Shadows of My Past

Chapter 14

I must've fallen asleep for a while. When I woke up, the girl was also unconscious in my lap.

And we were stopped.

At an empty gas station.

I moved the child off of my lap and she gently rose from her sleep.

"Hey," I called her attention. "We need to move now if we're going to escape."

We looked around, and the man was no where in sight.

I hopped into the front seat and we buckled our seat belts.

But then I remembered, he had the keys to start it.

Damn it.

"New plan. We need to get out on foot."

Once unlocking the doors we jumped out of the car, and she climbed onto my back.

"Alright. We need to run as fast as we can to the next bus station. He'll be looking for us, but we're going to get home."

And then I heard yelling and running behind us.

"HEY! Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

RUN.

I bolted towards the street when I heard the car start behind us.

"Faster! He's almost here!" her desperate voice called to me.

My legs were burning, my feet were numb and the weight on my back was burdening. But faster than I thought possible, I ran past the gas station, past the cars, and into a warehouse.

I stopped to take a breath and wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead.

The warehouse was tiny, not big enough for a car.

We listened closely, no engine was heard.

Was he gone? Did he really just let us go?

The girl hopped off my back and we decided to rest for a while before continuing on.

She sat down on my lap, faced away from the window.

And we drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The sun shone brightly through the window, waking me and the redheaded child. Careful not to be seen, she peeked out the windows.

No car in sight.

She once again climbed on my back, and we continued walking, keeping clear of any vehicles.

* * *

What seemed like hours later, we eventually boarded the nearest bus, which would arrive in Mockersville in 3 hours.

How far did that man take us?

I spotted a sign in the front of the bus: Fletchman, Indiana Bus Station.

The bus suddenly lurched forward, signaling that we were taking off.

We took our seats and she layed her head against my shoulder, and I closed my eyes.

"What's your name?"

I laughed. "Phoebe. And yours?"

"I'm Ava."

I opened my eyes and took her small hands into mine.

"Well Ava, it looks like we're going to be stuck on this bus for a while. And if you're going to be living with me, we might as well get to know each other first."

I learned a lot about Ava in 3 hours.

She was 7 years old, and the man who kidnapped me, Buck, was her stepfather. Her mother died of a brain tumor a couple years ago and she's been living with her step dad ever since. She never met her real dad, and she doesn't know where he is. Or if he's even still alive.

Buck's a drug dealer. He's been selling marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and ecstasy since he was in high school.

It's his way of making a living.

While Buck still fends to Ava's needs, he has a way of getting her to do what he wants; whether it's abusing her, or drugging her into it.

He has major anger issues, so she's learned to just go with it.

Ava also attended public schools, but was often an outcast.

But I still don't understand why Buck is so obsessed with me, or how he even knows me. But what I do know, is that he'll be coming back for me. Soon.

Then I remembered the scar on Ava's forehead.

"How did you get that scar?"

She paused. "I got too close to daddy when he was mad."

It hurts to think that someone so young, innocent, and full of life has been through what I've been dealing with my whole life.

That's when I told her about my history.

She seemed to understand, even when I told her bout almost being raped.

Knowing she understood is what scared me the most.

Ava really is a perky little ball of energy. She laughs even when not necessary. She smiles even when it's hard.

She knows how to live, even when there's nothing worth living for.

The bus stopped abruptly and people immediately started piling off.

Ava and I were first, for we had nothing to carry along with us. I quickly scoped out the map hanging on the wall.

Mockersville was only 30 minutes away.

30 minutes until I'm home.

30 minutes until we're home.