The Pursuit

Twelve

⬻Damien⤖

I had gotten the call a week ago, asking me if I would babysit a girl for an acquaintance. I was hesitant about it not knowing the girl, or the acquaintance well enough to trust him. Sam and I met a few times in the city when he was with our mutual friend Scott. He seemed alright at first. Then the more I hung out with the guy the more I realized he was acting strangely and kept obsessing over this girl he wasn't even dating, must be this Maggie. This gorgeous and young spirit sitting next to me.

Sam knew I had a cabin up off Lake Erie, that's how he started the phone call a week ago. He asked if I could be on call, or at least could my house be on call. He said he wanted to take his girlfriend away for the weekend. I asked for a date but he could never confirm one. He stopped calling but then he called yesterday. He sounded panicked and on edge.

Sam requested my cabin again, but this time he wanted me to watch his girlfriend for him. He didn't go into much but said her life was at risk and she needed protection he couldn't give her. I felt irked by the whole situation and denied him, telling him I was on vacation, which wasn't a complete lie.

He wouldn't take no for an answer, said he'd pay me top dollar to watch her for two weeks, twenty thousand dollars. I didn't need the money, that was for sure, but it made me more intrigued. All I had to do was make sure she was alive and well at the two week mark. He made the offer too good to refuse it again. I knew this girl would be off limits romantically so that made it a bit easier to agree to.

We arranged to meet on the border of New York and Pennsylvania where he had instructed I pick her up and then take her to the cabin by the lake. His dominance over her was apparent the minute she stepped out of the car. It was her beauty that caught me off guard though. I found my body sway when she came towards me. Literally moved by her presence, I wanted to know about her. I could see she was afraid, but I didn't know of what, or who.

She stepped closer and I was hooked in that instance. I knew I shouldn't have been. I knew she was off limits and that this was merely a job to watch another human being and make sure they were alive in two weeks.

Sam paid me half the payment as he shook my hand. I could feel the threat emitting off of him to do my job, not his girlfriend. I wouldn't do that, I knew I wouldn't take another man's girl but I could look all I wanted.

Maggie was shattered inside and out, I could see that immediately too. She wasn't living. Her skin was thin, her eyes sunken back a bit into her head, and her shoulders hunched a bit. It was like she was carrying the entire planet on her shoulders without asking for help. I knew in that instant that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her brown hair met her shoulders, and those grey eyes, so pensive.

I had heard screaming earlier from the car but didn't want to alert Sam, or his friend Brandon, by investigating. I didn't know if Sam's story was legit or not. I called our mutual friend Scott and he filled me in on what he could from memory.

Scott shared that Sam had lost his father a few months back and was commuting from the city to his mom's every weekend. He said the sister had been in and out of a psych ward after the dad's death, clearly not handing the grief well. Scott said he could vouch for Sam being an upstanding guy but something about him just felt wrong.

When he walked Maggie to me I could feel her soul fold itself inward and then she locked eyes with me and I swear I knew her in that instant. I knew I had seen those eyes before. It's been wracking my brain ever since we first made eye contact. I know I've seen her before, but she wasn't this shell of a woman, she was someone else. Someone stronger.

Once we had gotten into the car I was so nervous just thinking about the power she held over me in such a small amount of time. I watched her fidget and then size me up. I knew she was enjoying it. Her breathe would pick up and then she licked her lip and turned away embarrassed. It was endearing and I liked it. I couldn't deny that she was alluring, clearly not herself but still the wonder pushed me to act impulsively.

I changed my plans the more I thought about what she was going through, not knowing what was causing her pain, or who for that matter. I wondered what would cause such a woman to collapse and lose herself to the powers of the universe. I wondered if the pain she was baring was worth sharing, only if it to lighten her load for her. I felt myself thinking about when she might have been happier. Could I make her happy?

The minute I decided I knew where we were going to go. I had to get her far away from the isolation. She need to experience life, if only to just smile and be happy. She was a stranger and I was one to her but if there was anything in my life I knew to do it was to feel less pain.

When my mom called and I ignored it, I knew our new destination was perfect. I knew that this broken angel who was so stressed and anxious needed a healthier option than sitting as a recluse on the edge of a lake for two weeks. Two weeks, it was all I had.