Paper Heart Goodbyes

Ch. 30

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to give you guys some time alone. Tess, I hope this all works out for you. If I don't see you have a safe flight home." Lena said as she grabbed her jacket and keys.

"Wait, Lena, if I'm right it's probably not safe for you to stay here. Please please please pack a bag and go somewhere you know you'll be safe. It'll give me peace of mind to know you're safe."

Lena could tell that Tess was serious and she should be fearful. She nodded, "Okay, let me put together a bag real quick." She went into her bedroom.

"We should leave too," Chris said with urgency.

"Yeah, let me pack my stuff. I think we should call the police too, but what do I tell them? I don't exactly have proof that she's the Paper Heart Killer."

"You can at least tell them you think she is and they can do their own investigation."

As Tess stuffed her suitcase with her clothes and grabbed her shoes, she had the chilling reminder that Becky knows where she lives. She knows so much about her - where she lives, where she's going to be working, her routine and habits, she's met her family and closest friends. Even when she runs back across the country, Becky could get to her. Hell, she somehow flew to New Jersey early this morning to try to kill Chris!

"Chris..." Tess paused in her packing. He was helping her pack her suitcase with his one good arm. "She knows everything about me. About us. She knows where we live. Even if we rush out of here on the next flight, she can still get to us." Sheer terror ran through her veins and was evident in her quivering voice.

Chris put his arm around Tess and pulled her in close. "We can't think about that right now. We've got to just get out of here. We'll call the police and hopefully they can locate her and give us some peace of mind." He kissed her on the top of her head and urged her to continue to collect all her things.

"I'm worried about Lena too," Tess said as she packed all her toiletries and makeup. "We can go to the other side of the country, but she's still here."

"You told her she should get out of here and we'll tell her to get in touch with the cops too. That's all we can do right now. You finish getting your stuff and I'm going to call the airline and see if we can get on the next flight."

Tess nodded and went to the bathroom to make sure she didn't forget anything in there.

When she ran back to the room to put her toothbrush in her bag, Chris was ending his conversation on the phone.

"Okay, they had seats available for us for this evening's flight so we're good to go."

"It must've cost you a fortune for last minute tickets," Tess looked apologetically at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who had bruises and scrapes on his face, arms, and legs, a dislocated shoulder, and had just spent an arm and a leg for cross-country plane tickets.

"I think coming to get you and flying home to save our lives will be worth the high credit card bill."

"I shouldn't have trusted her so easily." Tess was furious with herself. "You haven't just paid for my mistake with your wallet," she put her hand gently on his cheek, careful not to press too hard on his injuries.

Chris covered her hand with his own, "I'd sacrifice everything, money, my safety, anything, to keep you safe." He took her hand off his cheek and gave it a kiss. "Maybe let's just wait a while before I have to sacrifice my limbs again," he winked at her to make her laugh.

Tess gave him a kiss and then looked down at her suitcase and carry-on. "Okay, I think I've got everything." She double checked that she had all her chargers, her laptop, her wallet.