Page 63 of Paddy
“Yeah well, my feelings ain'ttemporary. How much I love you, ain'ttemporary. It's me who wakes up gleeful and excited just for a chance to wake up next to you. Me who pours myallinto making love to you. Because your pleasure and curiosity are important to me. Pretty, I would gladly sell my soul for you. But because this was only supposed to betemporary, I suppose I'm the only one that feels this way.”
Loud banging at the front door made Paddy jumpy, as I directed my gaze to the stairs, rushing to put some clothes on, and he went to answer the door. Fully dressed, I met him at the door, the Ranger who he was speaking to explaining something about a call coming in for us at the station. The only person that knew we were here was Vernon. So, if he was calling, it was likely an emergency.
“If you want to head on over the station, it’s just a few minutes’ drive. You two could get things cleared up and get back to your cozy stay.”
Twenty-Eight
Pretty
As prompted, I dialed my home phone, sitting on pins and needles, hoping everything was okay. When I got no answer, I hung up and was about to try again, when the phone immediately rang and I was rushed to pick it up, expecting Vernon to be on the other end.
“Vernon, honey?” Fear building at the back of my throat.
“No, you son of a whore. Thought you could run away and all your problems would be gone, didn't you?” My aggressor spat through the phone.
“This is not funny. Who is this?” I yelled with conviction, as this prompted Paddy to stand beside me to try to take the phone away. Snatching it close to my ear, I mouthed “No,” before the man who tried to kill me gave me a final warming over the phone.
“I'm not gonna waste another bullet on a worthless bitch like you, but maybe I'll waste one on that kid of yours.”
“Please,pleasedon't hurt my son. He's all I fucking have. Just is it money? I have plenty of money—” My emotions getting the best of me. I almost hadn’t heard him interrupting me as I pleaded.
“I don't give a good goddamn about your money.” He paused, making me think he'd hung up, but he spoke with a hitched tone. “But your husband sure as hell does. And he's gonna stay right here where he is, until you're gone.”
“Tell me what you fucking mean, dammit!”
“I'm giving you until the end of the day to return back to Boston. You are gonna make your way in, put your hands behind your back, and I'm going to put a bullet between your eyes. And you're going to let me, otherwise the kid and Vernon die.” As the click on the other line made me scream into the phone, frantically making me redial over and over to a constant ring.
“Oh my God, I can't breathe. They're about to kill my son.” Suddenly, my legs were giving out, and I was slowly sliding my back against the wall until I was on the floor. “They're going to kill me or they're going to kill my son.” I sobbed uncontrollably, as Paddy bent down to meet my gaze, using a soft voice to calm me.
“Hey, Pretty. Look at me.” Using his fingers to tilt my chin toward him. “What did they say?”
“Paddy, I don't know what's going on. The man apparently hates me so much, he wants me to come back to Massachusetts, sacrifice myself or he's gonna kill my husband and son. Who fucking does that? Who fucking hates someone they've never met? “I asked, confused. This couldn’t be happening. I should have taken this stalker thing more seriously from the very first moment I’d learned the stakes.
“Pretty, listen to me. What did the man on the other line say?”
“He told me he wasn't going to waste a bullet on me unless it'd kill me.” I couldn't even say it without stammering and crying.
“Can you tell me anything distinct about them? What did they sound like? Young, old?—”
“Young,” I interrupted “Not like a kid, but definitely not a man as old as Vernon. Paddy, we have to go. We have to fucking go now, or he's gonna kill my son,” I squealed, having next to no energy.
“We'll head back to the cabin and?—”
“Paddy, I just said we don't have time for that.”
“Pretty, calm yourself. Keep your emotions in check. Being all over the place is not going to help the situation,” Paddy dismissed.
Easy for him to say, I was far from home and my child's life was in danger. I wasn't even sure what I'd planned to do once I got back to Massachusetts. Was this man’s plan to really shoot me just for being me?
“We’ll head back to Massachusetts, but I'm going to need more information along the way. Let's go get your son.”
***
Nothing seemed to calm me on the way back home. It didn't help that Paddy kept probing me with questions over a three-sentence exchange.
“Paddy,pleasestop asking me the same fucking things. I'm stressed. I'm scared?—”
“I know you're scared. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, but something could be important that you're missing. Any small detail could give me more information on how to move once we get there.”