Escaping Fox River | Prison Break [On Hold]

Chapter 15

Soft music flowed into my ears and I opened my eyes slowly, squinting a bit when I saw that it was dark outside. I looked over towards the driver's seat and saw that LJ had parked the car and was sleeping soundly. I turned the car off and looked at LJ, a smile coming to my face. It felt so good to just watch him sleep again after all this time. I reached over and combed my fingers through his matted hair repeatedly, no caring about how dirty it was. I traced over the dried blood spots on his face and I wanted to kill whoever had hurt my baby.

"LJ." I whispered, not wanting to startle him out of his sleep. Of course, like I figured, he kept on sleeping. He could literally sleep through a hurricane, just like his father. "LJ." I tried again, shaking him a bit. He made a noise and sighed deeply before settling back down. I raised my eyes to the roof and chuckled before bringing my attention back to my son. "Lincoln!" I whisper shouted and he shot up, looking around frantically.

"I'm up, I'm up." he said, eyes bloodshot red. His eyes landed on me and he relaxed. "Something wrong?" I shook my head.

"Nope. Everything's good so far." I looked at the time on the phone Michael gave me and it read 4:32 a.m. My captors must have picked it up and put it back in here when they kidnapped me. "How about we find a place to stay for the night, get cleaned up and I'll go get some clothes for you?" LJ's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, definitely." He lifted up his shirt and grimaced. "I feel so dirty." I pursed my lips and nodded, agreeing with him.

"Come on, I'll drive now." I said, gesturing for him to switch seats with me. When I was in the driver's seat, I started the car and drove down the silent road, looking out for motels that we could stay at for the night. After a few minutes, a low end motel came into view and I pulled in, parking close in case we needed to run back to the car and take off. LJ eyed the place and raised his eyebrows at me.

"We're staying here?" he asked and I just looked at him.

"I'm an escaped prisoner. I don't really have the luxury of staying at the Hilton." I took one look at his face and knew that if someone saw it like that, they would call the cops immediately. I reached in the backseat and pulled out a baseball cap. "Here, wear this." I said, handing him the cap.

"Why?" I rolled my eyes and stepped out the car.

"You ask too many questions. I'm your mother, so just trust me. Plus with the way your face looks, people would think I'm an abusive mother." I said and he started laughing.

"Yeah, true." I locked the car and we walked into the motel. There was one man behind the counter and the lights in the lobby kept flickering. There was a damp odor in the air, as if water was always leaking in the place and no one ever mopped it up. The guy perked up when he spotted me and my son.

"Welcome to Greg's Motel. I'm Greg. How may I help you?" he asked, smiling a bit. I'm guessing he didn't get guests often.

"Hi, I'm Candace and this is my son, Colin. I was wondering how much it would be for one room, one night?" I asked.

"That will be $50." Greg answered and I nodded and started digging in my bag. Before I pulled my hand out, I noticed that I still had blood on my hands from when I killed the guard. I turned to LJ and handed him the money, nodding my head towards Greg to tell him to pay him. LJ raised his eyebrows at me, but said nothing. "Here's your key. Enjoy your stay."

LJ took the key from him and I smiled. "Thank you." I turned to leave, but something popped in my head. "Oh, if someone asks if you've seen me or my son, please say no. We're trying to get away from his abusive father and his family won't stop hunting us down." I explained, giving LJ an extra $500 to give Greg. Greg's eyes widened at the money and he nodded vigorously.

"Of course. My lips are sealed." I nodded and gestured for LJ to follow me. When we were out of earshot, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Hopefully we can stay here the entire night without an incident. I'm exhausted." I said wearily, trudging towards the room.

"Why didn't you give him the money yourself?" LJ asked, opening the bedroom door and letting me in first. I held my hands up and when he saw the blood, his mouth formed an 'o' shape. He ran to the bed and hopped up, landing on one of the nicely prepared bed. "Oh man, this feels so good. I haven't slept in a bed in forever." A small smile came to my face at how relaxed he was, even after all this time captured.

"I'm gonna go and get you some clothes and shoes and other stuff at the store. You'll be okay by yourself?" I asked, walking over to him. He nodded and I took $1,000 from the bag and left it by the night stand. "Okay, I'll be right back." I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I love you." LJ leaned back on the bed, pretending to make a snow angel with the sheets.

"Love you too, Mom. Be safe." he answered, smiling. I gave him a thumbs up and washed my hands before leaving. I didn't need people freaking out over some blood. I locked the door behind me and looked around before heading downstairs to my car. I drove to the nearest store and quickly got supplies for the road, clothes, undergarments, and shoes for the both of us. I even got some stuff for Lincoln and Michael just in case.

"Wow, you must be going camping or something." the lady at the register said as she scanned the items. I laughed and nodded.

"Kinda."  I felt like someone was watching me, so I looked over my shoulder, but I didn't see anyone. I still felt uneasy when I reached to grab my stuff after paying. I quickly walked out to the parking and pulled my keys out. Just as I was about to unlock my car, a hand covered my mouth.