Chapter 5 #2
Kayla nodded, understanding my concern. “Right. So when my brother is on shift, you can just come hang out with me. I do real estate, and a lot of times I just drive around this town and pick one of my brothers or my parents to bother. But since my parents are gone this weekend, it’ll just be the three of us. ”
My heart raced. “Except I have to be on security tonight for the class reunion.”
“Great!” she told the woman. “Then you can just hang out with me tonight.”
The plan was forming in my mind, puzzle pieces clicking into place. “Actually, I’ll be off my normal shift at five, so we could all get dinner then. But I’m working the high school reunion tonight, so you could hang out after.”
She let out a long breath, and for a second her face was startlingly sad again, like a storm cloud passing over a summer landscape.
Then she tried to smile, the effort visible.
“I guess … thank you, all of you.” She looked between my mother and sister, gratitude fighting with confusion in her eyes.
“Thank you for the clothes. I like them.” She smoothed a hand down the yellow fabric, and sunlight from the window made it glow against her skin.
“And thank you for the makeup. I need it. And okay, I will do what you guys are saying; stay with McCrae, but hang out with Kayla tonight.”
My mother stopped packing the suitcase, her movements suddenly decisive in the quiet room. “It’s only an overnight camping trip, and Sunday we have church, family dinner, and then McCrae’s birthday party.” She turned to the woman. “You have to come to all of that.”
The woman looked surprised, and I almost protested, but what else would she do? Sit alone in an unfamiliar house?
“I don’t know why we’re even having a party,” I grumbled.
My mother frowned at me. “He’s turning thirty.” She turned to the woman.
The woman looked me up and down; her gaze was a physical thing I could feel against my skin.
It was weird. I didn’t know if she wanted to say I looked old or I looked young.
I couldn’t really tell how old she was. She was probably around my age, although she did look younger with that smooth skin and those wide, haunted eyes.
My brain cranked up a notch. Was she married? Did she have a boyfriend? Was she running from someone? The questions crowded my throat, but I hesitated, holding them back. She clearly didn’t have answers to them.
She smiled, a genuine expression that transformed her face. “Well, happy birthday.”
I nodded. This whole thing was so confusing, like trying to read a book with half the pages missing. “Thank you.”
Dr. Chavez walked in, the door swinging wide, and he looked around at us before eyeing the woman. He turned to me. “So I guess you’re taking her. I’m releasing her into your custody.”
I nodded, the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. “Yeah.”
We filled out some paperwork, the scratching of pens on forms the only sound for several minutes, and then we were all walking out of the hospital together.
The automatic doors whooshed open, releasing us into the warm afternoon sunshine that seemed too cheerful for the uncertainty we carried.
I hesitated on the sidewalk, keys jangling in my hand.
My mother said, “Okay, well, she can come with us while you finish your shift, and then you can pick her up, and you and Kayla can go have dinner with her.”
The woman seemed uncertain about who to go with, her gaze darting between us like a cornered animal looking for escape.
I hesitated, my decision crystallizing. “Hold up.” I picked up my phone and called Damon.
He answered on the first ring. “Yeah?” His voice was distracted; background noise suggested he was multitasking.
I explained the situation and said, “Can I take off now and then just go to the high school to do extra security?”
It sounded like he was scrambling around his office, papers rustling, and then he cursed and said, “Right, I have to go finish packing and get everything ready for tonight, don’t I?
” He let out a light laugh that echoed through the phone.
“I’m glad you called, or Isla would kill me.
Okay, look, we don’t need you right now.
Yes, why don’t you take off and get her settled, and then you can do security tonight at the high school. ”
“Okay, sounds good.” I got off the phone and turned to all of them. “She’s going to come with me. I don’t have to report until tonight at the high school.”
For an awkward moment, no one moved.
Then my mother gave her a light hug. “Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow evening, for sure. I mean, we’ll be back from camping.”
Kayla hesitated. She gave me a look and cocked an eyebrow, a silent question in her expression. “So you don’t want me to come with you guys now?”
I waved a hand through the air. “I’ll drop her off with you later.”
Kayla nodded, then leaned in and gave the woman a hug, their shadows merging on the concrete. She paused, pulling back slightly. “So this might seem like a brash question, but what would you like us to call you?”
The woman looked confused and then laughed. “I guess …” She turned to me, uncertainty clouding her expression. “What was on that slip of paper?”
“Oh, I guess I should just tell you now. It was a name that you used to rent the car, but they can’t find any trace of it, so it’s probably fake.”
Her mouth gaped open, the color draining from her face. “So I gave them a fake name?”
I nodded, watching her process this new piece of the puzzle.
My mother and Kayla looked concerned.
The woman swallowed hard, and then she shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to do this.” Her voice cracked.
I wanted to pull her in, to offer comfort, but I felt like it was too soon.
My mother was already hugging her, and so was Kayla, their arms creating a protective circle around her trembling shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” they murmured in unison.
She pulled in a long breath that shuddered through her body.
I caught a glimpse of her hand and wrists and forearms; there was bruising there, purple and yellow marks telling a story she couldn’t remember.
Not to mention that despite the makeup on her eye, it was still visibly black, the swelling visible beneath the concealer.
Still, she was better off than she’d been the other day when I’d found her disoriented and frightened.
“I just—I’m so confused. I don’t know why I would be running. Who am I running from?” She flung her hands up in a desperate gesture. “And if I have family, will they even know where I am?”
I was processing this with her, my cop instincts humming beneath the surface. “I’m texting Damon about this.” I whipped out my phone and texted him quickly. “I’m just thinking that it might not be a good idea for a few days to post your picture anywhere, in case you were running from someone.”
She sniffed. “Right, because I’m in so much trouble I had to run away from who knows what.”
Kayla hugged her again, offering silent support. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
I sent the text.
My mother nodded. “Me too.”
The woman sucked in a long breath and turned back to me, squaring her shoulders with determination. “Let’s go. I want to get away from this hospital.”
I nodded, keys ready, wondering what secrets lay behind those haunted green eyes and what dangers might be following her to my door.