Red Wine on My White Shirt

 

Chapter Twenty Four

 

I’m walking down a street when I realize that I’m not far from the Davenports place. Then I realize that I don’t have any of my stuff. That it’s all at the Davenports house.

I sigh, speeding up my pace and trying to think of a plan. I will have to wait until they are all gone and then quickly grab my things.

When I get to the Davenport’s house—hours later—after wandering aimlessly and somehow ending up there, I pause and watch the shadows in the house.

They’ve got to have realized I’m missing! It’s been a full day now. Why are they still at home?

Then, I realize, that at some point they have to take a break from searching for me. That’s what they were doing then, taking a break from searching. And when their break was finished, they’d leave the house and it would be empty for me to go in quickly and grab my stuff.

I creep closer to the house, hiding behind a rock by the lake. I see Chase—and my stomach clenches painfully. I miss him so much. It’s been a day.

How can I cut off all ties to him and his family—my family now?

I’m going to have to, I tell myself, feeling a tear fall down my face. I angrily wipe it away and watch Chase when, without warning, he’s staring straight at me. He drops the glass he’s holding and runs out the front door, racing down the front steps towards me. I take a few clumsy steps away from him, fighting the urge to run towards him, and let him pick me up in his strong arms, and the conflicting urge to run away from him, as far as I can, if only to save him.

He’s less than ten feet away from me when I hold up my hands in a “stop” gesture. He does, looking confused.

“Don’t come any closer.” I say, trying to sound severe but knowing my voice is wobbly and about to break.

Chase looks hurt, relieved, and confused all rolled into one. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! We’ve been following a trail that we found from tires on that old road near our house…Skye; you have no idea how worried I’ve been. What happened to you?” He asks me, taking a step forward.

I jump a step back. Chase looks confused. “What’s wrong, Skye?” He asks me, his blue eyes burning.

I feel tears pool in my eyes. “I need to leave.” I say unconvincingly.

“What do you mean, you need to leave?” Chase asks. “You need to leave town, this family, me?”

I can hear the confusion and hurt in his voice and the tears fall freely from my eyes.

“Chase…you don’t understand.”

He looks so hurt. Like…like he honestly thinks I need—want—to leave him. I fight every nerve screaming at me.

“What don’t I understand, Skye? Why you disappeared for over a day without even a call? Why you return looking like you’ve been through hell and then why you tell me you need to leave without explanation? Is that what I don’t understand?” He asks me, anger and hurt mixing in his eyes. I close my eyes, tears falling down my face.

“I can’t be with you anymore.” I tell Chase, and my voice chokes on you. I fight a sob. Chase raises his eyebrows. “You can’t be with me anymore.” He repeats, monotone. I nod, sniffing loudly. He looks at me, taking another step closer to me.

“Why?” He asks me, and I have a very bad feeling he can see through my B.S. I blink warily.

“I just can’t.” I say weakly. Chase looks in my eyes.

“You’re lying.” He says, and I sniff again. “Talk to me Skye. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

I sigh, closing my eyes. Tears keep falling. I smile weakly. “I love you Chase. More than anything in the world, I love you. But…I can’t be with you anymore. I can’t make you…” I trail off, keeping my eyes closed. I wipe away a tear and when I open my eyes Chase is not a foot from me. I shriek, jumping away from him, taking quick, backward clumsy steps away from him, stumbling over loose rocks.

Chase looks stricken. “Are you scared of me?” He asks me, his voice deep and low. I shiver.

“I’m scared of myself.” I whisper, correcting him. I want to hug Chase, have him tell me everything is going to be okay. I want him to promise me I’ll be safe, that he’ll never let anyone hurt me.

But it would be pointless. Nobody will hurt me anymore. I’ll hurt them.

“What happened to you?” Chase asks; his voice quiet. He’s staring at me—really staring at me—right through all my B.S., like I knew he would.

“I need to get my stuff and leave. I can’t be here anymore. I can’t be with you anymore, Chase. Just…just let me get my stuff and leave. You won’t see me again, and it’ll be okay because then you’ll be….safe.”

Chase’s perfect mouth hangs open slightly, in shock. “What do you mean safe? You won’t hurt me, Skye. What are you worried about?” He asks me.

This is going to be harder than I thought, I think to myself. But just then I hear a frog croaking and I look down. A frog, small and brownish-green, sits there, almost waiting for me. I close my eyes and count to three and then open them. I then look at Chase, make sure he’s watching, and lean down.

Now, all you PETA people out there? Please don’t freak out on me about this next little part of my story. Please. If you ever see me in the street don’t go throwing red wine on my white shirt or anything crazy like that. In advance, I’m sorry. Really.

Anyway, I lean down, and touch my fingertip to the back of the frog. Within a second, it’s dead. I feel my stomach clench, like I’m about to be sick, and look up, gauging Chase’s reaction.

He breathes in and out, in and out; staring at the frog like it holds the answers to all the questions.

“I’m an Extinguisher now, Chase.” I take a big, shuddering breath. “Do you get it now?” I ask quietly. Without waiting for a response I hop up the front steps to the front door, open it quietly and walk warily to my room. My old room, as of now. I pack my bags for the second time in this week, and grab a picture frame holding a picture of Chase and me grinning at each other—my favorite picture. I shove it into my bag and maneuver my way out of the house without bumping into anybody.

I walk past Chase, keeping my distance from him when his voice stops me.

“If you kissed me now—right now—I would die…?” He asks me. I turn slowly, another tear (what’s with the damn tears!?) falling down my cheek.

I nod slowly. Chase shudders.

“I can’t…I couldn’t…” He tries. I smile weakly, my stomach twisting.

“That’s why I’m leaving.” I say, getting what he’s trying to say. He can’t be with me. He couldn’t risk his life to be near me.

I start to walk away again, and then stop, turning slightly. “I’ll always love you.” I say quietly, and by the tortured look in his eyes I know he heard me. How can a killer love him? How can he love a killer?

I walk for hours, sobbing silently, until I come up with a plan of action. A plan for my broken, lonely future.

A plan, that if all went right, would fix it all.

 

THE END

 

**look for the sequel: Cursed** prologue and first chapters will be posted soon!**

Reviews

[Rusty]

Well done, it's a great story....thanks for sharing it with me...it held my attention and kept me wanting more

[Anya]

OMG. If it ended there i would... i would... i would die!! My heart was racing and pounding for her and Chase. Absolutely fabulous book! I'm very proud to have read it and can't wait for the next book! This should be published, it's as good as and sometimes better then many books I have read. Fantabulous... I can't possibly give it enough praise!