Patiently I Wait (8 page)

“We could go back to your house and leave from there!” Shannon said, almost as if Megan should have been the first to think that.

“Well, there lies another problem. That house isn’t mine Shannon.”

“Well, if it isn’t yours, whose is it? Also, where do you live if that isn’t your house,” Megan asked, confused about the situation even more now.

“It’s Julie’s house. Her parents bought it for her before they moved away to Australia. I live here, with Dan. We acted like that was my house so we could set everything up in terms of the plan we had all worked out.”

Shannon was stunned at just how deep they were in this elaborate plan. They were never going to go to Julie’s parents house on Christmas Day. Julie’s parents were not even in Michigan anymore. Julie had led her straight to the place that would forever change her life. Julie made it seem as if Megan was the one with all of the money and benefits of having an amazing home. This plan was well thought out, mainly by Dan, Shannon presumed.

“How long have you been working this plan out Megan?” Shannon asked, pausing her train of thought momentarily.

“For a couple of years now honestly. Since you broke up with Dan, Julie and I both wanted to help him get back at you. She always liked him and he was my brother, so we started conspiring from there. I am completely done with it now though after getting to know you and falling in love with you. At the time, I didn’t like the person Dan told me you were, but I love the person you actually are. I can see he was hurt by you, but it couldn’t have been intentional. You are the sweetest, most caring person I have ever met.”

Shannon gave Megan a smile, even though the situation wasn’t a happy one in the least bit.

“Okay Megan, we have got to get out of here, we will talk more once we are away from this place.”

“Sounds like a plan babe. I’ll tell Dan I am going to the car to get something, and you will have to follow me when there is a chance. I will leave the door open behind me. Once we get out, run for the woods behind the house and we will make our way to the town from here. I’m going to grab my coat from the car while I’m out there and we will have to switch off wearing it to stay warm.”

“Alright Megan, sounds like a plan to me. Try to time it well so I have enough time to get out with you.”

Megan nodded as if to say not to worry. “I got it babe, I won’t let him hurt you.”

She walked out of the door and left it cracked so Shannon could hear everything in the living room. She heard Dan talking with her, telling her that she did a great job and that everything was going to be perfect from this moment on. Megan agreed with him, playing along for the time being. Shannon heard Megan asking questions, trying to get Dan to leave the room by subtly giving hints as to why he should.

“Are you hanging Dan?” she asked first.

He replied quickly, almost as if he knew what was going on. “No, I’m good for now.”

Of course he had know way of knowing what the girls were scheming, but he wasn’t budging from his post just outside the room with Shannon inside.

“Well, I am thinking about getting a shower really quick, do you want to get one before or after me?” she asked, as if she was giving him an option. Shannon was surprised when it worked like a charm.

“I’ll get one first because you always take all the damn hot water!” Dan said, chuckling at his sister. “Don’t leave this room though, just in case she tries to leave.”

Megan laughed back at him, “Aye aye Captain, I will stand guard until you come back.”

Shannon heard footsteps throughout the house as Dan walked back into another room, most likely where the shower was located. She heard water turn on as the pipes ran through her room as well. It was quite loud, giving her the green light to get out of the house. Just as she was walking to the door to peak out, it swung open, startling her and sending her falling backwards onto the ground.

Megan laughed and said, “let’s go angel, we don’t have long!”

Shannon got up, breathing heavily, grabbed Megan’s hand as they rushed towards the door.

They headed to the car and opened it up, looking for anything they could use on the long walk ahead of him.

“Wait Megan, why don’t we just take the car? He wouldn’t know until he got out that we were gone.”

Shannon had a good point, but Megan had a better one.

“He has a GPS unit attached to it. We may get away quicker, but he would come find us.”

Shannon thought for a second and then realized something that the two girls hadn’t thought of yet. She had a car in the city that they could get in, after dropping this one off.

Megan had a come back for that plan too that scared Shannon badly.

“He has a GPS in your car too Shannon. We are going to have to do everything on foot and quietly. Hurry up, grab the gun under the seat!”

“Gun? Why do we need a gun?” Shannon asked, scared more than ever now.

“Well, there are two reasons. We never know when it might come in handy. Secondly, if we have it, Dan doesn’t.”

Megan had an extremely valid point. Shannon didn’t want Dan, angry at them both, to come storming through the woods with a loaded gun. It was better if they had it for protection from him or anyone else they might come into contact with. Shannon pulled the gun and holster out from under the seat and strapped it around her waist quickly, adrenaline pumping through her veins more than ever now.

“Let’s go Shannon,” said Megan, throwing her coat around her body and pointing into the woods behind the house.

Shannon stared into the darkness and then looked at Megan. She was scared, but knew she didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. She nodded her head, pointed at the woods herself, and started jogging toward them. It was going to be a long haul, but the girls weren’t going to stick around any longer than necessary. They headed into the night, ready to make their way home.

As they were getting farther from the house, they slowed down a bit. Dan wouldn’t be able to track them anymore as they had went a good distance. There were woods all around the cabin and he wouldn’t have a clue which way they went, especially in the dark. He couldn’t hear them anymore either, giving them a sense of relief.

“Okay Megan, we have to think a little more about the long term now. We are safe for now, but where are we going to go after this?”

The girls didn’t have any money because Shannon’s wallet was in Julie’s house and Megan, not thinking about money, left her money back at the cabin.

“We are going to have to start a new life together Shannon. I know you have a life back home, but Dan and Julie know where you live, sleep, and eat. They know where you go to school, and everything else about you. They will come after you there baby. We are going to have to go far away, and start over.”

“I know Megan, I know,” Shannon said as tears came to her eyes. “I have so much back home; it’s going to be hard to leave it all and start from scratch.”

