The Unexpected Twist, Marline [e book reader pc .TXT] 📗

trailed off.
“Shhh,” Liam comforted me. “I know it’s hard to believe.” He wrapped his arms around me in a strong and safe embrace.
“Claire,” Liam pushed me away a bit so he could look at me. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” The love and concern in his eyes were so intense that it almost made me cry and forget about the tragedy that had just happened.
“But Stan.. he, he wouldn’t.” I told Liam.
“But he has.” Liam said gently. “He escaped from jail this morning and the knife which he murdered Lisa with has his fingerprints on it.”
“No.” I suddenly said firmly, and I had no idea where I got this determination from. I didn’t even know why I was protecting Stan. “Stan wouldn’t do this.” I placed my hands on my hips and stared at Liam, daring him to disagree with me.
Liam looked at me and his expression was a mixture of confusion, curiosity and exasperation.
“How do you know?”
“I… I don’t know.” I dropped my hands and the certainty I had felt seconds ago disappeared. I had no idea how I knew. I didn’t know Stan well and certainly after he had raped Cam and almost raped me I shouldn’t have been surprised at this news but somehow, this was bad. Even for Stan.
“Come on,” Liam placed his hand on my back and softly pushed me towards the exit. “I’ll take you home.” I nodded, too shocked to remember to tell Cam that I was leaving.
“You might want to tell Cameron that you’re leaving.” Liam said, “or else she’ll be worried.” I nodded and followed his advice, telling Cam that I didn’t feel well and that Liam was taking me home. She wanted to come home with me and make sure I was all right but I told her that Liam would be with me and she let us go without any further questioning. No doubt did she think we were running off together to some romantic place. How I wished that was the case.

We got to Liam’s car and, like a true gentleman, he opened the door for me. I got in the car and waited for him to get in on the other side. I had never ridden in his car till now and I leaned back against the seat, closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. I opened them a few seconds later when I realized that Liam had still not gotten in the car. I checked the mirrors, if I could see him and found out that he stood behind the car. I opened the car door, got out and walked up to Liam. The moment he heard the car door, I saw him put something away.
“Liam, what’s wrong?” I asked, when I saw the expression on his face which he was desperately trying to cover with a neutral one.
“Nothing,” he smiled, “get back in the car and I’ll take you home.”
“Liam,” I demanded, “tell me what’s wrong.”
“There’s nothing wrong.” Liam suddenly said. “There’s only something right.” He lowered his tone. “You look so beautiful tonight.” Then, he took a step towards me and closed the distance between us. He placed both hands on the sides of my face and lowered his lips to mine. His kiss was harsh and demanding and though at first I tried fighting it, I soon surrendered to his touch. Our lips fit together so perfectly that I forgot everything around me and only wanted him to pull me closer. His arms slid around my waist and pulled me so close to him that I could feel his heartbeat. When we finally pulled apart I was breathless. I stood there in front of him and he placed one hand on my cheek again.
“I will never let anyone hurt you.” He told me and there was so much intensity and determination in his voice and eyes that I thought I might faint. At that moment I remembered that there was something Liam was not telling me.
“Liam, what do you know that I don’t?” I asked, and it pained me to be the one ruining the romantic atmosphere.
Liam took a deep breath. “You don’t give up, do you?” He asked, with a small smile, though I could tell he was not finding any of this funny. I didn’t answer him, just waited for him to tell me what was going on.
Liam sighed and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to me and when I opened it and read the writing, I put a hand in front of my mouth to stop myself from screaming. There, in bright red letters, the color of blood, were the most frightening words I had ever read. You and your girlfriend are next.


Chapter 10

Liam checked the trunk and the backseat and then, like a true gentleman, escorted me to the passenger seat. He opened the door for me and I slipped in the car without saying a word. It was only seconds before Liam got in the car beside me but it felt like hours and I was shaking with fear. When Stan, and Liam, had nearly raped me I had been scared for my virginity but now I was scared for my life. And Liam’s life. When Liam got in the car I released my breath which I did not know I was holding and Liam took my hand.
“It’s all going to be ok, Claire.” He said, and his words soothed me.

