Yo! How are you all doing?

Okay, so it may seem like another late update but trust me this is way earlier than I had planned.

Anyway, so like I mentioned earlier that there are hardly any more chapters left now, so this is where the last arc of the story starts, or as you can say 'the beginning of the ending' (Lol I have always wanted to say that =P)

I will edit any mistakes really soon. I was in a hurry to upload so I probably skipped a lot of them in the terrible proof reading I do.

Keeping that aside, hope you like it.

Enjoy ♥

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I ran but it was too dark to see.

I could sense him behind me, laughing, like this was a little game for him.

He was enjoying my fear as I ran senseless.

My heart ran fast and my legs even faster, but it was useless. I knew it in my bones that I wasn't getting anywhere.

I was trapped in the darkness.

There was no escape.

A hand clutched my wrist from behind, and pulled me behind. I flew back like a rag doll and rammed into something.

"Got you."

I felt a stark, dense fear cloud everything in me as his breath fanned the skin behind my ear. His arms snaked around my waist, pinning me to him.

He took a whiff of my hair. I shuddered.

And then I screamed. For my life.

--Earlier--

"So you missed your practice today?"

Keeping my phone pressed between my shoulder and ear, I combed my bedside table drawer to find my wallet.

"I just didn't kinda feel like going," I answered, pushing aside all the useless crap that was inside the drawer.

"When did you ever?" I could feel Anya smirk even across the phone. I rolled my eyes, but I knew she was right. "I don't get how in the world you plan on playing with the fancy Julliard crowd when you don't even like playing with the school's tiny string quartet."

"Well, Juilliard is a far away dream and lately all I can play is the shower scene from Psycho, so as much as I am always up for public humiliation, I think I am going to skip doing it with people I go to school with." I pulled out the wallet lying underneath the heap of frayed music sheets. A smile automatically appeared as my eyes fell on the photo frame standing on the top of the drawer.

"Oh, pish posh, those are lovely kids we go to school with," she said with a thick but fake Southern accent, much like her mother had.

"Still haven't shed your Texan streak, I see Ms. Conrad." I shut the door of my room after me, and padded down the hallway to the stairs.

"Once a Texan, always a Texan," I heard her giggle she returned back to her usual way of speaking. "So, anyway, you coming over tonight, right?"

"Yep. I will be there by eight max," I spoke, running down the stairs, one at a time. "I am hoping you have taken care of all the supplies, Ms Anya?"

"All set. Sappy movies, trashy magazines, bucket full of gossips, a kitchen full of food to stuff our faces and a list of silly reasons to break into a pillow fight while wearing our sluttiest pajamas shorts," she enumerated as I laughed. "See ya soon, Toto. Have so much to tell you tonight. Bye."

I was still laughing as I shoved the phone back in my pocket, ignoring to counter her about calling me Toto again. I was just glad that we were back to being friends and while there still some weird moments like if one of us brought up Daniel or Emma's name, or the time when we were busy seeing each other as the villain in our lives and then there were the things that we had said to each other. But if we couldn't erase those things which were said and done, we could always pretend that they never happened. Or at least, that was the plan that we were sticking to.

"I don't give a damn if there is no trail left to follow." I immediately sprung to hide behind a wall near the kitchen as I heard my dad yell to someone over the phone.

He sounded furious.

"No, you hear me out, Martinez." My interest piqued tenfold at the mention of Officer Gilbert Martinez, the town sheriff. What was this about? "This man pushed one of my daughters to death and might still be on prowl for my other kid, so I don't care if you have to sift through each and every goddamn corner of this town, I want information on this guy and I want this swine behind the bars in a month's time."

He waited for the reply from the other side and then spoke again, "Send the whole troupe if you have to. Get working or else you know how I am capable of pulling the strings some other way."

If it was one side of my dad that used to terrify me from the start, it was this. The whole lawyer act. The last few words sounded down right threatening with the tone he had opted for. It was low, heavy, and making sure that the words were sharply being drilled in the mind of the other person.

Let alone in the mind, it was sufficiently scary enough to strike a fear of him in the heart of the person.

I pulled my fingers into a fist to calm down the nerves which had gone off all of a sudden. Dad wanted to go after him, after Clay, and one thing I knew, that if was planning to search him out then he eventually going to succeed.

I didn't know how I even felt about it. Up until now, all I knew about him came from Emma. He was just a fear for me, hidden behind a name, but putting an actual face to the fear sounded straight petrifying. I guess my mind refused to acknowledge him as a person, who was defined by other things other than his disgusting motives.

