Officer Daddy

Chapter three Undercover Stranger

I wasted one hundred dollars on this shit hole. We need to leave today. I originally planned on only staying the one night. But then, one look at Colten's tired face I decided to let him rest. It was a big dip in our money but for him I'd do anything. I woke Colten up and had him get dressed as I went to get checked out. It was time for us to leave. We still weren't far enough from where I last saw Him.

I made sure all of our stuff was accounted for and grabbed Colten and we were on our way once again.

Two hours later, it was noon. Colten was getting hungry so I stopped at a play land McDonalds. It was cheap and would allow me to cool down from the summer heat while Colten played. I got Colten his kids meal and a single burger for me. Where we were done eating, I let Colten go play with the other kids in the play land.

To keep myself occupied I picked up a newspaper laying near the trash can. The front page made my heart stop. Written across the top in bold letters read "Man looking for his lost High school sweetheart" But that's not what made my heart freeze. It was the large black and white picture of Him and I when I was in high school. My eyes quickly skimmed the paper. It had this elaborate mushy love story about a teen in love with a guy who was only 4 years older than her and how her parents wouldn't let them be together because of the age difference and blah blah blah. To most who read it, it would just be a man trying to find his lost love. But me? I knew the truth. I knew that he was the leader of the 3 Silver guns gang. He was ruthless. Malicious. Crazy. A murderer.

I eyed the stack of newspapers, lying in the open. I peeked back at the play land and saw Colten playing innocently with another little boy. I rushed over to the little table and snatched the big pile of newspapers with my face plastered across the front and dumped them in the trash. I hurriedly walked over to Colten. "Time to go buddy. Say goodbye to your friend." I said.

"G'bye John!!" Colten waved his little hand at the brown haired boy. "Do you have to go potty before we leave?" I said, already knowing the answer. "Well... Just a little." He said sheepishly. I smiled a little and started walking towards the bathrooms. While Colten was going potty alone (because he is a big boy now. His words, not mine) I stared at myself in the mirror. I took in my murky dark brown hair and my dull green eyes. It saddened me to see that my once prized feature was now dull and lifeless. My eyes used to be described as piercing, emerald, and other things. Life took a toll on me. I was thinner and weaker now. I used to be strong and curvy. I was never fat but I had enough meat to make me look healthy and curvy. But that was before I went on the run. The flushing of a toilet made me tear my eyes away from the image in the mirror. "I'm done!!!" Colten announced. I watched silently as he started walking out of the restroom. He stopped mid stride when I cleared my throat. He turned around slowly. "Oops." And he ran over to the sink and washed his hands. I smiled and waited for him to finish up.

I decided it would be worth it to buy a bus ticket. The teller at the window felt bad I had to pay full price for Colten's ticket, seeing as though he is extremely small for his age, she gave me his ticket for free. I was extremely great full.

After putting our suitcase overhead, I sat down with Colten. I buckled us in and sunk deep into the plush seats. It was 1:30 now and I was planning on riding the bus to the end if the line. Or as far as they were willing to go.

It was now 11:30 at night. We just got off the bus in a town called Rivers Edge. Colten was wide awake thanks to the long nap he took on the way here. The bus had a fully stocked snack counter in the back, full of little bags of chips and things of that sort. Colten had several bags of chips and a applesauce cup. He is now wide awake and hungry. He was making it very known that he was hungry.

"Mommy!!! I want food!" He whined. I took a deep breath and looked around the town we were in. We were on Main Street. It consisted of a gas station, a diner, a little grocery store, a pub, and a few other basic stores. The only place open at this time of night looked to be the pub. It looked kind of shady and I was worried to bring Colten in there. I had no other choice though. While pondering where to go, I had set down the suitcase next to me and looked up and down the road. "Hey Colt, we are going to go to Mikey's pub and grill. But, when we go in there you will not let go of my hand and you have to be quiet. Understood?" I asked him. He nodded.