Watch Your Back

Chapter 20

"Aaron, I have to go up to the store today. I'll be back in a while." Dr. Harrison gathered his crazy mass of purple hair under a cute gray beanie. He took off his thin glasses and popped in blue contacts. It was cold outside, so he heaved on a red jacket and quickly wrapped a stylish gray scarf around his neck. But not fast enough.

"Doctor Harrison, do you have a tattoo?" Aaron choked out with a laugh.

"Yes, yes I do. My ex-wife and I got matching tattoos." Dr. Harrison pulled down his scarf to reveal a small black tattoo of a star on the left side of his neck. He also revealed a small earring on his left ear.

"What kind of life do you live that I don't know about?!" Aaron shouted and laughed.

"I'll be back in about an hour." He reached behind a decorative pot and pulled out a messenger bag filled with hundred dollar bills.

"Where did you get that money from?!" Aaron asked.

"Like I said, you sound like my ex-wife." Dr. Harrison stuffed three bills into his pocket and opened the door. "Stay here." And he closed the door behind Aaron.

Dr. Harrison walked into the Walmart with his head down. He didn't want to attract attention after what happened last time...

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Someone shouted. Harrison had bumped into a woman, and dropped his wallet. The woman had hazel eyes and a red jacket like his. He recognized her immediately, his jaw dropping.

"Do I, know you?" she asked. "You look very familiar." She twisted her wedding ring anxiously around her finger. Its purple gem mockingly flashed in his eyes. 

"No, I don't recall." Harrison said in a gruff voice.

"Oh! have you seen my son?" She pulled out a picture of a boy with dark brown hair, green eyes, and a blue shirt. His cheeks were a little chubby, but he was still recognizable. Aaron Dr. Harrison thought. 

"Um, n-no. I'm sorry. Sorry." He saw the woman's eyes waver and water.

"He went missing from--from the hospital." She sniffed. A thin tear rolled down her right cheek and landed on her white scarf. The fabric turned dark. She gently placed the picture in her red wallet. "Oh, here's your wallet. You dropped it." Dr. Harrison took the wallet from her and she walked away. He got a cart and loaded the groceries into it, not taking his mind off of the woman he ran into when he arrived at the store. He almost ran into several people's carts when he was checking out. He hurried out of the store, carrying his bags back with him to the cold asylum. When he nudged the door open with his foot, there was no answer when he called for Aaron.

"Aaron? Aaron?" Dr. Harrison was getting frantic. He ran into every room. Every closet. "No! I can't lose him! No! Aaron, where the hell are you?! AARON!" Dr. Harrison grabbed his beanie and threw it on the ground. "Did they take him?! Did they?! Where did he go?! Aaron, where are you?!" Dr. Harrison ran around Aaron's room. "Aaron! Where are you?! Aaron! Dammit, Aaron, where are you?! Aaron! Please, where are you?!" He collapsed on the ground and curled into a ball.

Where was Aaron?