For all I knew, he could be having a meal with his family in his house, somewhere. Or maybe he could be roaming in the streets, looking for some other girl to trap.

Did he go after some other kid after he was done with Em?

The thought ran a shiver down my spine.

It could be possible that he could have. I mean, these kind of psychopaths always have a trail of victims, right?

Oh, god.

It was possible that I could have stopped it. I could have confessed everything at the right time and maybe then he could have been caught, and that could have spared all those lives from having the same fate as Em.

If he had in fact gone after others, then their blood was going to be on my hands. All because of a stupid promise that my fourteen year old self thought was more important than telling the truth.

I felt dizzy as this sick realization hit me.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." My head whipped in the direction of my dad. He had a scowl tugging one side of his lips down, creases of worry on his forehead and a tell-tale sign of severe exhaustion on his features. He looked like he had aged ten years over the course of last two weeks. "I thought you had your violin practice."

"Um, I had something else to do after school and then I had to stop to drop off my books before going to the shrink," I spoke, chewing the inside of my cheeks. He hadn't talked to me much since the day I came clear.

He nodded along with my words. "Right. Alright." He cupped his chin in his hand lightly, looking frazzled. "Okay, so your mom is coming over tomorrow. She thinks it would nice to have a good meal together as a family."

I allowed that to sink in.

Mom wanted to see me, which meant that there might be a chance that she was finally close to forgiving me, because one thing I remembered about my mother was that she never scolded us. Even when we were little dad was had to be the one who would sit both of us down and lecture us about the mistake we had made. He always had to be the one to decide the punishment. Mom could never do it. But as much as the punishments of staying in our room after 5 pm, without any TV or anything, sucked, we hated Mom's even more, the painful silent treatment.

"As a family..." I parroted back the words.

"So, you're on your way to Dr. Fraser's office?"

I nodded. "Yeah, in a while. Just have to stop in at one place, then to her office. And then, oh yeah right, forgot to mention I will be at Anya's house for the night."

It still felt strange to walk around on eggshells with my own father with a constant fear that he might just snap at me at any moment. Although, he had never once actually had done it, the fear still stayed and I guess it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Things had changed and it was better if I got used to them.

"I don't know if I like the idea of you staying away all night long," he spoke as a frown tagged down one edge of his mouth.

"Okay, I won't go then," I said quickly. I was grasping at straws here. Anything I could do to earn even a tiny bit of their trust back, I would do it without a second thought.

"No, you shouldn't cancel," he suggested. "How about you promise me that you won't get out any point in night and that I could call to check up on you every few hours."

I simply nodded with a smile, and I swear I did a happy dance inside when I saw the tiniest smile appear on Dad's features too.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, dad," I said, before turning around to reach for the door.

I was almost out of the threshold when he said, "Hey kiddo?" My head whipped around. "Don't blame yourself about this whole thing, alright? You know feeling guilty won't change anything. What's done is done. And this guy...Clay..." I could tell he felt a repulsion drive in his veins as he said his name. I felt a bitter taste on my tongue too. "We can't change what he's already done but he's not going to do any more damage. Telling us was the right thing to do. Okay?"

I nodded heavily.

"Okay, then, be back soon." He said with a smile, one which he wanted me to see. "I love you. And your mom does too. You know that right?"

I could feel the sting of tears trying to spring in my eyes as I nodded through them. "I know. I love you guys too. And I'm sorry, dad."

The last part was so low that I wasn't sure he had heard me, but the look on his face before smiling and walking back inside the kitchen told me that he had, and that probably he was on his way to forgive me too.

Never in a long time had the streets of my quiet little town seemed so inviting that I could just drive around them all day. Wonders that a happy soul and mind could do.

This was turning out to be a good day.

"Hey, you!" I announced myself coming out of the dense thicket. He was sitting underneath the tree, a book in his hands, his eyes on the pages but they looked up following my voice.

"Hey." He said, with a smile that always triggered a warm, sweet feeling in my chest that I wish I could bottle up somehow.

"Still no intention of leaving?" I asked, sitting beside him. I had called him earlier only to find that he had been here since after school, had missed the entire practice, and still didn't look like he was on his way to get up from the place any time soon.

It's true that you can't know everything about someone all at once. It just simply come along the way in bits and pieces, like how I had recently learnt that when he didn't get his usual two or three hours sleep at night, that is when he usually read the most and he had mentioned that he liked he preferred reading sitting under this tree where he could read straight for hours with no one to interrupt him. No one but me, that is.

