Burn With Me

Chapter 12

Hallie

"Ty," I said softly. "Wake up, sweetie," I said.

"Mommy?"

"Shh... come on, sweetie. We have to go."

"Why?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Come on put this on and don't make a sound," I instructed as I put his jacket on. It's raining pretty hard outside, but I can't risk staying another night here with Damien. I might be tempted to stay and accept his help and I just can't do that.

I just can't.

I know I had said that I would try to trust Damien, but the longer I thought about, the more I got scared and feared what could happen. So I packed whatever we had with us and grabbed some food—which I hope he won't mind— to keep us going even for just a day. Just enough to get us through our long journey to Vermont.

I decided to let go of my search for my father and continue to go in hiding. I just can't risk it. I can't risk the possible exposure especially with his high profile and highly publicized life and this is also the reason why I can't accept Damien's help. I just can't take that risk. Ty and Michy's safety comes first. I need to keep them safe and Vermont seems like the perfect place to do it. We need anonymity. A place where we would gain no notice. Where I'd just be a single mom who's looking for a quiet place to raise her two kids.

I had called Anne earlier and asked for help. She wired a couple hundred dollars to my bank account. It would be more than enough to get us to Vermont. Anne happens to have a cousin who lives there and has made arrangements for me to work at the grocery store her cousin, Gina works at. She has also opened her home to us to help us get on our feet. If it all works out I could save enough money and we could find our own home, but for now I'm grateful for their help.

With Michy in my arms and Ty holding my hand. We crept down the hall and down the stairs of Damien's place.

I placed a note on the side table by the door before leaving.

I stopped and looked around the place.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

I pressed the down button on his elevator and it opened immediately. I stepped inside and pressed the button to bring us down to the ground level.

"Mommy?"

"It's okay sweetie. We're just going on another adventure."

"Da-yan?"

"Damien?" I asked. He nodded.

"He's not coming with us. He needs to stay here."  The doors pinged and opened.

We stepped out and there was security at the lobby.

My heart pounded.

I took a deep breath and continued walking hoping he doesn't pay us any attention or alert Damien.

I quickened my steps until we made it outside.

The rain was pouring down harder than I thought.

"Ty, baby, we're gonna walk really fast okay?" I said.

He nodded.

I pulled Michy's hood further over her head and held Ty's hand tighter.

"Let's go," I said, and walked as fast as we can.

We were walking for a good fifteen minutes when I heard the thunder.

Damn it, we really need to stop somewhere, but all the shops are closed.