Save Me (6 page)

chapter 9

Great what now?  I cannot go to sleep, not with baggy puffy eyes, I had not cried in so long.  I went into the bedroom, changed my clothes and tried to unpack a few things. 

I froze when I heard a car pull up the drive, not again, Maggie damn you.  I ran to the front door and when I pulled it open, I was going to run outside and scream at that woman.  Instead I ran dead smack into Oliver.  “Ouch, nice to see you too,” he said. I could not believe he was here, but why was he here?  “Oli hi, I am so glad you are here, but why are you here,” I said confused.

“Maggie,” was all he said.  He did not have to say anymore.  I knew, damn her, but damn did I love her. 

“Well as much as I normally hate her meddling in my life like a big nosy sister, I am grateful tonight.  Look Oli, I have so many things to tell you”…he cut me off.  He then grabbed my face in his hands, he kissed me in the most passionate way I have ever been kissed in my entire life, and I was dizzy when he broke away.  “Grace, it’s ok, I know,” He said.   Wait what?  “What do you mean you know?” I said.  He took a deep long breathe. 

“Well I knew something wasn’t right with you Grace, I would have never told you that I loved you if I had not already known that you loved me too.  You have been acting strange on and off for weeks.  You would not open up to me and I was worried about you so I called an old friend of mine at the station in New York where I used to work.  He did me a favor and did some digging on you,” he said.

“OMG, so now you came here to tell me that you were wrong about me that I am not who you thought right?  Because that is what you should be saying,” I was pacing back and forth in the living room. 

“Grace, calm down, that is not why I came here.  Did you just notice that I kissed you?  I mean I thought you did, but damn!  My person found out that your husband spent a night in the hospital after you stabbed him.  He called a friend of his that was a dirty cop and asked him to put out a nationwide manhunt for your arrest; I am surprised I never received anything.  Anyways, the captain of Max’s friend at his precinct found out what happened.  They brought Max in for questioning and he told them that you went crazy, stabbed him and then kidnapped Belle,” he said.

Oh no, this is what I was afraid of.  “See, I told you, damaged goods, now I am going to jail,” I said panicking.   “Grace stop it!  I would never let that happen, my friend at my old precinct made a few calls, I know people too,” he smiled.  “They found something off with Max’s story; he had been coming in to the office late and was messy and he smelled of bourbon a lot.  His captain did some digging and found out that the neighbor, the one who helped you with Belle, told the police that she heard a bunch of fighting coming from your house that day.  She said she heard you were screaming and they derived a conclusion and Max was fired.  He had been paying people off looking for you and paying people off to win cases for years.  He may be corrupt and know a few corrupt cops, but the good always win over the bad Grace,” he said, this time grinning from ear to ear.

Wow.  “I don’t know what to say, I am shocked they fired him, he must have been doing really badly.  He was always so good at hiding it all before,” I said.

“So the bad news is…no one has seen or heard from him since.  Moreover, it was almost 3 weeks ago, who knows where he is,” Oliver said carefully. Great, I do, I know.  “Oliver, he is looking for me, I know it,” I said. Panic ripping through my body.

“It doesn’t matter Grace, he will never hurt you again.  You will never have to go through this again, I swear to you.  I love you and I want to protect you no matter what, at any cost.  I will always protect you and Belle, I love you Grace, please stay, stay with me, I need you,” He said, this time pleading with me. 

He had literally woken me up.  It was as if I could not even see the light until he turned it on for me.  I did not want to run ever again, I wanted to stay here and have a life with him, that was all that I would ever want, I deserved that, didn’t I?

I smiled, “I love you too Oli, I have from the start, I have just been so scared, I cannot lose Belle and I almost lost her and myself that night.  I cannot even sleep without the nightmares of that night haunting me. Please forgive me, I want to start over, I want to stay here with you, I am so sorry,” I said reaching for him.

