Chapter 12
Evelyn
The sun shining through the paneled blinds woke me up. My eyes blink into focus, and I notice I’m alone. Parker isn't on the floor by the door. I listen for the sound of running water, but the room is unsettlingly silent.
My heart begins to race a bit, but then I notice a pen next to a piece of crumpled paper on the table in the corner.
“Out getting breakfast! Be back soon.” The words calm my heart. Ever since we crossed the New Jersey State line, I've felt like I had a target on my back. Charles wanted to hunt me down.
He banked on catching me alone. I just hoped we weren’t followed.
Taking in the room, I noticed the other side of the bed was mussed up and the sheet strewn as if someone had slept beside me.
Running my hands over the sheets, it suddenly all comes back to me—I hadn't realized it at first, but I had woken up so calmly.
Waking up without panic was unfamiliar to me.
The sound of my own screams had roused me awake for the past year and a half.
I remember waking up in the middle of the night to a voice calling out my name.
When I finally shook the dream, sobs had wracked my body uncontrollably.
I held onto Parker like he was a lifeboat and I was drowning. I must have fallen asleep again.
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. I didn’t want Parker to see me like that.
As much as I wished for peace before I shut my eyes, I knew that my mind wouldn’t let me catch a break.
Waking up to Parker’s eyes on mine for the second time was startling.
The nightmare felt so much worse than other nights.
The dream was so vivid. He was dragging me by the ankles through the glass and debris.
It was like I could feel every shard. When I grabbed onto Parker, I meant to push him away, but once his arms steadied mine, something cracked inside of me.
I could chalk it up to exhaustion, but that wouldn’t be completely true.
I was starved for physical touch just as much as I was averse to it.
No one’s touch felt right, not that I’ve explored many options these days.
Something broke inside me. The wound that never healed properly was now critical.
Last night I felt like if I didn’t hold on to something, someone, that I was going to lose myself in the abyss.
Once Parker wrapped his arms around me, I just fell apart.
The tension released from my body, and the dams broke.
Two years of handshakes and shoulder pats weren’t enough.
Everyone had a breaking point, and last night I met mine.
In the effort to shake off the lingering embarrassment, I headed over to the bathroom to get myself ready for the day.
After throwing some water on my face, brushing my teeth, and wrangling my hair into a top bun, I decided to put my old SIM card in and check my phone to see if there had been any messages from my job.
I couldn’t say that I loved working at Mosaic Inc. I should have, though. It was a great job at a great company. But I took the job there as a means to an end. Once upon a time, I had dreams of starting my own company, but that was before.
My boss, Marcie, had been good to me. She was tough, but I knew she cared for me.
When I called to let her know I would be taking some unexpected time off, I could hear a tinge of disappointment in her voice, though her words held nothing but understanding.
Although I didn’t have any outstanding projects, I still wanted to make sure I was available in case she had any questions.
However, there were no messages from Marcie, only a text from Detective Hart.
[Detective Hart]: The hospital said you were discharged. The protective custody order was denied. Charles Gibbons’ alibi checked out. Waiting for DNA and/or print matches.
I stared at my phone reading the message over and over until I heard the door of the motel room open, the sound shocking me out of the daze I was in.
“Good morning, I didn’t know what you would want, so I got a little bit of everything. It’s fast food, it’s not much, but it was close by. I was thinking we could eat on the road,” Parker said as he juggled a tray with coffees in one hand, and two fast food bags in the other.
“Uhh, that's fine. Thank you.” I managed to murmur out. “A detective from the 49th precinct texted me.”
Placing the coffee and food on the table, he turned to me, with surprise on his face. “You don’t sound happy, so I assume they didn’t have good news.”
I unlocked my phone and handed it to him so he could see for himself.
“They’re saying he has an alibi. Again.”
“Shit,” he said, pulling out his phone. There were a few moments of silence until I heard Danny’s voice filtered through the speaker.
“Park, I was just about to call you.” A horn honked in the distance.
“Evelyn just got a text from Detective Hart. Protective custody was denied, and apparently, his alibi checked out.”
“Cono,” he spat out. “Listen, I started asking questions, and things started getting really weird around here. There are some older cops from my Tio’s time still here, and they’ve been very tight-lipped about the whole thing.”
Parker sat on the chair by the door while I sat on the bed.
He was watching for my reaction as Danny spoke, but I had none.
Charles knew what I said to Officer Grant, and he was able to provide an alibi.
They didn’t know him as well as I did. At first, it drove me crazy that no one believed me, but then I remembered Charles and his games.
He was precise and calculated. Where Celeste was loud and boisterous, Charles preferred to play it cool and observe.
I underestimated him once. I wouldn’t be so foolish to do it again.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he were the reason protective custody was denied, too.
“After asking a few questions around the station, the chief pulled me in and started inquiring about why I was asking about the case. I mentioned Evelyn’s house, and he told me that the incidents were unrelated.
‘Gibbons had an alibi, so he was cleared, case closed.’ That conversation set off alarm bells somewhere. ”
“He has to have some type of crazy connections to get protective custody denied,” Parker replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I think things may go deeper than they seem.”
“Danny, do you know why protective custody was denied?” Knowing the reason was pointless, but I still wanted to know. I needed to know which criteria determined I wasn’t worth protecting.
The sound of a car door slamming came down the line. “They cited lack of imminent danger.”
A laugh bubbled out of me at the same time Parker let out a string of curses.
