The Road To Maine Is Bloody Part 6

Stephen held the book, opening it to the first page where he’d written his dedication of Annie and then went to the marked page. His brow furrowed and his mouth frowned. Ashley noticed tears welling up in his eyes before he looked up, closing the book and sighed, looking at her. “I hope you don’t think I killed her. I loved her Ashley, more than you know but I don’t know if I should tell you, even though it happened years ago.”  

Ashley’s heart beat a mile per minute and she swallowed. “Please Mr. King, I have to know why I found this near my mother after her murder. It was in a wrap and noted like a Christmas present with your words on them. This is for my number one fan and my number one character.” The words she spoke seemed to spark a chilling memory and Stephen’s eyes filled with tears.  

“Come in the living room and sit down, I have something to tell you that you might find a bit shocking.” He motioned to the black leather sofa and Ashley sat on it, her body sinking into the thick material that inside felt as if you were sitting on a cloud.

Stephen sat down and rubbed his hands together as he looked at the floor, the flames from the fire in the fireplace licking shadows against his face. Everything froze in Maine in the Fall and it was only the first week in September. He raised his head and smiled weakly to her. “When I met Annie, she was auditioning for my movie Misery and after she’d read the part, I introduced myself and we had an instant connection. We became fast friends while the movie was being made and before long I grew really fond of her and asked her out to dinner.” 

“As the weeks went by, we began to get closer and before we could grasp what was happening, we started having an affair. She had told me she was married while in bed together but that they were growing apart. That’s the time your father left, leaving your mother only a letter telling her he was unhappy and had filed for divorce. We didn’t mean it to happen but it did.”