Chenford Story

44

Lucy's POV

Well that wasn't at all creepy.

That someone had written a message to me in what was probably in human blood on the grass on Tim's back garden.

I half ran out of bed and snuck out of the house to the garden, using a small container to gather some of the blood.
I would test it at work tomorrow.
To check what... or who... it came from.

Then I grabbed a hose, Tim would never have to know. I hadn't told him about Rosalind, he hadn't told me about Emmet.
So far as I knew he didn't know I knew about my ex boyfriend escaping jail. And I don't think he knows about Rosalind calling me every six hours.

The mess was cleared within two hours, Tim wasn't yet awake. I silently slipped back into my bed and pretended like I had been asleep the entire time.

Tim's POV

I woke up late today, but then again Lucy was still asleep so it couldn't be that bad.
I crept into her room after I got out of bed and I silently pressed a kiss to her forehead before slipping out again.
God I loved her so much.
I knew we weren't together, that Lucy didn't want to get back together, but I couldn't help myself.

I started on the pancakes after a few minutes. Pancakes had become our thing recently, they were my mother's recipe. Cinnamon and bananas, and they were absolutely delicious.

Lucy's POV

I woke up to the smell of pancakes cooking in the kitchen. It was already 6 am.
For just a second, I thought that the blood message was just a dream, a nightmare. Then I looked out the window and saw the feint outline of a few letters still on the grass.
If you didn't know what was originally there you wouldn't even notice it, in another life I could be a crime scene cleaner.

I walked into the kitchen hiding how completely disturbed and terrified I was by the message. Making a mental note to call the prison where Rosalind is later to ensure she hasn't escaped.

I doubted it was Rosalind, she was rarely open for large public displays. So who was it?

Another new protege? Emmet?
I knew that Rosalind had a phone, she could have contacted anyone. Any possible serial killer, murderer, gang member, mercenary, criminal. Anyone.
And now they knew where I lived.

And anyway did the 'I'm going to kill you' mean that the person who wrote it was going to kill me? Or Rosalind? Or someone else entirely?
The questions were endless. But first I needed to test that blood. Determine how fresh it was, who it belonged to. Therefore when they died. I was still somehow hoping that the blood wasn't human. But I knew it was. There was no way a serial killer would send me a message written in blood and just kill a few animals.

I finished eating my pancakes. Like usual they were delicious, Tim really knew how to cook. Clearly I must have been zoned out.
"Are you ok today Luce?"
So we were back to Luce then.
"I'm fine Tim, just thinking about some stuff."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
What was I meant to say? Yeah a serial killer wrote me a death threat in blood last night.
I shook my head slightly.
"I'm fine, really Tim"
I left to wash up my plate and go get ready, waking up Juniper on the way.

"Hey little one, good morning"
"Moonin Mama"
I giggled at her progressing speech.
I knew it was selfish but I wished she would just stay like this forever, always so innocent and adorable.
"Morning Juni ready for breakfast? Dada made pancakes if you want a piece?"
"Pacas!"
"Yeah pancakes. Come on let's get dressed"
I lifted Juniper out of her crib as she squirmed to get going faster so she could eat her pancakes.
I checked my phone nervously, hoping that Rosalind might just leave me alone. I still had 4 hours until our next little chat.
I couldn't show her how absolutely petrified I was.

I had been buried alive by someone hoping to gain Rosalind's attention. That was ok, I was the only one physically hurt. Now...
If someone came after my family.
Juniper and Tim could be targeted.
I wouldn't let that happen.
I needed to move, at least out of Tim's house.

I had been toying with the idea for a few weeks already, wondering whether to move out and not see my beautiful daughter's face every morning.
But if something happened to her...
I would never forgive myself. So I was moving out. Now I just needed to talk to Tim about it, without confessing anything about Rosalind or Emmet.

I walked out into the living room again, Juniper on my hip.
"Um hey Tim, can I talk to you quickly..."
"Yeah sure Luce, what's up?"
"I think it's time I moved out..."
I saw Tim's face fall for a second as much as he tried to hide his disappointment. I knew he at least slightly liked having me around.
"Are you sure? You know you're always welcome?"
"Yeah I know Tim. It's just something I think I need to do, for me"
"That makes sense. So, um, do you want Juniper to move with you or?..."
"I know you want to have her stay here don't you"
Tim nods,
"Yeah but your her mother yo-"
"I also left her on your doorstep at a month old."
I know Tim is trying to come up with a counter point.
"You can have her here Tim. I just want to be able to visit. I'll still play for whatever you need for her"
"Are you sure Luce?"
"I'm sure Tim. Honestly if you were any one of my ex's then they would have stopped my visitation entirely and made me pay thousands in child support. So um... thanks for... not doing that."
Tim suppresses a chuckle, I smile to act like this isn't one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. I want to stay with Tim and Juniper. More than anything. But I can't, for their safely. Because Rosalind Dyer has a personal vendetta against me.

*Three months later*

I've been living alone for two months now.
The calls haven't stopped.
Every day. Every six hours. Without fail.

Luckily Tim and Juniper haven't been mentioned so hopefully they are safe in Tim's house. I've gotten the blood work back, a young woman killed in a hit and run two days before the message was written. Her body was stolen from the hospital morgue later that night. The driver of the hit and run was never identified but was described as an around ~30 year old tanned male with short dark brown hair.
I didn't want to speculate but the description sounded exactly like Emmet.
If it was him, and he killed a woman before harvesting her blood to make death threats, that isn't someone I want to have working for Rosalind Dyre.

The threats haven't stopped though.
Some through text, call, letter, blood message in my garden. Each message was different, slightly at least.
'I'm going to make you bleed slowly'
'im going to gouge out your eyes with a spoon'
'do I need another oil barrel'
'lets succeed where Caleb failed'

They were just some of the highlights, the more gruesome ones. Others just mentioned killing me. But still, I needed to tell someone. Tim wasn't an option, he would instantly worry and then make me go into hiding or something similar.
Most people would tell Tim, in fear of what h might do if they didn't. Honestly I understood that part.
So... Someone who wasn't afraid of Tim and could actually do something...
1) Angela, fails number 1
2) Smitty, fails number 2
3) Wesley, fails number 1
4) Grey

Actually Grey was a good option. Yeah, I should really tell Grey.