He cupped my face with his hands.  “Shh baby, it’s ok.  I will not ever leave you, you will never be alone again, I promise,” He promised. I will leave my fate in your hands, because I am absolutely nothing without you. I love you more and more every time I hear your voice for Christ’s sake. I promise you Grace if you let me I will give you everything you deserve, you will know how precious you are to me every single day of your life.  I will never leave you, I will never hurt you, and I will never stop loving you,” he confessed.

“Oliver, will stay with us tonight, with me,” I asked.  The truth was I had not been in the same bed with a man in a while.  Max worked many long hours or at least that is what he told me.  We normally did not share a bed, I never wanted to anyways. 

However, with Oliver, that is all that I wanted. I want to feel the warmth of his skin next to mine; I could feel the muscles in his arms where my hands lay. 

He kissed me, but this time there was so much more passion.  He left me screaming for more.  I could not help myself; he moved his hands lower, and lower, until he got to my hips.  He reached his hand up my blouse, damn he felt good, and I needed him to touch me everywhere. 

He went to pull my shirt up over my head, when suddenly he stopped.  “What is it?  What’s wrong,” I asked confused.  I could not read his face.

“I...I just don’t want to push you,  I mean you have been through so much,  I do not want to scare you off.  We don’t have to do this tonight,” he said.

“Oliver I want to, and I want you, I need you, as long as you don’t mind my scars,” I said pulling up my shirt and revealing the scars on my stomach and chest. I could see the light slowly fade from Oliver’s eyes. I know he hurt for me. I know it angered him, but I wanted him to see me.

He picked me up in one swoop and raced to my bedroom.  When he shut the door, he immediately pulled off his shirt.  He was an incredible sight.  I cannot believe this man wants me.  He sauntered over to me in the calmest way, I do not know how because my heart was literally doing summersaults in my chest right now.  However, I did not care; cardiac arrest would be worth it tonight! 

He gently touched my chest; his hands were so gentle and smooth.  He kissed my lips, then my chin and then down to my neck.  I had goose bumps everywhere; I felt like I had a radiator in between my legs, it was so hot. 

He unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down with my panties in an instant.  He slowly raised his body back up to my face gently trailing kisses up my stomach. 

“Oh Oli, please I need you, right now.”  He grinned, “That’s good baby, because I need you too, I want to make this so incredible for you,” He said, and I could feel his erection against my legs.  He lowered me down to the bed and before I knew it, my head was spinning and he was inside of me, I was panting and seeing things that I was not sure were real. 

The sex with Oliver James was so freaking good; I was hallucinating, oh well, totally worth it.  I had never had sex like this before.  On the other hand, was it called making love?  It was amazing; he was amazing and so gentle.  He never got frustrated with me the few times that I jerked at his touch.  It would take some getting used to, but I could do it, for him.  I could do anything for him, and he would do anything for me.

chapter 10

Two months later

              It has been a perfect two months.  I have been in Good Hope for almost five months now.  This was beginning to feel like a real home I was healing here, I was no longer having nightmares of Max.  I was tired of being afraid of him and he could not hurt me anymore.  Especially since Oliver was with me almost every point of the day. 

He was only away while we worked, but made sure that I always had someone with us when he could not be.  I was not afraid anymore, I figured that by now Max had to of given up and moved on to his next victim.  On the other hand, maybe it was still me he wanted, I hope not and quickly pushed that thought out of my mind.

              It was Christmas time and Good Hope was a sight to see at Christmas, It was incredible here.  I was so happy, Belle was happy too, she was thriving.  She had her fourth birthday last month and I could not believe it, she would start preschool next month, Max never allowed her to be in it before, he was strict with everything. 

We were getting ready for the town festival.  Oliver had called and said he would be over soon.  Maggie’s husband, Tom, had just dropped off Belle and stayed until he knew that Oliver would be over soon.  “It’s ok Tom, you can go home now.  Go get ready for the festival, I promise I will be fine.”  He looked at me nervously. 

