Another Chance

Chapter 29

JARED'S POV

"Her scent disappears about a mile out," breathed one of the warriors heavily, and Dylan pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Alright, well, things are getting more dangerous now," he muttered, looking down at me with a placid expression. Anna gulped from beside me, clutching onto my hand.

"We need to work on tracking her and her alone. No other distractions," I added, causing Dylan to nod.

"She threatened to kill innocent people, Dylan," Anna whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "She's made it clear that she doesn't want Jared and I together. She's not going to stop."

Dylan nodded once, muttering something to one of the warriors who then quickly disappeared from the entrance of the store.

"We'll handle it," Dylan responded, nodding at me and turning to leave, quickly hopping back into his car, the engines revving as he sped off.

Wrapping one of my arms around Anna's waist, I nodded towards the direction of the house, using my other hand to wheel my chair down the sidewalk.

Anna remained quiet as she hugged herself, the bitter wind wafting through the air and chilling her.

"Here," I told her, holding out my sweatshirt that was tied around the back of my chair for her, but she shook her head, objecting.

"I don't want it," she mumbled, keeping her gaze glued to the ground in front of her.

"You look freezing," I argued, continuing to hold out my sweatshirt for her, causing Anna to turn to me with teary eyes.

"I don't want the fucking sweatshirt, Jared!"

I mentally recoiled back at her words and raised voice, blinking a few times in an attempt to gather my thoughts. Anna immediately looked guilty, muttering a quick apology and turning away from me, continuing to walk.

"Anna?" I questioned quietly after a few moments of silence, the house coming into view.

"We shouldn't be together," she whispered, almost so quietly that I didn't hear, but I was able to just make it out. My heart started to palpate, and my mouth instantly dried up, my blood running cold.

"What?" I asked, cocking my head as I continued to wheel myself faster along the sidewalk, trying to catch up with Anna as she sped ahead.

"Don't you get it?" Anna cried, shaking her head as she rounded the corner into our front garden, stopping right in front of the door. "We can't be together, Jared. Amelia has made it perfectly clear that she's going to continue to torment us until we end things."

"Anna, I really-"

"She almost ended up killing an innocent child today," Anna muttered, gulping, her face turning ghostly white. "I wouldn't know what to do if she actually killed someone just because we didn't listen to her." 

I scowled, shaking my head. Anna was acting impulsively. I understood that she was upset and frightened, but we couldn't allow Amelia to run our lives. She didn't make the rules, and she was toying with us as if we were pawns in her little game. She was bored and was acting out. I wouldn't allow her to win.

"No," I told her. "I'm not letting you end this just because of Amelia."

"And what happens if we don't?" Anna questioned, a tear leaking from her eye and dribbling down her cheek. "Who's she going to kill? She could threaten someone you care about next if we don't do what she says."

Pushing the front door open, I entered, taking Anna's hand and gently pulling her in with me. I wanted us away from prying eyes. Although we didn't have any neighbours, humans did saunter past our small house from time to time, and I didn't need them listening in on our conversation.