her uncomfortable. She traced
the scar on his forehead with her finger, a permanent reminder of
Ricky, and then placed her face close to Michael’s, relieved he
didn’t wake up. She wasn’t going to tell him the truth, one of them
looking over their shoulder was enough. He was going to have the
childhood she almost denied him because of her teenage crush that
turned into years in hell.
Ricky drove back to his
hotel peeved that he hadn’t gotten the chance to storm into Tom’s
house before the sheriff arrived. He took out two beers from his
small refrigerator, one he placed on the bump on the back of his
head the other he drank. He had to move out of Jacksonville if he
didn’t want to get caught. He would move to the nearest town. He
didn’t want to miss his chance, tormenting Maria before he killed
her.
It felt like they had
spent a full day on the train on their way to New York. Michael
thought he was still dreaming when he woke up, but it was the
coolest dream ever. He didn’t even bother to ask how he got there,
he was just excited about being on a train. He kept looking out the
window and making zooming sounds whenever they passed something,
when he got bored with that he ran around. Maria was exhausted, but
she wasn’t about to let Michael wonder around alone. Children were
kidnapped in the strangest places, and knowing Michael, he might
just decide it would be cool jumping off a speeding train like he’d
seen in the western cowboy movies.
She was relived, but
still a little reserved when the conductor offered to baby sit
while she slept. Of course like a paranoid parent, she pinched his
wallet and copied all his details before she put it back in his
pocket- something she had to learn to get her money back from
Ricky. She was glad he was an old man, or he could have felt her
fingers. But Michael provided a good distraction, excitedly asking
questions about trains, the conductor was only too happy to answer,
he too loved trains and from what she’d gathered he had worked on
trains for close to thirty two years.
Out of the fifteen hour
train ride, she’d only managed to sleep for close to one or two
hours. She would wake up shaking and sweating, sometimes crying.
Ricky’s disfigured face constantly haunted her sleep. She worried
about her mother and Jane and her family. If Ricky found out the
trick they had played on him, none of them were safe. She kept
expecting him to walk into her cabin and throw her out the window
or worse yet throw Michael out the window.
But she was glad they had
left, and they were miles away from Ricky, it was a good thing he
wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was still sure he
would find them. It would take him a while to realize they weren’t
in Jacksonville anymore, and then he would try to find them,
through Edna, Jane, or anyone, he’d find a way to figure out where
they were. When he did, he’d come after her, more furious than he’d
ever been, but she’d be ready, not ready to fight, but to run. She
had her savings and that of Edna’s, if they had to, they would go
to Mexico maybe learn a thing or two about her father’s side of the
family, maybe some Spanish too.
Michael didn’t know Ricky
was alive, he couldn’t, and she wasn’t going to rob him of his
happiness. He hadn’t once asked where they were going or where Edna
was. He thought Maria was keeping her promise she was going to take
him on a train ride for his birthday, well, his present had come
early and she was making sure he had many more
birthdays.
When they got to New
York, Maria put her gloves back on she always had them on when
Michael was around, the kid was four, but very clever. She kept her
other cuts covered up too, and had her hair held up in a pony tail
over the wound on the back of her head. Edna had cut out the hair
on that spot to place a bandage over the deep cut. It wouldn’t have
been necessary if she just got stitches, but with a maniac after
Maria, no one suggested a
the scar on his forehead with her finger, a permanent reminder of
Ricky, and then placed her face close to Michael’s, relieved he
didn’t wake up. She wasn’t going to tell him the truth, one of them
looking over their shoulder was enough. He was going to have the
childhood she almost denied him because of her teenage crush that
turned into years in hell.
Ricky drove back to his
hotel peeved that he hadn’t gotten the chance to storm into Tom’s
house before the sheriff arrived. He took out two beers from his
small refrigerator, one he placed on the bump on the back of his
head the other he drank. He had to move out of Jacksonville if he
didn’t want to get caught. He would move to the nearest town. He
didn’t want to miss his chance, tormenting Maria before he killed
her.
It felt like they had
spent a full day on the train on their way to New York. Michael
thought he was still dreaming when he woke up, but it was the
coolest dream ever. He didn’t even bother to ask how he got there,
he was just excited about being on a train. He kept looking out the
window and making zooming sounds whenever they passed something,
when he got bored with that he ran around. Maria was exhausted, but
she wasn’t about to let Michael wonder around alone. Children were
kidnapped in the strangest places, and knowing Michael, he might
just decide it would be cool jumping off a speeding train like he’d
seen in the western cowboy movies.
She was relived, but
still a little reserved when the conductor offered to baby sit
while she slept. Of course like a paranoid parent, she pinched his
wallet and copied all his details before she put it back in his
pocket- something she had to learn to get her money back from
Ricky. She was glad he was an old man, or he could have felt her
fingers. But Michael provided a good distraction, excitedly asking
questions about trains, the conductor was only too happy to answer,
he too loved trains and from what she’d gathered he had worked on
trains for close to thirty two years.
Out of the fifteen hour
train ride, she’d only managed to sleep for close to one or two
hours. She would wake up shaking and sweating, sometimes crying.
Ricky’s disfigured face constantly haunted her sleep. She worried
about her mother and Jane and her family. If Ricky found out the
trick they had played on him, none of them were safe. She kept
expecting him to walk into her cabin and throw her out the window
or worse yet throw Michael out the window.
But she was glad they had
left, and they were miles away from Ricky, it was a good thing he
wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was still sure he
would find them. It would take him a while to realize they weren’t
in Jacksonville anymore, and then he would try to find them,
through Edna, Jane, or anyone, he’d find a way to figure out where
they were. When he did, he’d come after her, more furious than he’d
ever been, but she’d be ready, not ready to fight, but to run. She
had her savings and that of Edna’s, if they had to, they would go
to Mexico maybe learn a thing or two about her father’s side of the
family, maybe some Spanish too.
Michael didn’t know Ricky
was alive, he couldn’t, and she wasn’t going to rob him of his
happiness. He hadn’t once asked where they were going or where Edna
was. He thought Maria was keeping her promise she was going to take
him on a train ride for his birthday, well, his present had come
early and she was making sure he had many more
birthdays.
When they got to New
York, Maria put her gloves back on she always had them on when
Michael was around, the kid was four, but very clever. She kept her
other cuts covered up too, and had her hair held up in a pony tail
over the wound on the back of her head. Edna had cut out the hair
on that spot to place a bandage over the deep cut. It wouldn’t have
been necessary if she just got stitches, but with a maniac after
Maria, no one suggested a
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