The Ghost of You

After some days had passed, I began to look forward to returning to my hometown rather than fear it. There was a lot of heartache for me in Dawsonville, and I didn't think I'll ever be willing to visit again, but some part of me was curious to see if things have improved. Fortunately, my father and brother now reside on a different continent, so I felt comfortable going back to Dawsonville.

As I was gathering my clothes and placed it in neat piles on my bed, I received a picture of Zander on his flight, first class as expected, smiling with a thumbs up. "Text me when you and Bella are safe," he texted with a yellow heart.

I hastily packed my brown leather bag with my essentials and printed out my previously purchased plane tickets. After locking the house, I quickly made my way to Bella's apartment. She was already standing in the driveway, her hair complementing her bright pink luggage. Leaning out of my car's window, I grinned, "Ready to go?"

"Dude, I have no idea what's in Dawsonville, but we better have the time of our lives," she chuckled as she shut the boot.

As Bella entered the passenger side, I turned on the ignition again and reversed out. "The town is nothing glamorous, but I'd love to show you my hometown."

We boarded the plane and took off for Winston, the main city, which was only a short distance from Dawsonville. The flight was lengthy, and Bella and I were met by the city lights outside the airport when we finally landed in Winston. I've always wanted to relocate from Dawsonville to Winston because I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city, but I had to move further away in order to get away from my father.

Though we were tired and jet lagged, we took it upon ourselves to make it to Winston by hiring a car from a rental company. As we hit the road we passed through a wooded area and the city lights soon disappeared behind us. Bella adjusted her seat with a worried look on her face. "Are you sure we should drive now?" she asked. It was a bit unexpected for Bella to ask something like that. She never really mind taking risks or worried about anything too daring. "This road has no streetlights and the fog isn't helping..." she added while looking uneasy.

"We're almost there, Bella, just calm down, I got this," I reassured her. I knew I wasn't the best driver, but I'd driven this road many times in the past with my mother.

Bella tried to nod off as I raised the music volume slightly. A little bit of mental wandering had set in. My mind went straight to Jameson. When he was in Winston and I was in Dawsonville, this was the route we took to visit each other. Just thinking about him gave me the chills; he was familiar with every aspect of my life, including the scars I haven't shown Bella or Zander.

My eyes were fixed on the road as I occasionally looked over at Bella. She wasn't completely asleep just yet as she had a tight grip on her pillow she brought with her. The fog was getting worse and I turned on the fog lights of the car with the headlights, but that is when I saw something on the road. A figure of some kind. I shook my head and rubbed my one eye and the figure disappeared. I let out a sigh of relief and glanced over to Bella. When I fixed my eyes back on the road the figure was in front of the car. It was Jameson. "Get out of the way!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I swerved out onto the gravel.

"Devon watch out!" Bella yelled. I completely lost control of the car and all I could do was close my eyes as the car rolled faster down the gravel and eventually crashed into an old oak tree.

The music was still blasting through the speakers and Bella frantically pulled out the whole radio. "Fuck my leg!" I yelped. I was unable to move my leg and my hip was in agony.

Bella promptly rushed around the car and forced my door open, luckily having no physical harm. She was petite, but she gained strength from the adrenaline rush, and she could easily lift me out of the car. I was positioned next to a rock as I cried out in distress. She hurried back to the car to gather our possessions, saying hastily, "It's going to be okay, Dev!" The car burst into flames before she could get to it, sending a heat wave our way that burned our faces. She yelled, "Fuck!"

We had nothing now. Our cell phones were in there and there was no way to find help. "I'm so sorry, Bella!" I cried hysterically. "I-I saw someone- Jameson-" I tried to let out.

"Dev, calm down, crying will not make this situation any better now," she sternly said out of fear. We were two girls in the middle of an unlit road and it was fair to say that we were terrified.

After Bella had been staring at my leg for a while, a red truck drove onto the gravel. Bella was terrified, but she got to her feet in front of me and shielded me. A man climbed out of the truck with a worried expression on his face. He was tall and muscular, and his arms and neck were covered in tattoos. He jogged over to us while sporting a crimson flannel and some torn-up jeans.

"Stay right there!" Bella yelled as she pulled out a can of pepper spray. "I have pepper spray and I'm not afraid to use it!" she said in a weak voice, giving away the fact that she was indeed scared.

"I promise I come in peace," the man said in a strong French accent as he lifted his hands up. "I just want to help. This isn't a safe place," he added in a sincere tone of voice. Though his accent was prominent, he knew English very well.

"How can we know if you can be trusted?" she asked as she still held up her pepper spray with her shaky hand.

The man pulled out his wallet from his jeans and scavenged through all of his cards. He took out two cards; his ID and another card I couldn't recognise from afar. Bella investigated the cards thoroughly and looked him up and down. "You are part of the French Secret Service?" she asked in a shaky voice as she placed the pepper spray back into her pocket.

"Winston Medical Centre isn't far from here, let me take you guys," he insisted.

Bella looked over at me and then back at the man. "Fine," she breathed. "But I'm going to be so pissed off if we get murdered tonight," she growled as she walked over to me and lifted me again.

The drive to the medical centre was about ten minutes. Bella used the man's cell phone to contact Zander but to no answer. "Fuck, does anyone know what the time is now in Paris?" Bella asked in annoyance.

"It should be about two in the morning over there," the man replied as he checked his watch on his wrist.

"Considering your accent, I'm assuming you're from there?" Bella asked as she tried calling Zander again.

"Oui, oui," he grinned as he pulled into the emergency centre's drop-off. "You are American I presume?" he asked as he climbed out of his car.

"Born and raised Italian, bitch," she smirked. "Only moved to Aluna Island when I was a teenager," she added.

"Okay, can you two stop and get me out of this fucking truck," I huffed as I lifted my arms for Bella to pick me up again.