Their Escape

~3~

~3~



    “Mom,” I heard faintly. “Mom, wake up.”



When I opened my eyes, Matty was staring at me. I raised up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes and tried to adjust my sight to the darkness. I looked in the back and saw that Savannah and Dani were both asleep. Matty stared back at me and for a minute, I saw Jason, all those years ago.



    “What’s wrong, Matty?”

    “Nothing. We’re already halfway through Tennessee and we need to fill up again,” he said.

    “We’re already in Tennessee? How long have I been out?” I asked.

    “Just seven and a half hours,” he replied.

    “Matty, why didn’t you wake me?”

    “I was fine, mom. I had some caffeine so I didn’t get sleepy. I’m still not but like I said, we need gas.”

    “Okay, just get off at the next exit and we’ll get it taken care of. I’ll take over driving and let you get some sleep also.”

    “Okay,” he said, turning the signal on and started to merge off of the Interstate.



After filling the tank back up and getting a few more snacks, we were back on the road. Matt said that he wasn’t sleepy so I couldn’t help but laugh quietly when I saw that he started drifting off. I kept following my GPS and before I knew it, we were in Logan, Kentucky.

According to my GPS, there was only about four hours and some odd minutes before we reached Columbus so instead of waking the kids up this late to stop for something to eat, I let them sleep. We would be arriving in my home town nearly five in the morning and I would wake them than. I smiled for a long time because I knew I was going to get a second chance at life and I wasn’t going to ruin it. I would do everything I need to, to provide for my kids. I didn’t need Seth anymore and I was going to prove that.

At five thirty, I was driving into Columbus. Matty moved beside me and stretched as well as he could in the front seat. He looked around for a minute before looking at me.



    “Where are we?” he asked.

    “We’re in Columbus now,” I smiled.

    “How long did I sleep?” he asked.

    “Um... four and a half hours, I’d say. Maybe longer, not sure.”



I took the exit that I needed to go to the house I grew up in. As I drove into town, I smiled at the places I passed, remembering something special about almost all of them. Matty was wide awake now and looking around. Not long after, I heard Dani move around and she stretched and leaned up to look between her brother and me.



    “Where are we?” she asked.

    “We’re here,” I smiled.

    “Wow, it didn’t feel like we were in the car for sixteen hours,” she said.

    “You and Sav have been asleep most of it,” Matt said.

    “Sorry,” she giggled and when I looked in the rear view mirror, she had a smile that reached her ears.



I decided that I would just drive around for a little while until a Mcdonald’s or something opened up and then we would drive the twenty or so minutes to my parents house. I wasn’t sure how they would take my coming back with the kids so unexpected but I knew they wouldn’t turn us away. Unlike the relationship we had when I found out I was pregnant, they didn’t treat me like that anymore.

When I saw the first light come on at Mcdonald’s, I pulled into the parking lot and waited until someone unlocked the door. Dani was trying to wake Savannah up and once the door was unlocked, we walked in. Matty told me that he wanted a big breakfast with pancakes and then he took Savannah from Dani and went to get us a booth. Dani stood by me and held my arm.



    “What do you want, baby?” I asked her.

    “Um... I will take a fruit and maple oatmeal with an orange juice.”



I ordered the food and told Dani to go sit down with her sister and brother. I looked back at them and beamed with pride. Growing up, the twins never gave me much problems and Savannah was an angel. Besides growing through some tough times with Matt and Dani when they were becoming teenagers, they really were great kids. After getting the food, I walked to the booth and passed out the food. Matty took our cups and went to get us something to eat.

When all of our food was gone, I still remained inside the restaurant because I wanted to give my parents time to wake up so they wouldn’t be scared when they saw us. I reached for the newspaper that was laid on the other table and flipped through it. There was a front page special about my dad’s car lot and the people they interviewed gave rave reviews. They talked about how well he knew his business regarding vehicles and that he would never put anyone in a bad car. If something went wrong, he would go and find someone with only the highest credentials to fix the problem. I smiled at the picture they had of daddy on the cover. He had the biggest smile I had ever seen and I ran my finger over the picture.



    “Momma, why are you smiling so big?” Savannah asked.

    “I’m just happy to be home,” I said.

    “Me too,” she smiled.



Another hour and I decided that it was time to go on and make our way to my parents. Once I was on my old street, everything came flooding back to me and I almost found myself speeding to get there faster. I pulled into the driveway and stopped the car, the kids filing out. I grabbed my purse and got out myself. I took ahold of Savannah’s hand and walked up the porch. I raised my hand to knock but hesitated.



    “It’s okay, mom,” Dani said. I looked at her and smiled and raised my hand again.



This time just as I was about to knock, the door came open. I was standing face to face with my mother. She stood there and stared at me, blinking in surprise. She clasped her hand to her mouth and started crying. Looking from me to Savannah and then the twins and back to me.



    “Richard!” she hollered out, reaching for me and pulling me into her arms. We held each other and just cried. It’s been at least two year since we seen one another and that was only because of an impromptu visit by them for Christmas. When I saw daddy come into view, I started to cry more.

