Chapter 6

'Get your hands off me!' Tess McLeod was having a drink in a bar, with her friends, when he arrived and tried again. She slammed his hand away and gave him a very angry look. Suddenly she wished looks could kill. He smiled, that smile that used to make her so angry.

'Don't fool me, Tess. I know you want me.'
'I don't want you, never have and never will, and now I want you to piss off,' she shouted at him. 'I said GO,' she added when he didn't leave. 'So why are you still standing here?'

'I'm waiting for you, Tess. I'll always wait for you and you know it.'
She turned her back to him and tried to ignore him. In her heart she felt a little guilty for treating him like that. But she had tried to tell him the gentle way, and it hadn't worked. She hated herself for being so mean. Suddenly she didn't feel like having fun in this bar anymore.

'Hey girls, I think I'm going home.'
She said goodbye to everyone and left. She couldn't keep him out of her mind and she knew she never could. She had to make an end to this bullshit. But she didn't know how to get rid of him at all. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she screamed.

'Ssshh, take it easy, babe. It's me.'

'Jim, I've tried to make things clear to you without hurting you. I'm very sorry I still did, but I'm not in love with you, so I want you to leave me alone. Now.'

He smiled again. Some horrible, evil plan seemed to be on his mind. She looked at his hand holding her wrist, and she knew he was stronger than she was. He would never let her go if he didn't feel like letting her go. Suddenly his smile disappeared in anger. He dragged her into a small street and pushed her to the wall. Screaming wouldn't help and she knew it.

Claire sighted and let herself fall on the grass beside a big road filled with buildings.

'It's too big, it's just too big. We'll never find her.'

Alex sat down next to her and took her hand. 'We'll stay here till we find her. She can't be far away.'

The rush that was typical for a big town filled up their silence. Claire was ready to give up for today when Alex suddenly stood up and pointed to a car waiting at a traffic light. An orange car. An orange car, with a blonde woman.

'Come on, the car! Claire, quick, before we lose her again!'
They both realised they were driving much too fast but it didn't bother them. Tess' car was typically Tess. It symbolized her sense of humour and her smile and her… character. Tess' car looked like Tess and Claire had never been so grateful for that as she was now. But this was still town, and Tess seemed to be far more used to the rush then they were. Claire realised she needed Stevie now. Stevie was very good at dangerous rides without damage. Jodi hated her doing that, but it would have been very useful. It was very hard not to lose her, but after a short time of manoeuvres that almost caused painful accidents Tess stopped driving and got out of her car.

'It's really her,' Claire sighted. Relief crossed her face and she opened her mouth to call for her sister but Alex stopped her.

'I wouldn't do that. We better first find out what she's doing.'

So they started following Tess, although Claire didn't like to be a spy when it was her sister she was following. They tried to be quiet, but Tess went into a building that seemed to be filled with apartments, and didn't have any elevators. Stairs were still hard to Claire, although she'd prefer to die above admitting that.

'I don't need any help,' she whispered when Alex offered to give her a hand. She did, but she didn't want it. She could have known it would go wrong one day, but she didn't expect that to happen at the moment it was so unwelcome as it was now. But, unfortunately, it did. She slipped. Alex was very fast and grabbed her arm as she almost fell down. It would have went well, if she wouldn't have screamed.

'Bugger,' she whispered, still hanging very uncomfortably on Alex' arm and the railing of the stairs. Tess' back stopped moving and she turned around.

Tess didn't know exactly what she had expected Claire to do when she noticed her being gone. But not this. Not now. She knew it the moment she heard a screaming. Claire. She turned around and saw something she'd have laughed about if there had been room for laughter in her head next to all of her other thoughts. Claire was half sitting on the stairs, hanging on Alex' arm and the railing. Alex was holding her shoulder so she wouldn't fall down. It was very funny. Tess realised this was a rare moment. Claire and Alex were together, doing something they weren't supposed to and they didn't know what to say.

