*Dancing*–failed! *Painting*–failed! *Drawing*–failed…partially. No drawing of clothing designs, Leslie. Just no. *Yoga*–failed! *Crocheting*–failed! Failed! Failed! Failed! Might as well be the poster girl for failure. *Sightseeing*–success! It’s fun going on tours but my purse doesn’t exac
LESLIE’S JOURNAL ENTRIES 002 ******* Thinking about designing again was a spontaneous decision. I am not sure I have what it takes to start from scratch or to even succeed. So, I’m ruling it off as one of those new year resolutions that you never get around to doing. My savings is dwindling. I h
LESLIE’S JOURNAL ENTRIES 003******It’s been exactly a year since I left my old life behind. It hits hard because today is the very day I walked away and didn’t look back. I thought I’d finally moved on. I thought I finally found myself but I guess finding a part of me doesn’t mean I entirely lose
LESLIE’S JOURNAL ENTRIES 004*******Just when I thought Cole has given up on the idea of ‘investing’ in me, he starts to hover around me again. I run into him a lot these days. At the mall, at convenience stores, at the hallway and even when dumping garbage. I have a feeling those meetings aren’t c
Trent and I had a talk while everyone else was busy listening to Cole’s adventurous stories. He bought me a drawing book and some colored pencils for my designs. I think I teared up a little as I took the gifts from me. He wanted to take me for changing their lives. He’d been worried he would have
LESLIE’S POV*THREE YEARS LATER*(Note: The three year period covers the events contained in Leslie’s journal and a little after that. Or you can look at it this way: the next events that are about to happen starting from this chapter are three years after she decided to leave her old life behind.)
LESLIE'S POVI open the door and Cole stands there, a smug look on his face. “Cole? What are you doing here?” Cole ignores my question and steps close to me with barely an inch separating us and then he smirks. “I knew it! Your eyes are red and puffy. You cried!” I scowl at his childish antics,
KIAN’S POVI’m falling deep into a dark abyss. It seems endless, taking forever to let the darkness swallow me whole. I’m reaching out but there’s no one to pull me up and nothing to hold on to. Just when I am about to get swallowed into the abyss, I jerk awake. It’s the same dream, again. I am at
LESLIE’S POV I join Kian’s mother outside the room, closing the door behind me. She is still stewing in anger, face red with rage that’s waiting to be unleashed. Usually, I would do anything to pacify her so I wouldn't be at the receiving end of that unbridled rage. Now? Irritation is all I feel at
LESLIE’S POV (One Week Later) “If the police show up again, spray them in the face with the fire extinguisher or something.” Cole’s irritated voice filters through my phone’s speaker and it makes me crack a smile for the first time in a week. “Pretty sure I would get arrested for that.” “Not
LESLIE’S POV My reflexes work faster than they ever have. Fast enough to help me roll away, and bump into Beverly in the process. Mike relentlessly stalks towards me and that’s when I get a good look at his affected leg. I time his movement and before he can take another angry swing of his weapon
LESLIE’S POV Seconds after Beverly crumples to the ground, my breath is still caught in my throat. I’m still trembling as I watch her sprawled on the floor, body jerking uncontrollably. I’m amazed at my strength to still remain standing despite the traumatising scene in front of me. To still grip t
LESLIE’S POV Our hearts are already in our mouths before we see what jumped at us—a ginormous rat, every bit as scared as us. It runs at full speed and scurries into the nearby bush. “All clear.” She mutters and we both step into the shed using her phone’s flashlight. It’s a full shed; a bunch of
LESLIE’S POV We’re barely two minutes away from the abandoned school gate when the engine starts to sputter, the entire truck shaking with the intensity. “No…no…no…no, not now!” Beverly lets out a panicked groan. I am preoccupied with looking behind us to make sure we’re not being followed but at
LESLIE’S POV Kian doesn’t know it—the name of Mike’s sister. I can tell from the way his entire face has gone even paler than it was before. Earlier, it had been pale from the pain of the injuries from the accident that I still don’t know the extent of. Now, he has turned ashen from something m
LESLIE’S POV The sound of my name reaches me from somewhere distant. The sound is repeated just like the throbbing ache in my head. When I finally manage to pry open my eyes, the feeling of deja vu washes over me. My hands and legs are bound tightly just like three years ago in that warehouse.
BEVERLY’S POV The familiar beeping sound that comes from my phone causes me to jerk upright. My eyes train on the screen, following the movement of a blinking red dot on the map. He’s on the move. I slam a couple of bills on the coffee table before hurrying out of the cafe where I had been havi