All right, I think I've decided to make Fridays my update day. Hopefully setting a deadline will help me write more consistently. We are about to really get into the thick of things with this story so I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to let me know if there's things you want to see or even if you don't like the things you see…I appreciate any and all feedback!


Hailey isn't sure if it was the talk with Trudy in the cafe that set her off or if she was just due for a terrible night, but the nightmares that plague her sleep the rest of the week are by far the worse they've been since she got here. She wakes early Saturday morning, shaking, a scream dying in her throat as she fights off the weight of a body that should never have touched her. She can smell the chewing tobacco on his breath and blood…so much blood. Even now, she can feel the warmth of it ghosting up her legs. His cold laughter will haunt her for as long as she lives. Even the sheets against her skin are too much at this point and the bed is suddenly the last place she wants to be.

After a quick trip into the bathroom to wash her face, Hailey quietly makes her way into the living room. She's hoping to find the most boring show she can and just zone out until the sun comes up.

"Thought I heard you moving around out here." Vanessa smiles at Hailey, pretending that she didn't hear her crying out for help moments ago. She wants to bring it up, but she's afraid of pushing her too soon.

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you." Hailey pulls her legs up, moving over on the couch to allow Vanessa to join her.

"Nah…it's cool. I'm just excited for tomorrow…or I guess today. Keep thinking about all the things I need to get set up." She knows she probably sounds a little ridiculous, being overly excited about a yearly event, but she can't help it. It's one of her favorite parts about living here.

"You um, you want some help? Setting up I mean." Hailey still isn't sure she wants to attend. Too many people. She's worried she will imagine him in the crowd, or worse, that she won't see him until it's too late.

"You sure? Trudy said you weren't really into big crowds. I'm sure I could…"

"It's the least I can do." Maybe she can make up for the times Vanessa had asked her to watch a movie or eat together and she had declined, pretending not to notice her roommate's fallen face as she walked back to her room. Helping out will be a good start, at least she hopes…She can stay for a bit, help out Vanessa, and let some of the locals see that she's trying to fit in before she leaves the crowds to everyone else.

"Well…If you're offering for real, then yes! I could use you." Vanessa smiles brightly at her and Hailey can't help but smile back.

They end up watching a movie that has the two of them cracking up nearly the entire time. The terrors of the night are forgotten and when it's finally time to head down to the coffee shop, Hailey is excited.


At just past ten, Main Street is busy with eager tourists ready to start the festivities. The north end of the street is all vendors while the south end is full of carnival rides and games. All the food stands are right in the middle, close enough that she can smell the oils and spices of the stands getting ready.

Trudy stops by for a bit and joins Hailey and Vanessa for a cup of coffee before telling them she will see them around.

"I'm glad you decided to come down. I'll be back later to get some pictures." She's off with a wave and the two of them finish up the last-minute prep work of her stand. Hailey's stomach rumbles loud enough for Vanessa to hear and Hailey's face goes a little pink with embarrassment.

"I feel ya. I've got some muffins that are just about done, what kind do you want?" Vanessa sets the muffin display racks on the table as Hailey makes her decision.

"Mmm…'sgood" Hailey mumbles out around the bite in her mouth. She doesn't even know why she pretends to debate over the muffins. Vanessa makes this muffin that is her absolute favorite. It's got oats, bananas, nuts, raisins, and a touch of cinnamon. It's an entire breakfast in one bite.

Hanging out here with Vanessa during the day seems like it might be fun. She's pretty sure she can do this.


She's been tricked. It took her a solid hour to realize that Vanessa had kept her on little errands that could have been done by anyone else long after the time Hailey had planned on leaving.

At first, every person she bumped into caused her a moment of panic. She forced herself to keep breathing and keep moving until she got where she needed to be. A few moments at each stop were spent preparing herself to merge back into the crowd, but those moments got shorter and shorter throughout the morning until this last stop, at a local jeweler's table. She spends a few minutes admiring the pieces on display.

When she leaves the stall, she easily slips into the crowd. No panic, no shaky hands, no trouble breathing. It felt nice…normal. She feels normal. More like her old self than she ever thought she would. She's sipping on a fresh-squeezed lemonade when she makes it back to Vanessa's stall.

"Perfect timing, Hailey. It's picture time. Say cheese!" Before Trudy even finishes her sentence, Vanessa wraps her arm around Hailey, pulling her into her side, their faces nearly touching. She laughs at Vanessa as she calls out for the picture and Trudy snaps the photo with her old Polaroid camera. Normal feels good.

