By the time she saw the truck, it was too late to stop. The only thing left to do was floor the accelerator, close her eyes, and pray. She made it, the truck braked and come to a stop, blocking Alex. And she was free at last. She turned the corner and drove as fast as the car would take her, determined never to look back.
Alex braked suddenly to avoid the truck in front of him. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel and swore. Claire and Tess pulled up behind him.
"What the hell is going on Alex…?" Claire asked him.
Alex tried to explain, but the truth is he didn't really know. He and Stevie had been talking on the verandah. He thought he was getting through to her. But just like the night before, she had snapped. He saw it in her eyes. He hadn't seen it coming this time, and was genuinely shocked when she punched him in the jaw. It almost floored him, and she took his keys, and his ute, and he had followed after her.
He deliberately left some parts out though, it wasn't the time or the place to discuss the rest. He saw the puzzlement in Tess' eyes. But in Claire's eyes he saw something else.
Stevie had known she wouldn't have to go far to find him. She had seen his car parked on the roadside, in the middle of no where. And she pulled up behind him.
He was sitting on the bonnet, his arms folded. Waiting.
Her hands were shaking as she opened the car door and got out. She steadied herself, not wanting him to see that he had got to her.
"More car trouble?" she asked. It seemed an odd thing to say, but she wasn't sure where to begin. There were really no words for the situation.
"No , Alex and Nick helped me out earlier." He laughed. "Get in."
And for reasons she didn't fully understand, she obeyed him and got in the car. They drove for a while before he finally spoke.
"You know something? When I let you go the other night. I knew you would be back." He told her.
"What do you want?" She asked
He'd been waiting for her to ask "Same thing you do" He smiled.
"I doubt that" She said with certainty.
He laughed again "You are just like me, and don't you forget it."
"I wouldn't laugh if I was you, I could destroy you." She tried to hide the fear in her voice.
"I could destroy you too. And if I go down, I'm taking you with me. And what would Claire McLeod think when she finds out what you did to her father?"
It was a question she had already asked herself a million times. The look in Jack's eyes was something she would never forget. And she had pictured the look in Claire's eyes when she found out everything that had happened. But she now had no choice, she was prepared to face the consequences.
"Go ahead, do it, I can't stop you. I'm prepared to live with that, to see that you get what you deserve." It was not an empty threat, she meant every word.
"Oh this is entertaining; you're always good for a laugh Stevie. You are smart girl, you know what's good for you, and for Rose."
"Leave Rose out of this." She couldn't hide the panic in her voice this time.
"No I can't do that….that's what its all about…Rose…..Jeremy…..and Charlotte."