Chapter 29
The next morning burned bright through the large glass windows when Esmie emerged from Leo’s room.
She waited until her brother and Samson left for work, unwilling to look either in the face for fear of giving away what she intended to do.
Especially with Samson. Seeing him again may dissolve any resolve she had to leave.
Guilt consumed her as she wrote them a letter explaining her decision.
Several times, she contemplated leaving a separate letter for Samson, but then Leo would want to know why she wrote one to Samson and what it said.
Leaving Samson to deal with that alone was unfair.
When her brother found out, she needed to be the one to tell him.
She didn’t want to leave but also knew continuing to put them in this precarious situation where they could lose more than their jobs was something she couldn’t bear to do to them.
If anything were to happen to either of them, because of her, she couldn’t forgive herself.
And yet, she moped around the apartment longer than she needed to, watching the news to see if anything changed and checking her phone in case Leo texted, he found a cure.
As the minutes ticked by, the hope dwindled in her chest. Mamá was waiting on her text to say she was ready to go.
Apparently, a friend of her parents was going to stop by to take her to their facility to be cured.
When Esmie asked her mother, how they had a cure, when neither Genetronetics nor The Law Enforcement Division had one, her mother dismissed her with only, “I have my own sources who have been around longer than those kids working at those places.” Her parents were hiding more than they let on.
It felt like everyone in her life was hiding things from her, her whole life.
Once she got the cure, she would be confronting both her parents to ask what they knew about all of this.
She wanted answers and she would get them.
When the same news story repeated itself for the third time that morning, Esmie knew it was time to leave.
She texted Mamá she would be ready in thirty minutes to leave.
Having a time frame would not only appease her mother but also forced Esmie into her own countdown.
Mamá texted back to look out for a small red car.
Packing her things, Esmie changed into a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and tenis, then gave the apartment one last forlorn look before she shoved the baseball cap on her head and the sunglasses on her face.
After she slid on a jacket, she shouldered her bag and grabbed her small suitcase.
Lastly, she placed her phone in the front pocket of her bag, ready to go.
Esmie took the stairs to avoid the doorman, mimicking the path she and Samson had gone last week when they went to The Bodega.
Sadness gripped her at the memory, almost causing her to turn around and go back but her resolve kept her moving down each step.
She pulled out the scarf Samson bought her and wrapped it around her neck, wishing it still smelled like him.
Her stomach churned and she was grateful she hadn’t eaten breakfast.
The garage sat practically empty as the day she arrived.
Esmie surveyed the area ensuring there wasn’t a guard or someone she would need to avoid but the area was void of human life.
She crept through the dark garage, searching for the exit out onto the main street.
Mamá told her to meet there to avoid any cameras catching them from the front entrance.
A light at the end pointed the way and she trudged toward it finally finding the exit.
When she exited the safety of the garage, a cold wind whistled through the skyscraper buildings.
They towered over her, more ominous than enchanting now.
Esmie pulled her jacket tighter around herself, grateful for the scarf gifted to her.
She adjusted the baseball cap lower so it wouldn’t fly away.
The sidewalk was empty with only the wind as her company.
Her head craned, peering down both sides of the street in anticipation of seeing the red car her mother told her to look out for.
In the distance a black town car turned onto the street.
She pushed herself against the glass of the skyscraper hoping they wouldn’t notice her.
The car sped toward her and passed her. She let out a breath.
Before it exited into the next intersection, the vehicle slowed to a stop, then backed up.
Esmie watched it all the way until it stopped directly in front of her.
The back window rolled down, and Chad’s face popped out.
“I told you we’d meet again. Your mother sent me to come get you.” The wicked smile on his face was what made her drop her bags and run.