"Here, you keep it." After shaking the photo for a few seconds out of the sun, Vanessa hands it over to Hailey.

"Thanks…" The photo connects them for a moment before Vanessa lets it go. Out of nowhere, she feels the urge to cry. Out of all the places she could have chosen to start over in, she chose this one. With Trudy and Vanessa, two people who, for reasons Hailey may never understand, accepted her into their lives. She's been trapped under Casey and his father's thumb for so long that she forgot what having someone to care about you feels like.

"Sorry…" Hailey tries to turn away, wanting to hide the emotion she's sure is all over her face, but before she even makes it halfway around, Vanessa pulls her into a tight hug and then releases her just as quickly.

"I'm really glad you're here, Hailey." Not just here at the stand with her, here in town…her roommate…hopefully, her friend.

"Vanessa! Hailey!" Both turn just in time to see Levi skid to a stop in front of the stand. "Look what I won!" Levi practically prances as he holds up a large blue frog.

"Wow, dude! That's so cool!" Vanessa takes the frog from him, making a show at checking it out. "Pretty cool, right?" Hailey agrees, smiling at Levi's excitement.

"I knocked down the pins on the first. It was awesome! I can show you." Levi looks hopefully at Vanessa. She's kind of like his aunt and she's the coolest.

"Aw man, I wish I could, but I can't leave the stand just yet."

Levi does his best to not look disappointed, but Hailey sees his smile fall a bit. "That's okay. Maybe next time. Bye."

Hailey watches as his joy fades completely when he turns to leave, and she calls out to him before she even realizes what she's about to say. "You can show me…if you want, I mean. I um, don't think I've ever seen someone actually win a carnival prize before. Maybe you could show me a trick or two." Stepping out from the back of the stand, Hailey moves a little closer to him, waiting for him to decide. He looks a little unsure, maybe she shouldn't have offered.

"That's okay. My dad told me not to bother you all the time anyways. He says you're um…jumpy, and that we should give you your space…" He breaks off like he just realized what he said, mumbling an apology.

The sheriff thinks she is jumpy? Great…so much for subtly blending in… "Levi, you aren't bothering me. I like spending time with you. My morning run is my favorite part of the day now. It's just that…sometimes crowds are hard for me." Her smile is genuine and Levi seems to accept her answer.

"Yeah, being the new person must be pretty hard." He starts to walk, motioning for Hailey to come with him. "You could try to talk to at least three people a day. That's what my friend at school did when he first got here. Maybe it will help you too. Even if it's just one word. Then you try to say more and more and then it's not so scary."

"Three people a day, huh? I guess I could try. Does this count?" So far today, she's said a few words to a handful of people already and she has to admit, by the end of her errands, it was a lot easier. Maybe Levi's advice would be useful after all.

"Well, you sort of already know me, so I'm not sure if it counts or not, but I guess it can." Levi picks up the pace as they get closer to the games. It isn't until he's almost there that he notices Hailey isn't with him.

"Hailey?" Scanning the crowd, he sees her, stopped in the center of the game stalls. Even from where he's standing, he can see her eyes look a little too big and her face a little too pale.

She didn't think it would be an issue. She managed the crowd at the other end of Main Street just fine, but up here, where the games are, it's much louder, and more people are running about. A large man passes by her or rather, knocks into her as he attempts to pass her.

"Sorry…" The man barely looks back at Hailey after he apologizes, but the slight turn of his head is just enough to let the mint-scented chew in his mouth waft towards her. Her whole body freezes, the smell locking her in a memory.

No…not now, not here…She can't breathe…can't move…run

And that's when she hears Levi call out for her.

"Hang on." Levi grabs her hand and starts to pull her towards the outside of the carnival and then towards the sand behind the shops. "I'm sorry. You said you didn't like crowds. Here, sit." He pushes her down onto the bench behind one of the shops, afraid she's going to pass out or something. "I'll be right back. Gonna get my dad." He rushes back to Main Street quickly, darting around others to get to his dad.

She's grateful for the quiet, tipping her face towards the sun, she works on getting her heart rate back under control. She's unsure of the amount of time that passes, but the sound of footsteps and Levi's voice signal his return.

"Here…she's right here, dad." Levi sits next to Hailey, gently patting her arm, his eyes full of worry for her. Her arm trembles under his touch but instead of letting go, he adds a little pressure, offering her a reassuring smile when she meets his gaze.

