Chapter 8

• Ayla POV
• If someone had told me 3 months ago that I would have ended up on this road, I would have laughed at them, but here I was. Driving back to my home town to live with my parents because I had no job, no home and a broken heart. I had failed at life and now I was crawling back to my parents with my tail between my legs. My mum and dad had moved out of my childhood home, with me gone and creating a new life for myself they decided to sell the home in the hopes that a new family would buy it and they would go on to create some amazing memories in the house which was a nice thought, they ended up buying some fancy apartment in the nicer part of town where most of the well to do people lived. I had been meaning to stop by and visit them, but life always seemed too hectic. Marcus never really wanted to come and visit with me. He always made excuses as to why he couldn’t come, and my job was so demanding at the time, but that’s not really a good enough excuse. I can see the welcome sign at the side of the road marking the beginning of town. As my car crosses the invisible border, a chill runs down my spine. It's just as beautiful as I remember and it brings back a lot of memories, but something feels different. The road into town is lined with large trees that reach across the road. Large white wildflowers sprout up and fill the spaces between the trunks, but I can’t smell the floral fragrance they release into the air, all I can smell is the cherry air freshener that sits in the slits of the air conditioning of the car. A large farm comes up and I think back to all the times my parents took me to see the animals there and I can't help smiling to myself as the horses gallop across the field. A car in my rearview mirror is speeding toward me, its lights reflecting off my mirror and blinding me, the car zooms past, making my car shake slightly. This road was notorious for young boys trying to race their cars. I’m not surprised this still happens now. The road is straight for miles. The car's brake lights flash red as the driver makes his way to the roundabout and out of sight.
• Usually, I would keep driving straight ahead, going deeper into town, but my parents' new home is closer to the outskirts of town in a beautiful house I used to admire every time we drove past it when I was a child. It was an old Manor House that got turned into a home for old miners, it was a place where they could live out the rest of their days in comfort surrounded by the forest and wildlife, but it fell into ruin, and ended up being sold and turned into the lavish flats they are now. The road toward it is wide but winding, and large trees surround each side of the road making it look charming and quaint, the sound of the leaves rustling as the wind blows through them sounds soothing, but I can't help but feel a sense of dread mixing with my anxiety of having to start over again, having to try and rebuild my life and having nothing other the small bag on the back seat of my car and a small savings account which wouldn't last me long. A tall man dressed in black steps out from behind the trees and walks out into the middle of the road making my heart jump at his sudden appearance, he stands up straight allowing me to see his towering height and sending fear trickling down my spine. I could feel his eyes looking deeply into my soul, but a thick hood covers his head and hides his face so I can’t see his eyes, but I can feel them. I quickly spin the steering wheel making the car swerve to avoid hitting him, my foot slams down onto the brake making my car come to a screeching halt. My heart hammered against my chest and my hands shook. I looked through the back window taking deep breaths to try to calm my racing heart and settle my nerves which were in shreds right now, as much as I wanted to get out of the car to yell at the man for walking out onto the road. I wasn’t stupid, I had heard the story of the man lying in the middle of the road whilst his comrades waited to ambush whoever got out to help. I scan the road and the trees around the car but the road is empty and the forest seems still. My body went cold with dread. I sat forward looking over the hood of the car but I couldn't see anything. I leaned against the window but the road beside the car was clear. Maybe I hit him, maybe he's lying beneath my car and I'm just sitting here doing nothing. I quickly put my car into reverse and look at the small screen to see if anyone is lying on the road behind my car but all I can see is the tarmac and my skid marks I made just moments ago. I reverse back so I can see the front of my car but again all I can see is the road leading to home. I could have sworn a hooded figure stepped out onto the road, but I had only had a few hours of sleep. As much as I wanted to come straight home, I ended up going back to the hotel and catching up on some sleep so I didn’t crash in my sleep-deprived state, but it seems I’m now hallucinating instead. In all honesty, after collecting some of my things, I felt better and drifted off peacefully. I scan the trees once more hoping to see the mysterious figure, I can’t help but feel like I am being watched, all the hairs on my body lift sending an icy cold through my veins, but there’s not a soul in sight. I quickly looked around the car once more before I continued my journey down the road, heading to the one place I always feel safe, no matter where it was, my parents' home.