“Well, Grace, Oliver doesn’t want you here alone; he wants me to stay until he gets here.” 

Oh, for crying aloud, I am fine.  “Tom, seriously it’s been months, honestly, he will be here shortly, and I promise I will be fine,” I said sternly. I could tell that he knew I wanted to be alone.  It was as if I did not even know what that was like anymore.  “Ok, but lock this damn door when I leave,” Tom said with a grin.

“Sure thing”, I said.  I really liked Tom, he was away on business a lot, but he was perfect for Maggie.  I had only met him a few months ago, he walked outside and I locked the door behind him.  I was not a dummy; I would at least lock up. I went back into my bedroom to finish getting ready. Belle was in her room playing with her dolls, so quietly. She was such a good girl.

I was almost ready to go when I heard footsteps on the porch, that must be Oliver, I thought.  I walked into the living room and the front door was open, that is weird I thought, I could have sworn that I locked that door when Tom left. 

Just then, my lights flickered and then finally went out altogether.  Shit, what is going on?  It is not storming, and the wind is not even blowing.  I suddenly felt sick, horribly nauseated and about to lose my mind completely until suddenly, I smelled bourbon.  I knew that smell anywhere; it was the cheapest bourbon around.  Max had a lot of money, but he was a cheap son of a bitch and bought the cheapest least expensive bourbon there was.  I ran down the hall and told Belle to hide under her bed and not to make a sound; she thought we were playing a game. I locked her door behind me and went back into the hallway.

Max, you bastard!  He had found me, how did he find me?  I heard the door to my bedroom close.  “Who’s there?” I called.  “Whoever you are, I don’t have any money and my boyfriend is the sheriff who just so happens to be on his way over here,” I shouted loudly.  I heard footsteps followed by his laughs.  Ugh that laugh.  I hated him with every fiber of my being. It made my skin crawl.

“Oh Gracie, baby did you miss me?  I sure missed you and playtime is over, it is time to come home darling,” Max said. I took a deep breath, I can do this. I can face him.

“Screw you Max, I do not belong to you anymore, I never did and I left for a reason.  You cannot do the things to people that you did to me, it’s over,” I yelled.

His silhouette came into view, and he was skinny, sickly looking, as if he had been drinking himself to death.  “Oh Gracie, it’s not over until I say it’s fucking over!  Do you understand me?  However, you are right, it is over, and it will be for you tonight.  I am done searching for you, and I will take Belle with me and you will be out of the way, for good,” He laughed. I ran, ran as fast as I could back to my bedroom to try for the window to yell for help. He must not know Annabelle is here.

He chased me into the bedroom where I tried to slam the door on him.  He was too strong, he was always too strong and I could never get away.  Why was this happening again?  He flew the door open sending me flying into the bedpost; he grabbed me, threw me on the bed, and wrapped his hands around my neck.  It was as if I was back there, six months ago.  I thought the nightmare had ended. 

              I was so wrong, it would never end until I was dead, that was all he wanted.  I fought as long as I could, I kicked, screamed, and begged, but it was no use, I surrendered to the darkness and let go.

              That was the last thing I remembered. It is a funny feeling, strange and terrifying feeling, knowing you might be breathing your last breath, knowing that no matter how hard you fought, you were just not strong enough, what would become of my Belle, and Oliver, who would take care of them.

CHAPTER 11

“Grace!  Can you hear me?  Grace,” Oliver shouted.  Was I dreaming?  Was I dead?  I could hear muffled voices.  It was like an echo, but where is it coming from?  I slowly opened my eyes, is this real; I was in a bed, a hospital bed.  I looked around the room and saw Oliver, Oh, thank goodness, wait am I seriously dead, and how did I get here?  “Oliver, what is going on?  Why am I in a hospital bed?” I said confused. “Grace, do you not remember,” Oliver said.