We rode straight to the police station and once there Liam handed the paper to the police and explained everything to them. I sat on a chair and stared blankly at the wall. Why was this happening to us? Why did Stan hate us so much? At the same time, I still had the nagging feeling that it wasn’t Stan doing all these things, though all the signs pointed to him. I didn’t even notice when Liam came in to the waiting room.
“Where’s the girl who charged straight to the hiding place of a bunch of rapists?” He teased, trying to lighten the mood. I smiled wryly.
“She disappeared when she,” I glanced up at him, “and the guy she loves, received a death threat.”
Liam sat down in the chair next to me and took both of my hands in his.
“The police will take care of things. They’ll track him down. In the meantime, we are going on a little trip.”
I looked at him, confused.
“A trip?” I asked. “Where to? Why?”
“The police think it’s better if we lay low for a while. They have a cottage for people like us, up in the hills. I hear it’s beautiful there.”
“Who else is going?” I asked.
“Just the two of us.” Liam replied and I could see a mischievous glint in his eyes. Even though the situation was serious, I felt my enthusiasm growing too. Liam and I were going to some cottage in the mountains together.
“What about our parents? And I need to go home to get my stuff.”
“Our parents have already been informed and the cottage is stocked with whatever we need. It has clothes in all sizes, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, food… These people do this stuff all the time. Hey,” He leaned forwards and gently placed his lips on mine, “this can’t be so bad.”
I smiled. “You’re right,” I said, and abruptly leaned forwards and gave him a tight hug.

“Are you ready?” A policeman walked into the waiting room. Liam nodded and took my hand. We followed the policeman out to a police car with blinded windows and I felt like a criminal. At the same time, the excitement I felt earlier returned. The policeman opened the door for us but just before I got in the car I grabbed Liam’s arm.
“What about Cam?” I asked and alarm coursed through me. How could I have forgotten my best friend?
“Is she safe?”
“We have already sent some body guards to her house who will stay there until we have caught Stan. For now, our main priority is keeping you two safe.” The policeman replied in a business-like tone. My eyes flashed from the policeman’s to Liam’s and it wasn’t until Liam nodded at me encouragingly that I got in the car.

The car ride was long and slow as the roads spiraled up into the mountains. I didn’t care though because Liam had his arm around me and my head was resting on his shoulder. Halfway through the car ride I fell asleep and I didn’t wake up until we arrived at a little cottage, high up in the mountains, on a deserted road. I got out of the car and stretched, my body stiff and sore from sitting so long. It was at that point that I realized that we were all alone. There was not a house in sight; there were only mountains everywhere. It was a lot colder here than it had been down at the police station and I took a deep breath of clean mountain air. Liam was talking to the policeman again and momentarily felt like a little girl, everything was being organized for me and I was standing around helplessly. The wind helped clear my mind and reminded me of the fact that I had to stop being so fussy and dependent on everyone around me. I walked up to Liam and the policeman and stood next to them. They abruptly stopped talking and glanced over at me. I frowned and turned around, ready to stalk off angrily, but Liam called me back.
“Claire, we don’t want to scare you.” He said gently. I spun around and looked at them with annoyance.
“I think I’ll be even more scared if I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I was just telling Liam what do in case of an emergency.” The policeman told me and I could see that he thought I was being childish. I couldn’t disagree with him, I was being childish. But I still couldn’t stop myself.
“Well, what if something happens to him? Then shouldn’t I know what to do as well?” I asked defiantly.
Liam sighed and I could sense annoyance in his voice when he said: “Come on Claire, let’s go inside and I’ll tell you what to do in case of an emergency.” He steered me to the house but I caught the apologetic look he sent to the policeman. What was my problem? Why was I acting this way? But I already knew the answer: I was terrified. I was scared of something happening to Liam and all the horror movie scenes I had ever seen were flashing through my mind again. Creaky doors and dead people in the basement or under the floorboards… I shivered.

The inside of the cottage was simple but beautiful, there was an open fireplace with a stock of wood beside it and a couch, two armchairs, a tea table and a rug made for a cozy living room.
“Sit down and I’ll make you some tea.” Liam said and I could still sense an undertone of annoyance in his voice which he was attempting to cover up by gentleness. He was trying to understand why I was acting so strangely.
“But I--“ I sputtered.
“Sit.” Liam said sternly and the exasperation in his eyes annoyed me. I begrudgingly sat down in one of the armchairs and stared at the empty fireplace. It was at that point that I realized that this whole situation