Paris Texas Jane's Story Page 2

man, with cold, dark eyes, was walking towards the front door. Travis thought the man held his right arm rather stiffly.

  Travis crept back into the shadows away from the window. As quietly as he could he snuck through the house, ever cautious of the man entering the house. As he entered the kitchen he noticed the Moonlight glimmered off silverware and glasses, looking like tiny stars, caught forever in material goods. Travis snuck out of the back door and disappeared into the hedges and over the fence.

  Two weeks later Jane woke up to find herself in a hospital room. She looked around, everything was so.. clean. She could hear the machines bleep, the sound of dripping liquid from the drip attached to her arm.

  She moved her head and heard the crackling sound of plastic beneath her. She pushed herself up, and groaned. The sudden movements caused her head to throb painfully. She wondered why she was here. Vague images flashed through her mind. Driving, the truck, swerving out of the way, more cars, engines roaring, coming towards her. Then darkness. At that moment a nurse bustled in smiling.

  “ah, your awake,” said the nurse as she checked the machines attached to Jane.

  “W…W…Where is Thomas?” stammered Jane croakily.

  “Who?” asked the nurse confusedly. “The man who comes to see you?...”

  “No. my baby, Thomas, where is he, I want to see him”

  The nurse suddenly looked uncomfortable.

  “I’m so sorry my dear … I don’t think I’m the one who should be telling you this but… well… Thomas… he died in the crash…. I’m so sorry…” she trailed off.

  Jane just lay in a state of shock.

  A few days later Jane returned home. The sight of Thomas’ things brought tears to her eyes. Then something caught her eye. She looked up. A card had been left on the sideboard. She walked towards it cautiously, looking around her. Gingerly she picked the card up. On the front it read “get well soon.” The message inside read, “welcome back Jane, I’ve missed you. You probably don’t remember me, but I remember you. And I know what you did. You killed my son, see you soon. X”

  Her hands shook as she dropped the card. As it fluttered to the floor a part of the message appeared again. “You killed my son. See you soon.” Was it from Travis? She thought. Did he escape the fire after all? Did he really know? If so, where was he now? She suddenly felt afraid. As if Travis was there, watching her, listening to her. She picked up the phone and called James, and begged him to come over.

  All night she sat on the couch, holding her knees, all the light were on. Staring at the card. Remembering its terrifying message.

  Every day more cards arrived, always ending with the same message. ‘See you soon.’

  Jane became paranoid. Every time the doorbell went she thought it was Travis, every time she heard the letterbox go she imagined it was another card. Every night she sat awake, lights surrounding her, always with company. Frightened in case he would come for her. She started going to work again, she was glad for the distraction; while she was working she could forget about the horrible cards.

  But things just got worse. She became friends with a punter who came to the bar every day, at the same time. One day when she asked his name, he told her a story and she realised with horror who he was. It was Travis! She stared into his dark eyes. And ran. She ran out of the bar but could hear his heavy footsteps following her. She turned around and screamed at him to leave her alone. His reply was simply

  “I told you I would see you soon.” As he glared at her, he continued “I know it’s your fault he died, Our baby! You killed him!” his voice took on amore dreamy softness “but I forgive you. I forgive you Jane. I forgive you for killing Tom. I forgive you for running away and leaving me. I forgive you for trying to kill me too. Remember? When you left me in that trailer to burn? But I forgive you,”

  As he spoke he advanced slowly on her. She looked fearful. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She backed away until she was trapped against an alley wall. “But you have to come back Jane. I have a new life, I own a flat, there’s enough room for you. Just come back, or…Or…”

  As he spoke he pulled a long glistening weapon from his waistline of his jeans. Its barrel was pointing at her chest. “Don’t make me hurt you, I don’t want to make you pay for everything you have done to me.” A shadow loomed over Travis and Jane, for a brief moment and Travis was distracted. That was when Jane acted. She forced the gun down and tried to twist it out of his grip.

  A loud, ear-splitting bang echoed around the small alley. Travis’s eyes were frozen wide, staring. They appeared to be staring past her. Blood oozed from a wound in his stomach. His shirt already caked in dried blood, staining it darker, as more blood seeped from the wound. He swayed slightly, then toppled forward and collided with the cold floor with a dull thud. Blood wound its way into the stones, and followed the path to the gutter. Her screams echoed through the street, until a policeman came running.

  And that is why I am sitting, rotting all alone, in this prison cell. After everything that happened I went crazy, whenever I re-think this story, I laugh hysterically until they come for me. They think I am calm, but they don’t know that I’m Happy. Happy that I killed Travis.