“I do.” I nodded as the side door to the van slid open, and an outstretched hand reached for me.
“Come.” The woman I now knew as Donna nodded at her hand. I took it, and the woman who met me at the gate tossed my bag in behind me. “It’ll be ok. You’re safe now.” She began driving down the streets, heading away from town.
“Where are we going?” I watched out the windows, trying to get my bearings.
“Away from here. Our center is outside of the city limits. If we’re going to keep you away from him, he can’t know where you are. You have to understand this.” She stared right at me. “You cannot contact him for any reason. If he finds our center, it could compromise a lot of lives.”
“I understand. Thank you,” I whispered. I did understand. I knew Warren would stop at nothing to find me, and I knew that if he did, he’d probably kill me. The baby was something he could hold over me. He didn’t really care about it or what happened to us.
We pulled into a long driveway that led up to a white framed house. There was a garden along the side, and a garage in the back. “This is where you’ll stay for the first few months. Once the search for you starts to die down, we’ll move you out of state.” Donna parked in front of the house, and cut the engine. “We have a lookout spot at that window right there.” She pointed to an upstairs window on the far end of the house. “All the ladies take shifts being the lookout during daylight hours. If someone yells car, then you come inside. Got it?” She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and helped me up the steps.
“Got it.” I nodded as I took a deep breath. The place smelled of all things summer. Cut grass, fresh flowers, and dirt. It may seem simple, but it was something I’ve longed for.
“Let’s get you settled in a room, and then you can meet the others.” She led me up the stairs and down a hallway to a small bedroom. It was simple. There was a twin bed against the wall, a small four drawer dresser, a mirror, and a closet. “This will be yours for now. Get settled, and then come downstairs.”
“Thank you.” I started to tear up. Relief was washing over me in waves and it was like my emotions were no longer staying buried. Warren wasn’t lording over me, and I could finally breathe, so to speak.
“You can thank me after you survive this.” She smiled and then left the room.
I spent the next half hour placing my clothes in drawers and getting myself organized. Everything had a place and was perfectly lined up. I sat on the edge of the bed surveying my work. Warren liked everything orderly. I still remember the beating I received when I put his undershirts in with his socks. It made sense to me, but he screamed at me that I was stupid and needed to do things his way.
Anger boiled in my gut as I became consumed. I could do things however I wanted at this point. He didn’t get to decide anymore. I stalked over to the dresser, opened the top drawer, and grabbed my socks. I yanked open the bottom drawer, and shoved them in there. Then I took bras and put them in the middle drawer. I liked it this way. Turning on my heel, I marched over to the closet. I took the white shirts and interspersed them between the colors. Who said it all had to be separated by color? Once I was satisfied, I left the room, door ajar which I was never allowed to do at home, and went downstairs.
I found Donna in the kitchen snapping green beans and the woman I met at the park standing in front of the stove. “I’m Maggie.” She smiled. “Do you feel better?” She grinned. “We figured we’d give you some time to get the robot out.”
“Robot?” I was confused. What the hell did that mean?
“Most of the women who come here are on autopilot. They don’t come out of it until they realize that they can live life their way, to a point.” She laughed. “We heard you rearranging and wanted to give you a minute.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and it was the first genuine smile I’d had for as long as I could remember.
“You hungry?” She stirred the pot on the stove. “I made homemade stew. We buy our meat from the market, but everything else comes from the garden.”
“Not really,” I lied. I was starving. My stomach growled, giving me away.
“I think that baby might be disagreeing with you.” She laughed as she pointed the spoon at my small baby bump.
“How’s this gonna work? I mean, with the baby. He’s gonna find me.” I began to panic.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. This is only the first stop on this journey. You’re going to have to be strong, stronger than you’ve ever been before to survive this. That baby needs you to survive this. Know that.” Maggie went back to her pot.
“We have a midwife that comes out here to check our pregnant mamas. She’ll be here in two weeks for you. You’ll get regular care for you and the baby until you have to leave.” Donna stood from her spot at the table.
“I still don’t understand.” I was confused, scared, and angry.
“You will. Just trust us.” Donna opened her arms and I practically fell into them. It was as if she knew exactly what I needed to hear and feel. “You can do this, Kellie.”
My head popped up at that. “My name’s Brooke.”
“Not anymore. From now on you are Kellie Shaffer.” She reached over to a stack of papers on the table. “While you’re running, you’ll use these.” She handed me the papers, a new ID and social security card among them. “You can’t be Brooke anymore, not now, maybe not ever. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Kellie Shaffer,” I mumbled to myself. I could do this.
Chapter 6
Present Day
Brooke
“What do you think about this one?” I held up a backpack with a rainbow on the front. “It’s pretty.” I watched my daughter wrinkle her nose.
“It’s ok.” She shrugged. “I like this one.” She held out one with a unicorn on it. “It has purple, my favorite.” She hugged it to her chest. “Pleeease?”
“How much?” I reached for it. I wanted to give Ava whatever she wanted, but I was on a budget. I knew backpacks were important though.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the tag. “It’s got lots of zeros.” She sighed as she handed it over.
I laughed lightly at her reaction. “That’s normal for money. Sometimes it’s not as much as you think. Let me see.” I glanced at the tag. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t that bad either. “Twenty dollars isn’t too bad if it lasts all year.” I tossed it into the shopping cart. We’d been putting off school shopping for days. The Sav-A-Lot was having a sale this week, and I was trying to avoid the crowds. I’ve been avoiding crowds since I left, and so far, it’s been working.
“Can I have this one?” Ava bounced up holding a purple lunch bag.
“Sure.” I pointed to the cart. “Let’s see what else is on here.” I dug the list out of my pocket, and carefully unfolded it. We had most of the common things: paper, crayons, backpack, pencils, markers… “We need to grab some tissues.” I started to push the cart down another aisle.