pain shot through
my head as he ripped strands out. He leered down at me, his musky scent gagging
me. “But I got you now.”

He shoved me to
the hard cold floor and snaked his hands around my throat, his favorite form of
torture, and squeezed. Instantly my airway sealed shut and I gasped for air,
kicking and flipping around, trying to get him off me. I wished I had longer
nails, as I tried to claw at his hands, but nothing worked. I could feel
unconsciousness overtaking me, and the sight of his rage filled eyes flashed in
and out.