The One: Scandalous Redemption (The One Series-Book10) (ORIGINAL DRAFT)

Chapter11: Running Away

Chapter11-Running Away

March 1st, 2012

 It’s the next day. Andrew’s interview the day before went well. He then announced on his Twitter page to expect the interview to air in America in about two weeks.

 At Natalie’s tattered apartment, she saw this news on a celebrity gossip show. So far, her broken-down front door has been temporarily replaced with a piece of wood. She looked all over her place for her electronics, but they were nowhere to be found.

 She became scared when Andrew and Brandon escaped, and even more so when Alyson took her electronics. She theorized that Alyson may have taken pictures of Natalie’s Andrew Lair. So it became real to her that they’ll use everything against her.

 As she crouched in front of her TV, she heard a knock on her temporary door. She walked up to it, and slid it aside. It was her landlord. He looked pissed as he was holding a large yellow envelope.

 She asked nervously, “What brings you by?”

 He told her roughly, “You got this in the mail. And here’s your eviction notice. You have 30 days to leave.”

 Natalie took both the notice and the envelope. With that, the landlord left. She slid the board back in front of the entrance.

 She opened the envelope, and was shocked by what she saw. There were a stack of papers stapled together, and they were legal documents. They documents were a both a restraining order and a lawsuit from Andrew. She wasn’t surprised that he did this. She figured he would pull something like this. Instead, she became even more frightened.

 So she went outside her apartment, and ran over to a payphone booth. She put some coins in, and dialed feverishly. It was picked up, and a man’s voice asked, “Who’s this?”

 She told, “Ethan, it’s me, Natalie! I need your help, now!”

 He told her tiredly, “Look Natalie, you’re useless to me now. Andrew is about to tell the world of his bullying past, and that’s all it matters now.”

 “So, I was used me just so you can destroy Andrew?”

 “Exactly. So enjoy watching Andrew fall rock bottom. His reputation was already shaky to begin with, so this should finish him once and for all. I also expect him to have a mental breakdown.”

 Just before Natalie got a chance to speak, Ethan hung up. That just pushed her into paranoia. She rushed back into her apartment. She went into her lair, and tore down all the posters and photos of Andrew. She stuffed the photos into her backpack. She grabbed a hammer, and destroyed her S&M toys and anything BDSM-related. This was to destroy evidence she raped Andrew.

 Then she grabbed some of her clothes, shoes, and a box that held all of her money. She was working as one of the stage crew for 7th Anthem’s canceled tour. She then grabbed a pair of scissors, and cut her hair to shoulder-length.

 As she was about to go out the door, her board was knocked by police officers. One of them order, “This is a search warrant, and Natalie Gutierrez, you’re under arrest for kidnapping, extortion, overdosing and sexual assault on Andrew John Hawthorne. We’ll be deporting you back to the United States.”

  Suddenly, Natalie panicked. She looked for an escape. She eyed a window in the living area, so she ran to it. She opened the window, and looked for a place to land, as she was living on the second floor. She saw another apartment building that was right next door. 

 She looked back at the police officers, and then out the window. She jumped out, and barely caught the stairs of the other building. She soon sprinted away. She ran as fast and far as she could.

 Once Natalie was far from the apartment complex, she hailed a taxicab. When she got in, she requested Heathrow Airport. When she arrived, she bought a ticket to Hartford, Connecticut, back in America. Soon, she boarded the plane back to America. She escaped the police, but for now. There might be a worldwide manhunt for her. She would be forced to appear at court, in front of Andrew and the media hordes. 

 She knew she has to face the inevitable, but in the meantime, she’s running. Running from the media; from the powerful Andrew Hawthorne; from his equally powerful girlfriend Alyson; and eventually from Interpol.