"No, I like it here. I am thinking of moving here forever. See, that line?" He pointed to a line drawn on the ground near the swing which we had restored back last week. "Over there is my bedroom. And currently we are sitting in my grand living room."

"Fancy," I said, chuckling as he laced our fingers together and placed his head on my shoulder, eyes shutting close under the weight of his heavy eyelids. The book now lied forgotten on his lap and I soon felt him relax against me. "Didn't get your beauty sleep last night, sleepyhead?"

"No..." he drawled, yawning.

"Aww." He looked adorable when he was sleepy. "You know there's this really cool thing you can do for that. Go home and try to get some sleep now."

"Nah, as soon as I hit the bed, I am wide awake," he said, with another yawn, rubbing his eyes.

"You have to try," I suggested, as he found a new place to rest his head, my lap.

"Come with me then. You know I sleep better when you're around." He said with a huge smile and looking up at me with pleading eyes. "You're like my personal teddy bear."

"I can't. I have a session with my therapist." I ran my fingers slowly through his hair to relax him further, hoping that it would change his mind to go home and catch up on some sleep. "And then I have to be at Anya's."

"Fine, then I am just gonna stay here then," he said, crossing his arms and pouting like a kid.

"Aw, don't be like that," I said. "How about I fulfill my teddy bear duties tomorrow after school?"

He made a thinking face. "And since you're ditching me today, so I get to sleep on your lap?"

I laughed. "Okay. Anything else you want, monsieur?"

"Yes, throw in a lap dance and some whipped cream, and I promise you'll be my favorite teddy bear."

"I am your only teddy bear," I said, tapping his forehead lightly. "How about we just focus on getting you a little bit of sleep tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "Eh, it was worth a shot," he said. "So are we gonna talk about how someone is looking extra happy today or what?"

Now it was my turn to shrug. "It's just a great day. Things falling into place, the weather being perfect. Things like that."

He stared at the sky for a moment before looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "The weather's shit. It's dull and gray and it looks like today's gonna snow again."

"Trying to pull me down with you, grumpy?" I pinched his nose. His eyes narrowed. "Anyway, I like the sky when it's about to snow. And plus, I have a sleepover planned with Anya, so like I said, great day."

"I am glad that you two are friends again."

"Yeah, me too," I said, grinning.

"She told you about Mike yet?"

I frowned. "What about Mike?"

"Mike asked her out yesterday, and she said yes," he said, shrugging like it was nothing.

"What?" I said loudly. "How come you know this and I don't?"

"She's my friend too, you know." I was about to argue further when he added, "But if it makes you feel any better, Mike's the one who told me, not Anya."

"Huh." I thought about it. "So Mike and Anya, huh?"

"It's just a date, but yeah, Mike and Anya..." he trailed off.

"I actually like it! The two of them together." I jumped on my spot, my knees accidentally tapping Daniel on the back of his head. I made a sheepish face. "Yikes, sorry."

Feigning a hard look, he rose up and sat up straight against the tree. "Okay, tomorrow I want you a little less hyper."

"Hey, I am happy, not hyper," I protested.

"Parents finally coming around?" He simply asked.

"Parents finally coming around," I said feeling my insides brimming with joy.

"See, told ya," he bragged, giving my shoulder a nudge.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Daniel you were right. Again. Now get over it."

"Okay," and then his head fell on my shoulder once again.

His hair brushed against my cheeks lightly as he stirred a little, and then became still, and with the way his breathing kept slowing down to an even pace, I knew he would be deep in sleep in no time.

I loved the fact that I could have this effect on him, that I made him feel at ease, but he was right, it was going to start snowing soon and it was better if he went home soon, so I couldn't let him fall asleep here.

"Daniel?"

I thought he was already asleep when he didn't reply for a while but then his response came, "Mm-hmm?"

"What were you reading?" I traced the outline of his eyelid with my thumb pad.

"Umm, nothing, I was just staring at the pages to look smart," he mumbled.

"Okay, so what were you staring at?" I strolled the conversation to keep him awake enough to drive himself back to home.

"Uh." He stirred again. "Umm, Doctor Zhivago."

"I like that book."

"Yeah, me too."

"How can you say that? You haven't read it yet."

"I know," he muttered. "I was just agreeing with you so you would shut up and let me sleep on you. Now hush, butterfly."

I laughed silently. "I am getting late for my session so either you're coming with me or you'll be left here getting your ass frozen here."

He sat up with a groan. "Uh, fine, go. Leave me out here, all alone. I will probably die out here you know."

"Okay, enough, drama queen, get up now." I stood up and made an attempt to pull him up too, but instead he pulled me down with a greater force making me shriek loudly.

