The Other Side Of Fear[1]

Chapter 19

I love everyone who has given their time to reading this and to my truly dedicated readers who support it so much! Shit is about to get real....

I flattened my back against the door and tried to catch my breath as the warmth of inside of the cabin hit me. My body was tense and defensive and I focused on allowing my heartbeat to settle and my shaking body to cease.

I glanced up and took in the inside of the cabin. It was small; but it was so quaint and endearing. There was a small suede, dark sofa with a T.V on the wall above a fire and another little armchair to the side. The crackle of the flames seemed loud in the silence of the room and settled me. Cal's large, bold figure was disappearing through a door and out of sight and I relaxed my body and turned to the window to my right. I peeked through the curtain out into the woods carefully, expecting Archie to be standing right on the porch but there was no sign of him. Squinting through the dark, I glanced around at the trees but there seemed to be no life out there; I figured he had given up and left.

I turned back to the room and took a few steps forward, noticing the blank walls that held no photo frames or pictures of any kind. The cabin didn't look lived in. There was a small table with two chairs right under the window on the opposite side of the room and one other door which I allowed myself to stroll past slowly but dared not peek inside.

I approached the open door which Cal had stepped through and glanced inside. It was a tiny kitchen with plain beige walls and black and white square tiling. The room was dim and Cal was stood at the open door on the opposite side of the room which I could see led outside.

I moved into the kitchen slowly and stopped behind him, keeping my distance and glanced outside and I could hear the sound of the water from here; we were right by the stream. The sound was beautiful as it trickled through the silent night and I took in the scent of tobacco before I noticed it clouding around Cal's large frame in the doorway.

I stood still for a while, debating on what to do in this situation. He had just dragged me into his home and left me alone in the lounge. He must have realised I was in trouble, again, and I was so thankful for him making the choice to let me in.

'Give it thirty minutes then go,' his voice made me jump a little.

I hadn't realised he had known I was standing there; he didn't turn around as he spoke. I thought carefully about what to say. He was letting me stay until whoever I was hiding from was gone but really I didn't want to leave; I was still scared. Scared that Archie might be waiting for me outside or near my house.

I stepped closer until I was right behind him and I noticed him tense up as he sensed my presence but he still did not look at me.

'Can I have one?' I asked.

'No,' he replied quickly and flatly. 'Just stay out of my way.'

'Thank you for letting me in,' I breathed. 'I was just-.'

'I don't care,' he muttered.

I stared at him for a moment then out into the night before turning away from him and heading back to the lounge. I sat on the sofa and stared into the fireplace. I shouldn't have expected anything less than a cold reception from Cal; the fact he had even let me in here was a surprise alone. He was doing me a favour so I just had to stay out of his way.

Feeling sober now, I could feel the headache coming on. I glanced at the clock to see that it was only ten and I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. How had everything come to this? I was such a bitch to Kady; the girls would probably never speak to me again.

Archie was a different person now. He had fooled me for a while and changed the second things didn't seem to be going his way. I was past being afraid to say no to him now; past being too scared to leave him. He had literally chased me through the woods and god only knows what might have happened if he had caught me. The time had come to tell somebody what was happening and I knew I had to sit my Mom down tomorrow and reveal it all to her. She would fix it and I would take whatever shit I got in school from Archie's lies and deal with it until I could leave that place and never see it again.