| "Pacey!" "What the hell is going on in here?" A loud voice boomed from the doorway, and both he and Andie turned around to find Ralston Mackey standing before them. He stormed into the room, and straight up to Pacey. "What are you doing in my home again? I thought my wife made it clear that we didn't want you here." "You don't deserve her as a wife!" Pacey shouted. "No? And who does, pipsqueak. You?" He laughed. Standing to his full height, Pacey was 6"2, but Ralston Mackey still towered over him. "You can't treat her like this." "She is my wife, and I can treat her any way I like!" "Your money and your power can't buy you everything. There is a limit, and the powers stop here." Ralston stepped forward and took a swing at him. Pacey ducked out of the way, and only managed to catch an air of the blow to his cheek. He immediately backed off, and began walking away. He caught Andie's eye, and saw her clutching Mera to her chest. He didn't want to leave her a second time, but he didn't want to wind Ralston up further. And if what Andie said was true, about Ralston not only having friends on the force, but also being an officer himself - he knew this town had no kind of support to offer Andie and her child. He would have to devise some sort of plan to get her and Mera out, and take them back to Capeside, where they would be protected. And that would take planning. He turned back to face Ralston and Andie, and slowly made his way from the room. Once he reached the hallway, he began to run. He could hear Ralston calling after him, "That's right, run you little poof!" Then to Andie, "look at your protector now." He kept running until he was well down the road, and was sure that nobody had followed him. As he'd planned, he made his way into town, and hailed a taxi back to the Bed and Breakfast. He immediately checked for messages, but found none waiting. He sprinted downstairs for a brief meal, and then back up to do some planning. It was already well into the night when he had devised his plan. He'd called the airport, and had a booking the next day for a flight to Capeside, for two adults, and a child under five. He would go to bed early that night, leaving the ringer on this phone on high incase she called. He would wake up relatively early tomorrow morning, having packed all his stuff the night before. He wasn't sure of Ralston's hours, but he knew that shortly before lunch was a safe bet. He would go and make Andie and Mera come with him. They would take a cab back into town, straight to the airport, where they would board the plane and take off. Hopefully before Ralston could become privy to it, so their trail would already be cold by the time he discovered what was going on. It was later that night, once his things were neatly packed and waiting by the door, that Pacey was hounded by the reality of what Andie's life must have been like before he came. She had referred to the "first time" as a long time ago, so he could only guess how long she'd been taking the hits from this man who called himself her husband. It made him want to cry, and although a manly man, he wasn't afraid to shed a tear for her. He had taken years of physical and emotional abuse from his father before standing up to him. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like for Andie, who - although strong minded - had gone through so much in her young life, and had been weakened by so many things. He should never have let her go, he knew that was the bottom line. Even after she hurt him so badly, he still did love her so much, and he should have been able to see past his foolish pride, and work things out. She had tried, but he had remained the brick wall, unwilling to budge. So things had ended up this way. Running back to Providence, where she was practically kept and treated like a caged animal. But he would take her home where she belonged tomorrow. He would be able to protect her and her child, and be sure to never let her go again. He would work to regain her trust, and maybe even love again. But he was sure about one thing, he wasn't leaving that house without her. * * * It was the phone that startled him awake the next morning. He thought it was the alarm clock, and still half asleep, he attempted to find it and bring silence. When he realized it was his phone, he threw himself out of bed, and stumbled across the room to grab it. Placing the receiver to his ear, he heard only one word. "Pacey�" And then the line went dead. A shiver ran through his spine, as Andie's voice registered in his mind. He glanced up at the clock as he hastily threw his clothes. It was already 8 a.m. He stopped briefly to pick up his bag at the door, and then headed down the stairs and out the front door where he caught a waiting cab. The cab just couldn't seem to move fast enough through the morning rush, and he found himself very testy with the driver. They finally turned onto the adjoining street to Andie's, and the cabby turned to him. "This is it." "No it isn't," Pacey replied. "It's still down a block." The cabby shook his head. "Nah, there's construction over that way, this is as far as I can go." |
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