Please forgive me for how this chapter ends. I couldn't resist the perfect cliff-hanger, sorry. Next chapter will be coming soon.
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If you can walk away from them, then think seriously about doing it sooner rather than later.
Helen's words kept spinning around in Jessie's head as she lay awake considering everything she'd learned in the last week. The insurance settlement for her house had finally been completed and the money would be transferred in a few days. She could rebuild if she wanted to ... but she wasn't sure she had the energy or desire to do that now. She could just sell the lot and go somewhere else ... but she knew no matter where she went she couldn't get back the way her life had been. She was trapped in something new, whether she walked away from Jacob & Liam or not.
Now she was trying to sleep in a motel room several hundred miles from the city wondering what she should do. She had awoken this morning in her basement suite and got ready for work, then stalled. Staring at herself carefully in the mirror she had realized she no longer knew who she was. She'd stuffed some things into a soft-sided carry-on, putting it in the trunk of her car when she left for work. At the end of the workday, having requested a week's vacation, she'd texted Jacob
Taking some time to think. Will be gone a few days. Don't worry about me
, then turned off her phone, got in her car and started driving.
Jessie had done this kind of road trip, alone, a few times since her father had passed. She would never have been allowed to do it while either of her parents were alive, which made simple adventures like this all the more satisfying now. She went north and east away from the city, following the highway that wound through small towns and a lot of wilderness. The traffic lightened up considerably after a few hours. There were many pullouts where she would be the only one there - she could sit and listen to the sounds of the wind, water, birds ... and think.
Only three days after she left the city she was missing Jacob and Liam terribly. She noticed that she was constantly sniffing, trying to smell something - and realized she was searching for their scent. Nights in motels were not quiet but her ears searched for the sound of particular footsteps, the murmur of particular voices, the howls of coyotes. There was an ache in her chest she'd never felt before, the thought that they might leave her or she could leave them increasingly difficult to consider. She could turn around and go home, but she was also determined to try to test the limits of her connection to those two - could she walk away from them?
Four days after she left the city she was sitting in a bar a little after 5pm, across the street from the motel in a small town where she figured she'd get a room for the night. She'd ordered a burger and a diet soda, just something simple for dinner so she could get out of there before it got too loud and crowded. She was people watching as she ate. The place was beginning to fill up. Two men walked in together, looked around and walked down the center of the floor towards her side of the room. One of them suddenly looked startled, said something to the other one, and they walked over to her table.
"Well hello beautiful. We haven't seen you before. Visiting someone around here?"
Jessie sighed (and rolled her eyes in her mind). "Just passing through." As they stood there she got a quick whiff of a scent - something that reminded her of hot blacktop, sharp and unpleasant.
"Can we join you? Buy you a drink?"
"Sorry, no. Just eating a quick dinner, and I like to eat alone thanks."
"Well, alright then. You don't know what you're missing though. We can be great company for a beautiful lady." There it was again ... "beautiful" ... Jessie knew that was over the top. She wasn't any kind of standout at all, she was just average in the looks department. Her father had told her she had great expressive eyes but that was the only thing Jessie thought was the least bit noticeable about her at all. Generally, she had always just blended into the background. She felt relieved when they moved away and sat at a table across the room. She caught them looking at her every so often while they talked and drank their beers.
When she finished dinner Jessie walked back to her car. As she got closer she saw a man pulling the license plate off the front bumper. "Hey, stop that! What are you doing?"
He turned, holding the plate in his hands. "My name is Tom. Helen sent me to help you."
Jessie frowned. "Really? Why would she do that? How do I know that you are telling me the truth?"
Tom smiled. "Good girl. Always verify ... Helen said to tell you she is still waiting for your grandmother's picture. Ok?"
Jessie hesitated for a second, then said "Ok ... Why?"
Tom looked around quickly, then said "I'll explain later. Right now, I need to you get in your car and drive back west. About 20 miles outside town there is a rest stop, you'll see the signs. Stop there, turn off the lights and for god's sake turn on your phone. There are messages you have to pick up ASAP. I'll meet you there. Go, now."
Jessie didn't know what was going on but since it seemed Tom was in contact with Helen she would do what he asked. She also noticed, standing quite close to him, that he had an odd scent. It was quite strong but not unpleasant.
She got in her car, drove to the rest stop and turned on her phone. As soon as it powered up it started buzzing like crazy. She had numerous texts and voice mail. She scrolled through the texts first, all of them variations of the same thing:
Jessie, turn around and come back right now. We'll explain why when you get back.
Come back. There are dangers out there you don't understand. You need to turn around.
