Page 62 of Traces of Her
Thirty-Eight
ROWENA
Two Years Later
WITH EVERY TWIST AND TURN the road makes, with every mile put between us and civilization, an overwhelming sense of hopelessness slowly consumes me. Long gone were the streets with lights on every corner and any other signs of human life. Surrounded in the dark with nothing but trees lining the roads, the headlights of the car were the only light guiding our way. Where we are going, Jared never said, but my instincts tell me that this isn’t going to end well.
I don’t trust my instincts.
For the past two years, I’ve been drug from state to state, city to city, from one shitty motel to the next by this piece of shit. Since the moment I was kidnapped, whether I’ve been held captive in the same prison or moving from one place to another, I’ve never truly been free. The night that Jared left Lydia for dead and stole me away, leaving Griffin behind, was one of the most terrifying nights of my life. I wasn’t afraid of what he would do or what would happen to me, I was afraid of what would happen to Griffin. It’s been two years and he still lingers in my mind but I know as long as I’m with Jared he’ll be okay.
After Jared took me, I assumed I was next on his murder agenda, but he proved me wrong. He’s a loose cannon, paranoid and unpredictable yet he’s kept me alive, by his side for the past two years. He kept his distance from me, he kept his hands to himself and he kept me as far away from Griffin as possible.
Uncertainty for my future always lingered but it wasn’t concrete until tonight.
Jared turns the car off of the road onto an unpaved driveway that leads us through a gap in the trees. The headlights don’t give off much light, but when he brings the car to a stop and puts it in park, I can see our destination as clear as day and my stomach drops. It’s a cabin in the middle of the woods.
It looks like we’ve arrived at my final destination.
I stare at the cabin with a hatred I’ve never felt before as Jared kills the engine and gets out of the car, now knowing my instincts were right all along. There’s too many times or ways to count on how or when I could have died before, but instead, I’m here.
A shadow appears by my door, startling me but it’s only Jared. I let out a deep sigh of resignation as he swiftly opens the door.
“Come on, Ghost,” Jared says, pulling me out of the car. “Let’s go inside and get comfy. We could be waiting here for a while, but I have a feeling it won’t take him too long.”
Jared slams the car door shut and starts walking us toward the cabin. His words play over and over in my mind as I follow him onto the front porch and wait while he fiddles with the key, working the lock open until it clicks. Turning the knob, he pushes the door open and leads me inside. I turn around to face him as he closes the door and secures the lock.
“Who are we waiting for?” I question him as he slowly turns to face me.
“Griffin,” he reveals with a sinister grin on his lips. “Who else would come looking for you?”
I’m frozen in place.
My instincts were wrong.
Griffin was coming for me.