Derailed

05

I have a buddy of mine from the station in the passenger seat of my car outside of the studio. My eyes are constantly sweeping across the empty lot, looking for him.

"Listen, when this guy shows up, I'll get enough evidence to lock his ass up for life. You and your family won't have to worry about a thing." Tom says. I nod stiffly, my nerves still on edge. Tom nudges me and I jump.

"Ease up, man. Everything will be fine. This guy has no idea what's coming for him. He's gonna-" A loud gunshot sounds and Tom's limp head falls onto my shoulder. I gasp and look at his head which is bleeding profusely.

The man looks at me through the window with the gun in his hands. He smiles evilly and laughs at the sight.

"It was cute how you tried to get me. Really. It makes me laugh Patrick." He points the gun at me and I raise my hands in the air. "I told you I don't like playing games. Just remember Patrick, I will always be one step ahead of you."

And with that, he left.

I look down at Tom and tears form in my eyes. I push him off of me and close his eyes. Slowly, I get out of the car and look around helplessly.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." I whisper over and over with disbelief. I look down at the lake near the hill the car sits on. An idea pops into my head and I act on it. Opening the driver's side door, I put the car into drive and begin to push it. Slowly, I roll it down the hill and into the lake. I watch from the street as the car sinks into the water, disappearing from sight.

I look down at myself and see his blood. It's everywhere. My hands, my shirt, my shoes. What am i going to do? I quickly walk back up the street and begin to jog back to my trailer. I open the door and walk inside to see Ellen sitting on the couch. She looks at my scared form, covered in blood and gasps.

"Oh my god. Patrick what...what happened? Are you alright?" she asks. I numbly nod.

"What did you do?" she whispers. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. A tear rolls down my cheek and she stands up to hug me.

"I'm so scared Ellen." I whisper. She looks up at me and nods. She pulls me toward the bathroom and turns on the shower. Without removing my clothes or waiting for the water to heat up, I step in. The water runs through my hair and soaks through my clothes, turning red when it hits the ground of the shower.

I feel Ellen's hands run through my hair, rinsing all of the blood out. I turn around and stare into her bright green eyes which are filled with worry and pain. Her hands stop and land on my chest.

"I'm doing my best...to keep you safe. But I don't know if it's going to be enough. He's always going to be one step ahead of me. I don't know...what to do." I tell her sadly. She nods and looks down, her lip trembling. She bites it and looks back up at me.

"You're doing your best. Thank you."

"Don't you get it Ellen? It's not enough. I'm not enough. You aren't safe here, with me. I need you to leave." I tell her. She looks at me like I've grown three heads.

"Leave?" No. Hell no. I'm not leaving. Not when you are clearly in danger. We are safer together than we are apart-"

"You are safer where he can't get you. So go home. Please Ellen." I beg. She sighs sharply.

"Fine. I'll go. But call me if anything else happens. Be safe Patrick. Please." I nod and kiss her forehead. I watch her walk out of the room before I decide to remove my clothes and actually shower.

-----------------------

I step out of the shower and dry myself off with a towel. Dressing myself quickly, I walk out and step into the chilly air of the living room. I stop in my tracks when I see that my front door is slightly ajar.

I grab the baseball bat that I hid in the closet and grip it tightly, my eyes scanning the trailer cautiously. I quietly walk into my kitchen, my bat in the air, ready to strike.

I flick the light on and see Sandra sitting on the floor with a box of cereal in her hands. I sigh with relief and relax my position.

"What are you doing?" she asks chuckling.

"Sandra, you scared the hell out of me." I tell her. "What are you doing eating my cereal in my kitchen in the dark?"

"I got hungry and I didn't want to wake you. And I forgot my key to my own trailer." she says, shrugging.

I sigh and sit next to her.

"What the hell did we do to deserve this?" I ask more to myself.

"This isn't a life. We are constantly terrified of every little thing. And that man is still out there. None of us are safe anymore." I say darkly.

"I'm sorry this happened to you and El." Sandra says.

"It didn't happen, it's happening. It's all still going on. I don't know why he has chosen to focus on us."

We sit in silence for a while, deep in our own thoughts. My phone rings from the other room and I quickly get up to get it. The called ID says Ellen.

"Hey Ellen." I say, walking back into the kitchen. I lean against the sink across from Sandra.

"Hello Patrick." the deep manly voice says. My entire body tenses up and my heart drops.
"You weren't expecting to hear my voice, were you?" he asks, chuckling bitterly.