The Legend - Watty Awards 2012

Chapter Fifteen

Paul walked around the town of Bedhill aimlessly. Jenna had agreed to meet him! He would beg for her forgiveness, he would fall at her feet; he would do anything it took to win her back.

He had changed. The last time he had drunk was the day Jenna tried to kill herself. He knew it was all his fault. He wanted to apologise to her but she left the city. His father was livid. Both his parents loved Jenna. And who wouldn’t? Dear, kind, wonderful Jenna! He had screwed up and he didn’t know how to fix it.

All his life he had received everything on a silver platter. Only son of one of New York’s biggest business tycoons. He attended the best schools, he had the best toys as a child, the best cars as a teen, he attended the best parties in town. He loved the attention, the spotlight, the power that came with his family name. He was arrogant and self obsessed and he was proud of it. He knew no one could take what he had.

And then he met Jenna. She was beautiful. She was intelligent. She made him feel alive. He started falling in love with her and that scared him. It made him feel vulnerable and dependant and he didn’t like the feeling.

Beneath the layers of his Armani suits and his thick skin, he was a coward. He was too scared of the unknown. He was too scared to commit. He was too scared to let go of his sheltered and well catered life. He was too scared to give up his freedom.

Two wedding dates. Both times he thought that he could do it and both times he choked. He convinced himself by saying that it was for his own good. He never once thought about the other people involved. Only when the Smiths’ left down did he realise what he had done. He felt a shame that he had never felt before. Guilt poked at his heart and laughed at his face every night when he tried to sleep.

His father cut him off from the family. He knew deserved it. He left home and began searching for Jenna. No one seemed to know where she went. He was ashamed. He had forced the family to go through so much pain and humiliation. Twice.

He received an anonymous phone call one day. A voice wheezed at the other end saying that Jenna was in Bedhill. He didn’t know if it was someone playing a prank on him or if it were true but it was the only lead he had so far. He picked up his bags, bought a ticket and he arrived at this small, ancient and almost forgotten little town.

Paul’s phone rang jerking him out of his thoughts. He saw that it was Jenna calling and he answered it.

“Hey Je...”

“Please.. Help.. Barn...”

And the phone went silent.

“Jenna! Are you there? What’s wrong?” he screamed in panic. He knew something was wrong.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and began wondering what to do.  Barn – she had said barn. He needed to find a barn. He looked around frantically but there was no barn in sight.

He stopped a lady passing by. “Excuse me ma’am. Do you happen to know of any barn around here?”

She shook her head and continued walking. He asked more people but all of them reacted the same way. He was at his wits’ end not knowing what to do when he suddenly saw a familiar face stepping out from the mall. He ran up to him.

“Tyler man. I need your help. Do you know any barn around here?”

Tyler looked at the red faced Paul in front of him and replied, “Nope. There aren’t any barns here. Why do you ask?”

Paul told him about Jenna’s call. “She sounded like she was in trouble.”

“I don’t know of any barn but I know someone who might. Just stay here. I’ll be back in a moment.”