NO, I remember all right, Max’s crazy ass showed up and killed me.  “I remember Oli,” My voice cracked.  I had a sense of dread wash over me, I was so afraid.  No matter how much I tried to tell myself I was not, I was terrified.  “Oli where is Max?  What happened to me?” I was panicking having a real panic attack; I was losing my shit real quick. 

“Shh baby its ok; you are going to be fine.  He choked you until you lost consciousness, but it is ok now, it’s over,” He said lowering his head on my hospital bed. He looked like he had aged 10 years since the last time I had seen him.

OMG, Belle.  “Oliver, where’s Annabelle?  Did he take her?  Where is she?  Belle!  Belle!” I screamed, I was trying to get out of my hospital bed, I needed my daughter and I needed her right now, how could any of this be happening, I fought so hard to protect her.

“Grace calm down, Belle is fine, she is fine, and she is with Gloria.  I have one of my deputy’s at the house with them, although, they do not really need any protection anymore, but we found Belle tucked under bed holding her ears singing. She said she thought that you were playing hide and go seek with Daddy,” Oliver said.

“Oh Oli, thank God she’s ok.  Where is he?  Where is Max?  Did the police get him?  He knows how to get past the law, my heart is breaking that she had to hear him there like that,” I said panicking.

“Grace I need you to calm down, I have to tell you something.  This may or may not be hard for you to hear, I don’t want to upset you,” He said looking down at his feet, his face went pale white.

Why was he being so weird?  I grabbed his hand and noticed that he had dried blood on his knuckles.  What was this from?  “Oliver, where did this blood come from?” I asked confused.  He could barely look at me.  “Oliver, are you ok?” I said again. “Grace, he cannot hurt you anymore,” His voice got quieter and quieter.

“What do you mean Oli?  He will make bail and surely come after us again; he always gets what he wants,” I said knowing it was true.

“Grace I got to your house moments after you passed out, he almost killed you, I walked in quietly so he could not hear me.  I saw you passed out on the bed, something snapped inside me; I love you so much that I just, I lost it, I really freaking lost it.  I lunged at him and hit him repeatedly, I couldn’t stop myself,” Oliver said dropping his gaze from mine. Oh no, what did he do? “Oliver what happened?” I said demanding he tell me now.

“I...I killed him Grace, I did not stop myself; I literally beat him to death and I just lost it, I am so sorry, please tell me you don’t hate me,” He said with tears in his eyes.

I could not believe he was dead.  I honestly felt nothing, I was so numb from what had happened, my life was so fucked up, will I ever be the same?  “Oliver, do the police know?” I said almost afraid to ask.

“Yes, they do.  Once the Boston PD found out, they issued a warrant for my arrest.  I am guessing he has friends on the team there,” Oliver said.

I cannot believe this is happening.  Tell me it is not.  “Grace I have to turn myself in, tonight,” He said.

“What no!  No Oli this is all my fault, you were just trying to protect me.  Do you see now why I said I had to leave?  Dammit Oli!  You wouldn’t listen and now what?  You’re going to prison for the murder of my husband who tried to kill me?”  This was beyond too much, I felt dizzy, outraged, I could not even breathe, I felt like I was having a panic attack. 

“Calm down Grace, lie back and close your eyes, I will fix this, I have friends too, I will get out and this will all be over, and then we will be together again.”  I was exhausted, I let it take over. 

I laid back and closed my eyes, I was never meant to be happy, I felt like all I wanted was to hear my mother’s voice, I needed peace, but I would never find peace.  I gave in to the dark, once again. That is the funny thing about giving in, is it considered giving up as well? In all of the time I have spent running, running from the darkness that chased me, I have gotten nowhere. Finally being free of him should make me feel better, only now the one person who helped me find my way back into the light will suffer because of him. Now I feel I have fallen back into the darkness and it is darker than I ever could have imagined.

PART II

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”

-Christopher Columbus