Page 62 of Teacakes & Tangos
His dishevelled appearance and the fury in his eyes as he stared at me was scaring me, and I had an urge to run. But my feet seemed to be welded to the bracken-covered forest floor and I couldn’t move.
‘What are you doing here?’ I blurted out. ‘I don’t understand. I’ve been texting you...’
His frown deepened but he didn’t reply.
Then he made a sudden movement towards me.
And I ran.
*****
What the hell was going on?
Had Xander been camping out in the woods ever since our argument? Or was this a temporary home?
Is this why he’d been avoiding taking me back to his place? Because he’d lost his flat for some reason and had nowhere else to live?
But why wouldn’t he have just told me what was going on?
It didn’t make any sense at all . . .
I ran blindly through the woody terrain, crashing through brambles and bushes but miraculously managing to remain on my feet, until eventually, I was back on the familiar path.
Relieved, I stopped for breath and looked back. There was no sign of Xander. And despite the sweat I could feel trickling down my back, a shiver ran through me.
I’d no idea what was happening here, but if I’d ever thought that Xander could be a criminal, that seemed to be proof back there that I’d been right to think it was possible.
Could he really be living in the woods as a fugitive, trying to escape detection by the police?
But the Xander I knew would barely even drive over the speed limit, let alone take part in a raid on a jeweller’s shop!
Unless I’d never really known him at all...
CHAPTER THIRTY
The following day passed in a blur of confusion.
Although I was working in the café – chatting to customers, liaising with the girls at the Little Duck Pond Café, who were supplying the cakes we needed, and helping new girl Merry to settle in – my mind wandered continuously to Xander, wondering what on earth I should do.
I kept picturing the cold, hard look in his eyes when he saw me.
I knew I should be going to the police about the photo of him in the newspaper, but something was holding me back. So I was quite relieved when, later that afternoon, Lyndsay phoned and said she’d finally made up her mind to go to the police station.
‘I’ve been putting off going because I still can’t quite believe Xander could be involved in something like that,’ she said. ‘But I’ve decided I have to do it. You do understand that, don’t you?’
I sighed. ‘Yes, I do. And... well, actually, I’m starting to think I didn’t know Xander very well at all.’
‘What do you mean?’
So I told her about finding his campsite in the woods and how he’d reacted quite aggressively when he’d seen me and I’d panicked and run away.
‘Oh, my goodness. Are you all right, love?’ She sounded really shocked.
‘Oh, yes. I’m fine. Really. I was just a bit shaken up at the time, that’s all.’
‘Of course. You would be. Crikey, so he’s been camping out in the woods to escape capture? It doesn’t seem real, does it?’
‘I know.’ I gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I keep thinking I’ll wake up any moment and find it’s all been just a horrible nightmare.’
