Page 37 of Don't Leave Me

It doesn’t take long to get to Leslie’s house and that gives me a little bit of relief. If we’re going to be out where Jimmy could seeus, I think I’d rather be locked inside a house than in a car on an icy road. I know he isn't afraid to push us off the road and that’s terrifying.

As soon as we’re inside the house, Leslie locks the door up tight and checks every window and door on the first floor. We’re being cautious and, in this situation, I don’t think we can be overly so.

We take our time grabbing some of Leslie’s things while we’re here. She knows she isn't going to move back in here and she wants to have all of her things at Colt’s house. I can't blame her one bit. I wouldn’t want my things split between two houses either.

“I think I'm ready,” Leslie groans, looking at the six bags we have packed. I don’t mind, but I'm sure she’s thinking about how she’ll need to put these things away when she gets home.

We each grab three bags and hoist them over our shoulders, more than happy to get back to Colt’s house. Leslie opens the front door and gasps. It’s snowing even harder now and we’ve gotten at least a few inches of snow coating the roads in the short time we were inside.

“Uhh… Are we stuck here?” I nibble on my bottom lip.

“No. No, we’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” I eye her wearily.

“Not at all.” She chuckles. “We get a lot of snow here and I’ve never gotten stuck though.”

“Should we call Colt?”

“No, but we need to get going before it gets worse.”

Leslie slowly takes one step at a time. She glances around the silent surroundings and I can tell she’s on edge. The snow insulates everything, making it look and sound so peaceful. That silence is making this feel eerie though. Like someone is about to jump out at us and we’re blissfully unaware.

As soon as she has the car door open, I toss the first bag down the steps to her. We’re hoping this will keep both of us from falling down the icy steps and we’ll be able to load up the car faster.

It only takes a few minutes to load up the car, then I lock the front door and attempt to walk down the steps. I slip almost instantly and shriek. Leslie moves towards me to help, but I stop her.

“Don’t even think about it or we’ll both go down.”

“Sophia, hurry up,” Leslie hisses under her breath.

My brows draw together as I glance up at her, trying to figure out why she sounds so upset. The fear I see in her eyes has me moving as quickly as I can.

Then I notice a person walking towards us. He can't move fast without slipping, but he’s moving faster than I am. My gaze snaps to Leslie’s and I realize this is why she’s freaking out.

“Get in the car,” I urge her, but she shakes her head.

“Not until you get in.”

We both glance back at the person. He’s the right height and build to be Jimmy, but I don’t know if it’s him. This is a fairly empty street though, with only a few houses on it. It’s weird for anyone to be out here, especially in this weather.

His eyes lock on us and he starts moving fast, closing in on us more quickly than I’d like.

“Get in now!” I shriek as I pass Leslie to get to the passenger’s door. I'm moving as quickly as I can without falling down, but I'm still slipping with every step.

Leslie’s climbing behind the wheel and as soon as my door is shut, she locks them and cranks the engine. I glance out the back window to find the man only a few yards away from us. I hold on tightly as Leslie reverses out of the driveway. She lets out a shriek as we glide across the ice, and I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for us to make impact with something.

After a few seconds, I peel one eye open to see Leslie has the car in control once again and we’re moving down the street.

“Call Colton!” She whimpers as her hands tremble on the steering wheel.

I fumble with my phone, trying to get my fingers to work the way I want them to. The entire time I'm praying we don’t get into an accident and Jimmy can't get to us.

“It just keeps ringing.” My voice is full of terror and I don’t even sound like myself. I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my entire life.

“Call Pecker,” she says more calmly, keeping her full attention on the road.

As the line rings, I hold my breath and wait.

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