Ben Harrison was tall with thick blond hair and laughing green eyes. He had been at the club many of the nights she and the girls had gone out. He had tried to buy her a drink on several occasions but she had turned him down. However, that night, she had said yes.
After talking with him for a while, Amber allowed Ben to lead her onto the dance floor. He told stories about his childhood and Amber listened. She did not go into many details about her own life, but she did promise to dance with him again the next time she was in the club.
She remembered how much fun she had that night. The three girls left laughing. Amber had picked up Michelle and Nicole. The girls each took turns driving on different evenings and that night was her night. Looking back, she was glad. She was not sure what the other two would have thought of her reaction upon finding the note on her door, and she was glad she would never have to explain.
After hearing about Ben, Amber knew she would have to leave again. When she got back to her apartment, Amber called the hospital and told them she was leaving her job. She began packing her bags being sure to add the note she had found on her door the night before hoping that one day someone would believe her and help find the stalker who continued to manipulate her life.
This time Amber did not care what time she left. She got in her car and headed south into Florida. She made several stops, used the interstate and back country roads, and kept driving until she was sure no one was following her. After driving for ten hours she finally stopped for the night. She did not dare call Olivia and tell her what had happened. She would wait a few weeks and then let her know she was alright.
She was unsure how he had found her again but Amber decided not to take any chances. She took her powder blue BMW that she had splurged on last year, the first big purchase she had ever made, and traded it for a new black Honda Civic.
Next, she drove until she found a place where she could purchase a new cell phone without an annual contract. Throwing her old phone in the trash, Amber left the store and drove to the nearest hotel. Looking at a map told her she was close to Jacksonville, Florida, in the small town of Middleburg. Picking up the local newspaper, she found an ad that told her the local hospital was looking for nursing staff. Amber thought she would try her luck in this new place and decided to apply for the job after she woke up from a night of much needed rest.
The next morning, freshly showered and dressed in casual business attire, Amber drove to the hospital and located the human resources department. With a smile on her face, she inquired about the available position and asked for an application. An older woman with salt and pepper hair, a long beak like nose, and a nasty frown handed her a clipboard without saying a word. After filing out the forms handed to her by the surly secretary who looked and acted as if she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, Amber decided to drive around the city and get her bearings.
While driving, Amber searched out the fast food restaurants, the grocery stores, and the mall. She would be unable to cook while staying in a hotel but if she got the job, she could find an apartment. Amber enjoyed cooking even though it was often only for one. Her mother had been a wonderful cook and had passed her skills on to her daughter. Amber thought it would be nice to one day have a husband and some children to cook for.
Later that evening after shopping for a while at the local mall, Amber came back to the hotel to settle in for the night. She knew it would be a few days before she would hear back from the hospital. She decided to wait a week and if she did not get a phone call she would try another city.
It would be easier to be on the run if she did not have to work, and technically she didn’t have to. Her mother and father had left her well situated. However, Amber needed to work. She was not the type of person to just lie around reading, watching television, and doing nothing all day. She loved to work. She wanted to work. She enjoyed helping people. She wanted to bring a smile to a little girl’s face that had just had a bicycle accident. She wanted to help the old man take his medication whose family never visited him in the hospital. She liked to bring flowers to her patients and make them laugh. He would not take that away from her.
Amber sighed as she lay on the bed. How long would she have to run? How many people would get hurt because of her? She again thought of Ben and shuddered. How had he done it? How had he killed Ben and made it look like an accident?
He smiled to himself. He was clever alright. He had not planned to kill the man dancing with his girl, just hurt him enough so she would know not to cross him. Nevertheless, his plan had worked too well. Ben had been drinking coke all evening, but he had learned earlier Ben was a recovering alcoholic. He simply exchanged his plain coke for a mixed drink, sat back, and watched. After Amber left, Ben drank the alcohol and got the taste he had been missing. After that it was easy to make friends and buy him more drinks. By the time they left the club together, Ben was plastered. It took skill and coordination, but he was able to jerk the wheel at just the right time to run Ben’s side of the car into the telephone pole. He felt the impact of the accident himself but it was not the first time he had gotten hurt taking care of an intruder into her life and it probably would not be the last. Yes, he was clever. She would not be dancing with Ben anymore.
He knew she would run again. He was not concerned this time. He had found her once. He would find her again. She would slip up and let him know where she was. That is how he knew she really wanted him. She liked to play these games. But, in the end she would be his.
He had been furious when he lost her the first time. She had slipped away in the middle of the night. He had no idea she would run as she did. He had mistaken how badly she would take it if he went after her best friend. He would not make that mistake again. It had taken him a month to put together a plan that would help him find her, but now he had a way of knowing exactly what was going on in her life and a way of monitoring her. Oh yes, she would let him know where she was.