EIGHT YEARS AGO“Come home now, Derek! Your father is dying! Oh, my God! I’m so scared! Please, God!” The hysterical voice of Derek’s mother came from over the phone.Derek felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach at those words. He loved his father more than life itself. That man had sacrificed a lot for Derek and his sister and hearing that he was dying was something of a rude shock.“Mom? What are you talking about? Dad is dying? He sounded very hale and hearty when he called me earlier today.” Derek asked, thinking to himself that he must have heard wrong. His mother was not listening to him and did not answer his question because she was busy talking in a frenzied tone in the background.“Mom!” He yelled into the phone, but instead of hearing his mother’s reply, the line went dead, throwing him into utter confusion and fear.He tried to call her number as he picked up his keys and rushed out of the office, so he could go to his parent’s house and find out what was really go
“Don’t worry, Tim. I’m used to driving these roads in all weather conditions. We’ll be just fine. I’m afraid that emergency services may be very busy, as they usually are on days like this, and that was why my mom had to call me. I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t make it there in time to get him help.” Derek replied, but he slowed down a bit to ease Tim’s fear.There was silence between them for some minutes as Derek drove, with each person lost in their own thoughts. Now, they were about to round a bend, and Derek’s other phone began to vibrate in his shirt pocket.He glanced down for a second, intending to take his right hand off the wheel to pick the ringing phone out of his pocket and give it to Tim to answer the call, in case it was his mother or sister who was calling, but he never made it that far. A few seconds were all it took. He heard Tim’s sharp intake of breath, followed by a loud shout.“Watch out, boss!” Tim yelled.At this warning, Derek snatched his head up immedia
Ava jumped about a foot high, her heart slamming about her rib cage as she looked around quickly. She did not see anyone. Was she going crazy or what? “Oh, God … Jim’s dead and it's all my fault …” The same male voice came again, fainter this time, but still, Ava heard it clearly. Was it possible that one of the bodies in the car was in fact not a body, but that its owner was still alive?“Cold … so cold … Dad … dying … reach …” The voice came yet again. By this time, Ava finally realized what was happening. There was no ghost anywhere around, unlike what she had initially thought, even though she did not believe in ghosts. There was a survivor alright, but he wasn’t in any of the cars, which meant he was somewhere around.And then she saw him! He was lying on the cold ground some distance away, shivering and obviously in serious pain. The ground beneath him was soaked with blood, and his legs … both of them were clearly broken.“Oh my God! Are you okay?” Ava screeched, running up t
To say that Ava was shaken was an understatement. She stared in utter horror and disbelief as her colleague from work began to scream her head off continuously, not stopping for even a second to catch her breath.Ava could not blame the woman, because she herself could not stop shivering from shock.“Holy fuck! Did you see that? Did you fucking see that?” The woman screeched after she finally stopped screaming, coming to stand beside Ava.“Yes, I saw it, and all I can say is how thankful I am that I was able to move this guy out of arm’s way before that truck had the chance to run him over,” Ava replied.At that moment, two teenagers … a boy and a girl, stumbled out of the truck that had just run into the other cars. Apart from a small gash on the boy’s forehead and the fact that the girl was limping a little, they both looked okay.“Holy fuck! My Dad’s going to fucking kill me.” The boy exclaimed, going over to get a good look at the truck and wincing when he saw the damage that had b
As always, each time Derek remembered the past and the fact that he practically owed Ava his life, his heart constricted within him. Ava had saved his life and look how he had repaid her. She deserved to be happy, and if his absence around her would make her happy, then that was what he would give her. He just wished that his heart would stop panting after her, but it seemed like his heart had a mind of its own and was bent on ignoring his wishes. “I see the way you keep looking at that woman and trying to get her attention. I don’t like it at all. Have you forgotten what led you to break up with her in the first place? Also, I have not had the time to inform you, but I did not get the part I hoped for, which means that our deal is off. You might want to stop embarrassing me by panting after her like a dog in heat. How would you feel if I was lusting after every male that passed by in public for everyone to see?” Denise asked Derek, her voice tight and brimming with jealousy and
Although Ava had acted all tough and brave in front of Derek just minutes ago, the truth was that she was inwardly very unsettled.The fact that he was currently in the same building as Harper while being blissfully unaware of her existence was the cause of this feeling. Things were moving far faster than she wanted or had anticipated that they would move.Did he have any right to claim her daughter, despite the fact that he had emphatically told her that he did not want any children with her back then?As learned as Ava liked to think that she was, she did not have any idea about that type of stuff and whether or not she was obligated to let Derek know about her daughter.One thing she knew though, was that sooner rather than later, it would be Harper herself who would start asking questions. She was fast getting to that age where children wanted to know everything about themselves and compare themselves with other children.Ava sighed, wondering what her answer would be when the tim
