"Why are you doing this?" Regina had whispered quietly. If the room hadn't been totally quiet, James never would have heard her.
But the room was also dark which meant, Regina could not see the deranged look on James' face as he answered her. "Because I can." James said and suddenly Regina felt a shattering pain through her ribs.
It took a moment to realize that the pain had been caused by a wooden bat that bashed at her ribs over and over again. Regina knew she had more then one broken rib in there. Then, after five hits to the ribs she heard the wooden bat fall to the floor with a thud. Regina coughed, and as she did she felt the warm and sticky blood run down the corners of her mouth. She needed to get out of there. To break free! How, was something she didn't quite know, though.
Regina got to all fours and started to crawl away but somehow slipped in her own blood and fell back to the floor with a wince. Definitely broken ribs. Concussion no doubt as well. Her legs hurt badly, but Regina didn't quite think they were broken... yet, anyways. After slipping in her own blood, Regina quickly found her bearings, and stood to her feet ready to run off. But then, she felt something sharp in her back and she fell back to the ground. All she could hear inside of herself was, 'You can do this. Don't let him win.'
One Month Earlier...
Today was the day. Regina got to get away from the city life and just be on her own to do what she wanted to do. Writing was a good start. Regina loved to write and had recently sold a book about a young man who had it all in life but threw it away because of his jealousy and possession problems with his girlfriend. He had killed anyone and everyone who had even spoken to her and in the end he even killed his girlfriend and then escaped from his small town in Maine to hide away from law enforcement. It was called, 'Possession and Murder'.
The book was an instant hit on Kindle and Regina had thought, if she could do that well at a book when she lived in the middle of a noisy city and always seemed to have a million things to do, never a moment to relax... Imagine what she could do in the quiet, by a lake, with only two other quiet houses on the long lane, with no worries, no errands to run, not a thing to do but right and is always relaxed.
Regina didn't know a whole lot about her neighbors but she knew enough. The one further down the lane was an older lady named Mrs Lucas. She was a mute and had been for quite some time, but not always. Her grand daughter, Ruby, lived with her to care for her and make sure she had everything she needed. She had met both ladies when she came to look at the house. They were quite friendly and Ruby was a chatter box. Regina was okay with this though. She needed a girl friend down this far.
The house that came before she arrived at her own had a Jeep in the driveway today. When she had come down just to look at the place, there wasn't a sign of a person home but Ruby let her know that the man who lived there went by the name of Robin Locksley and he had a son named Roland. His wife had passed away seven years ago, giving birth to their only son. Ruby assured Regina that Robin was one of the nicest people you would ever meet, and he would definitely do any outside chore for her that needed to be done. It was what he did. He was a landscaper and he was extremely good at his job.
Regina pulled in to her driveway and looked at the two story home she had purchased. Quite happy with her investment already. It had been built back in 1973 and was a light brown color. When you pulled in to the driveway, you went up the front steps to a wrap around porch which led to the back where a pool was fenced in. Going up the steps, you would go in to the sliding front doors and in to a beautiful, big kitchen with a stainless steel oven, fridge and dishwasher. A built in microwave over the oven which was also stainless steel. The floors were a bright white, and ceramic tiles.
To the left of the sliding doors, you could enter the living room which hardwood flooring and a built in entertainment center. Straight ahead was a hallway that led to your left. On the right side of the small hallway, was a bedroom, while on the left was a bathroom. Straight ahead, a glass door that led out to the garage and between the house and garage was a stone walkway that led up a path to either the other end of the wrap around deck where the pool was, or a gazebo that Regina imagined having an amazing garden put in. Maybe she would ask this Robin guy to do that.
But to back up to the living room, in between the living room and kitchen was a set of stairs that led you up to the top floor. Go left and you would go past a small bedroom and a small bathroom. Go right and you go past a storage closet and at the end of that hall way was the master bedroom which had a bathroom attached to it. And, two glass doors that led out on to a deck where Regina could enjoy her mornings with a beautiful view of the lake.
Taking all of this in as she got out of her car, she didn't even realize that a man had walked in to her driveway and up to her. "Regina Mills?" He asked as Regina jumped and quickly grabbed her chest as she took in a deep breath.
"Yes?" Regina said as she looked at him.
The man was about normal size, well built, blonde hair, blue eyes and some scruff along his chin. "Sorry." He said to her, "I never meant to startle you. I live down at the house you passed on this lane."
"Robin." Regina said with a nod, "Ruby told me your name and also that you're a landscaper."
Robin smiled as Regina spoke. One good thing about having Ruby on this lane? You didn't have to get too much in to detail. She would have already spilled the details. "Well, I am sorry I missed you the day you looked at the place." Robin said, "But since I have you here now, I would like to make an offer." Regina looked towards him, and crossed her arms across her chest. What kind of offer could a stranger make another stranger? Seeing the look of interest in her eyes, Robin couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped his lips. "Well," He continued on, "Your gazebo looks very lonely and as the new girl in Town, my offer to you is, I can do up a garden for you... For Ruby I did it for twenty five percent off, but for you? Fifty. Which also means, you had better choose the most expensive and amazing garden because I usually don't give this kind of a deal to anyone."
