Run Away

Chapter 41

Gabrielle was the new girl at school arriving a little over a month earlier. She kept to herself and when not at school usually locked herself away at home with her mother. Some of her peers had tried to engage her in their conversations, she had even had a party invite when she first arrived, but Gabrielle would politely refuse and end the conversation.

Collecting her things from her locker to complete her homework, Gabrielle closed the door and headed towards the school exit. It was a short walk home and she enjoyed every minute of it, knowing she would soon be locking herself indoors until the next school day. She hated her life but at least she was alive and this time she would do anything so no one else came in harm's way.

Arriving home, Gabrielle was surprised to see an unfamiliar white sedan parked out the front of her house. Stopping in her tracks, her heart began to race. Could it be her past had found her and tracked her down already? She knew that the witness protection agency was full of shit when they said she would be safe in their program.

Gabrielle started to back track and ran towards the centre of town, she needed to get to the café where her mother worked.

Diving through the door, the little bell attached at the top rang out loudly causing patrons and staff alike to look up in her direction. At one of the back booths was a group of students Gabrielle recognised from some of her classes. She avoided their curious stares and hurried to the counter. Beth, the older woman that worked with Mandy approached Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle, are you okay?" Beth asked.

"Where's my mum?" Gabrielle choked out between pants for air. Her lung was still recovering from the accident and running probably wasn't her best idea.

"She went home early today," Beth explained, "Said something had come up in the family."

Concern and sympathy crossed over Beth's face, worried that Gabrielle was only learning now that something was wrong with a family member.

"How about I call her and let her know you're here," Beth suggested, reaching for the phone and dialling before Gabrielle could sort out her thoughts and object.

After a brief conversation, Beth hung up the phone and Gabrielle waited for what Beth was going to tell her. All she needed to hear was one of two words. One word would tell her to run. The other would tell all was safe.

"Your mother is a strange lady sometimes," Beth muses.

"What did she say?" Gabrielle gripped the counter as she waited, her knuckles turning white.

"She said everything was fine and to pick up some canned asparagus on your way home."

Gabrielle released her hold on the counter and began to steady her breathing.

"Um, thank you Beth," Gabrielle murmured, "I guess I better get home."

Gabrielle walked back towards her house, confused. Asparagus, their safe word, it meant everything was okay. If Mandy had told her to bring home a can of tomatoes, Gabrielle would have known that she was no longer safe and needed to run.

Stopping next to the white sedan parked out the front of her house, Gabrielle looked at it before glancing up at her house. Everything seemed fine, but Gabrielle had learnt many times that appearances could be deceiving.

Walking up the pebble path, Gabrielle opened the front door slowly and cautiously entered the house. Voices floated through the air from the lounge room, Gabrielle wondered who could possibly be visiting.

Slowly, Gabrielle wandered into the lounge room to see Mandy sitting on one of the couches facing Detective Michaels and Detective Johnson on the other.