EIGHT YEARS AGO Ava had always hated hospitals, and it had to do with the fact that she watched her best friend take her last breath in one. Her best friend's face and body were barely recognizable from the impact of the accident that she had been in. The fact that she had nearly watched someone get crushed to death a few hours ago was still causing her to be shaken up, and now, as she sat in the lobby of the hospital in which the man whom she had rescued was admitted hours ago, she shuddered. “He’s in a very critical condition, ma’am. We’ve got him as comfortable as we can, but we don’t hold out much hope that he's going to make it.” A doctor said, jolting Ava out of her reverie. “Oh, thank you, doctor.” “You don’t have to wait anymore, you know. You’ve done your good deed for the day. We’ve reached his family and they're on their way already.” The doctor told her, but Ava did not feel like leaving. She felt a sort of connection to the poor man whose life she had saved that eve
“Nothing. I’m just talking to him. I've heard that it is good to talk to people in a coma. I don’t know how true that is, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.” “He doesn’t know who the fuck you are. I get that you saved his life and all, but there’s no need for you to hang around any longer, He’s in safe hands now.” “I understand you’re worried about your brother, but I really mean no harm. Also, he made me promise not to leave and I intend to keep that promise until he wakes up.” Ava replied. “Is it money you want?” “What?” “Here, I’ll write a check for ten thousand dollars for you, so you can get lost.” The lady said. Ava stared at her mouth agape, wondering what the hell her problem was. “Amanda! That’s no way to talk to the person who saved your brother’s life! I know you’re going through a lot now … we both are, but I won't let you misbehave in that manner. If Derek made her promise to stay, then she would stay.” Derek’s mother said in a firm tone, coming into t
Mother and daughter hugged each other for what felt like decades, and when they finally pulled apart, Ava's arm was hurting where she had been shot."I'm so sorry, baby. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise. Not when I'm alive." Ava said, ruffling Harper's hair, and wincing when she saw where the area on her head that had been shaved because of an injury there."The bad woman hit me with a gun. She shot Uncle Steve with the gun. Uncle Steve wanted to run away with me and Gracie, Mom." Harper explained, noting that Ava's eyes were on the wound.Ava gulped and averted her gaze immediately, unable to imagine the horror that Harper and Gracie had been through. Little children like them should never have to see someone murdered in cold blood.Seeing such a thing messed with even grownups like her, not to talk of children.The girls were going to need loads of therapy. Once again, Ava damned Amanda and Denise to hell and back in her mind. Suddenly, she realized the implications o
Ava had grabbed Denise because she wanted to use her as a human shield, and her plan worked pretty well, as it was all that saved her from what would have been certain death.The bullets that Amanda had just fired hit Denise point blank and in rapid succession. She died quickly, although the other two women didn’t know it yet.Ava felt Denise’s body jerk with the force of the shots at the same time that she saw Amanda crumple to the ground as though in slow motion.That was confusing, and Ava stared at her in surprise, unable to fathom what had just happened.She glanced down at Denise, whom she still held, and who was clearly very dead, and let go of her body immediately, feeling extremely sickened.She needed to focus on not getting killed, which was what Amanda was bent on doing to her.Amanda was trying to get back up, but before she could manage to do that, someone tackled her, and hit the gun out of her hand,Within moments, policemen swarmed the room, and Ava collapsed in relie
Denise and Ava stared warily at each other after Amanda left the room, and a few seconds later, Ava decided to try to reason with the other woman, even though she wasn’t sure that Denise was going to listen to her. “Denise, please, let us go. I promise not to press charges against you. You must know from all indications that there’s no way the both of you are going to get out of this unscathed. It doesn’t matter what Amanda says now. I can see in your eyes that you know it.” Ava tried to get to Denise. It was all she could do not to rush straight at Denise and grab Harper, who was whimpering in fear and trying not to move so that the knife would not nick her, away from the woman. She could see the fear and indecision in Denise’s face. Apparently, she was wise to realize what Amanda clearly failed to realize, which was that Ava was right and there was no way she and Amanda going to get out of this without being apprehended by the police. “Shut up!” Denise muttered. “Think abou
