Chapter 7

Adelaide

Beck took a roundabout trek through the city. He dodged down an alley near my apartment and I looked up at my bedroom window. An exquisite vase of lily of the valley sat in the window. It hadn’t been there when I left. No doubt they had left a calling card when they found the apartment abandoned. It took us two hours to go around the back roads to get out of the city. 450 miles to go. Suburbia lent way to the countryside and I watched the scenery pass as we cruised down the road.

An hour later, he pulled over for gas. I hopped off, setting my bag on the seat to go use the ladies’ room, but instead, I found myself paralyzed in fear. It was a rinky-dink place, but the parking lot was full of strange cars. I remembered how small and insignificant I was. I had forced myself into survival to move earlier today, but now that I was no longer in fight or flight mode, I was in unfamiliar territory with anxiety gripping me.

Beck’s presence came to loom behind me, his tall frame bending down to whisper in my ear. “Don’t worry, Honey, I’ll have an ear out for you. Trust me, my old ears are keener than most.” He pressed something cold and metallic in my hand. I gripped the knife. It wasn’t a puny little thing, either, but something meant to do damage. “You know how to handle one of these?” I nodded. He grunted in approval. “Grab us some water and some snacks,” he added, as he stuffed a worn leather wallet in my other hand. I glanced over my shoulder at him before he nodded to the building, and shoved his card into the gas pump reader. I took a deep breath and forced myself to walk, head held high.

I found the bathroom with no problem, my hand still gripping the knife. I felt vulnerable staring at the locked door as I relieved myself. Everything down there hurt, and it burned, too. If the fucking prick gave me a disease, I’d go back and cut off his balls. I flicked the knife out easily a few times before I finished, and tucked it in my boot to wash my hands. It made me feel better somehow, the cold metal like a protective ward against everything weighing in on me. I shook my hands dry before exiting the bathroom and wandered the shelves, looking for snacks. I grabbed sour gummies, jerky, a couple bags of chips, and a box of HoHos. I found the water in the cooler case and unloaded it all at the register.

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