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There's No Turning Back.

A thrilling tale, about a woman who will do anything for her freedom. Will she a escape him, or will he make her pay? Stay tuned to find out.

By SmilingSams. Published 4 years ago 16 min read
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PART ONE.

August 4th 2009, it’s a warm summer evening with nothing but the sound of the breeze behind me, some would say that I was crazy and some would say that I was brave.

I always wanted to take off and do something for myself so I left home, and in ten years since I left home; that was the only thing I did that was my choice. But on this day I woke up a different woman. It was time and I knew it. So off I went new city, new home, new job, and soon a whole new me. It was 400 miles to the place I wanted to be, so I knew it would take about a week driving , with minimal stops ; of course..

The breakdown was simple drive for eight hours and stop. Drive for eight hours then stop. For seven days and on the last day I would drive for ten hours and arrive at the air BNB that I had rented till I can find a permanent residence.

Day two I noticed I had a shadow, so I pulled over to get gas, trying to check my own paranoid state. I was running away from who I was and the life I was living its possible someone followed me. When I pulled in, the car kept going but I took a mental shot of the plate just to be safe. I bought my gas and some snacks and headed back out on the road. I was about two miles from the gas station when my shadow returned. I knew I wasn’t just being paranoid. I swerved off the road and put on my hazards hoping whoever was in the car would pull over to help and I could identity my shadow. I wasn’t so lucky.

Back on the road I went, I decided that I was just going to drive and stop playing cat and mouse with this mystery man or woman; who knows nowadays everyone is crazy. I didn’t have time to keep making unplanned stops and really no patience ether. I could and would find out who my shadow was, and what it was they wanted, but for now it was just me the road and my music.

Day three went by faster than I thought it would, I crossed two state lines and was making great time at this rate my seven days was going to be shortened to a five day trip. And I hadn’t seen my shadow since the stop after the gas station. I had shaken them. Well so I thought.

Day four, I’m almost at my final destination, I decided I was going to stop at this adorable ma & pa’s bed and breakfast for the night. I went to the attached diner for brunch and my biggest fear for this whole trip walked through the door.

His name was Drew he was 6’5 with dark chestnut hair and the bluest eyes you have ever seen. He was the life I was running from. We made eye contact and my heart dropped out my chest and on to my pancakes. He sat down across from me calm and collected as he usually did; it’s one of the things I used to love about him, now it’s one of the things that I’m most scared of. I had no idea what was about to happen, but he did.

“Hello, Lila, you weren’t as hard to find, you always were predictable.”

“What do you want drew?”

“You know what I want Lila, and you will give it to me before we leave this diner.”

“I don’t have anything for you Drew, and no matter what you say, I will leave the diner when I’m done my pancakes” I had never lied to him before. It felt good.

He smashed his hand down on the table, and then did a scan of the room to make sure he hadn’t drawn any attention to us.

“Don’t lie to me Lila that is the last thing you want to do right now.”

“I’m not lying Drew, I destroyed everything to do with that life before I left town, you can choose not to believe me, but you’ll be wasting your time. I ran because I wanted no part of anything you’re involved in. So if you don’t mind I would like to get back to my brunch.”

“GOD DAMMIT LILA DON'T F*CK WITH ME” He yelled louder than I expected it startled me and the waitress. I waved her away to reassure her that everything was fine, even if it wasn’t I didn’t want anyone to think danger lay ahead.

“Drew, I will only tell you one more time. I destroyed everything related to you and that life, you’re problems are exactly that YOUR problems, so leave me, leave my table and go bother someone else.” My sternness threw him off his game he did not expect that from me at all, and honestly it was kind of nice to throw him off his game for once.

That’s when he stood up and walked over to the cash register and then walked out of the diner, I knew it wouldn’t be the last I saw of him, but it felt good to watch him walk away from me. I went back to my wonderful pancakes, had a couple cups of coffee, and headed back to my room to make a game plan on how I was going to get rid of Drew once and for all. He knew where I was headed now, so Arizona was no longer the plan of attack, but if I drove past it he would just follow me to the ends of the earth, how could I shake him. I spent about four hours trying to plan out how I could fake my own death, that would definitely get him off my tail, but I would have to make it real I don’t think I could do that to my family. Then it came to me. Drew has no family, no friends; he had no one but the people he worked for. They wouldn’t miss him. That’s when I knew the only way to get rid of him & go on with my life was for him to die. That was the only way it could be, and so that was how it would be. I was still going to Arizona; in fact I would go to the far side of Arizona. I was going home. I’ll have him follow me all the way to daddy’s farm, and then when he comes to ask again about the papers I don’t have, I’ll kill him and feed him to daddy’s pigs.