Megan nodded her head, knowing that Shannon was having a tough time. “I am doing the same Shannon, and better yet, we are doing it together. I will stay by your side forever and help you through anything you face. We will face life together from now on.”

Shannon stopped and hugged Megan, letting go only to give her a deep kiss on the lips.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Megan whispered.

“Is there any way to get into Julie’s house without her knowing?” Shannon asked, needing to get her purse back so they could have some money for the time being.

“That’s not going to be easy whatsoever. You can see people coming from a mile away there, and I’m sure she will be on the lookout. We could wait until she left and then find a way in afterward,” Megan said, thinking out loud basically.

“How do you know she will leave?” Shannon asked.

“She will go to Dan, and they will come looking for us together. That is how I know,” Megan said.

“Well, let’s get there then, and wait until she leaves,” said Shannon, trying to keep Megan’s spirits up as much as possible.

Megan knew what Julie and Dan were capable of and didn’t want any part of it anymore. She knew they wouldn’t sleep until they found them, and hurt them… badly. She knew they would have to get somewhere that they couldn’t be found, change their names, and start fresh or they would be found. She was so sorry she had helped plan all of this, and couldn’t forgive herself. She knew the only way to make up for what she did at all was to keep Shannon safe for the rest of her life, and make sure the plan in which she helped with, never worked.

“Would they hurt anyone else to get to me?” Shannon asked abruptly, thinking of all the possible repercussions of them leaving.

“I don’t think so Shannon. They aren’t going to risk getting caught. They wouldn’t do that if they don’t know where we are at the moment for the risk of us turning them in. Right now, we can’t prove they are after us so they won’t slip up and get themselves caught without finding us first.”

Well, that was good news at least thought Shannon. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. She could leave all her worries behind and start a fresh new life with Megan. Then, something popped into Shannon’s head that terrified her, and saddened her deeply. She could never see her family again, or her friends back home. She couldn’t risk going back to them, or contacting them and giving up where she was. There was no telling if Julie and Dan could find them that way, but it was a risk they couldn’t take. She started to cry, heavily, and Megan looked at her as if she knew what she was thinking.

“It’s going to be okay Shannon. It will all work out in the end angel.”

Shannon shook her head, knelt down, and cried harder. She didn’t want to lose everything, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. She would never see her friends from school again. She would never see her family again either. She would never be able to explain what happened while she was here. They would think she either ran away or something happened to her. It was the worst feeling in the world to know they would worry for the rest of their lives. As she was finally ready to move forward again, she opened her eyes and looked up at Megan.

“Let’s go Megan, I’m sorry,” she said as she began to stand up.

“It’s okay love, this is rough. It’s going to be hard for a long time but we will….”

Megan stopped herself, and crouched down, pulling Shannon with her. Shannon started to speak but Megan covered her mouth quickly, shaking her head, telling her not to say a word.

“Get on the ground Shannon, and don’t move,” she whispered. “Someone is right in front of us and coming this way.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN: RUNNING OUT OF TIME

The girls had no idea what to do next. They were face down in the leaves, trying to remain as calm as possible, watching a flashlight bounce up and down in front of them. They couldn’t run, the person was closing in and would see them move. Their only chance was to wait it out and see if maybe they would go unnoticed. It was an unlikely chance, but all they had to go on at the moment. The girls held their breath and tightened all their muscles as the person neared them. How did Dan and Julie find them already? How on Earth did they know which way they were heading and cut them off? All of these questions were running through the minds of the girls as the flashlight stopped on Shannon, illuminating her entire body to the flashing wielding maniac. She thought about running, but didn’t want to get hurt either. She was thinking of all the possibilities when a question was directed toward her.

“Ma’am, why are you laying in the leaves?”

It was a young boy, no more than ten years old standing there in a winter coat and faded blue jeans, pointing the flash light directly at Shannon.

Both Shannon and Megan took a big sigh of relief almost simultaneously as they realized they weren’t in any danger for the time being.

The boy hadn’t noticed Megan until she went to stand up, startling him and forcing him to stumble backwards.

“I’m sorry young man; I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, snickering at his reaction.

“What are you two doing out here in the middle of the night?” the boy asked. “It’s freezing cold and pitch black,” the boy said, confused as to why the girls had been laying on the ground in the middle of the woods.

“Well,” said Shannon. “We are playing hide and seek with a couple of people and it’s our turn to hide.”

Of course she couldn’t tell the boy exactly what was going on so that excuse was going to have to do for now. She didn’t want to frighten him, or possibly have him go back and tell someone that they were there.  They got up, dusted off their clothes and told the boy that if he saw anyone, to tell them they were still hiding. He agreed, ecstatic to be a part of the game as well. The boy headed back in the direction he came from and the girls went on their way, looking to get out of the woods.

The girls knew that the house where the little boy lived must be close to other homes and decided to start moving in the same direction he headed. They messed around for a few minutes, letting him get far enough ahead to not know they were following him. He might not understand and try to run if he saw them tailing him from a distance. They were careful to use trees as cover in case he turned around suddenly from the noise of them traveling through the woods.

After about fifteen minutes, a small house appeared in the distance, lighting up a section of woods ahead of them. The boy had already gone inside as the girls could see him talking with what looked like his mother through the window. They were in the kitchen as the boy explained his journey to his mother, hopefully leaving out the detail about the girls playing hide and seek with him. They didn’t want anyone getting suspicious and setting out to look for them. Also, Dan had a police scanner installed in his car and would be listening in to local authorities in case they got any calls. This worried Megan and Shannon far more than the authorities coming after them. They had done nothing illegal besides possibly crossing over some areas of property they weren’t welcome on in the first place. Other than that, they hadn’t done a thing wrong in the law’s eyes. The unnecessary attention that could possible alert Dan and Julie to them was what they feared.