Kissing my Scars and Bruises

Chapter thirteen

About late afternoon my phone rang. I checked the caller ID to see the number was private. I knew instinctively who it was.

I declined the call. I knew I'd regret that but I didn't care.

"Who was that?" Will asked.

We were at the park. Today was a nicer day. We took advantage of it and went to the local park.

"No one." I lied.

My phone rang again. It was a blocked number. I hit decline again.

"Sounds like they really wanna get a hold of you." William noted.

"Well, I'm not answering so they'll have to deal with it." I said shutting my phone off completely.

"Are you sure you don't know them?" William asked.

"Will, I appreciate your concern but it's not needed." I smiled, sliding my phone into my hoodie pocket. 

"Okay," William dropped the topic. "I just realized, I don't know your birthday."

"It's December tenth." I smiled. "When is yours?"

"August fifth." William smiled.

Our hands found thier ways to each other. Our fingers intertwined. This felt natural. It made me happy.

I wanted nothing more than to be with William.

A harsh wind blew my hair into my face. I let go of William's hand and pushed my hair back. I put it up in a ponytail.

"Hey, Sades!" A familiar voice called.

I turned to see Madi. She looked like she had been running. There was panic in her eyes.

"Run. Run as fast you can. Dad is not happy with you. He followed me but I shook him. I don't know for how long though." Madi gasped for breath.

Then I saw Ace. Real fear struck me. This wasn't a dream. I darted gracefully into the woods. I dodged tree after tree. Since I was thin I could slip through narrow gaps between trees. I heard crunching of leaves behind me.

I didn't slow down, a primal instinct taking control of me. Ace was the only thing that truly scared me. I ran until I couldn't run anymore. I found a tree and scrambled up it. Ace couldn't climb trees.

I sat on a high branch and watched for Ace. My breath was heavy. I had to get it under control before Ace found me.

William emerged from the trees.

"Sadie!?" William called looking around.

"Will, don't yell, Ace will find you." I called down.

"How'd you get up there?" William asked, looking up at me.

"I used to climb trees a lot as a little girl. It's how I escaped my mom's words." I answered. "I'll walk you through how to climb up."

I told him how to get up. When William got up his breathe was laboured.

"Try to be as quite as you can. Ace is partially blind but his hearing is excellent." I explained in a hushed whisper.

William nodded and slowed his breathing. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes.

Ace ran out of the trees and looked around. He titled his right ear in every direction. I knew that he was trying to hear for us.

I held my breath.

Please don't hear us. Please don't hear us. Please don't hear us. I thought over and over.

Ace took off running in the opposite direction of the tree we were in. I knew better than the count my blessings just yet. We weren't out of the woods. I waited for a while before letting out my breath.

"Sadie?" Madi whispered looking through the canopy.

"Behind you." I whispered, swinging down to the ground. "It's safe, Will." I called up to William.

William jumped down and almost fell. I steadied him.

"Come on, let's go." Madi smiled.

We all three left the woods, careful not to make too much sound.

"Sades, don't go to your house for a while. Ace is furious that you lied to him." Madi said, once we were out of the woods.

"Thanks Madi. What would I do without you?" I smiled, grateful for Madi.

"I don't know." Madi gave me a quick hug. "Now, be careful."

"You too." I said.

"Dad could never hurt me. I'm his pride and joy." Madi shrugged.

William and I left the park. He drove us back to his house.

"This Ace guy, he someone important in your club?" William asked.

"Yeah, he's the leader." I nodded. "He is after me because I lied to him."

"Wasn't it that you said you dropped out of school?" William glanced at me before turning.

"Yeah," I smiled.

We got to William's house. I turned my phone back on and saw that the private number had called me three times. Madi had called me five times and Hadley had called me.

"You're popular." William smiled, after seeing the missed calls.

"The private number is Ace. He always calls on private numbers." I explained.

"What will Ace do to you when he finds you?" William asked.

"He won't kill me but, what he will do will make me wish he did. It's worse than torture." I answered.

"Talk to Hadley. She'll know what to do." William suggested.

"I'm going to call her back." I replied.

I called Hadley. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello," Hadley said.

"Hey, Hadley, I need your help." I said.

"For what?" Hadley asked.

"You see, Ace is pissed, he wants to get me. What do I do?" I explained.

A/N~ Thanks for reading this short chapter. I'm tired right now and not looking forward to waiting outside in the cold for the bus. I promise that next chapter will be filled with action.

That's all I got so...

Adios amigos 🐼