Morning came, as I walked to my car I knew he was close, not close enough for me to see him but he was here and he made sure I felt it. I grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel from the diner before I headed back out on the road. I called my dad when I was in the car and told him I was coming home, we chatted for a bit about the neighbors and the new book store that opened in town.

“You’ll love it, has all the older books you love to read when you were young”

“That sounds great dad, can’t wait to see it, you and the family, let the neighbors know I’m coming home, you know what tell the whole town too I’m coming home. I’ll be about six hours more so you have lots of time. Thanks dad, love you see you soon.”

“I can’t wait to tell your mother, got to go here she comes, drive safe darling, love you see you soon.”

Normally I wouldn’t want a big deal made out of me coming home, but I knew the bigger the crowd the more time I would have away from Drew, I wasn’t quite ready to face him again. The six hour drive I had ahead of me felt like it would be a whole lifetime. How was I going to find him , and if I let him find me , how do I keep the upper hand , my mind was racing and before I knew it I was an hour away from home. I had Siri send my dad a text to let him know I was getting closer. Then I noticed I had another shadow, but it wasn’t the same car or the same plate as the car before. Could he really had gone to a rental place and swapped the car , the closest rental place was like two miles backwards to where I was heading, could it be one of his goons , could it be one of his bosses looking for me thinking I’m covering for him ? I started to panic , but couldn’t slow down now my dad knew where I was and was most definitely counting the minutes to when I would come over the hill. If I pulled over now it would cause way too many questions. I drove on and sure enough when I came over that hill, it looked like the whole town was standing there waiting for me with signs and balloons and ribbons, like I was a solider returning from the war. I was so happy to see all the old friends and all of my family I hadn’t seen since I left ten years prior with Drew. I was even happier when I looked back and my shadow had vanished. Stage one of a plan, was a success, and now it was time to enjoy a little bit of freedom and peace of mind. Until nightfall I was safe.

I had only been home one day and it felt like a decade. One of the main reasons I left when I did was, because there was always so much going on in this town , and no one knows how to mind their own damn business. Small towns never have secrets, or so I thought. Turns out in my ten years away a lot had changed.

I woke before my parents so I could go for a walk and figure out how to keep the upper hand in this never ending chess game with my ex. I walked for about an hour before I stopped at the park bench where I had my first kiss. Drew and I had a life here, it feels like our time away was some sick and twisted dream that was never going to end. Now I feel like I’m stuck in a limbo. Do I go back to hell, and suffer slowly till one of us dies, or do I return to my family life? Be daddy’s little farmer hand, and meet a new man and have children live on the farm till I’m old n’ grey like my parents? That was the plan originally, so why can’t it be the plan again now? I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t realize that someone had sat next to me to feed the birds.

“Sometimes the easiest way to find peace is by being part of the chaos.”

“Excuse me ?” I didn’t turn to look who it was, I didn’t have to; I knew the voice.

“You came home thinking that it would give you a blanket of safety, like it would stop the villains that you’re running from. Hiding in plain sight, but sometimes being in the middle of the chaos, no one expects some one in crisis to stop what they are doing to help other people. That’s how we got in all this mess in the first place. I wanted to be in the middle of all the chaos. I just got too involved, too caught up. Started doing things I would never do and became someone I would never want to be.”

“Drew you don’t get to sit here and try and sell me on your bullshit you enjoyed everything you did, & you loved everything that came along with it. The drugs, the money , the trips, the parties , and the women.” I felt this amazing sense of self that brought calm and collected face towards Drew.

“You’ve got to know that when this all got started I never knew it would come to this, become all of this. I thought we would have had a family by now, was even thinking we could move back here and take over the farm for your parents. I know that’s something you always wanted to do.”

