Chapter 83
A few meters ahead, I saw a small park and the sight before my eyes halted my next steps. I slowed down to a walk and eventually, my feet stayed rooted to the ground.
I saw the man that threatened my family standing behind a child who was sitting on the swing. He helped push her gently and the girl squealed in excitement, her dark hair falling behind her every time the elder man pushed her forward. Her small hands gripped the chains holding the swing and her eyes were squinted while the other two boys played with the slide a meter away.
Unconsciously, I started creeping closer and slid behind a tree. I was close enough to hear what they were saying and all I could hear was laughter and the young girl's squeal.
"Colton, can I go next after Ollie?" One of the boys asked him. He had blonde hair and he had a blue shirt and a darker shade of blue trousers on. He was standing beside the slide while the other boy was already climbing up the stairs to go for another round.
The other boy was tanned and looked to be a little bit older than the girl but definitely younger than the blonde kid. None of the kids seemed to acknowledge the difference in their skin color or origin. The sight made me smile and for a minute, forgot that I was spying on the man who threatened the safety of my family.
At least they didn't seem like they were kidnapped since they all looked like they were fond of this ‘Colton' dude. He didn't look half as bad with these kids around him but I can't give him any more than that since he did blackmail me.
I spent the next 10 minutes milling around and trying to hide from their line of sight. There were a few times that Colton probably felt like he was being watched and, from where I was standing, I could see that he was looking around with narrowed eyes. Eventually, it got to the point that he ordered the kids to stay and look after one another while he stepped away and started walking around. That was all it took for me to bolt out of my hiding place before he could find me.
I pulled on the hoodie on top of my head and tightened it so that it wouldn't fall off before running away, hearing Colton's enraged shouts behind me.
The sound of boots hitting the ground in a faster pace than my own shoes made panic shoot through me. I pumped my legs faster and turned into a secluded alley, running past buildings, in and out of main roads with cars beeping their horns at me.
A car beeped their horn so loudly that it startled me for a moment before I realized that I was going to crash into it if I didn't think of something soon. I couldn't stop now; Colton would catch up to me and find out who I was and would then figure out that I've been stalking them in the park. He then would probably kill every single person I love.
A distant memory of my brother teaching me how to jump over the hood of a car when I was younger filled my head and my limbs took over, relying on the memory to guide their movements, all I could do was pray that I wasn't going to break my neck while doing this like I almost did last time.
The car came at me and I braced myself, running ahead and chanting ‘Just do it!' in my head for the umpteenth time while pushing away all my concerns.
When the car was in front of me, I swung myself towards it and reached out, I planted my palm on top of the warm cap of the engine and jumped forward, swinging my feet and angling my body with my hand as a pivot. I didn't stop even as my feet hit the pavement; I just kept on running until I was far enough to feel safe.
I finally looked back and when I didn't catch any sight of my pursuer, I started to walk back to my car and gave myself some time to catch my breath. That was not easy shit. I think I burnt all the calories I put on the last month. Especially jumping over that car; it's a miracle I didn't have a heart attack by how fast my heart was beating.
It was noon when I finally reached my car and continued on with my journey home.
The whole drive home, I wondered what he could possibly be doing in that small town. Was his family there? Was he just taking the children out on a mini getaway? Was he visiting someone? Was he visiting the children?
Even when I reached home and walked into the empty house, I couldn't stop questioning his business in that town.
