Chapter Twenty-Seven
An hour later, Ollie and I were cruising the aisles of the grocery store. I had intended on making the trip a quick one since I knew he would be ready for a nap soon, but I couldn’t help myself. Our weekly grocery trips were my favorite activity before everything had happened. There was a simple joy that came from walking through the bakery with the fresh baked bread aroma wafting through the air to finding new things stocked in the freezer section. I understood Anthony’s need to keep us safe, but I still needed these little things.
Ollie was talking away when I crouched down to look at something on a lower shelf. I kept my hand on the lower bar of the cart, making sure it didn’t roll away while I was looking. When I went to reach for something, my arm was tugged roughly as if someone was trying to take the cart. Jumping up, my heart dropped into my stomach when I saw the familiar face.
Kimberly had her hands wrapped around the end of the cart. She looked rough, her eyes bloodshot and her clothes disheveled. I was almost certain the smell of rotten food that assaulted my nose was from her.
“Give me my son,” she spat, staring at me with rage. “You think you can just move in and play house with my husband and son?”
“Kimberly, you’re scaring Oliver. Let’s take some deep breaths and we can talk about this.” I whispered to her as if talking to a spooked animal while keeping a firm grip on the cart. Oliver was as far forward in the seat as possible and had his little hands wrapped around mine. My heart was hammering in my chest, trying to figure out a way to get out of here without putting him in danger.
“No!” Kimberly screamed. “I want my son now.” Why was no one around when I needed help?
Making a split second decision, I pushed the cart toward her and caught her off guard. She tumbled backwards, her body flailing until she hit the floor. Quickly, I scooped up Oliver and ran through the store as fast as possible, making my way to the parking lot. Of course, when we got here, it was busy, and I had to park near the end of the aisle. As I sprinted through the now nearly empty lot, I pulled the key from my pocket and unlocked the doors.
Buckling a crying Ollie into his car seat, I knew I needed to call Anthony. This was something he needed to know about immediately. The adrenaline was coursing through me, my hands shaking as I pulled out my phone. I was trying to dial Anthony with one hand while comforting Oliver with the other when a large hand covered my mouth, pulling me backwards until my body was flush against whoever held me.
My head was tipped backwards and bile rose up my throat when I saw the eyes that haunted my nightmares for weeks. Why had I not recognized those eyes? The metallic shine of something shoved into the inside pocket of the jacket flashed in my vision as an arm rushed forward, yanking my phone out of my grasp and onto the ground. The crunching of the glass diminished any hope that had been left.
“Scream and I’ll shoot the kid while I make you watch,” Matt said through gritted teeth, his hand now resting on what I was certain was a gun. There was no way for me to get away from him and keep Ollie safe. I nodded my head, what little I could, anyway, with his grip on me. Slowly, he lowered his hand from my mouth, gripping my upper arm tightly enough to make the back of my eyes burn with tears. “Now, close the door and walk to the other side. Slowly.”
I went through the motions, closing Ollie’s door then rounding the back of the car, while Matt followed closely behind. Matt opened the rear passenger door and yanked the car keys from my pocket before shoving me away from him. I turned to face him, scanning the parking lot to try to find someone who could help. Where was everyone?
“Matt, please. You don’t have to do this,” I whispered, deciding to make one last effort to get through to him. “Let Ollie go and I’ll come with you. We’ll go back to Pennsylvania and we can forget any of this ever happened.” Cold metal struck the side of my face. My vision blurred and pain radiated through my skull. I slumped backwards, crashing hard against the backseat of my car as my legs were harshly shoved in and the door slammed close behind me.
The car started moving. I grabbed onto the side of the car seat, pulling myself up to a sitting position. Ollie’s cries added to the pounding in my head. He was scared. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay, but I couldn’t even convince myself of that right now.
We slowed to a stop, the world still out of focus as I tried to blink away some of the fuzziness when someone got into the passenger seat. The car jerked forward, and I held onto the seat for balance. We drove for a bit, the only sounds being the traffic outside the car. Ollie’s cries had softened into whines and my vision slowly came back. I could just make out Matt and the mystery person in the front seat.
“You had one job. ONE!” Matt’s screams echoed through the car, silencing Ollie entirely. “How the hell did you fuck it up?”
“Fuck off.” The familiar voice sent shivers down my back and everything became clear. Kimberly was supposed to take Ollie, so I would be distracted. Neither of them planned on me protecting this little boy with every fiber of my being.
Silence filled the car as we drove for what felt like an eternity, my head still throbbing as I tried to focus on the moving scenery outside the car. Finally, we turned off the main road, heading down a street that looked like it was ripped out of a post apocalyptic novel. Houses were boarded up and a basketball hoop was on its side halfway into the road. Matt parked behind a beat up black Toyota.
Kimberly cleared her throat. “What’s the plan now?”
“I’m switching cars. You can take your whiny ass son and do whatever. I don’t give a fuck.” Matt climbed out of the driver’s seat, quickly making his way around the car.
I looked to Ollie, trying to think of a way to protect him, when the silver bracelet around my wrist caught my attention. Why had I been so stupid? Acting fast, I took it off, pushing the charm like Anthony had shown me, and shoved it into the pocket of Ollie’s jacket. Anthony may not be happy with my choice, but he needed to be able to find his son. Knowing Anthony would find him put some of my frayed nerves at ease. I would be able to get away later.
“Daddy will find you, my sweet boy,” I whispered to Ollie, kissing his forehead. “You are so brave. I love you so much.” Matt yanked me from the car, Oliver’s renewed screams still audible after the door was closed. I forced back the tears threatening to escape. Matt would not get to see me cry.
Kimberly switched seats, a menacing grin on her face as she backed away and drove off. Matt yanked on my arm, causing me to stumble into him. Matt chuckled into my ear. “Let’s go, baby. I have plans for you.” I wasn’t going to follow willingly, not now that Ollie was out of the way. Spinning on my heel, I rammed my knee between his legs, making contact with my intended target.
“You stupid fucking bitch,” Matt’s grip on my arm loosened his hands flew down to cup his dick. You would think the asshole would have learned his lesson after the first time. I took a step backward and turned, breaking out into a run with no idea where I was going. Matt screamed something at me, but I forced myself to focus on getting as far away from him as I could.
A shot rang out. Searing pain on my thigh spread through my leg caused my knee to give out and I fell to the ground. Darkness creeped into the edges of my vision as I laid there. The last thing I saw was Matt standing over me with the gun pointed at my head. “I told you this wasn’t over…”