To make things even more embarrassing, Jodi's mobile phone started ringing in Claire's pocket. Jodi had given it to her because 'it could turn out to be useful'. Thank you very much, Jode. Just what I needed now.

Tess looked at the two of them and her other thoughts seemed to become smaller.

'Claire,' was her –very late- review. And she started laughing. She couldn't help it, she couldn't stop it. Claire and Alex looked at her first and then at each other and they seemed to realise they were in a really uncomfortable position. Alex helped Claire up and she didn't even protest. She took the phone out of her pocket.

'Hello?... Oh, hi Jode…………… Yeah, we found her……….Yeah, she seems to be, she's laughing all the time………. Okay……… I'll call you back. See ya.'

She hang up and looked up to Tess.

'Tess. Could you stop that stupid laughing and explain things to me, please?' she asked her, suddenly feeling angry with her sister.

Tess opened her mouth to say something when someone opened the door behind her back.

'Tess.' The man in the door didn't seem to be preparing himself to an evening having fun, and Tess seemed to be the reason for the dark look in his eyes.

'Who's this… guy, Tess?' Alex asked her, looking at the guy and not being impressed.

The smile on Tess' face had disappeared and tears seemed to be closer then laughter. Claire realised she had seen this guy before.

Tess didn't seem to feel comfortable.

'Claire, Alex… could you excuse us?' she asked, and she dragged the guy back into the house on his sleeves and closed the door.

'Tess, what are you doing?'

She looked at him and felt all her anger and frustration he gave her that one night so many years ago coming out.

'Jim, I was fifteen. Fifteen.'

'I loved you, Tess…'

'Maybe, but I wasn't ready! You made me do things I didn't want to! I wasn't in love, I wanted to have fun, I wanted to be left alone! But you kept following me while I had told you I didn't want you to several times and then you… you just….' She tried to find back her words, but anger didn't let her do anything making sense. She felt it filling her head, her heart, her body.

'Do you wanna know what I've done after you finally let me go? Do you?' She didn't wait for him to answer.

'I ran back home, I locked myself in my room and I didn't come out for a week. After that, I painted my hair. I bought new clothes. I didn't dare to be myself anymore, because I was too scared to meet you again!' She realised Claire and Alex were still waiting and they could hear her. She didn't mind. She just wanted to make him feel what he did to her.

'I was fifteen! I was too young! I was too young for the things you wanted me to do!' she shouted at him. His eyes were filling up with anger.

'I gave you flowers, Tess. I followed you. I bought you thousands of presents. I deserved you. And I still do.' He came closer. His face came closer. He grabbed her wrist, like had done that time. He was still stronger than she was. Not again. Not again. Don't let him do it again…

And than a crash filled up the hall. Wood dispersed everywhere and made a scratch on her face. It all went so fast. She saw Alex' face, she saw his fist passing by and Jim falling down as it hit his head.

'So mate, playtime's over for you.'

'So you mean he… abused you?' said Jodi. 'But that's disgusting!'

'Yup, it is,' said Tess, 'but I needed my revenge. Although that wasn't the smartest thing to do.'

'No, it wasn't,' Claire said, looking at Tess. 'A beer, everyone?'

Late at night she went back to her fence and looked at the stars when Nick came to her.

'Aren't you drinking a beer with us?'

'No… I'm not in the mood for having beers.'

'Hey Tess,' he said after a short silence. 'Will you never do that again?'

'Do what again?'

'Leaving.'

She smiled. 'No, I won't.'

She felt the presence of his hand but he let it flow there for a while, like he was wondering if he was supposed to touch her. She supported him to do that in her mind. She felt the warmth of his hand when he finally put his arm around her shoulders and she knew she had to break down the last barrier.

'Nick, I… I just…'
He didn't let her finish talking. He lifted his hand and touched her hairs and her face, very gently. Very Nick.

'I don't know what happened to us,' he said softly. 'But I'll never ever let it happen again.'

When she thought about that evening later, she remembered her barrier melting under his touch. And she knew she'd always be with him. Forever.