The day Abby went home from the hospital she found out Jay had been arrested for kidnapping her. Knowing he was locked away made her sleep much better. For the first time in months, Abby wasn’t bothered by the nightmares. When she arrived at her office the next morning, everything came crashing down again. There was a police officer waiting in her office. “Jay escaped last night, you need to be on the look out. He told many other prisoners he would come after you if he ever got out.” Abby went through her day on edge. She jumped at the smallest noises, and quake in fear.

“Abby this can be easy or hard, it’s your choice. You can come back, and live with me, or I can make your life miserable, it all up to you.” When Abby answered her phone, she had frozen when she had heard Jay’s voice. Her mind reeled with questions, how had he gotten her number? Did he know where she lived? Was he watching her right now? “I’ll give you some time to think about it, then we’ll talk again.” Before Abby could respond she heard a click on the other end. Abby hung up the phone and sat there, too afraid to move. When the phone rang again a few minutes later, Abby knocked a vase off the table, shattering it. Shaking she picked up the phone, and we relieved when she realized this call was not from Jay. “Abby, it’s Gary, are you ok? You sound a little tense?” “I’m ok,” she lied. “Just still haven’t quite gotten over it all.” “Oh,” he said. Abby could tell by his tone he did not believe her. “Well, I was wondering if you would like to go get coffee with me sometime.”  “I’d love to.” Abby stated as she moved to start picking up the broken vase. “How is Wednesday for you?” Gary asked, concern still evident in his voice.

Abby carried her cordless phone to the kitchen when she went to dump the broken glass. The sound of a crash and patio door breaking had her on her feet again. “Gary, can you hold on for a moment, I think Jay might be breaking in on me again. “You need to call the police, even if it turns out to be a false alarm. Let me find my cell phone and I will call them, you’ll have to give me your address.”  “Ok, what else do I need to do?” Abby responded after rattling off her address.  “Stay where you are, don’t go near that door.” Abby was already edging around the corner. As the counter came into view, Abby relaxed a little, she could see a pitcher laying on the floor, broken to bits. The cat must have jumped on the counter and knocked it over. “I think everything is clear, the cat just knocked a pitcher off the counter.” As she was picking up a large piece of glass Abby saw something that made her heart stop. A pipe bomb lay five foot from where Abby stood. Backing away, she tried to get out before it went off. The timer read two seconds when Abby tripped and fell.  A second later, thunder shook the house, and Abby felt broken, burning splinters hitting her back. Abby lay in the rubble of her kitchen, pinned by a large beam.  From far away, she could hear her name being called but she just didn’t have the energy to dig the phone out of the mess, which lay in front of her. Pain shot through her right leg, and Abby was unable to resist the blackness over taking her. She could hear the sound of approaching sirens. As the firemen stormed in, Abby let the blackness take her under. She woke up many hours later in the hospital, pain still surging through her legs. It took a moment for her mind to clear enough for Abby to remember what had happened. Instantly, fear filled her. How bad was she hurt? Since Abby could feel her legs, she assumed she had not been paralyzed, but the thick covering her lower body scared her. Were they trying to keep her from seeing she had lost one or both legs?