Some People Change (Currently Editing)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A week had passed since the day at the park with my mother. Jackson called me every night to check up on me. So far, there was nothing new, but I thought of Tom as a dormant volcano. There had been earthquakes to warn me that there would soon be a eruption. I wasn’t sure when or how bad it would be, but there was a certainty in the wind that told me it would happen. And with my luck, he would probably come when I least expected it.

Emma had come down with the flu so it was just me going to the stables. Amy drove me there at eight. Jason ran out to greet us.

“Hey,” I said softly.

“Hi, sweetie.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to call Jason. Part of me wanted to call him “Dad”, but I didn’t know how he’d feel about that. I avoided that by not formally addressing him.

Amy gave me a wave to tell me that she was leaving. I waved back.

“What do you need me to do? Emma’s sick so I guess I’ll cover her chores as well as mine.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like you to do a bit more than that.”

“Okay.”

“A couple of Wes’s horses broke out last night. He rounded them all up again, but they took down one entire side of his pasture’s fence. Ed, Taylor, and I volunteered to go help him out. How would you like to look after the barn for a bit? I know that I’m not supposed to let you be by yourself, but we’ll only be a few hours at most. You can barricade yourself in here if you want.”

“That sounds fine,” I said after a long pause.

Jason placed his hands on my shoulders.

“I’ll see you later, angel.”

“You’re going now?”

“Yes. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

Jason suddenly leaned forward and planted a kiss on my forehead. 

“Bye, honey.”

“Bye.”

Taylor and Ed promenaded out of Jason’s house and they both gave me a smile before all three of them took off. Just like that, I was alone. I had the horses, but they couldn’t protect me. Besides, I didn’t want them getting hurt in the first place. This was my fight, and I wouldn’t let any person other than me into it.

I watched a sluggish hour tick by, and I thought that maybe nothing would happen. I prayed that it would stay a peaceful day, but I couldn’t remember a time when my prayers had been answered.

I heard a car engine somewhere off in the distance. I didn’t make much of it until it seemed to be getting closer and closer and closer. Perhaps Jason, Ed, and Taylor were back, but something deep in me told me that they were not. The man in this car was no lost tourist asking for directions. No salesman or postal delivery.

It was too late to run, and even had I done so before, I knew I could never hide for long enough. He’d catch me before I made it to safety.

I studied the car that had pulled up, and a story on the news that aired on the night after my mom’s attempted murder and my sister’s killing flashed in my mind.

“The man who did this to these poor people has been identified. His name is Tom Robinson. He’s of average height and average build. Authorities believe that he is in a stolen vehicle. Be on the lookout for a white Honda Accord with a license plate number of-”

“72KR51L,” I finished.

The first thing I saw of him was not his face, but the barrel of his gun. I wondered how many bullets were packed inside, even though it didn’t matter. It would take only one to end my life.