Page 33 of Capturing Ava
“I knew.” She whispers. “But he swore he just wanted answers. He swore he just wanted to teach you a lesson.”
My shoulders slump. “That was ten fucking years ago, Audrey, ten years.”
“I am aware.” she sighs.
“You were supposed to be my friend.” I gasp.
“I am your friend.”
A chuckle falls from my lips as walk past her. “Ava, please don’t leave. Not like this.” I keep walking, “Ava,” she screams.
“With friends like you, who needs enemies.” I spit at her. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the fucking tree.” And I walk away. Away from the lie I had constructed, the friend I believed I could rely on, and the man I seemed unable to avoid.
I felt he would come for me. He wouldn’t let me go, not now. It was impossible for him. He dug his claws deeper into me, and I still hadn’t given him an answer. I knew that I was a coward. If I had just been honest with him, I could have solved it all, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.
I couldn’t tell him about my painful past, but I also couldn’t leave it out without letting him know I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to steal from him. I didn’t want to leave him, but he wouldn’t understand. Nobody would. So, I lived with my past, but my past discovered me and now I needed to escape.
I strolled through the clearing until I reached the forest, taking in the evergreen’s scent woods that filled me with so much hope when I discovered this hidden little paradise. The paradise that transformed into my nightmare. I did not know where I was going. The only thing I comprehended was the need to keep going.
Shit. What did Audrey say? He tracks people. Well, I screwed up. How was I supposed to avoid a psycho with a mastermind’s skill in tracking people? No, I wasn’t able to think of that right now. If he found me, I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I was sure I didn’t want to find out.
Briefly looking back at the cherished home one last time. I can see him talking to Audrey from the window. Not as secluded as it seemed, everything from the forest was visible. Is this where he had hidden and watched me? God, how long had he been stalking me for? All this for money. I should have just offered to pay him back, but I was too upset when faced with the ghost of my past.
I shake my head as I take one last look at him before I turn away and get lost in the wildlife. The trees sway with the wind and if I wasn’t in a hurry to get away from here, I would stand here and bask in the beauty that only nature could provide. The birds sing and chirp away like they are happy in their existence of being free. I wondered what that was like. Freedom. It was something I always battled for and never received.
Even when I managed to break free from Nikoli, it still felt like his prison held me captive. The power he possessed over me persisted for a lifetime. I knew he was still searching for me. So, how was it that a one-night stand gone wrong was the one who tracked me? I would prefer to be hunted by Chase than Nikoli. Nikoli was the evil incarnate and I would rather die than go back to him.
That’s who I thought was stalking me. I thought he found me. I believed the nightmare I managed to escape from had resurfaced, but it wasn’t Nikoli. It was the man I tricked. Not by my hand, but I’m not sure that’s how he would look at it. Audrey always expressed that everyone was in control of their own choices. You just needed to decide which was the right choice, but I didn’t believe that, not anymore.
I hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet as I walk through the forest, free, at least for now. The wind wraps around me like it wrapped me in its sweet embrace. I can now hear the stream of water as I approach the clearing into the next town over. As I rest by the stream, I let out a sigh while gently moving my fingers in the clear blue water, longing for a different life. I wished I didn’t have to run, but knowing that I would always be running. Working towards creating distance between myself and my past. I’m on the run from the men who were hunting me. Escaping the clutches of my own thoughts.
Standing, I’m ready to make the journey to my new life I would have to create. Shit. Another new start. How many of these were I expected to start? How I yearned to be able to have a happy ending, but girls like me aren’t able to achieve that. Plagued and shattered, the sole direction I possessed was a path of agony. The sole comfort I possessed was the understanding that I would be the one in control of this new beginning, with no Audrey or any other external forces. Just me.
“Little beast.” I hear his voice and the shivers crawl up my back. How did he find me? I escaped the clearing, and he was already here. Some fucking fresh start this was.
I turn around, staring at him, looking into his cold blue eyes. Everything sounds silent, everything is still. Even the wind stills. It’s as if the world came to a halt and enclosed us both at this moment. He doesn’t move, but neither do I. It’s like we are having a standoff. Who is going to make the first move? There is a sense of stiffness and strain. It’s unusual because just a few hours ago, he was holding me in his arms, giving me a level of happiness I had never experienced before. I allowed my mind to wander that there was a possibility he might be the start of something amazing, but like everything else, it only left me disheartened and perplexed.
“Little beast,” He sings once more. “You can run, Ava, but you can’t hide.” My brows furrow at his threat. “You have been running from me for so long, why not make it easier on yourself and just stop?”
Stop? Was he crazy? Well, I didn’t need an answer to that. I knew he was. Why would I walk back towards him? I would have the confidence in knowing I gave it my all, even if he was going to catch me. All one can do in life is attempt to do their best.
“Why would I want to do that?” I smirk, almost taunting him.
“You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”
“Maybe? But I would rather run from you than let you feel you earned some self-gratifying victory by making me obedient. I’m not yours and I won’t be.”
“You are mine.” He growls. “When I catch you, little beast, you’ll wish you had chosen the easy way.” I gulp because the fire in his eyes tells me that his words are not lies. “So, what’s it going to be?”
13
NIKOLIBELVEDERE
AVA
I stood as a mere child when I encountered Nikoli. It is always those who pretend to be the Saviour that becomes your undoing. I believed he bore a resemblance to the father figure I never encountered. In the beginning, it seemed like he wanted to help me. I could make-believe that his eyes didn’t dwell on my body for an excessive duration because he presented me with something I didn’t have - he offered me a family or what I imagined a family to be.
I felt grateful for the home he provided me, but nothing comes for free in this world.
