“Really? How can you still be with him?”
“I’m not really with him. He has changed since we met and I can’t deal with it anymore, so I’m going there tonight to end things.” I was a little hesitant as to what to tell her because I knew Melodi and if she thought something was up, then she would never give up.
“Oh…do you want me to come with you? It makes me nervous to think what he might do when you end things.”
I sat on the bed with her and took her hand. “Everything will be all right. Yes, he has changed, but he would never do anything harmful to me.”
“Pfft…whatever. I don’t trust him. Let me come with you, please,” she practically begged me. It broke my heart that I couldn’t do this with her by my side. I didn’t know how I was going to get through this, I was not going to have any support and it shattered me like a glass window getting a rock smashed through it.
“It’s okay, Mel, really. I won’t be long,” I lied. Another lie that sealed a nail in my so-called coffin. The thought of my parents burying an empty coffin chilled me to the bone. I was half tempted to pull out.
How am I going to leave Blake?
He had awoken a new life inside of me. Every morning I woke up and he was the first person that was on my mind. He was the one person I wanted by my side forever, and now I couldn’t have that because of this monster. Blake’s touch gave me tingles on my skin and flutters in my heart. I knew I’d only known him for a short time, but when you know and feel it in your heart that something was right, you couldn’t help but want that in your life forever.
Melodi nodded reluctantly giving in.
“I hope everything goes well tonight. I expect details tomorrow.” She smiled as she got up and walked out my room, leaving me emotionally raw and open like a gaping wound. A small tear escaped my eye, and I quickly swiped it away. I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and took one more look around my room, leaving it how it was and knowing that I wouldn’t be coming back here again. I turned around and walked out the door without looking back.
I shouted out a goodbye to Mum and Dad and it hurt that I couldn’t go give them a proper goodbye. Grabbing my keys, I walked out Abby White and was ready to assume my new identity.
Blake and I had decided to quickly meet in the park on the bench where we first met that short amount of time ago. As I walked across the park, I saw him waiting. He wasn’t looking my way, so I stopped and took a moment to drink in his perfection. I remembered our last night together, only a few nights ago, he promised me that he would never stop trying to end this so that we could be together and that I could come home.
He caressed every part of me and drank me like a cold drink on a hot summer’s day. The touch of his lips against mine as I devoured his taste, my body tingled with anticipation. Every touch he’d gently placed on my skin lit up my heart and made me feel new emotions I never knew existed in an intimate relationship. Blake had opened up my eyes to a new kind of life and a special type of love. He, now and forever, would completely own me, heart and soul.
Snapping out of my pleasant daydream, I began walking across to him again. When he saw me, his face lit up with a smile and he got up rushing over to me. I couldn’t help but smile back. When he reached me, he wrapped me in his arms and gently brushed his lips against mine.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, but he didn’t release me from his embrace. He clung to me tightly, knowing that this would be our last embrace for who knew how long.
“I’m so worried, Blake. I honestly don’t know if I can go through with this. There must be another way?” A lump began to form in my throat. Blake released his arms from around me and brought his hands up to hold my face. He tilted my head up slightly so our eyes met. His emerald green eyes shone with admiration and love.
“He’s a man that wouldn’t take any notice of a restraining order seriously. I’ve seen him with you Abby, and I know what possessiveness looks like. I’m trained to notice that type of behaviour.”
I knew he was right. “I know, but I’m giving up so much. Do you know how hard it is to say goodbye to your twin sister, to know that she’s going to believe you are dead in the next day or two? To not be able to say a proper goodbye to my parents…” Tears began to well in my eyes and fall down my cheeks, but they weren’t there for long because Blake brushed them away.
“I’m truly sorry for you having to go through this, but for right now this is the only way. If we can cause trouble for him, then we might stand a chance that you won’t need to be gone for long. I will always be here for you. We will have those new phones, and I’m the only one who knows your new name. You can contact me at any time and if you ever need me, I will always be there for you,” he said his words full of conviction. I knew he wasn’t too keen on this idea either because it meant time away from each other.
I nodded in acceptance. “What if I mess this up or he really does do something to harm me?”
“He won’t. I think you should leave your necklace, the one you have on now so I will know that you actually got away.”
I placed my hand over my necklace, the necklace that Melodi gave me for my birthday. I never took it off. At least if I left it, she would have something to remember me by. Although I knew she wouldn’t need that. Being twins, we sensed each other. I remembered Mum telling us one time that if one was upset, so was the other, yet we could be in separate places.
One time, when we were five, I was with Dad and Melodi was with Mum. Dad and I were at the hardware store when all of a sudden I got sharp pains in my knees. They hurt so bad that I was in tears. Dad rushed me home and when we got there, we discovered that Melodi had fallen off her bike and skinned both her knees. I wondered if she would still feel my presence when I would be apparently dead.
“Okay. I need to go, or I’ll be late and he won’t like that.”
We both released a heavy sigh. This was the moment we’d been dreading, yet anxiously waiting for. Blake placed his lips on mine and our kiss was tender and full of passion. Soon our hands were touching every part of each other, memorising everything.
“I wish we could have one more moment together,” Blake whispered against my ear, his breath tickling me.
“I know. Why couldn’t you have found me sooner?”
“I’m sorry, I was blind for so long and wasn’t looking until that day I saw you there upset and down. Something within me wanted to help you, then that something grew from wanting to assist you into wanting to be a part of your life. I wanted to save you from the hell you’d been living and to show you what heaven on earth can be like with the right person.”
His words wreaked havoc with my emotions, especially my heart. I was so angry that I couldn’t have my piece of heaven on earth with Blake. Instead, I had to leave and possibly never come back.
“Where is all my paperwork?” I couldn’t allow my heart any more pain. I needed to distance myself from everything and that included Blake, even though I knew he was my one and only.
He produced an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to me. “Do you remember what I said about setting the scene?”
“Yes,” I said bluntly. He went into full details the other day about how I needed to set out the blood and to make it look like an argument had taken place.
I took the envelope. “Thanks for everything…I think. I guess this is it for now.”
“Yes it is, and I promise I will try to come see you as soon as I can.” Sadness filled his voice.
With his words spoken, I said nothing more but turned to leave. As I started walking away, Blake grabbed my arm, pulling me back into his solid chest and kissing me with everything he had.
Our final goodbye for who knew how long. Possibly forever.
Chapter Twenty
Abby
Three Years Ago