26. Sarah
26
SARAH
“What do you mean you're leaving Glazer Ville? To go where?” my aunt snaps at me, her words rushed as she follows me through the house.
I enter my room and immediately get packed. I don't have many clothes here, but whatever’s available will have to do until all this dies down and I can go back to my place to get my things.
“Sarah.” My aunt calls my name to get my attention.
Nothing I say will make her be onboard with this. My mind is made up. I'm leaving.
“You heard what I said, Auntie. I have to leave.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“Oh, I know, you chose to see the reporter after I told you not to, and now she knows the truth so you're running away. Where do you even have to go?”
Nowhere in particular right now. I'll have to speak with my agent to get that figured out. Wherever I'm going though, it'll have to be a small town. I don't mind picking up a new pen name so long as I still get to write and my life is no longer under scrutiny.
“And what about Olivia?” she asks when I don't say anything to her.
“What about her? She's coming with me.”
“She's what? Okay, that's it.” Walking toward me, she snatches the clothes I'm folding out of my hand and motions for me to sit. “Now,” she says with a raised brow when I don't move.
Sighing, I throw my hands up in defeat. “Fine.”
When I'm seated, she remains standing in front of me, her hands now on her waist.
Something tells me she's going to lecture the hell out of me.
“Before you say anything, just know that my mind is made up and nothing you say will change that,” I inform her.
She rolls her eyes at me, but there's no missing the look on her face.
I can't stay here any longer, and it's not because I don't feel safe in her house. That's far from it. This whole thing has just dragged on for too long, and I need to put an end to it before things get out of hand.
It's a miracle Kyle hasn't called me yet so far, unless he hasn't seen the news, and I'm praying that he never gets to see it.
I left his life so quietly, without an explanation, and I know he's still pissed at me. He was a controlling man, and being with him did me more harm than good.
“Okay. You're not going to change your mind about leaving, fine. Just tell me one thing: do you really think your daughter will be happy about leaving her life behind without any reason? She's not that young anymore. She'll have questions.”
And I'll give her the answers when the time is right, just not now.
“She'll listen to me,” I say.
“Of course, she will. She's a good girl. But the most important thing is if she'll be happy.”
What does she want me to say?
It's not like I'm exactly happy about leaving my hometown behind, but it's what I have to do. I have no choice here. It's either I leave and live to tell the story later, or I remain and have Ian find out about the pregnancy only for him to reject it. The media would cast the news, and Kyle would come across it one day, and by extension, me and Olivia.
There's too much at risk.
I'll take my daughter alive and well but not happy with me over letting her criminal of a father find out about her and take her away from me.
“She'll come around eventually,” I say with a conviction I'm not feeling.
It draws a smile out of my aunt, and she takes her hand to my hair, patting it gently.
“I’ll miss you.”
“You can always come visit.”
She nods. “I can.”
With that she sits beside me, pushing the clothes I was arranging to the side.
“We'll arrange your clothes tomorrow. I can drop by your home and help you grab a few things. But for now, how about we focus on figuring out where you're going next.”
“Ohio,” I whisper.
I've always been the small town kind of girl, and if I'm leaving my town behind, then I'm definitely going to another town I know I'll love.
While I've never been there before, I've watched movies and read novels set in the location, and I've loved it from afar. I may as well go there now that I need a new home.
“Hmmm. I'm guessing you're calling Tim to help fix this?”
“Yes.”
It's a wonder he's not shown up at my aunt's door as it is. He's been sending me tons of messages since this whole thing started, and I've been ignoring them all because I don't want to hear what he'll have to say.
Now, I do.
He would want me to go away for a while, lay low.
“Let me know when it's sorted.” I nod at my aunt as she leaves. Probably to go cook something elaborate. Cooking is her coping mechanism, just like writing is mine. A lot of times I look at her, and I see my mom.
The resemblance between them is not striking, but it's obvious. And they have the same character, almost. My aunt is firmer. My mom was less strict.
Thinking about her brings a tear to my face, and I quickly wipe it away, knowing crying is the last thing I need to be doing right now. There's going to be a lot of time to be in my feelings in the future if everything goes well and I leave.
I dial Tim and he picks up on the first ring.
