Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) (28 page)

“Kayla, you being raised in a Christian home, you must know that sex outside of marriage is a sin. We commit sins every day, with a thought or an action that we may even be unaware of. The only thing I can tell you is to follow your heart and listen to your inner voice. I personally believe that God created a mate for each of us. That doesn’t mean that I think Blake is that mate for you, only you can know that. Pray, trust, and have an open heart. Is Blake a Christian? If this is something that you haven’t discussed with him, you definitely need to. If your faith is as important to you as I think it is Kayla, then it’s going to be important for the man you choose to have those same beliefs.”

“I haven’t talked to him about that. I’ll discuss that with him this weekend.” There’s so much I want to talk to him about. I can’t wait to see him.

“Well, it looks like our time is up. I want you to think about your panic attacks. We haven’t discussed those yet and I’d like to address them in our next session. How is Monday for you? We can do a five o’clock appointment on that day.”

“That will work fine. Thank you Claire. I’ve really enjoyed this session.” She takes my hand in hers.

“I enjoyed it too, Kayla. You are a very special young lady and I know you have a bright future ahead of you. Trust yourself and rely fully on God.”

I smile. “I will. See you Monday.”

I walk out and Tessa closes her books, putting them in her book bag.

“You ready for a greasy burger, some fries, and a milkshake?” She asks.

“Never been more ready. It sounds amazing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y’all be careful driving home. Take your time.”

Asher says, standing outside of the car. We just finished eating and I feel like I’m about to bust, but I just couldn’t stop it was so good.

Tessa laughs and points to me. “Did you forget Miss Daisy is driving home? She never hurries.”

“Hahaha. Very funny. I’m not that bad.”

Asher is laughing now. Getting into the car so that they can have their mushy goodbye, jealousy hits me hard. It sucks being so far from Blake. Looking anywhere other than them, I notice a black car parked down the street. A shudder runs through my body.
Great, now I’m worried about every stupid black car, I see. Get it together Jameson.

Shaking my head, I push the unnecessary worries out of my mind. Just then, Tessa opens the door and climbs in.

“Home James.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes at her. “I am not your chauffeur. I’m so tired and ready to go to bed. I’m emotionally and even physically drained.”

Tessa reaches over and turns on the radio. “Well, get us home then.”

I pull out on the road. “I have to take another letter to the post office. I’ll just pull through the parking lot and drop it in the box. It won’t take but a minute.”

“Sure. Go ahead. I’m sure Blake is dying to hear from you.”

I pull into the post office parking lot and I see some headlights of a car that pulls in behind us. Huh? I guess somebody else forgot to mail something too.

“He should have gotten his first letter from me today. I’m hoping I’ll have one from him waiting on me at home.”

I’ve been on the road for a while when I notice a car behind us. We stayed and talked in the restaurant for a long time. So, it’s after nine o’clock now, this road is usually deserted at this time of night. I don’t say anything to Tessa, as she is singing along with the radio. I decide just to watch the car.

When I turn again and it follows I get a little worried. After what happened today, I wonder if it might be David. I’m on high alert now. My stomach is in knots.

I can’t tell much about the car except that it is a dark sedan. The car pulls closer, its lights are blinding me through my rear view mirror. I speed up trying to put some distance between us. This only causes the car following me to speed up too.

“What the heck Kayla? Are you in that big of a hurry to get home?”

Feeling like I have to tell her, I motion my head in the direction behind us. “I think we may have a problem.”

Tessa spins around to look out the back window. “Crap. Get us home Kayla. Just be careful you aren’t used to driving fast. We aren’t far from the house.”

I shake my head yes and focus on the road in front of me. One more turn and we are on our street. This road is curvy and it must have rained earlier here because the road is slick. The car hydroplanes on some water and it fish tales some.

“Kayla!” Tessa shouts.

I get the car back under control. “I’ve got it Tessa. Calm down. You’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry, but this whole situation is making me nervous. I swear I’m going to kill him. Get me to my house so I can go inside and get my gun.”

That makes me chuckle a little. The girl can shoot, she taught me how. I turn onto our road and the car following us tries to pull up alongside of us.

“Tessa what do I do. I can’t breathe.” My chest is hurting, I’m not sure if it’s from adrenaline or a panic attack coming on.

“Floor the damn thing. If you blow it up, you blow it up.”

I glance at the car beside us. The windows are so dark I can’t see who is inside. I floor it, the wheels spin a little before they get traction on the wet road. I can see the house in the distance. The car drops back a little before it speeds up again.

“Go! Kayla! Go!”

“I’m going!” I think I see Troy standing outside of the garage. He’s getting something out of the car. I put the pedal to the floor, the drive is coming up, there’s no way I’ll make the turn into the driveway at this speed. Troy looks up, he must recognize my car because he starts running into the front yard.

“I can’t make the turn into the driveway at this speed.”

“Kayla, you have to. They aren’t backing down.”

Kayla

I slam on the brakes just as we come up on the driveway the car vibrates and the tires squeal. I’m losing control. Don’t wreck please don’t wreck. God, please help us. The car passes and keeps speeding down the road. I let off of the brake some and let the car slow down. I back up and pull into the driveway.

“Get in the house and call 911 and don’t come back out. Tell Lisa to bring me my gun. Do it now!” Troy shouts at us.

We do exactly what he says. Lisa runs outside. I hear Troy start his truck while Tessa is on the phone with 911. I run to the window. Troy pulls out of the driveway and in the direction that the other car sped off in.

