Power Read Online Free PDF Page A

there.
    “Fine, I’ll leave when you call me,” I said right before he started walking away. “Please, Alex, tell Sam bye and give her a hug and a kiss,” I pleaded with him as he approached the living room. And, thankfully, he did as I asked.
    ***
    The day went by pretty normally after that, until about 4:00 in the afternoon when I got a phone call from an “unknown caller.” As usual, I did not answer the call. I have no idea who it is, and thus have no desire to talk to them. But this unknown caller was very persistent. They called four times in 20 minutes before I finally decided to answer.
    “Allison? It’s Rick.”
    I sighed directly into the phone, but he went on, “Please do not hang up on me. Please just listen to me. I am in no way confused or insane, quite the contrary. I know exactly what I came here for and what I need to do. Please, please listen to what I have to say.”
    With my patience wearing thin I said, “Rick, you have been gone from my life for too long for me to care what you have to say now. And I have way too many things going on in my life to add anything to the mix. I don’t know if you have had someone watching me or what, but please just leave me alone.”
    “Watching you? Of course not. I don’t even know where you live now. I am not kidding. But there are things happening that you need to be aware of. You and your loved ones are not safe.” There was so much concern in his voice; I wanted to believe him, but…
    Sighing, I asked, “What the hell does that mean? Are you threatening me?”. No one would be allowed to endanger my family. Maybe this guy had really gone crazy, like real crazy, where he randomly kills people he used to know.
    “Of course not, I’m trying to help you and keep you safe. I still care about you and your mother. Can you meet me somewhere, please? If what I have to say to you means nothing after that, then I will leave and stay out of your life. You have my word.”
    He sounded so sincere. Even if there was only a miniscule amount of truth in his statement, I needed to know. Giving in to his requests I asked, “When and where?”
    “Where are you at now?” There was so much joy thrown into that statement, it almost made me change my mind. But I decided to hear him out, and then hopefully he would leave me alone. At least then I could get some answers too.
    “We live in the same place we used to. Haven’t moved yet. Do you remember Fiesta Park? It’s like 5 minutes from the house. I have to meet someone there later anyways, so I can talk to you for a little while there. Ok?”
    “Yes, of course I remember the park. We spent many afternoons there together, you, your mother, and me. How soon can you meet me there?”
    Pulling the phone away from my ear, I looked at the clock. Already 4:45, if I left now, that would give me about 20 minutes, thirty at the most, to talk to Rick before Alex would be calling me. “I can be there in five minutes. How soon can you get there??”
    “I am about 15 minutes away. I will head that way now,” he said, again sounding elated.
    “Fine. I'll see you in 15. Good bye, Rick.”
    “See you soon, darling.” Then he hung up. Darling? That’s what he used to call me when I was five years old. But I was definitely no longer his ‘darling.’
    Sighing, I walked back into the house to talk to my mother. She was in her favorite rocking chair reading, just as she almost always was. I inherited a passion for reading from her, it was a wonderful way to pretend your own life was different. Books offered an escape from reality.
    “Mom, I need to get out for a while. Since I already told Alex that I would meet him at the park, I was thinking I could go a little early and walk off some extra energy. Do you mind watching Sam for me?”
    “Of course not, Sweetie.” She answered without looking up from the novel. But as I turned to go, she looked up as if remembering something. “Did you finish your painting yet?”
    I had