Deep Waters

Chapter Thirty-Five

I could not find Gavin for the life of me. There was no telling where that hooligan had gone. He wasn't in the house, or on the farm from what I could see. Of course, the time I actually need to talk to him, he's nowhere to be found. Deciding to go on a walk to see if Gavin had wondered out earlier, I found myself reaching into my pocket for my phone and dialing Daniel's telephone number. "Hello."

"I want to be moved again," I spoke clearly, getting straight to the point.

"Why? Did something happen? Did you see Charles?"

My head shook as if he could actually see me. "No, this has nothing to do with Charles." Exhaling loudly, I ran my free hand down my face. "This has to do with Sam...We aren't getting along at all. I can't deal with living with him. He's seriously crazy in the head."

An annoyed sigh came through the line as if he was hearing a dumb story. "You're going to have to, Delilah. I'm not moving you unless Charles finds you and makes a move."

"But why not?" I whined angrily.

"Do you know how much work it took me to find a safe secluded area to put you, where there were nice enough people to take you in and care for you?" he asked, his voice rising in authority.

"...no."

"Exactly. I need you to grow up and take in the reality of your situation."

His words cut through me. Grow up? What was I five? My feet stopped in my tracks. I hadn't even made it to the woods, but I was far away from the house. Still didn't see Gavin. "You don't think I already have?" I found myself yelling into the phone in my hand. "I'm running from my psychopathic father. My own dad wants me dead! You don't think I haven't felt the reality of this? I've been shot, Daniel. More than once! I watched my mom get murdered and my friends get hurt!" I continued. "I've lost so much out of this situation I'm in, so you have no right to tell me that I need to grow up. I had to grow up years ago in order to start taking over Charles' responsibilities. My brother and I were the ones dealing with the consequences of his actions...I have grown up, Daniel." I ended the phone call.

A loud growl rose out of my throat. Where the heck was my brother? Deciding against the possibility of getting lost in the woods, I started heading toward the barn on the acres of property. I already knew Gavin wasn't there but at least the horses could keep me company. I'd rather be in their presence than Sam's. Once I got there, I leaned against the wooden fence and watched the two horses walk around in the grass.

There's no telling how long I was standing there by myself. My stomach was growling since it was probably way past lunchtime and I had watched the animals walk further and further away from me. "I don't know how you do it," a voice spoke up from behind me, almost making me jump. Hazel joined me a second later and made her way to sit on top of the fence I was leaning on.

"Do what?" I asked, looking over at her. Her brown hair was in her usual two braids and a baggy flannel was hanging over her worn-out jeans.

She shrugged, shaking her head. "Everything..." Her eyes met mine. "Sam told us about the video," she explained a moment later.

"Oh." I watched the horses slowly turn around back toward us in the distance. "I mean, I wasn't really given a choice...One day my dad decided to turn into the man he is today and that's what I had to adjust to."

"At least your friends are safe now, right?" Hazel mentioned. "He did say he's only after you now...as scary as that is, it has to give you some relief."

I nodded, her words were actually perfectly accurate. "For the longest time, I thought that loving me was a death sentence...and I don't know... maybe it is. Before Gavin and I met Kason and the others, our plan was to not get attached to anyone. We wanted to keep on moving, so he'd never catch us."

An excited glint swarmed in Hazel's eyes. "How did you two end up trusting your friends?" she interrogated me. "For two people who were determined to lay low, you truly tangled yourselves with a fun group of friends."

Her words made me laugh as I thought back on how it all happened. And that's how I ended up telling Hazel every detail I could remember about how we started trusting them. It took a while for sure, but she seemed interested in every second. It was like watching a little girl watch her new favorite movie.

"And now when he looks at me," I smiled, "I swear I can't breathe." Kason was one person that I had never expected to enter my life the way he did, but I would never complain or wish it had been any other way. I loved him. And I was beyond thankful for him.

A soft smile played on Hazel's lips and she glanced out at the horses who drew nearer. "I want to be in love," she admitted after a long few minutes of silence. She sighed, seeming to be dreaming. "I can't wait for the day I fall for someone. That's what I'm looking forward to most in life." I gifted her a smile, wishing nothing but that for her one day. For me, love wasn't something I ever sought after. It just kind of happened. "What about you?" she asked. "What are you looking forward to most in your life."

I took a moment to think about it. What were my dreams? Going to college? Finding a career, I liked? Being successful in that? Marrying Kason? Growing a family? But I didn't even know what I was interested in for my future. Yeah, I knew who I wanted to be in it, but as for myself, I had no idea. I shrugged and decided on "being safe."

The girl actually rolled her eyes at my answer. "Okay, well, outside of the Charles situation," she clarified, looking up at the bright blue sky. I followed her gaze. Fluffy white clouds scattered above us.

I exhaled slowly and found myself closing my eyes for a brief moment. I felt so relaxed sitting here talking to Hazel, compared to the chaotic morning I had. "I don't know," I admitted to her honestly. "I have literally no idea. I haven't really thought about it."

"Hm. Well, you are what? Eighteen?" she said. "You have a whole life ahead of you to plan and look forward to...I mean life doesn't always go according to plan, but you can at least create goals."

I admired her optimism and bright outlook on the future ahead. That has never been the case for me. "I guess I've just always thought in the back of my mind that I wouldn't have a life to figure out," I realized as I spoke. "Charles would take that away from me."

I opened my eyes and found her already staring at me with disbelief. "So this whole time, you've thought that Charles was going to win?"

"Not necessarily win," I clarified. "I know I would be able to end all of this mess...but I think I know that when I take him down, he will take me down with him."

She stared at me. "Then make sure he doesn't."

I crossed my arms over my chest, really focusing on her words. "How?"

Hazel shrugged. The horses were now close again. She clicked her tongue at them, making them walk within an arm's reach so we could pet them. "Be stronger than him. Be smarter. Outsmart this guy. Trick him. Make him think he's getting what he wants, and then bam! He loses."

I chuckled at her and ran my hand gently down the horse's nose. It smelled so bad. "That's easier said than done," I told her.

She shrugged. "Yeah I guess so...You gotta think like him...He's hunting you, so maybe you need to hunt him."

Sighing I told her, "We've tried. Daniel can't get a single lead on this guy. My dad might be out of his mind, but he isn't dumb."

We spent a long moment in silence. "Then you need to find something that will make him come out of hiding. Give him a chance to slip up."

Get him to come out of hiding. Give him a chance to slip up. I thought. What is the one thing that could get Charles to show his face? What is the one thing that could make Charles willing to take some risks? Me. I could.