Ten Years Later

Chapter Nine

I found relief learning His name. Suddenly, He wasn’t anonymous anymore.

Suddenly, a weight is lifted off of my shoulders. For so long he had complete control over me, over my entire life. But now I have the upper hand. Now, I am in control.

“He’s on the run, but we’re going to find him.” Drew assures me. “We’ve already searched his home and found the room he kept you in. Your DNA, as well as some of the other girls’, was found down there. That’s everything we need to prove his guilt, you won’t even have to testify in court.”

That’s plenty of evidence to convict him. It’s only a matter of time before the police find him and bring him in. He’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail. Of course, it doesn’t make up for the families of the girls he killed. Nothing can make up for them, but it might help the families sleep better at night knowing he’ll never do it again.

“That’s wonderful,” My mother says. “This is all going to be over soon.”

She pulls me into her arms softly. I breathe in her scent, she smells like lavender and vanilla and warmth. She rubs small circles on my back, comforting. She pulls away after a moment, but it feels too soon. I want her to hold me forever if she could.

The detectives finish up their round of questions and then leave. Before they go, they promise they’re going to hunt him down and it makes me happy. He’ll get what he deserves, eventually. I’ve waited ten years to come home, I can wait a few days for him to get caught.

“I don’t want to rush you into anything,” my mother says when we’re sitting in the living room, “but I’ve contacted the high school and they’re happy to work something out for you. They’re going to help you get your diploma and graduate.”

“He gave me books, and I read them all. Mostly they were educational or non-fiction. He said they’d be useful afterwards, but I never understood what he meant by that. I never thought He’d let me go.” I confess, almost bashfully so.

I read the books he gave me because I thought they would fill the time. I read them to distract me, to keep my mind somewhere else instead of that cement room. Thinking back, if He hadn’t given me those books I probably would have gone crazy. If He had left me alone with my thoughts, I would’ve have survived for as long as I did.

My mother smiles at me, and pulls my hand into her own. “We’re going to be alright, Sawyer. When do you think you’ll be able to go to school? I don’t want to force you into anything, but they’re expecting an answer soon.”

I thought about it. The other students will most likely give me a lot of attention, given what happened to me. It’ll be hard, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I want to be able to get out of the house and go to school like any other teenagers my age. “I’ll start as soon as possible.”

She’s surprised; she probably thought I would say the exact opposite. “Really? So soon? I mean, that’s wonderful, but are you sure you’re ready?”

I nod. “I want to have a normal life. I want to put all of this behind me.”

She understands. “Well, I’ll give them a call.”

A/N: Okay, so this one is really short! I'm really excited for Sawyer to go to school. And *spoiler alert* there might be a couple cute boys there ;)