Alrighty, I had fun writing this chapter.
Chapter 3~
Danielle stumbled back another step. This man—or whatever he was--- couldn’t be Ace. But it was. Danielle knew it, heart and soul, that this was the dog that she thought she had known. Taking a deep breath, she took a tentative step forward.
“A-Ace? What is going on here?”
The man looked up at her from under a lock of his tawny hair. “It’s Aaron,” he repeated, muttering a curse. “You shouldn’t have found out this way,” he said, almost seeming as if he was talking to himself.
“W-what’s going on here, Ace—Aaron,” she corrected herself. The man slowly stood up from the crouch he was in.
“You shouldn’t have been brought into this,” he said, baring his teeth in what resembled an apologetic smile. “You didn’t have to be brought into this—Danielle, I’m sorry.” He reached out as is to hold her close, or caress her.
“No!” Danielle stumbled back, turning around to look for an escape. This wasn’t happening. Dogs don’t just magically turn into men… right? As she looked wildly around, she heard Aaron coming up behind her.
“Get away from me!” She yelled, knowing it sounded more like a shriek than a sane command. She paused, hearing the footsteps falter. Then begin again.
“Danielle, please don’t do this.” The pleading voice was right behind her ear. “You don’t have to be scared.” Danielle’s pulse kicked into overdrive, spurring her legs forward. Not uttering another sound, she sped off, dodging trees, bushed and all manner of debris. Lord help her, she just wanted get her away from that man. She only paused when she was out of the forest, panting hard. She must have looked like a wreck, because James came over. He had waited for her.
“Danielle, what the heck?” He asked, coming over to her. Danielle flinched from his touch, and looked up at James.
“Please James, you have to understand,” she paused, hearing the crackling of undergrowth. “Oh God!” Danielle whispered, looking in terror at the trees.
“Danielle, it’s only your dog.” Came James’s logical voice. But what had just happened was anything but logical.
“No,” said Danielle softly, reluctantly tearing away from James’s steady comfort. Picking up speed again, she ran all the way back to her house. She slammed the front door, leaning against it and letting out a moan. Sliding down into a sitting position, he buried her head into her arms. What just happened back there? Was she going insane? Sighing, Danielle got up and attempted to think rationally. First things first, no way was that psycho getting back into her house. Making a secure but fast sweep of her household, Danielle locked every door, window and means of entry.
Next, she needed to get away herself. Aaron most likely could remember her address, and it wouldn’t do anything to help if he was just waiting to spring as soon as she left her front door. She couldn’t hide forever, and Danielle knew she had to leave soon—better safe than sorry. Rapidly, Danielle scanned her mental list of close friends who lived far away. Traci! She scrambled to the phone. Danielle dialed her friend’s number. Tapping her fingers anxiously on the counter, she listening to it ring one, twice, three times….
“Hello?” Traci’s voice came onto the other end. “Danielle, is that you? My God, I haven’t heard from you in foreve—“
“Traci, we need to talk.” Danielle cringed at how grim her voice sound. Traci quieted immediately.
“Yeah, what do you need, Danielle?”
Danielle took a steadying sigh. “Well… I’ve come across some… uh… trouble here, and I was wondering…”
Traci cut her off. “You’re always welcome here, sweetie! Just go pack your bags and I’ll get the house ready for you.” Danielle let out a pent-up sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Traci… I have no idea what I would do without you.” Sighing again, Danielle hung up the phone and went to pack her bags.
When she was all finished, Danielle gathered up her golden-blonde hair into a long ponytail, and then looked at her reflection in the mirror. Those green eyes and pale face looked so normal… But Danielle had a feeling that thing were only just getting to be absurd. Shaking her head, she finished up her ponytail and gave it a quick sprits of hairspray. As she gathered up her belongings—a small duffel bag, a pillow, a blanket and her purse—she hopped into her Sequoia and started the engine.
It hummed for a minute, then stopped. Danielle looked around in a panic, half-expecting to find Aaron leaning against the open garage wall. He wasn’t. Trying again, the engine started. In a flurry, Danielle drove the Sequoia onto the street and eased back onto Walsh Avenue, where she had been just yesterday. That time had seemed so long ago, when her life had been relatively normal. Now, in just a couple of hours, he life had turned upside down. Maybe she was going insane. But she could leave that all behind now, wait for things to calm down while she was at Traci’s. But deep down, Danielle knew that wherever she was, Aaron would find her.
Normal User
Normal User
Normal User