I come back down the stairs to see Ashton talking to my grandparents. He's all kindness and gentlemanly, and I can't help but grin at the sight in front of me.
"I'm ready," I say quietly, which causes Ashton to turn in my direction and smile.
"Well, I guess we're off then." He holds out his hand and I take it.
"So," he begins once we're in his parent's perfectly clean Mustang. "I was thinking we could go to the ice cream shop, get something, and then maybe drive off somewhere and just... hang out?"
"Sounds good to me." I shrug, and look around. Everything is so much brighter, so much better. I honestly never thought that I would be happy again. I have friends, I have a proper life. And that's all I ever really wanted. My past will always haunt me, as much as I wish it wouldn't. I can't erase it.
We arrive at the ice cream shop, kids at the counter drinking root beer and laughing. My new group of friends; Ashton, Mary, whom I met because of Ashton, and Lindsey have become regulars there. I mean, they were even before they met me, but accepted me into their group without fail.
"Hey, kids!" Shirley, the owner of the shop smiles at us as we sit down at the counter. We shove quarters towards her and she grabs our drinks, she already knows what we want.
I take a look around the shop and my eyes land on a figure sitting alone at one of the small round tables placed throughout. My heart drops.
"Ashton," I tug on his arm. "We need to go, like, right now."
"Why, babe? What's wrong?" His voice is no doubt concerned, and I want to run away with him and hide somewhere. I can't believe my eyes.
"He's here." I nudge my arm in the direction of his spot, the blonde hair sticking up, much cleaner than it was in Rivercliff, but turning my stomach still, nonetheless.
"Shit." He whispers. "Um, Shirley?" The old woman turns around, a smile plastered on her face.
"Yes, dear?"
"We're gonna need those to go." Lindsay gives Ashton a strange look, but Mary isn't listening and Shirley just nods.
"We have to get the hell out of here before he sees me." I whisper frantically. "I know why he's here. He came back for me. Ashton, I'm terrified."
"Don't worry, Jane. I'll keep you safe. As long as you stay with me, nothing bad is gonna happen to you." He rubs my shoulder and gives me a comforting hug, but it's not enough.
"You know what, forget the sodas and keep the money. We really need to leave."
"Okay, see you later kids! I hope everything is okay, Jane." She says this loud enough that Luke's head snaps in my direction and I panic.
Ashton intertwines our fingers and squeezes, trying to reassure me. It isn't working.
I hear a chair squeak and somehow I know for sure that it's him. Luke has somehow gotten out of Rivercliff and now he's coming after me.
We begin moving quickly, practically running, through the streets of the small town.
"What the hell is happening?" Mary breathes, hands on her knees, bending down, trying to catch her breath.
"We'll explain later. No time now."
I look behind me, and he is following us. A somber look on his face, somehow made evil by the secrets of his that I know.
"Shit!" I say. I can't breathe. I don't understand what's happening; I can't comprehend it.
"Stop!" His voice is so much more menacing and ominous than it was before. I hate him. I hate him.
We all stop dead in our tracks.
"Let me talk to Jane and nobody gets hurt."
"What will happen if we don't let you talk to her?" Ashton's voice is tougher now, tougher than I've ever heard it before.
"I will kill all three of you. And maybe even her too. I'm not joking. I just got out of a life sentence at an insane asylum and I'm not afraid of some stupid kid trying to protect some girl he thinks has a crush on him." I want to kill him right then and there.
"Ashton, just let them talk." Mary's voice is shaking.
He steps back and I step forward, looking into the eyes of a monster. "I hate you." I grit my teeth and almost scream. "You ruined my life, Luke."
"I love you, Jane. I would've done anything for you, but you betrayed me. How do you think that makes me feel?"
"I don't care how you feel. Don't you get it? I was done with you a long time ago." I step closer to him, and I feel Ashton shift behind me, trying to stop me from getting any closer. "How do you think it made me feel when you lied to my face? I trusted you! I thought you were my knight in shining armor. You were gonna save me. We were gonna get out of there together. Damn, was I wrong. I wish I had never met you."
"I'm the one who escaped without a hitch."
"Shut up! I don't give a shit if you escaped. I want you to leave. Go back to wherever you came from. Leave my friends and I alone." I start to walk away, when I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. My shirt is getting damp and I know. It is blood.
"What the hell, man?" Ashton is screaming now. Lindsay and Mary are nowhere in sight, they may have run off the call the police.
Excruciating, paralyzing pain shoots through my whole body. I can't breathe. Ashton is trying to fight Luke off, even though I yell for him to stop. He doesn't.
"Why, Luke?" I cry. "What is this accomplishing?"
"You hurt me. So now I'm hurting you." His voice is soft. Haunting, almost.
"I only did what was best for me! I should've never loved you. I can't believe I still do. You ruined me, Luke!"
He now has Ashton in a chokehold. I started sobbing even harder. Not only have I been stabbed, but the person that I truly want to be with, the one that helped me recover and believe that good people still exist, was about to get stabbed as well, probably even worse than I had been.
"Let him go! I hate you! I hate you so much, Luke!"
That's when we hear the cops coming.
Luke drops the knife.
chapter eighteen
Start from the beginning