I chuckle as I speak. “Someone's eager to speak to me.”
“More like desperate. Why the hell have you not been responding to my calls, messages, and emails? I was this close to coming to your town, but I knew you won't be stupid enough to be there when you can easily be found.”
Heh. I guess he doesn't know me as much as I thought he did.
“Tim, I'm in Glazer Ville.”
“What? Are you crazy? Do you realize how easily you can be found by these people? And by the way, exactly what is going on, because I don't know what to believe is right or wrong at this point?”
He sounds so worried about me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he's concerned about me. But I know better. He cares about the money he's making and ensuring nothing taints that.
“Well, that's part of the reason I called you. I need you to help me buy a new house.”
He goes silent at my words for a few seconds before he speaks again. “Are you sure about this? Can't you just tell the media exactly what's going on and clear your name?”
If only it were that simple.
“I'm afraid that's not possible.”
“Why? Is this because the news is right? Sarah, are you allowing a man to die because you have a grudge against him?” His voice goes low toward the end.
I don't dignify his question with an answer. If he can ask me this, then maybe he really doesn't know me at all.
“I need you to get me a house in Ohio. Ashdale, to be precise. I'm going to be changing my pen name too, and I know you'll be against it, but my minds already made up, so you're either going to support me or not.”
A long sigh comes from his end of the phone before he eventually speaks again. “I'll get on it.”
Nodding, a feeling of relief starts to spread through me. It isn't until this moment that I realize how unsure I was about how this conversation would turn out. And to think I thought he wouldn’t have been in support of me leaving.
“Thanks, Tim.”
“You're welcome. And I'm sorry about what I said. Whatever it is that's happened, I don't want to know. All I care about is that you'll be okay.”
Smiling, I take the phone away from my ear. I guess he's not that bad, after all.
“I'll be expecting your feedback,” I say before I end the call.
My aunt is in my room as soon as I drop the call, and it leads me to the conclusion that she never left the doorway.
“And? What did he say?” she asks a little too eagerly for someone who wasn't in support of me leaving.
“He's on it,” I say.
“Oh,” she mumbles, her face falling. She hasn't come around to my decision, has she? “I guess I'll be in the kitchen then.”
She turns around and starts to leave.
“I'll join you,” I say and stand up to follow her out.
The moment we enter the kitchen, she starts to move around, fetching ingredients until I come to the decision that she wants to bake.
The sound of someone knocking on the living room door and then pushing it open makes both of us jump out of the kitchen.
We didn't lock the door after Claire left. Shit.
I get to the living room first, and I see a figure moving through the house. A loud scream of fear ripples out of my mouth until the face of the person comes into the light.
“Ian?” I squeak out as I squint at him. “What the hell are you doing creeping around the house?”
He stops walking and addresses me with a grim look on his face. “I wasn't creeping. I knocked, and no one answered. The door was open, so I let myself in.”
How smart. The retort is at the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it down, not wanting to get into another argument with him.
Speaking of arguments, why is he here?
I honestly thought he'd left Glazer Ville this morning. Does this mean he's changed his mind?
“I thought you left,” I say, taking a step back now that I'm realizing there's not much space between us.
“I did.”
“Then what are you doing here? Does this mean you've changed your mind?”
“Not exactly. I'm here because I ran into your brother. Well, more like he almost ran me over with his car and then followed me into a bar afterward demanding that I take him to you.”
And he came here right after? Is he mad? Peter could have followed him! I don't want anyone to know where I am.
“Calm down, I made sure I wasn't followed,” he says and lets out a frustrated huff. “Look, I don't know what you're hiding from me, but if it's important, you better figure out a way to get this guy off your back. He's not the kind of guy you mess with.”
What is he talking about?
This is Peter, not a criminal.
Worst he’ll do is try to convince me to save our father, but I know he'll back down the moment he knows what's at stake. I may not be sure Lauren likes me, but I know Peter does.
If all this wasn't hanging over us, I have a feeling we would have had a good relationship.
“I'm not worried about Peter. Not like that, anyway,” I say and start to walk away. My aunt went back to the kitchen the moment she realized it was him.
“Then I'm afraid you have no idea who the people you've gotten in bed with are.”
What the hell is he talking about?