Unleashed

Epilogue: Two Years Later

As life happens, you always want it to happen faster... until it does. When I was young, I wanted to be thirteen—a teenager. Yet when I turned thirteen, it was like any other day. Then I wanted to turn sixteen so I could drive. When I finally did, I was afraid to get behind the wheel and either rode with Prestley or my mom until I started dating Brad, who taught me how to drive. Then I couldn't wait to go to college.

I hate college. It's not the fun, carefree party life that I thought it would be. Between classes, exams, papers, and my part-time job, I have no time for myself, Brad, or anything else, for that matter. It's put a strain on our relationship, but he assures me that it will all balance out in time. We try to take at least one night and set it aside just for us, but they don't always happen as planned.

Pres and I are sharing a dorm, which is great. That's probably the only part of this college dream that's worked out as I'd hoped. Needless to say, I can't wait until I'm twenty-five, out of college, and married with our white picket fence and 2.5 kids.

While on spring break, we all drove back home to visit our families, which couldn't have come at a better time. I was beyond needing a break. I just hope Brad and I didn't take advantage of it and spend the entire break together, ignoring our greatly missed families.

Pres left her car and rode with Brad and me, saving money, as well as miles that didn't need to be added to her poor car. As we drove into town, it felt like home. We hadn't been gone long, but long enough to notice subtle changes. Some store fronts had been remodeled, while a couple of stores had completely closed down. And then we passed Zak's old house, where our hearts all stopped in unison, forcing Brad to pull over and stare in disbelief with the rest of us.

I rolled my window down and leaned my head out, suddenly needing the fresh air more than a clear view. "No. Please, God, no." The entire wooded area behind Zak's old apartment complex had been demolished and turned into a construction site.

"M... maybe... maybe they didn't..." Prestley stuttered, unable to even finish her sentence.

"How could they not dig it up?" I asked, panicked. "What if someone found it? Used it?

"It's probably in a dirt pile that got carted off to some landfill somewhere," Brad tried to reassure me.

"Even so, there's no way they could dig it up and not bust it." I felt my breath get faster as Brad pulled back onto the road. "What if they busted it?"

Silence filled the car, making me squirm in my seat. Years of assurance that it was over, that Steven was a part of my past—a part of my life that I'd never revisit again—was shattered in an instant. I knew that from this moment on I'd always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for something that may or may not ever happen.

Brad reached across the console and squeezed my leg. "It's gonna be okay." I nodded, even though I didn't really agree.

As we neared my house, I felt sick. After all this time, Steven still had a hold on me. He had unleashed a fear in me—a fear of the unknown. I'd never know when or where he would show up in my life again, if ever. Maybe Brad was right. Maybe the board got scooped up and was intact, nestled even deeper in a pile of dirt and debris somewhere. Sadly, I'd never know.

Like Steven said... once things are unleashed, it's hard to contain them.