He was toying with me , I could see it in his eyes; telling me what I wanted to hear , so that I would give in and give him what he wanted. I wasn’t going to fall for it this time. I knew him better than that.

“I love you Lila , you have to know that was always true. The love and passion we shared was real.”

“Drew , you can save the act, I don’t have the proof you think I do , & if they call me to trial I’m your wife , everything is privileged. BUT the second the trials are all over , and you and your bosses get away with yet another murder. I’ll be mailing you the divorce papers. All I ask of you in return is to get the f*ck out of my town. Leave my life , let me start a new without you.”

I got up and walked away, I walked until he was out of my sight, I walked till there wasn’t a tree that reminded me of high school. I walked the whole town, all day, just walked and walked and walked. It felt good to be home, better than I thought it would. I feared coming home after being away so long, but everyone was absolutely amazing; welcoming like I was gone ten days, not ten years. The town was so calm, no horns, no yelling, no sirens. Silence. It was so quiet , when my phone rang it startled me.

“ Hey dad , what’s up?”

“ Mom told me to call you , because dinner is ready in ten.”

“ Okay tell mom I’ll be there in five.”

I hung up and a smile grew on my face till I was smiling from ear to ear. I walked home, and was home in three minutes.

“Hey hunnie. Perfect timing I’m just taking dinner out of the oven. Set the table for me ?”

“of course mom, is everything still in the same cabinets? “

As I opened the cupboard to see everything in the exact same order as it was when i was kid, a teenager and those first few years of adulthood. My mom was always so good at organization. She could be on a different continent and find you anything that was in this house. We sat at the table as a family for the first time in too long. It was almost normal , like my world wasn’t crumbling around me as I ate mashed potatoes and gravy.

“How much trouble are you in? You don’t have to pretend. Be honest with us.”

“What?!?!?! MOM! What the hell are you talking about?”

That’s when my dad sat up a little straighter, and spoke to me as if I was 16 & got arrested.”

“Lila , you came home after nothing more than Christmas cards and money for ten years , your husband is nowhere to be found and your backseat has more than just a weekends worth of clothing, you didn’t call us until you were six hours away. And you didn’t call like you normally would. Don’t play us like we’re stupid, just tell us how much trouble you’re in and how we can help you.”

How were they so good at that, they could tell me what’s wrong with me before i knew what was wrong with me. How do I even begin to explain everything to them. What do I say to them , they know me to well for me to lie, but maybe I could just leave certain details out.

“Okay, guilty. You got me. Drew & I are getting a divorce, & I wasn’t ready to face the truth of it. I caught him with several other women. One being his boss. We have been going through a lot lately and fighting constantly, but I never thought he would cheat. I was crushed so I packed all my stuff got in the car and just drove, till I realized what direction I was headed in, so I called you and came home. Now here we are.” I think they bought it.

"oh hunnie!!! I can't believe that man , I am so sorry you are going through all of this , come here lets go have some wine and talk about it ,just us girls what ya say ?" And there it was the famous mom talk , which really translated to ; tell me all the juicy details ,because your life is my soap opera. My father walked off , and before I knew it my mom had be by the hand dragging me into family room.

"So when did this all start , and gosh darn why didn't you call you mother?"

"Mom , that is a complicated question to answer, and i didn't call you , cause i didn't want the whole town to know that the high school love story wasn't all it was cracked up too, and that my prince charming , was no prince at all." I began to weep. Thankfully my mother knew better then to push me at this time, she handed me a glass of wine and we just drank in silence.

" Would one of you ladies like to explain to me why there are two police officers at my door, and why they want to speak with the two of you?"

As I walked to the door my heart was pumping out of my chest and all I was thinking was ; what did Drew do now. as small towns go, the two officers standing at my door were the Talen twins. They were tall blonde hair and blue eyed dream boats.

"Good evening Lila, we need to speak with you about your husband, would you mind coming down to the station with us."

I knew I had nothing to hide , and there was no way that my little hometown had been corrupted. Or so I thought.

**** HOPE YOU ENJOYED PART ONE, STAY TUNED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TO LILA AND DREW. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ,tips are always appreciated****

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About the Creator

SmilingSams.

learning to express myself better , one story at a time.

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