Chapter 2 Kylie #2
I gulped as I watched him now. I was afraid of him.
I was afraid of what he was capable of doing.
Carter was in there. There were other children in there.
Tony was capable of hurting anyone to get what he wanted.
I had to find the courage from somewhere.
I had to force myself to get out and face my fears.
If there was anyone he was going to hurt, it had to be me.
Breathing in deeply, I tried to calm my thudding heart.
“Just tell him to fuck off. Threaten him with the cops,” I spoke to myself in whispers, under my breath, trying to convince myself that it was going to be all right.
I still couldn’t. It was too hard for me.
Even though it was broad daylight, and even though I knew that Joan would help, she would call the cops if it were necessary…
I couldn’t bring myself to leave the car.
I panicked again when I saw Tony move. His arms fell down to his sides, and he straightened up from his leaning position.
That was the alert I needed, and I looked up at the door of the daycare.
It was opening. My mouth fell open in fright.
Joan was supposed to keep all the kids in, but now I watched in horror as I saw Carter step out through the open doors.
I nearly screeched as I jumped out of my car.
Carter was running down the steps, and Joan was fast on his heels behind him, trying to get a hold of him before he got closer to Tony.
I knew Carter had seen my car through the window.
He was excited to see me. He was looking at me now as I ran towards him.
“Mommy!” Carter squealed with joy as he tried to rush towards me.
“Carter, no!” Joan screeched behind him, missing him by a few inches as he jumped off the last step. I had rushed passed Tony, avoiding his eyes as I flung myself towards Carter and scooped him up in my arms in one motion.
“I knew this would sniff you out,” I heard Tony’s voice behind me as I hugged Carter tightly to myself.
“Do you want me to call someone?” Joan asked, staring directly into my eyes, her face was flushed pink in fright.
“Not right away. Thank you, Joan. You should go back in and stay with the kids,” I told her and finally turned to Tony. I listened for the sound of Joan locking the door behind her as she went inside.
Carter was clinging to me, completely unaware of the scene he had caused by rushing out of the building. Thankfully, he barely recognized Tony, and I had taught him to stay away from strangers.
“What do you want, Tony?” I hissed as I stood several feet away from him. Tony was grinning now; he was having fun. He liked to see me frightened.
“I’ve told you to call me, Scar,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. I rolled my eyes at him. I didn’t care what name he liked his biker friends to call him.
“What do you want?” I repeated myself. Tony squared his shoulders threateningly and took a step towards me.
I took a step back, clutching Carter tighter to myself.
I was hoping he wouldn’t fidget too much, because I didn’t want him wriggling himself out of my grasp.
I could still sense my heart beating wildly in my chest. There was no way I could make a run for it, not with Carter in my arms. Tony would easily be able to grab us if he wanted.
“I’m here for my son, Kylie…you know I miss him,” he said with the same grin on his face still. I stuck my chin up in the air, trying to assert self-confidence.
“I want you to stay away from him. I don’t want you getting anywhere near him,” I hissed at Tony again, and he threw his head back and laughed, as if I said something funny. Even though he was laughing, I had noticed the look of rage in his eyes. He was not pleased by my behavior.
“Don’t be jealous, babe, I miss you too. I want us to live together again. As a family,” he said, and this time it was my turn to laugh. It wasn’t funny. It was hilarious!
“We were never a family, Tony,” I began to say.
“Scar!” he corrected me again.
“And there is no way we are coming back to live with you. The sooner you realize that, the better it will be for all of us,” I said, gripping Carter tightly. Tony was still grinning. He wasn’t taking any of this seriously.
“I know we’ve had our differences, but I can fix things, babe. All you have to do is give me a chance,” he said, and I clenched my jaw in anger.
“There is nothing to fix. It broke three years ago, and there is nothing you can do about it. I don’t want to be with you. Just accept it,” I said and decided it was time to go. I had a feeling that Joan was watching us, and I trusted her to call the cops if Tony tried to come close to us.
“Don’t be like this, babe. You’re just being stubborn,” he said in a casual flirty voice as I walked passed him, keeping a firm grip on Carter in my arms.
“Stay away from me!” I said as I rushed towards my parked car. I was still afraid, frightened, that he would follow us, that he might block my path to the car, but thankfully, he didn’t. Tony remained standing where we had left him, and he didn’t respond to what I had just said.
At the car, I quickly strapped Carter into his carseat in the back and jumped to the front. I kept my eyes averted from Tony as I started the car and strapped myself in.
“Mommy, was that Daddy?” Carter asked, and I felt my fingers shaking as I started the car. I knew I needed to be calm while driving, especially with my son in the backseat, but with my nerves frayed, I couldn’t get a hold on myself.
“You don’t have to worry about it, honey. Did you have a nice day?” I spoke in a cooing voice to Carter as I stepped on the accelerator.
“Miss Meyers let me do drawing,” Carter said. He had already forgotten what had just happened.
As I drove away, I looked in the rearview mirror.
Tony was still standing there. The grin had dropped from his face now, and he was glaring at us.
I caught his eyes in the mirror, dark and threatening.
I knew this wasn’t over. He wasn’t about to let it drop like this.
For the time being, Carter was safe, and Tony hadn’t done anything.
“That’s very good, honey. You can show them to me when we get home,” I spoke to Carter, driving out of Tony’s view.
I could hear my phone buzzing in the seat next to me. I had rushed out of the VA without informing anybody. I had already missed my appointment with a patient, and my colleagues couldn’t get ahold of me.
“Baby, you will have to come to work with Mommy today. Only for a little while,” I said.
“Yay! I love going to work!” Carter squealed with joy behind me, and I smiled at him through the rearview mirror.
He had my blond hair, but it was shaggy and straight like his father’s.
He had Tony’s dark eyes as well, and I gulped.
As much as I loved Carter, as desperately protective as I was of him, I knew that the older he got, he would remind me of Tony every day.
Carter was smiling at me now through the mirror, and I blew him a kiss. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. I’d protect him with my life if I had to.