Chapter 3 August #2
As tall and broad as the man was, tattooed, his head shaved, skin-tight t-shirt almost bursting around his biceps, he wasn’t in the least intimidating.
He exuded a kind of calm, his motions slow and calculated, his smile genuine as he walked his coworkers to their cars.
I doubted he’d ever laid a hand on someone in anger before.
I watched from the shadows, fighting the urge to approach him, to see what help he might offer me.
He even looked capable of protecting me from Victor, probably without even breaking a sweat.
“Thanks for walking me to my car, Jerry,” a slight blond woman said as he held her car door open for her. They were just ten feet away, close enough that I could just barely smell her perfume, and I melted back into the shadows.
“No need to thank me. It’s a common courtesy to make sure you get to your car, safe and sound.
You have a good night,” he told her, but before she could get in the driver’s seat, he seemed to remember something he’d meant to tell her.
“Oh! And make sure you swing by to grab some eggs next week. I’ve got more than I know what to do with. I’ll set some aside for you.”
Her face lit up. “That would be amazing! They are so damn expensive these days. What’s your address again?” She pulled her phone out, and he recited an address for her to write down. Without really intending to, my brain snagged onto the info.
An idea began to form, sinking its claws into me. A way to keep my daughter safe and away from her father. A way to set her free.
This man, Jerry, waited until everyone else left before he climbed into a black SUV.
As soon as he pulled out, I pushed off the brick wall and forced my body to move.
My hips ached, my lower back and abdomen tender, and I could feel blood gushing out of me.
This is normal, I told myself. All omegas go through this after birth.
But it felt like a lie. I was lightheaded, but I was also desperate, and that would have to be enough to get me through this.
When I saw a cab, I flagged it down. It pulled up at the curb, and I climbed into the back with some difficulty.
The driver looked through the partition at me, his expression reflecting an array of emotions, from shock to concern, and then through to suspicion.
I hoped the light was too dim for him to see the blood on my clothes and the towel Mia was wrapped in.
“Is that a baby? I can’t take you. I don’t have a car seat,” he said. “I can call another cab for you.”
“No, please,” I begged, letting my desperation seep through.
“I don’t have far to go, but I really need to get there fast. Please.
I’ll give you everything I have.” I pulled out my wallet and fished out the last of my cash.
It was all I could scrouge up before I left Victor, but if my plan worked, it would be worth it.
The man’s eyes softened, and he sighed. “I’d better not get into trouble for this,” he grumbled, but he turned around in his seat and pulled away from the curb. I was grateful when he didn’t turn on the meter. “Where to?”
I was surprised to startle awake when the cab pulled to a stop, and the overhead light came on.
I thought I was too geared up to close my eyes, let alone sleep.
I blinked out the window to see a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city.
There was a single light on the porch illuminating the large yard, and I could just see the outline of a barn off to one side.
There, parked in the driveway, was the same black SUV I’d seen leaving Mickey’s.
“You sure this is the place?” the driver asked skeptically.
I tried to fill my voice with confidence as I said, “Yeah, this is it.” I knew there were places I could drop off my baby, no questions asked, but there was no guarantee Victor wouldn’t find her there, and a simple DNA test would show he was her father. I couldn’t risk it.
I went to shove the cash through the partition’s window, but the guy didn’t take it right away.
He sighed, taking a moment to look at me properly, gaze lingering on the blood caking my fingernails. I tried to tuck my hand into the towel, but it was too late, he’d seen it. “Look, are you sure you don’t need a hospital? I won’t even charge you. If you’re in some kind of trouble…”
“Really, I’m fine,” I said firmly, waving the cash at him. When he still didn’t take it, I dropped the wad on the front seat and pushed open the door. “Thanks for the ride.” A fresh gush of blood spilled out of me when I stood up, but I tried my best to ignore it. I was almost home free.
I had to go around the side of the house, out of sight, before the cab driver finally drove away.
I took the opportunity to glance through the house windows, and I liked what I saw.
It was like a scene out of some family movie.
A quaint country kitchen, dishes stacked in the drying rack.
Books on the table, artwork and pictures stuck on the fridge with magnets.
There was a pile of shoes by the door, some big, some smaller, belonging to a kid.
This man had a family, and I knew in my heart that this was the right place.
The people here would take good care of Mia.
As if she knew my plan, she began to squirm against my chest, fussing, and I shushed her, rocking her gently as I headed for the barn. “Soon, sweetheart, but let me have a little more time with you. I’m not ready to say goodbye just yet.” I wasn’t sure if I ever would be…
It was warm inside the barn, and I made myself a nest in the corner.
I could hear the soft cooing from some chickens in their coop, but they didn’t seem bothered by us.
“Shh, here we are, sweetie.” I unwrapped the towel and changed Mia’s diaper, before I brought her to my chest, trying to feed her again, but something was still wrong.
I’d thought maybe the first time I tried, it was just stress and an awkward position that made it impossible, but even now, she couldn’t seem to latch on.
A few drops of milk formed on my nipple, but it didn’t seem like enough.
Exhausted, we both fell asleep sometime around dawn, and I didn’t wake up until I heard the grumble of a diesel engine.
Panic left me disoriented, and for a second, I had no clue where I was.
Clutching my baby, I crawled so I could peek around the barn door and saw a teenager, maybe 13 or 14, running to catch a bus that had parked at the end of the driveaway.
When the boy turned back to wave goodbye to his dad, he was wearing a beaming smile, and I found myself smiling in reply.
It was so… wholesome. The boy’s attention turned to the barn, and I sat back, hoping he hadn’t seen me.
When the bus rumbled away, I finally risked a glance back at the house, where I saw the man from last night disappear back into the house.
Tears burned at my eyes, because I knew it was time.
Mia needed more than I could provide for her, and even though it broke my heart, I knew this was what she needed.
Jerry could get her medical attention without it leading back to me.
He was a good man, I knew it. He would help her.
“Please forgive me, my sweet girl,” I whispered, slipping out of the barn.
“You’ll be safer this way, you’ll be happy.
” I instilled as much of my heart into that promise as I could. It had to be true.
Setting her down on the porch, I knocked on the door and then quickly limped back to the barn where I could watch to make sure he brought her in.
He didn’t answer the door, though. “Come on,” I hissed, my legs growing too weak to hold me up, and I sagged, gripping the wood hard enough to get splinters.
This was taking too long, and I could see the towel moving as Mia kicked inside the poorly wrapped swaddle. “Come on, answer the door!”
Mia’s reedy cry broke the silence, and my breath froze in my lungs, instincts demanding I go to her.
The guilt was like a rusty knife through my ribs.
My baby needed me! I’d taken three wobbly steps back toward her when the door finally opened.
I just barely managed to fall back into hiding when Jerry stepped out.
He looked around once, scanning for whoever might’ve knocked, before bending down to pick Mia up.
“Hey there,” he cooed softly. “Who might you be?” He was so careful with her, his large hands easily cradling her to his shoulder with the practised ease of a man who had experience with a baby.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I watched him take my baby inside. This was what I’d wanted, right? What my baby girl needed. But that didn’t make the decision any easier. I knew I should leave now, but I needed to know that she would be okay, that he would get her the care she needed.
I would stay just a little while longer… just to make sure…