Ava didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She rushed straight at Amanda, faintly aware that her arm was hurting weirdly, but her adrenaline was too great for her to think anything of the pain right then. She had taken self-defense classes several times in the past, and although it had been a long time since she took them, those classes came in handy at that moment. Her life, as well as those of Harper and the other little girl, Gracie, depended on her. She couldn't let them down. She began to try to wrestle the gun away from Amanda, who struggled fiercely with her. As they struggled with the gun, it kept discharging, but by some miracle, neither of them was hit. Finally, the gun was out of bullets, and Amanda let go of it while yelling for Denise to come at the same time. Ava wasn’t done with her, though. She thought of poor Harper and her friend who were somewhere in that house, scared to death and definitely not in the best shape. She thought about Derek, who had been throug
Adrenaline pumped through Ava’s entire body, and utter rage filled her entire being. She was right! She had been right all along. These evil women were the ones who had abducted her daughter and another innocent child. She would have called for help, but there was no service on her phone, and she could only hope that Damien and the police would be somehow able to find her and soon too, before something bad happened to her or the girls. Had it been she had thought things through earlier, she would have gotten a car tracker before coming on this solo adventure. Unfortunately, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined what the night would bring, and so she had failed to take this necessary precaution. One moment, she was standing outside the house in fear, and the next moment, she found herself beside the door. Without caring what was waiting on the other side of the door, she threw herself against it as hard as she could. She thought fleetingly of the poor soul that was growing in
Ava didn’t go back home after driving away from Denise’s place. Instead, she parked her car the next block away from Denise’s house in a spot where her car would not easily be detected.Then she waited for what felt like an eternity for Denise to leave her house because she had every intention of following the woman to wherever it was that she was going.Her phone was blowing up with calls from Damien, who had left her several messages, asking her not to do anything drastic that could cause Denise to have the power to get her arrested or something.She ignored the messages and continued to wait. After a while, she saw a car, which she recognized as one of Amanda’s cars, come from the opposite direction and drive towards Denise’s house.Ava’s heart immediately began to beat really fast. Amanda was picking Denise up? Where the hell were both of them headed by that time of the night? Several minutes later, the car appeared again and drove off into the night.Ava let a few minutes pass, a
Ava sat in her idling car outside Denise’s house, her nerves failing her now that she was here.What was she thinking, sneaking out of her house like a thief in the night and coming here to the house of her sworn enemy?She just couldn't continue to sit at home, wringing her hands and crying while waiting for something positive to happen.She wasn’t sure what to do now that she was here, but she had to do something.Taking a deep breath, she took her phone and texted Damien to tell him where she was, just in case somehow, her hunch was right.If it was, then it would be incredibly dangerous and foolhardy to just walk into Denise’s waiting arms without telling anyone where she was.Even though it was only a little past eight in the evening, the streets were deserted, and there was no one around.Ava was about to open her car door and get out of the car when the lights in Denise’s house went off. Apparently, she was preparing to go to sleep.Ava sat still for a few minutes, wondering wh
It had been several days since Amanda and Denise paid their so-called courtesy call to Ava at her house … a move that Denise thought was incredibly stupid and dangerous.After all, the three women weren't friends and all of their acquaintances knew that, so it was surely going to look weird and suspicious that Denise and Amanda decided to visit Ava.Unfortunately, once Amanda put her mind to something, especially in recent times, it was practically impossible to change her mind, and so Denise had no choice but to go along with whatever she wanted, even if she thought it was foolhardy.“I’ve got a bad feeling, Amanda,” Denise said.“About what?” Amanda, who was in a terribly foul mood asked.It was now common knowledge that Derek had not only survived the gunshots but had also gone on to regain consciousness. Ever since this news broke out, Amanda had been unconsolable and had even taken out her frustration on Derek’s daughter, whom she still held captive.“I don’t know … I’ve got a ba
"You’ll see her when you’re fully recovered, or at least when you've recovered to a good extent. I had to send her away to stay with my parents because I could not give her attention while spending most of my time here with you in the hospital.” Ava lied, surprised by how steady her voice was as she told the lie.“Is that safe at all? I don’t want whoever is after my life to go after her and your parents, or something.”“Don’t worry, Derek. No one is going to go after them. Damien has been of such immense help to us. He got bodyguards to be with them 24/7 until all this is over and whoever is behind it all is caught.” Ava told him, wondering if she should tell him that Steve was dead, and then deciding against it.There would be plenty of time for him to find out about it and other things that had happened while he was in a coma, such as Amanda and Denise of all people visiting her.“That’s so nice of him. He’s a real one … Damien.” Derek said. His voice was becoming weaker by the mom