Clearing my throat, I shook my head at him, not able to articulate the irony of it all.
“Sorry, I’m just—”
“You don’t have to explain.” Danny and Parker say at the same time, making me eager to escape the awkwardness of the moment.
“I can’t say much else where I am now, but if I know you, then we must be thinking along the same lines.” He sighed, “You should stay where you are. It’s not safe here, and I’m not sure who I can trust outside our circle.”
“Brother, be safe out there.”
“You too, man. I’ve got some vacation and personal days saved up. I’m going to be taking some time off to spend with my Tio. I’ll reach out to you when I can,” Parker’s phone beeped, signaling that Danny ended the call.
Parker and I stared at each other for a moment.
“I don’t want Danny to get hurt because of me.”
Parker stood, returned to the table for the coffee and food, and picked them up. “I’ve known Danny for almost a decade. He’s always been careful, and he’s smart. We’ll be doing weekly check-ins; keeping each other safe. Try not to worry.”
Try not to worry. Sounds easy enough.
Within 48 hours, my entire life had been turned upside down.
I was homeless and on the run with a man I barely knew, and still coming to terms with the response from the police.
Every fiber of my being wanted to believe that Parker would protect me, and this would all end with Charles behind bars, but that seemed like the most unlikely scenario.
After the past two years, I wasn’t used to depending on anyone for anything. I just had myself to account for.
My stomach twisted with fear and anxiety. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I desperately searched for a calmness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wasn’t surprised when it didn’t come.
Gathering my things, I followed Parker through the door.
Coming here with him was crazy, but I had no choice. Now other people’s lives were at risk. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to them because of me.
The rest of the drive was short. In just under two hours, we pulled up to a grand estate.
The neighborhood was full of mansions, with tall gates encasing large castle-like homes.
Truthfully, I had never been anywhere farther than the five boroughs.
We had lived in Pelham in an attempt to get out of The Bronx, but in the end, we couldn’t imagine living too far away from the place that raised us.
So we left Boston Road for Boston Post Road, and that felt like a happy compromise.
Parker drove up to a black iron gate that looked medieval, with a tall brown house behind it, lined with huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was a Modern Georgian-style home with paired chimneys and an elaborate round porch.
I looked from the house to Parker. From the way he dressed, I never would’ve guessed he was well off.
Parker pressed the button on the intercom, and shortly after, the gates opened, and he drove down the long driveway leading up to the house.
Outside stood two women in the chicest pant suits I’d ever seen.
They looked like they walked straight out of Vogue magazine.
The women shared warm, umber skin—one was tall, with her braids atop her head in a bun, while the other was short, with a blond pixie cut.
Their copper-brown doe eyes mirrored Parker’s. Their round faces were lit with smiles.
“Your sisters?” I said, turning to Parker as he threw the car into park.
His face morphed into a smile as he watched them walk towards the car. “Yes, that’ll be Aja and Janae. If the stories weren’t enough, I must warn you. They can be a lot to handle.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, one of his sisters knocked on the car window and shouted, “Hey! Are you going to come out here and hug your favorite sister or what?” With a chuckle, Parker exited the car and threw his arms around both women and hugged them.
Feeling awkward, I stayed buckled in until they finished their hug. Figuring my time was up, I exited the car and rounded to the trunk to start unloading our things.
“Hi there, and who are you?” said the sister with the braided bun as she approached me with the same grin she had displayed for her brother.
She seemed excited, and while I was happy for the warm welcome, I was wracked with nerves.
The other twin popped up behind her, their mismatched frames huddled together as they waited for my response.
Never having met twins before, I was surprised by how different they looked, even though they had the same face.
“Whoa there, Aja, give her some room,” Parker said as he dragged Aja a few paces back from where I stood. “This is my friend Willow.”
I was thankful for the introduction because I for sure would have blown my cover and given them my real name.
“This eager woman is Aja.” He pointed to the twin with the braided bun.
Aja had a slender figure, her face was free from make-up, and she wore a collection of gold rings on her fingers.
I noticed she wasn’t in heels and was still almost as tall as Parker in her violet suit.
While Janae, I presume, matched my height.
Janae sported a burnt rust-colored lipstick that complemented the taupe pantsuit she wore, which did all her curves justice.
This was the first time Parker had called me by my new name.
Willow. It sounded strange coming from him.
Parker had taken to calling me different variations of my name in the short period of time we’d been together.
I was already getting used to it. I had even found that I didn’t mind being called Ev again, as long as he was saying it.
This new name would take getting used to. We finally made it to Oakland Ridge, and I could no longer be Evelyn Howard if I wanted to be safe.
“That’s a gorgeous name. Can I call you Lo?” said Janae from the other side of her.
“Umm, yes, I guess. Nice to meet you both. Thank you for letting me stay here.”
Aja and Janae both chuckled. “Oh, sweetie, we had nothing to do with it. You’ll have to thank our father. I’m sure Parker had to sell his soul to get him to agree,” Janae said while giving Parker a sympathetic pat on the back.
“Sell your soul? What do they mean by that?”
Parker was scratching the back of his neck. I quickly realized this was his nervous tic. “Don’t worry about it, Willow, and don’t listen to these troublemakers. Why don’t you two take Willow to the pool house and show her around? I’m going to find Dad.
Aja and Janae hooked an arm around each of my arms on either side, both speaking a mile a minute as they guided me into the large home.