I awoke in a hospital bed. My mom anxiously pacing beside it.
"Mom what happened?" I asked.
Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked older. One look at her expression told me all I needed to know. I shook my head in denial.
"No! He can't be dead, he can't! He didn't die!" I started hyperventilating and then I was sobbing.
My mom rushed up to my bed and held me. I was sick of all the tears but I couldn't seem to stop. The funeral came and went. I was too much in pain to care about anyone who came. Except Jace who was the only one who could relate to what happened.
He stayed by my side and held my hand. When I was asked questions I had to be asked more than once and usually Jace's voice was the only one I heard through my pain. I hurt so badly that I stopped eating and my health waned. I ended up being confined to my bed.
My mom begged me to eat but I couldn't. What consumed me was the thought that I was responsible for my dad's death. The fact that I hadn't warn him about the man in the woods. That I hadn't warned anyone. Jace came to visit everyday.
He'd come with news of the world outside my bedroom.
"Did you know Tania made a scene about how you couldn't go to school because of your condition?"
I turned my head and sighed. "She's a bitch what do you expect?"
Jace looked up startled. He came to feel my forehead.
"Annie I thought you had gone mute forever."
I gave him a small smile at his sarcasm. "I..." I
couldn't finish because all of a sudden I was crying again. Jace held me and it soon became clear that he was my cure. When he brought me food I ate it. When anyone else brought me it I denied it. If Jace brought me food and said it was from someone else I didn't eat it.
That small thread that was my survival grew larger and larger the more time I spent with Jace. I became attached to Jace and formed a bond that did not occur with most people. I heard my mom talking to the psychiatrist. I gradually became better. My strength increased as did my health.
One day while I was sitting in a chair reading a book, I asked Jace the question that had been on my mind for a while.
"Do you mind?" I asked him.
He raise his eyebrows. "Do I mind what?" he replied.
I sighed in frustration. "Do you mind me being attached to you like this? I feel like I thrust my survival into your hands and I'm not sure how you feel about that."
He just continued to raise his eyebrows.
"Come on Jace I need to know. You do have a life to live."
He gazed into my eyes and said the words I had been praying to hear.
"Annie I don't mind. Honestly when I thought I was going to lose you, I felt myself going crazy. I've never seen a person react to a situation like that before."
He bent his head and kissed me long and slowly. My body was soon tingly and warm. I pulled him down and he grunted against my lips as his knees hit the floor. A knock on the door made us part. We were both breathing heavily.
My mom walked in and looked from me to Jace.
"Did I intterupt something?" She asked.
I shook my head but I knew my mom was aware of just how close Jace and I had become.
"Hi Mrs. Black." Jace greeted my mom. He then looked at me. "I'll see you later okay?" He came and kissed me on the forehead.
"Make sure you eat something too. If u hear that you didn't eat. I will come and make you eat two meals to make up for it."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh please you wouldn't do that, not to me."
Jace shrugged and I stiffened. Then he grinned and I realized be was kidding. He then left, walking past my mom with a wave to us both as he disappeared.
Annie was doing a lot better. My heart swelled with Joy. The doctor had said she would be able to leave the house in less than a week. Annie kept asking me to take her to the forest. I kept refusing out of fear.
No way was I letting her near those woods ever again. Who knew maybe her mom could be next if she went there. I walked through Annie's house liked it was my own.
It wasn't obviously but I know spent the majority of my time there. Taking care of Annie and ensuring she got better. I smiled as I recalled the relief on her face. The fact that she had been worried about my life made me feel good.
I don't think I'll ever leave her. I walked out the front door and got into my car. I was going to the forest again. The city council had rejected my theory of a killer loose in the woods.
Not because they didn't believe me. I had presented my evidence but in the end they chose to do nothing. They felt that if it was known a killer was in the area. It would cause panic and mayhem. Then there was the possibility of a killing spree.
"How can you be sure he hasn't killed many people before coming here?" I asked one of the councilmembers. "You can't."
He had paled at my question. "We will just have to take our chances won't we?" He finally had said.
I sneered at the thought. I won't give up. I can't give up. My dad, Annie's dad both deserved justice.
"Yeah just let a psyco killer keep killing, that a brilliant plan." I muttered to myself.
I snapped back to reality in time to narrowly avoid hitting the car that was driving in front of me. It infuriated me that the council chose to do nothing. I disagreed with their idea to keep everything quiet so as not to provoke the killer into targeting more people.
I was so wrapped in my thoughts that when my cellphone rang I jumped.