Haunted by the past

Chapter Fourteen

Maddie felt as though her whole world was ending, her heart was racing, bile rising in her throat, the last time she’d set eyes on this man everything had changed. Her family, her life...he’d directly caused EVERYTHING that was bad in her life. And now he was here, miles from her family home.

What the hell was he doing there? She had no idea, but it was far too close for comfort. She tried to fight the wafts of nausea that swept over her again. This was her nightmare incarnate. She never thought she’d see a part of her old life again, but here she was almost face to face with the demon from her past.

She didn’t think he could hurt her anymore, but seeing him, was more painful than she ever imagined. This man had ruled her life, been responsible that everything that happened to her, and she hated him.

Maddie had two options, run or confront him. She suddenly realised that she didn’t need to confront him. But what would confronting him do? She’d told Evan almost everything, Jake and her family were a distant memory; this was just shock, that’s all. She was over him, Evan loved her, she knew he did, and frankly, he was ten times the man that Jake could ever be. The issues she knew they had to face were in the future, but for the first time in the last few years, she actually felt herself taking back the control of her life. The control this man had snatched from her. But if she ran then that meant she was scared, didn’t it?

She fought an internal fight for those moments before he spoke again, and once he did she knew that she couldn’t flee.

Suddenly she felt ten feet tall.  She didn’t turn, didn’t try and look at him, but she could hear him moving across the pavement towards her, so she continued to stroll, in what she hoped was a controlled manner.

                "Madeleine! Wait! Is it you?" His hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her around, and Maddie wanted to scream, to shrug clear of his touch.

She took a deep breath and turned slowly, then looked him up and down for a moment, he was smiling at her...he had the gall to smile at her, look at her in surprise. After too long a pause to be comfortable, she nodded, "yes it is me. But I have nothing I want to say to you!"

                "Mads! Don’t say that!" He reached for her again.

                “DON’T touch me.” Her raised voice caused him to look over his shoulder nervously; obviously he was with company and didn’t want to be embarrassed by her.

With that she marched off in the direction of Evan, darling Evan. Her saviour. She’d barely turned the next corner, having text Evan to tell her she was coming to meet him, when Jake appeared again, breathless at her shoulder. Now she was angry, not upset or scared.

                “What do you want?”

He struggled to get the words out he was so short of breath, when did he get so unfit...she looked him up and down, and overweight. He’d been so good looking when she’d been in school. Now he looked like a prematurely middle aged man. Libby was more than welcome to him, it almost seemed like karma.

                “Haven’t seen you in years, why are you being so hostile?”

She scoffed, trying not to laugh out loud, "you think I’m wrong? I have nothing to say to you. No interest whatsoever.”

He shook his head, “but we go back a long way!"

Now she did laugh out loud, "excuse me?" Did he really just say those words? She could barely believe this man, was his memory that bad, or did he really not realise all that he had done?