Her Terrifying Love

Part 17

Saturday morning, the girls were on the road. Darcy blasted her tunes, performing a passionate solo, off-key car karaoke. 

"Does it have to be so loud?" Lyla shouted over the music.

"Hells, yeah!" Darcy pumped her fist. "It's Spring freakin' Break!"

"So, who is Richie riding with?"

"Richie? Are you serious?" Darcy gave her friend the side-eye. "He says sunshine is like rays of cancer beaming down from the sky."

"That's pretty dramatic, isn't it?" 

Darcy grinned. "We are talking about Richie."

Along the highway, mountains and hills flattened as the girls drew closer to the shore.

Lyla struggled to focus on the fun waiting for her just over the horizon, but her mind continually drifted back to the tragic events of the past weeks. She'd succeeded in breaking free of Keenan's abusive behavior, but she wasn't truly free. Not for a moment. Try as she might to focus on pleasant thoughts, a potent mixture of fear, anger, and anxiety bubbled up and boiled over. She couldn't contain it. A tidal wave of grief and guilt washed over her. She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. 

"Oh, my God, Darcy," she wailed, burying her face between her knees.

Totally caught off-guard, Darcy asked, "Hey. What happened?"

Lyla's body shook as tears streamed down her red cheeks. Keenan had inflicted severe pain. He'd left emotional scars that she would carry with her for the rest of her life. And what scared Lyla to her core was the thought that the pain wasn't over, not by a long shot.

"You want me to pull over?" She could feel the anguish spilling out of her best friend. Lyla couldn't stop crying.

"Is this about Keenan?"

She nodded.

"Maybe he's okay," Darcy said softly. "Do you still love him?"

"I don't think I ever did." She wiped her nose.

"Watch. He'll turn up," she said cheerfully. "Maybe we'll see him at the beach."

"I hope not." Lyla looked out the window. She reached into her pocket and produced the serpent ring. "And then there's this."

"What in the name of Jesus' jeweler is that?" Darcy scowled.

"Keenan gave me this damn ring. And I gave it back."

"Not sure I get what's happening here."

"I found it in my room last night."

"Wait. What?"

She flung the ring out the window. Darcy's jaw dropped.

"So now I have a witness," said Lyla. "It's like a boomerang. I throw it away, and it keeps coming back."

"You definitely need a vacay, girl." Darcy put on her best fake smile. "But first, let's stop and get some noms." 

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, I gotta pee. And we need gas." 

Darcy pulled off the highway into a rest stop. She steered her car to the gas pumps, flung open the door, then trotted to the restroom. Lyla got out of the car and went into the convenience store. She grabbed a few packages of chips, Cheetos, and cookies from the shelves and shuffled to the counter.

"How you doing?" the guy behind the counter asked.

She didn't respond, busily checking her pockets for money. 

"Cops always find what they're looking for," he said.

"Huh?!" Her eyes went wide.

"I asked if you found everything you were looking for."

She took a moment to clear her head.

"What's the matter? Somebody die?" He narrowed his eyes.

"What?!" 

"Such a sad face. Cheer up." He bagged her snacks. "It's a beautiful day."

She returned a polite smile then grabbed her bag from the counter.

"They'll find him in the woods," he said just before she exited. 

Lyla couldn't get through the door fast enough. As she approached Darcy's car, she saw someone sitting in the passenger seat. She shielded her eyes against the sun. When she saw him, her heart stopped.

Keenan slouched in her seat, his neck bent at an unnatural angle, grinning a monstrous, devilish smile.

She couldn't move, her feet were cemented to the pavement.

He extended a tattooed hand out of the car and waved her over.

Terror had reduced her to nothing more than a thundering heart encased within a stone container.

"You pay for the gas or not?" Darcy startled her friend when she stepped up from behind.

When Lyla's head snapped back toward the car, Keenan had vanished.

"You okay, girl?"

She nodded then cautiously approached the car. 

"You don't look so good." Darcy jammed the nozzle into the fuel tank as Lyla slid into the passenger seat, the bag of snacks cradled in her lap. She closed her eyes.

 He's not real. He's not real. 

And then she felt it. A small pile of wet leaves on the floor mat beneath her flip-flops.

Darcy slipped behind the wheel and started the car. "Are you gonna open those chips or what?" she whined. "I'm starving over here."