The sound of his sinister voice in my head sends a chill crawling down my arms.
I internally shake my head as a mocking sound leaves me.
What am I doing here anyway? I should go and bug Mom about leaving work and resting.
It really feels as if she’s bringing her death date sooner at the pace she’s going.
I’m respecting her every wish, so the least she can do is give me her time.
Or what’s left of it.
My chest aches at the reminder and I briefly close my eyes to chase it away.
For the past couple of weeks, all I’ve done is try to make her comfortable. I even gave up on searching for my father indefinitely.
And I meant it. If he hurt her, betrayed her, I have no interest in making his acquaintance. Like Mom, I know exactly what it means to give someone my all, to be naively genuine, just to be stabbed in the back by the one person I thought was closest to me.
Mom said I met my dad and I don’t remember, but she refused to divulge anything else. I only let it go because the subject matter seemed to have bothered her.
I’m about to turn around and leave when something rustles across from me.
It couldn’t be…
My pulse thumps in my throat as I squint. There’s nothing visible in the bushes, but I know there’s someone there.
Waiting…
Lurking…
Did Sebastian follow me from campus? It’s possible with the way his aqua eyes promised mayhem when we were practicing across from each other.
My legs itch for a run, and I know, I just know that if I do run, I won’t stop.
And neither will he.
If he chases me, we’ll just fall back into that black hole that I’ve been desperately trying to escape, to no avail.
Even with all the bitter emotions, the snap decision in my brain is a lot easier than I thought.
I want to run.
I want to be chased.
Even if it’s for one final
time.
Just when I’m sucking air into my lungs, a figure appears from behind a tree.
I freeze.
He’s wearing black army fatigues and a baseball cap that falls low on his face. He’s a bit taller than me and definitely not Sebastian.
Then another taller black figure appears. There are two of them.
I don’t think as I turn around and run.
For real this time.