Chapter 26 #2
But today the divorce papers were delivered to Cole, which means my anxiety has been through the roof.
I’ve even felt nauseous while wondering what his reaction would be.
Honestly, I expected a phone call from him, but my phone has been quiet all day except for a few texts from Rhonan here and there.
“Ms. Vienna?” Ellis says, pulling on the bottom of my shirt and reminding me that she’s on a mission.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Can we please go outside and find a big rock? I want to paint it to look like me, and then we can put it in your backyard so Roscoe has a friend at your house.”
“Aw, I love that idea.” Reminders from Rhonan about staying home enter my mind, but I don’t see any harm in walking around the neighborhood. “Okay, get your shoes and socks on.”
“Yay!” Ellis runs to the front door and slips on her new Frozen Crocs that Rhonan got for her. She wears them any chance she can get. In a matter of seconds, she’s right back beside me. “I’m ready.”
“I can see that.”
“Ms. Vienna?” Ellis grabs my hand as I reach for my cell phone on the counter, slip it into my pocket, and follow her lead to the front door.
“Yes, Ellis?”
“I’m really glad you’re my teacher.”
“Aw, me too, sweet girl.” We stand at the edge of the sidewalks that line the streets in Rhonan’s neighborhood and look both ways before we cross the street. Our hands remain locked as we walk down the road to an empty field nearby to hunt for a rock that Ellis deems big enough.
“And I’m glad that my daddy kissed you, even though it’s gross.”
I chuckle. “One day, you won’t think that way.”
Ellis grows quiet for a minute. “Can we make cupcakes for my mommy’s birthday?”
Her question throws me for a loop. “When is your mommy’s birthday?”
“June thirteenth.”
“Then we should definitely make cupcakes for her birthday. Did she like cupcakes?”
“I don’t know.” My heart aches for her. “But I do, and your friend Lydia likes them, and since they’re angels together, we should make some for them.”
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nod. “I think so too.”
“Are you gonna be my mommy?” The curiosity in her voice nearly tears my heart in two.
“No one can replace your mom, Ellis.”
“But my mommy is in heaven, and I need a mommy here.” She leans her head on my hip as we continue to walk, stepping along the path as the field grows closer.
My gut tells me not to respond because I’m not the one that gets to make that decision—Rhonan does.
I know he said he wants a life with me, but there’s still so much to figure out between the two of us, and the last thing I want to do is tell this beautiful little girl that I would love nothing more than to be her mom here on earth, and then not have that happen.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my twenty-eight years of life, it’s that nothing is guaranteed.
Unfortunately, I don’t get a chance to respond either way because a black SUV creeps up beside us, sending my pulse climbing.
I keep my head pointed straight so as not to alarm Ellis, but when I hear the window move down and the voice of the driver, every hair on my body stands up.
“Good evening, Ms. Lewis.”
I freeze, and Ellis nearly trips on the sidewalk beside me.
Slowly, I turn to face the man that I’ve seen on more than one occasion in town, and suddenly, that intuition that I was ignoring before rears its ugly head. But I don’t respond.
“Lovely night for a stroll in Blossom Peak, isn’t it?”
“Can I help you with something?” I manage to squeak out despite the dread filling my gut.
“You can get in the car without me having to force you,” he says, his voice growing more irritated as I hear him put the car in park.
“And why would I do that?”
He lifts a gun just above the window so I can see it, but I stand in front of Ellis to hopefully prevent her from seeing it. “So I don’t have to use this.”
“She’s five,” I whisper. “I can’t leave her.”
He nods. “She comes too then.”
“Ms. Vienna?” Ellis peers around me. “Who is that man?”
“Uh, he’s a…friend. We’re gonna get in the car with him for a little bit, okay?”
Nodding, he exits the SUV and unlocks the back door, opening it for me and Ellis to enter as my thoughts start to spiral and my eyes land on the gray at his temples standing out against his jet-black hair.
Oh my God, how am I going to get us out of this? Where is he going to take us?
And why is my location on my phone off in an instance when I wish it weren’t?
Ellis peers back at me as I help her up. “But what about the rock?”
“We can find a rock later, okay?” Ellis jumps into the SUV and then I follow behind her, nearly falling because every part of my body is shaking right now.
“But I don’t have my booster chair,” Ellis says as she slides further into the vehicle.
“It’s okay, Ellis. Just—just sit down for me, okay?”
“Ms. Vienna… I’m scared.” The terror in her voice makes me grow emotional until I take my seat next to her and hear the car door shut.
But when I look up to the front of the vehicle, I see the man I was hoping I’d never have to come face to face with again sitting in the passenger seat—and then true nausea builds in my stomach because there’s no telling what might happen to us now.