My tongue feels like it’s twice its normal size. It’s hard to swallow and breathe. My head is pounding and so is my heart. The adrenaline that is pumping through my veins is making me super hyper.

Troy’s truck finally pulls back into the driveway right when the police pull in. We go down and give our statements, including the information about David at the school the other day and today. Troy is furious with us and he has every right to be. The police say they will set up extra patrols in this area and will question David.

We go back into the house and Troy lets us have it.

“You are both grounded. Nothing but school for you. You will not keep anything else from us pertaining to this situation. That was dangerous girls. Anything could have happened to you. Go to bed. I’m so mad at you right now I can’t think straight.”

Lisa speaks up. “Troy, I know you’re upset with them and you should be. While I agree with the grounded them to school only, I think they should still be able to have visitors here. Blake is supposed to come and see Kayla Friday. Don’t take that from her.”

I’m crying now the adrenaline is long gone. I’m tired and very upset not only with myself, but with the possibility of not being able to see Blake. Troy looks at me and his eyes soften some. He hugs me and kisses the top of my head. These people really do love me.

“Okay. To school and nowhere else. You can have your friends come here. You are not to keep anything else from me. It’s my job to protect you and I can’t do that if you are lying to me.

“Yes, Sir.”

He grabs Tessa, too, and hugs us as we both sob into his chest.

“I’d die if anything happened to either one of you.” He is getting choked up and that makes me cry even harder. “I love you girls and I just want you to be safe. Seeing that tonight almost caused me to have a heart attack right there. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” We both say together.

“Go to bed girls.”

Lisa comes and hugs us when Troy lets us go. I whisper in her ear. “Thank you for that.” She just winks at me.

“Love you girls. Listen to your dad and go to bed.”

We walk toward our rooms. I stop and turn around to face both of them. “I love y’all so much. Thank you for everything.” I say through my tears. I continue to my room, feeling grateful to be alive right now.

Walking into my room, I see a white envelope lying on top of my comforter. I run and jump on my bed quickly drawing my legs in to sit with them crisscrossed. Everything bad that has happened today, completely fades away in this moment. Feeling giddy and nervous, as my stomach does flips I pick up the letter.

Blake touched this, it’s his handwriting on the front, I recognize it from the first letter he sent me. Running my finger under the flap to break the seal, I carefully open the letter. In my excitement I bounce up and down a little on the bed. The only thing that would make me happier is if Blake himself were here in person.

Taking the letter out I gently unfold it and run my fingers over the words he has written. Lifting the letter up to my nose I inhale, it smells like him, causing my senses to overload. In my mind, I’m right back there with him sitting on our bench.

I need his shirt on me as I read this. Carefully I lay the letter on the bed and skip over to my dresser. I keep his shirt in my pajama drawer, which is really nothing but a bunch of oversized shirts. Taking the shirt out I sit it on top of my dresser as I remove my clothes leaving me only in my underwear. Picking up the shirt I pull it on over my head. It feels amazing against my skin, it’s like getting a big hug from Blake.

Turning, I practically leap across the room and land back on my bed.
Talk to me Blake. Be here with me if only for a few precious moments.

Kayla,

Hi beautiful lady. I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together this past weekend, although it wasn’t nearly enough. I dream of one day spending every day with you. I worry about you sweetheart. Every day I want you here so that I know you are safe and happy.

I’ve been working on our house. It’s coming along fine, just slow because I want it done right. I plan to raise a family there one day, so I want it to be perfect for them. I can’t wait for you to see it and to be able to share all the ideas I have for it with you. Your opinion matters to me more than you know.

Kayla, I don’t know how I got the opportunity to meet you, but I am so glad that I did. You are a very sweet and beautiful person, inside and out. I don’t care whether it was fate, divine intervention, or pure chance that you have come into my life, but I’m never going to let you go. I feel beyond blessed to be able to spend time with you; you are all that matters now. I’m going to prove that to you and to everyone. You just have to give me that chance.

I care about you more than I have ever cared about anyone. I hope that we can build a relationship that will last FOREVER!

Forever yours,

Blake McGinnis

P.S. Write Back Soon.

My smile is so big, I’m sure I must look ridiculous. Tears are streaming down my face, but unlike when I read his first letter these are happy tears. Reading it again, I lay down on my bed and place the letter over my heart. He feels blessed to spend time with me. I’m the one who is blessed. He deserves so much better than me. I close my eyes and imagine his face. Every part of me aches to be with him. How can someone I barely know already own me completely?

Feeling the bed dip beside me, I open my eyes, thinking it’s going to be Tessa sitting there, however, it’s Lisa.

“He’s the one, isn’t he? Your other half. When you meet the other half of your soul, the one you are meant to be with your soul instinctively knows it. And no matter how hard you try to deny it you can’t.”

She reaches up and wipes the tears from my face as tears of her own appear in her eyes.

“You deserve this sweet girl. You’ve never had it easy. You’ve been through so much in your short life. We love you like you are our own, I hope you know that. Kayla, if this, if he makes you happy, grab onto him honey with both hands and don’t let go. It may not always be easy, but if it’s real it will be worth it.”

Sitting up I throw both of my arms around her neck and hug her to me. “Thank you, Lisa. I love you too.”

She releases me and stands up. I lay back down, clinging to my letter. She pulls my covers over me and gently strokes my hair.

“Get some sleep sweet girl. Good night.”

“Good night, Lisa.” She turns off the lamp that is on my bedside table, then turns and leaves my room to walk into Tessa’s. I hope I will one day be half the mother that she is.