Chapter 13

After having Brad"s threats echoing through my ears and mind for the past week, I feel a strange emotion come over me. It"s past panic. Beyond fear. It"s like my body has taken over from my brain and decided to put as much distance between us no matter what.

My heart pounds, arms, legs and lungs pumping as I make my way through the forest. There was a bit of a trail off that side street at the beginning – a little path that locals probably use for a short stroll on their lunch breaks. Once that disappeared, it became much more difficult, but my legs refuse to slow down.

Hopping over the smaller branches is relatively easy, even though I wobble on my left ankle a few times. But leaping over large logs becomes more and more challenging. I keep trying to keep my sense of direction, hoping that I didn"t get mixed up during the relatively short drive from Jace"s house to the library.

If I"m able to find a well-maintained path, there"s a very good chance that it"s Maple Trail, which I should be able to follow back to the trailhead. I"m not one hundred percent sure I can find Jace"s house from there, but I have to try. At the very least I should be able to see the top of the mountain from there, and gauge direction and distance a little better.

My hands keep alternating between clenching into fists and fanning my fingers out for fear I"m going to fall on my face. Normally I"d be admiring the lush greenery all around me, but with my pulse hammering in my ears and my knees wobbling, it"s all I can do to stay upright and keep my line of vision locked ten feet in front of me.

It"s hard to keep track of time, but eventually I find a trail. It"s not at all well maintained, but at least it"s a path that goes vaguely in the direction I want. I think.

A small break in the trees shows thick, ominous clouds gathering. Even though my breath is getting labored, I fight to keep going and keep up a medium jog. My muscles are starting to ache, and eventually I"m forced to slow my pace a bit. A tiny part of my mind is desperately trying to calculate how long it would take to jog a distance that took us around fifteen minutes to drive, but that was on roads and my feet are moving through leaves and brush and I"m too tired and frazzled.

I hope Jace isn"t angry with me. I know he"s going to worry. And he"s going to wonder why I didn"t ask him for help.

Tears fill my eyes as I realize I made a really stupid decision. I"m just not at all used to having anyone to rely on. My instinct to take off at top speed kicked in before I remembered that I have help now. Back up. A partner.

No. It"s way too early to think like that. Even though it feels right, it would be foolish to trust someone completely when I have only known them a handful of days, even though I want to believe in us, so much.

Maybe it"s just my string of bad luck talking, but no… I really feel like Jace is the one. I"ve never felt such electricity when someone touched me. Never had someone listen to me with such intensity.

And now I"ve gone and shown him that I don"t really trust him. Terrific.

How will he ever forgive me when my gut instinct was to run away from him instead of asking for his help? That"s not what a proper girlfriend does.

My cheeks are wet, even though the rain hasn"t started quite yet, and a damp chill is settling into the breeze angling through the trees.

I need to get a sense of where I am before the rain kicks in. Through my tears, I search for a place to get a little more height. I notice a slight cliff wall with a clearing at the top, so I begin to climb. There seem to be a lot of jutting rocks for handholds, so it shouldn"t be too hard?—

Wait. I"m not thinking clearly. How do I know I"m doing the right thing? Although… I"d rather face a bobcat or a storm than have Brad yell at me. Or do whatever else he might do to get that information.

It was clear from the deliberate non-expression on Jace"s tight face as he read those emails that Brad was threatening some extremely unpleasant things. I know for sure he"s the kind of guy to follow through, too, which scares me to the bone.

What am I doing? I have no experience dealing with this sort of thing. I"m just a bookworm art lover who wants to connect people with art they love. How am I supposed to face someone like Brad?

I can"t think. Just have to pick a direction, hope it"s the right one, and go.

Getting to Jace"s house is the only thing I should worry about right now.

Unless, of course, Brad is following me.