So now I was sitting on his lap, both of my legs on either side of Daniel.

He smirked as I narrowed my eyes. "You didn't think you were getting away without giving me any sugar, did you?"

I didn't get a chance to speak as took control of my mouth. Soon his hands found their way under my shirt from behind, running up against the skin of my back so slowly that the anticipation was almost painful. It was like all the nerves in my body had rerouted their direction and had started firing wherever his hands went.

I slid up on his thighs so I could close the little distance there was earlier to press against him harder.

Daniel groaned in my mouth as our bodies almost squished together.

Knowing that my self-control was going to turn into ashes any second, I had to pull back before this went any further because as much as I would love to see this go as far as it could, I wasn't sure I wanted that to happen here, in the woods behind our school.

That just sounded like a horrible 80s horror movie cliché, doing it in the woods and all.

I kept my eyes closed, focusing on his breath against my skin as he kept his head in the nook of my neck.

I had almost regained control of my breathing when he lightly nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.

Holy...

Or maybe doing it here won't such a bad-

Okay, stop. Think.

"We should really stop before this turns out in an after school special," I managed to utter out in between uneven breaths.

He leaned back only to trouble me with an enticing smile. "Should we?"

I stared at the commotion that swirled in his blue eyes.

What were we talking about again?

"You know, I am really considering the whole whipped cream thing for tomorrow," I simply said feeling a little cheeky, biting my lip.

"Have mercy."

"Alright, Uncle Jesse, I am already late now. So, now without any more tantrums, you're going straight to home and getting some sleep," I instructed, getting up with a strong resolve not to get distracted this time.

The resolved faltered a little when he looked up at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Come with me."

I bent down to reach his eye level. "How about I make a quick stop before going to Anya's place?"

"It will work. For now," he said kissing me lightly on my nose tip before getting up on his feet, looking a lot less sleepy than he did earlier.

The walk back to our cars was quiet, and it felt nice, to be able to silently appreciate even the grey suffused sky, and the goose bump inducing cold air.

"I'll be waiting," he said before getting inside his Nissan.

With a nod, I said my goodbye and drove out of the school, humming along with radio.

The drive to Dr. Fraser's office was short. Running inside the building to escape the arctic cold wind howling outside, I made a dash for the elevator.

Since most of the spaces in the building were still up for rent, you couldn't see many people around here. Just a low murmur coming from one or the other filled office spaces.

The elevator rode up with a repetitive tune playing in a loop.

Within a minute I was standing in front of the glass doors with a name card on it. The letters in platinum read, Dr. Rae Fraser.

The session went quick and well. She asked questions and I replied with all honesty, which was still relatively a new thing for me. She even made a comment how I was making great progress.

"See you next week, Norah." She was polite enough to walk me to the door.

"Yeah, and not that I don't like your company or something, but how many more sessions do you think I require?" I asked, offering a sheepish smile.

She replied back with a measured one. "Lot less than you think."

"Thank you," I said, happily. "Okay, see you next week. Bye."

It was seven thirty in the evening when I walked out of the door, looking for my phone to make a call to Anya that I was on my way, when it started buzzing in my bag.

Having it half memorized in my brain, I made my way to the elevator without looking where I was going.

Waiting for the elevator to come up, I pulled out my phone but the call had already been cut short because of no cell reception in the area.

It was from Grandma.

I stared at the screen for a while, contemplating if I should call back. Dad must have told everything to them, that's why must be calling.

The elevator doors parted open with a ping, and I got in. My eyes were still down when the doors started to close. A loud voice cut through the silence of the hallway, "Hold up."

Without looking I pressed the stop button to hold the doors from closing. A twenty something looking guy with his blonde hair in a buzz cut got in. He seemed out of breath as though he had been running. "Thanks."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

With the same tune as before, the elevator started its journey down and we were still three floors above the ground when it came to a halt. I looked up from my phone as the doors opened to reveal a hallway hidden away in darkness. From whatever I could see, because of the light from the elevator, there was no one around.

An unexpected chill ran up my spine as I stared into the darkness. Taking a step back, I pressed the button to close the elevator doors only to found that it was of no use. The doors won't budge.

I was about to turn around to ask for help from the blonde guy when the flickering of light snatched away my attention. My heartbeat ran relentlessly as the lights flickered once, then twice and then went out for good and with it went away the music that was acting as the last source of comfort for me.

Everything had fallen silent altogether, and that's when I sensed an escalated breathing dangerously close to my ear.

"So we finally meet."

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Dundundun! The cliffhanger I have been dying to write since the beginning! =D

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