Maya (Book #3)

Chapter 27

I was wearing black shoes with little straps over white socks, and I watched them as I kicked my feet, sitting in the backseat of the car. We had just met with a friend of uncle's who was a police officer. He showed me all the cool stuff he had in his policeman belt and let me try on his hat. His smile was kind of scary, but uncle told me he was safe.

I didn't like him, but I didn't tell anyone. That was a secret, just like the ones that uncle and I kept.

On the way home, we stopped at a park nearby, pulling behind a shiny black Jeep on the side of the road. That confused me. We didn't go to the park, I normally just played in the backyard.

I looked out of the window and saw a dark-haired man playing with a little girl with long brown hair. She was running so fast that she was just a little streak of pink as she bounced from the swings to the slide. She slipped in and slid down, and I looked at the other people who were walking by. I didn't look at the families too long. My heart hurt because I wanted that. Maybe uncle brought me here so we could play, too.

"She looks like me," I said, pressing my finger against the window as the little girl ran by us once more. I knew it would make a smudge, so I pulled it back quickly, praying he didn't notice.

"No, she doesn't," he replied harshly from the front seat, brushing the thought aside.

I wanted to cry but I didn't, until he added, "You look much prettier." He looked through the rearview window and smiled at me. It was his nice smile, so I knew I was safe.

I smiled back hugely and blew him a kiss, making him chuckle.

"Why are we here?" I asked, kicking my feet some more. I was careful not to hit the back of uncle's seat. I didn't want him to change to mean.

"Waiting for something," he said absently, licking his lips. His breathing was slow as if he was biding his time. My stomach growled and I patted it, trying to make it be quiet. It growled again a minute later.

"I'm hungry," I whined, squirming in my seat. The strap was hurting my neck and it was hot in the backseat. The air was all the way in the front seat and my dress was getting itchy.

"Shhh," he said, ignoring me. He was watching the cars as they pulled into the park, like he was looking for one in particular. I looked at the hiking trail to our left. It had a big green side that I couldn't read, and people were leaving it looking exhausted. I tried to imagine I knew them until I grew bored once more.

"Hungry!" I complained again, this time making my voice sound more pathetic. I knew we were going to pass Mcdonald's on the way home.

"Stop, Maya." He hissed between his teeth, getting frustrated. I didn't realize how frustrated he was getting, so I continued.

 "I want Mcdonald's!" I shouted, pushing my hands onto his seat to move him. Suddenly the car took off, and I wondered if I had been the one to make it move by pushing on the seat. We flew down the road, passing people in a blur, and I could tell we were going way too fast. I made a high-pitched noise that was both crying and screaming and then the car made a loud thumping sound as something crashed into our bumper.

My scream grew more strident as we drove off, zipping around the bump and going forward even faster.

I turned around to see what had happened and I saw the man from earlier running towards the street, looking mortified. He tried to stop someone behind him from following as he took off to check on the pink bump that was lying down in the road where we had just been. 

Uncle looked through the mirror and caught my horrified eyes. The screaming had stopped. I was just as stunned as the little girl had been, moments before.

"Look what you did!" he declared, making a gasping sound. He didn't look in the side mirrors, but we both saw what had happened.

Did I move the car with my push? Or had he driven forward because I requested McDonald's and he wanted to get it for me?

"I-I..." I choked out, not knowing what I meant to say.

 "How could you?" He asked gravely, turning around in his seat to look at me as if I were a monster.

"It's all your fault!" He yelled in his deep voice as he drove us home, looking ashamed of me. My breathing was heavy as I tried to think of an answer to the question I didn't understand.

"I didn't mean to!" I shouted back, sobbing. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to be anywhere but in this car, ashamed and afraid. What had I done? Shouldn't we go back and check on her? Surely, she would be okay?

When we reached the house, he opened up my door and unbuckled my seatbelt. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked me up and walked us inside.

"Don't worry," he said, as he slid my dress up to pat my knee. "As long as you have me, I'll keep you safe. I'll never tell."

He pulled my dress off as I sat, as frozen as the little girl.

If only I could've been the one to die, I thought selfishly.