Page 41 of Come Back To Me

“Right.”

“Anything else?” he asks.

I keep the fact I think the person who sent the threats came from inside to myself and hang up, putting my phone away.

Ten minutes later, I stand and feel my muscles have stiffened from the cold. I quickly stretch and decide to just run home. A depleted feeling swims through me, but I got the clarity I needed.

When I start my decent, a lone figure approaches. I slow to allow them through the gate. Their headphones are on their head, their attention clearly elsewhere. Usually, I don’t see anyone out and about this early, and if I do, it’s other runners. Not a kid.

Curiosity gets the better of me.

As the youngster pushes through the gate, I make an effort to say good morning. As the words slip past my lips though, they’re suddenly lost.

Chapter Eleven

DEAN

Dragging the headphones off her head, she has a look of complete and utter surprise mixed with fear. Without a word, she dips her body under my now outstretched arm trying to stop her.

“Lauren!” I shout, but she’s running hell for leather away from me. Her bag drops to the floor. Fuck, she’s fast. I strip the hood off my head and follow her. Shouting her name again, she looks over her shoulder before picking up her pace.

I power my arms and drive my legs. When she takes a right, heading toward the trees, I know she has nowhere else to go. The tree line only circles back around. The little shit is nippy, but I can change tactics and cut her off on the other side.

Turning around, I head back up the hill, my heart motoring on. I reach the top and spot her bag that she dropped. Scooping it up as I run, I head to the gate and wait for her.

As my heart steadies and my lungs take in as much of the crisp air as possible, I feel the weight of the bag Lauren was carrying. Not noticing so much when running, I now can’t ignore the pull of it in my hand. Again, my curiosity gets the better of me.

Slowly opening the relatively small but heavy backpack, I wonder if I’m stepping over a boundary? We haven’t seen Laurenfor so long—although we’ve caught glimpses of her—it’s like she all but disappeared. I want to know how a fifteen-year-old survived without anyone.

I pull it open and peer inside. The smell that hits me is clearly body odour. The headiness of it makes me turn my head away for a second. When I look back, there are spare clothes in clear need of a wash, a book that’s a little worn around the edges, her toothbrush, a roll-on deodorant. Has she been sleeping rough?

I suddenly hear the patter of feet getting closer as I spot a key in the bottom of her bag. I quickly grab it and shove it in my pocket, pretending to keep on examining the contents.

“Hey!” Lauren shouts. She aggressively stalks towards me, her body language screaming that she’s ready to fight. “Don’t go through my shit!”

“Lauren?” I question, but she barges me out of the way, ripping her belongings from my hands. I think about keeping my grip on them, but I let go.

She stuffs the contents back inside, her chest heaving up and down as she does.

I don’t really know what to say, but as she tries to move past me as if she’s leaving, I grab her arm and stop her. “Where are you going?”

“Get off of me!” she barks.

My grip tightens. “Not happening.”

She struggles against me before she starts the theatrics. “Rape! Rape!” she cries.

I cringe before I find myself getting pissed off with her. “Stop,” I tell her.

“Rape! Please, somebody help me!”

I pinch the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb. “Lauren, stop. Not only is what you’re saying totally fucking disgusting, but I hate to break it to you, no one else is around tohear you. So, you might as well call it a day.”

She scans the area, noticing I’m right, but she still tugs her arm. “Urgh, let me go.” She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.

“Why don’t you talk to me?”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you. Where’s Jay?”

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