"Levi said you looked like you were about to pass out. How are you feeling?" Jay leans down, wanting to check for himself, and he can see what his son was talking about. Her skin is a lot paler than it should be, especially for how hot it is.

"Sorry... I'm fine, honestly. I just..." Jay already thinks she's a jumpy mess, and now he's going to think she's crazy on top of it.

"Come on, let's get you somewhere cool for a bit." Jay straightens at the same time Levi stands, both extending a hand to her. It comes as no surprise to Jay that Hailey reaches for his son's hand instead of his own. He's just happy she's letting him get her somewhere out of the sun for a bit.

They end up at Jay and Levi's house as it was closer than Hailey's place, and she's got to admit that the cool air helps. She follows after Levi, still holding his hand as he leads them into the kitchen and to the table.

"Here." Jay passes Hailey a bottle of water from the fridge, happy when she opens it and takes a large pull from the bottle.

"Thank you." It's not quite as strong as she wishes it were, her voice, but at least she doesn't sound scared. She can't believe she freaked out in the middle of town, or that Levi and Jay were witnesses to it. She doesn't know what to say, but in the end, it doesn't matter.

"Levi, why don't you let smalls out for a bit. Keep him on the leash, yeah?" Jay isn't sure what exactly happened out there, but he isn't completely convinced that the sun was the cause.

Levi hesitates by the door, still more than a little worried about Hailey. "Do you want to come with me?" Just because he's ten doesn't mean he can't see that certain people make her nervous. His dad is one of those people.

"Go ahead, Levi. She'll be right out." Sometimes Jay is blown away at the perceptiveness of his kid. The last thing Jay wants to do is make her more uncomfortable, but he wants to check in with her.

"Kids got it bad for you…pretty sure you're his first crush." Her quick burst of laughter is the exact response he was hoping for…distraction.

"He's a sweet kid, Jay. You are doing a great job with him." Hailey stands, taking another drink and moving over to the fridge to look at the pictures covering it. Neither speaks for a few moments and when Hailey turns back to Jay, he's just staring at her.

"What?" She's not surprised to find him looking at her, that's nothing new, but the way he's looking at her right now is. A tingle of awareness zips down her spine as she tries and fails to suppress a shiver.

Jay smiles, shaking his head. "It's nothing…" This is the first time she's said his name and he likes the way it sounds falling from her lips, but now is not the time nor place for that revelation. "Levi thinks it was the heat that got to you, and that's fine if that's what you want him to believe…but if it's something else? If something happened…something that you need help with…"

"Stop. Thank you, but I'm…" He's just trying to help. Just trying to make sure she is okay and being rude is uncalled for so she backtracks. "It wasn't the heat, but I'm okay" or at least she is now…until the next time, anyway.

"Dad?" Levi comes back inside from the porch with Smalls in tow, looking carefully between his dad and Hailey. "Some of the guys from the station are looking for you."

"Right…" Jay gives one last look to Hailey. He doesn't want to leave, but he also knows it's probably best that he does. "Levi, when Hailey is ready to go, why don't you guys walk the beach back? Trudy's got you until I'm done." He's out the door shortly after that, knowing that Hailey is in good hands.


Jay ends up having to be at the station for the rest of the afternoon, missing out on the carnival to catch up on paperwork. It's times like this that he's incredibly grateful for the help of Trudy and Vanessa. For the most part, being the sheriff of a small coastal town is pretty easy. A handful of alcohol-related charges during the season is the extent of activity he sees. Small towns are quiet. His town is quiet.

So it comes as a shock when the bulletin comes through. Missing…witness…possible suspect…connection to murder…The words leap off the page, his vision narrowing in on the grainy photograph. They've had their share of Missing Person reports, but nothing has ever come of them. None of them have ever caused the prickle of uneasiness that settles in his gut. There's never any connection to Avalon Landing. That run of luck ends with this one though.

He drives on autopilot, thoughts racing through his mind the entire way. The pounding of his knuckles on the door echos out, mixing in with the distant thunder from the storm that threatens just offshore.

The second the door opens, he's thrusting the paper towards her.

"We need to talk."


As of right now, next chapter is when we head back to Chicago and revisit Hailey's time leading up to her getting out. It's dark, but I will add trigger warnings where needed and while I have no intentions of getting graphic, there's violence and I hope you will be able to feel Hailey's fear. See you next week!