Regina smiled at the man. A genuine smile. It was like he was in her head, because she had literally just thought about hiring him to do the gardens by her gazebo. She nodded her head towards him. "Sure." She said, "When can you start?"
"Well, I was thinking of at least giving you the weekend to settle in but I can bring by the books tomorrow morning. Then you can look over it and see what you want done." Robin responded, "I work for myself so I make my own hours. Mostly I have other men do my work for me unless I want the best done. And to answer your question before you even ask it, it will be me who does it for you."
"Ruby never mentioned you own it." Regina said.
"She probably doesn't even know." Robin said with a small shrug, "Anyways, Miss Mills. I would bring the book sooner but my son is coming home from school soon and I wouldn't be able to get it over to you, and you... have to eat." It was like the last part had just entered Robin's mind as he went silent after saying it.
Regina cocked a brow and tilted her head, letting her own soft chuckle escape her lips. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked him.
"My place at six o'clock this evening." Robin said as he put his arms out like he had just made an amazing discovery and it only made Regina chuckle once again, "I will make dinner, and then we can go over the books together and decide a date to start. You've met Mrs Lucas, you've met Ruby and you have met me. Now you only need to meet Roland and you will have met everyone. What do you say?"
Regina put her hand to her lips and blushed lightly. She hadn't really been asked out before by a man, even if it was just a friendly gesture. And to be completely honest her first thoughts on this man was, 'Wow!' She thought that if she were a cartoon character, her eyes would have popped out of her head, her tongue and jaw fall with a smack to the ground, and her heart beat would have shown itself through her blouse. Thank God she wasn't a cartoon character. "I'll see you at six o'clock." Regina said with a smile.
"Great." Robin said, "Then maybe we can also get to know each other a little bit."
Regina agreed with the blonde haired, blue eyed man as he gave her a dimpled grin, a wave and then walked out of her driveway. If Robin were being honest as well, he had no idea how he kept his cool like that. He had never seen such beauty in his life. His wife, God rest her soul, were the only ones who made him all mushy inside the first time meeting. The difference this time though, was that when Robin met Marian, his wife, he was young and carefree and had a head full of steam.
Now, his only thoughts were how to impress this woman. What did she like? Why didn't he ask her before leaving? Maybe, she liked the same things he did? Well, he knew that no matter what he made for him and Regina, he would also have to make nuggets and fries for Roland. No way would he eat roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and baby carrots if Robin paid him to! And that was that. Dinner plans were made, and Robin knew what he was cooking tonight.
Possession and Murder
Through the cracks of the closet door Katy could see her boyfriend, Jason walk inside. His hands shaking and dripping with blood as he looked around. "Katy!" he had hollered out as Katy covered her own mouth to keep herself from screaming.
The tears in Katy's eyes began to sting as they made their way out to the surface. She could feel her heart beat heavily and constant against her breasts. Katy didn't want to admit it, but she knew that her boyfriend would find her and more then likely kill her.
Regina had read the words out of her own book as she waited for 6pm. All she mainly had to do, was put her clothing away and put some pictures up along with decorations. It wasn't done yet, but Regina believed she had done enough for today so she read through her book and tried to see if there was any way possible to make a sequel to it. She found little bits and pieces so far she could use, but she was suddenly interrupted with a knock at the door. She set her book down and walked over to the sliding doors, thinking it may be Ruby or Robin again.
Regina approached the doors and on the other side there was a blonde haired, blue eyed man but it wasn't Robin. This man was much taller and more muscular. And Regina, didn't get good vibes off of him at all. She approached the sliding doors with caution, and slid it open only part way, her fingertips at the wooden bat she kept by her door in case of an intruder. "Yes?" Regina asked, "Can I help you?"
The man gave a half a smirk. "Boy I hope so." He said, "Is your name Regina Mills?"
"Who wants to know?" Regina asked, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the man.
"My name is James Nolan." The man responded, "And I am a big fan of yours."
The words from James' mouth weren't of excitement to meet a celebrity. They were more dark sarcasm and it made Regina's stomach twist and turn. And when she caught a glance of the man, he just stared back at her with intense blue eyes. Almost in the way of, 'You should know who I am', but in all honesty Regina had no idea who this man was. Regina went to close the sliding door but James had slipped his hand in between and tilted his head at her. He held her gaze a moment more before taking his hand back, smirking and then turning as he started whistling 'Hi Ho' from Snow White.
James skipped down the steps and to his pick up truck that he got in to before turning it on. With one last hard glare at the brunette, he sped off out of the driveway. Where did he come from? There were only two other houses on this lane, and she had met everyone except Roland so far. Maybe, Robin would know who he is or perhaps Google. Regina went straight to her laptop and opened up her Google as she typed in the name 'James Nolan' and pressed enter.
The only things that had come up for the man were dozens of Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. No information for this James Nolan specifically. Every page she had even clicked on definitely weren't him. A fisherman from Cape Breton, a surgeon from England... There was nothing about the man who had just visited her. So either he didn't have a page, or he was lying about his name. Either way, Regina felt that this man did not want to be found for some reason.