Room for One More

Part 9: Disappearing

The three of them got in the car and drove away from the house. Beckett gave Samuel the directions to Little Larry's lab in the warehouse.

"Wait here." Beckett instructed, then got out the car.

He went into the warehouse and got into the lab using the numerical code. He grabbed a garbage bag and went to the safe. When Beckett opened it, a note fell out.

"My darling Larry,

Do not go back to the house ever. Don't worry, I'll get in touch soon.

Miss Rose XOXO" he read.

Beckett proceeded to put stacks of real money in the garbage bag. He closed the safe and walked back to the car. He got back in and handed the bag to Ashlyn in the backseat.

"What did you...with this car? Wait, so is this why money's gone missing?" Beckett asked.

"We're disappearing, to another place." Samuel said, then started up the car.

They drove away from the warehouse and turned onto the road. They drove for a long time and they didn't know where they are now.

It was well after midnight when Samuel pulled into a Walmart parking lot. Ashlyn volunteered to go in to buy some food, drinks, and other essentials. They ate some of the food for dinner, but they'll have to ration it over a period of time.

When all was quiet, Beckett spoke up.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about what I've been up to. Roman threatened you both, so I knew that I had to figure this out myself in order to keep you guys safe." he explained.

"It's okay." Samuel said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Listen, Ashlyn. I'm really sorry about the way that I've been treating you. I don't even know why I acted like that. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me." Beckett said to her.

Ashlyn appreciated his apology and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"That some day is today. I forgive you." she said.

"Thanks. We need to get some sleep." Beckett said.

Samuel turned off the car and pulled the key out of the ignition. Him and Beckett moved their seats backwards, while Ashlyn took over the backseat. They all settled in for the night and the boys were fast asleep. Ashlyn clutched her baby bunny and stared at the car ceiling. Something was preventing her from sleeping, but she couldn't figure out what. Then, an idea clicked in her mind.

Ashlyn went down to her bag and pulled out the journal that belonged to her great-grandmother. She grabbed her pencil and flipped to the last page of the journal. She collected her thoughts and started writing.

She titled the page: "Phantom Halo" after Samuel's comic book character.

"These past few weeks have been quite a roller coaster. I struggled to get on my feet ever since I ran away from the orphanage. If it wasn't for Samuel and Beckett, I don't know what I would've done. I know this isn't the life I had expected, but it's something that I can turn around and make it worth living for. We can learn from our mistakes and I hope that we will get better as we move forward. It looks like there was room for one more." she wrote.

Ashlyn couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, so she fell asleep after she wrote the final words at the end of the page.