    “What’s going o...” he stopped when he saw us standing there. “Melissa? Is that really you?”

    “Yes daddy, it’s me,” I said and then was ripped out of mom’s arms.

    “Where’s Seth?” he questioned. I took in a deep breath and also heard Matty take one in.

    “Daddy, I left him. Things were getting bad and have been for awhile. I needed to get us out before something worse happened.”

    “Why haven’t you called us?” he scolded.

    “Because I didn’t have the guts until now,” I smiled.

    “Well, you all come on in. You all must be tired. It’s eight o’clock and from the looks of it, you’ve been on the road since yesterday,” he said.



We went straight into the living room and I collapsed onto the closest chair. Savannah wanted to sit on my lap so I lifted her up and she curled into me. Dani and Matty took a seat on the couch and mom and dad sat on the love seat. I looked around and felt good for the first time in a very long time.



    “I’m going to ask but how long has Seth been smacking you around?” mom asked.

    “I didn’t say anything about that, mom.”

    “Melissa, I can see a faint hint of a bruise under your eye. So, I’m guessing that it’s either an old bruise or your using cover-up.”

    “The first time he hit me was right after the twins were born,” I said, holding my head down.

    “Why didn’t you call us?” dad asked.

    “Because I knew how you all felt when you found out I was pregnant. I know I embarrassed you and I just let it go.”

    “Granddad, Seth is really mean to mom. I’ve witnessed it myself,” Matty spoke up.

    “Has all the kids seen him hit you?” he asked and both Dani and Savannah nodded. “Melissa, you should have done something before now.”

    “Daddy, I was scared,” I said, flat out and to the point.

    “Why didn’t you call before heading up here?” mom asked.

    “Because I only decided this the night before. I had Dani and Matt get their things ready and after getting Sav on the bus yesterday, I rushed to get mine and her things ready. I didn’t call on the way because I left my phone. Seth would have been able to find me a lot faster if I brought it.”

    “He’ll know you came here,” dad said.

    “I know but that’s why I came straight to you. You have connections with the law and I need some favors.”

    “He want step foot on this property without me shooting him,” dad said, sternly.

    “I just want to start fresh,” I said, lifting Savannah up and placing her on the couch with her brother and sister, I didn’t even realize that they all fell back asleep. “I’m going to go take a shower and go to town and try my luck for a divorce lawyer.”

    “We’ll help with the finances,” mom said as we stood up and she headed towards the back.

    “Dad, can you bring our bags in?”

    “Sure honey, I’ve got it handled.”

    “I’ll help, granddad,” I heard Matty say as I walked to the back.



After my shower, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. I looked at the nasty bruises that were still prominent where no one could see. They were starting to become very tender now that they were a day older. They were an ugly purple color and I just hung my head a cried.

When I was finished feeling sorry for myself, I wrapped the robe mom gave me around my body and walked into what was my old bedroom. After drying off, I went through my suitcases and pulled out a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. An hour later, I was heading to town and to the best known divorce lawyer. Mom said that when her best friend got a divorce three years ago and he was the best.

I was in the office of Kenneth Johnson’s for about an hour. I told him about the abuse and when it started, the marital rape and held nothing back. He took pictures of the bruises that were hidden and kept them on file. By the end of the meeting, he told me that I had a solid case and that he would be happy to take me as a client.

I stopped by AT&T and got me a new phone and called my mom and told her the news. On the way home, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things that I knew the kids would want. I first went down the cereal aisle and grabbed a box of the kids favorite. Next, I went to go get some cookie. As I was heading around the corner, I hit into someone else’s shopping cart.



    “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” I said, apologizing trying to get myself situated.

    “No problem,” came a male’s voice. “As long as you’re okay. Are you okay?” he asked.

    “Um... yeah,” I said, looking up. When I saw the man standing in front of me, my breath caught.



I knew that I would run into him but I didn’t know it would happen this soon. In the sixteen years since I’ve seen him, he hasn’t changed much. He was definitely more built and his black hair was completely black anymore. He had a strip of red above his right temple but nothing about his brown eyes had changed.



    “That’s good,” he smiled.

    “You don’t recognize me, do you?” I asked. He stared at me for a few minutes before he apologized and said no. “Wow. I recognized you right away. I guess it’s because my son showed me a recent picture of you,” I responded. “No, it’s not that either.”

    “I’m sorry,’ he said a little awkwardly.

    “I don’t expect you to remember me. After all, it has been sixteen years,” I said. I continued to look at me and I could tell when he realized who I was.

    “Baber. Melissa Baber, is that really you?” he asked.

    “In the flesh,” I smiled. I was shocked that he actually walked around his cart and wrapped me in a hug. I winched slightly when he crushed me to his body and my bruises screamed out to me.

    “Oh my damn,” he said. “I never thought I would see you again.”

    “I’m back,” I smiled.

    “I see that. So, your son is a fan of mine?” he smirked. It was the same smirk that he always used when we were kids. It was the same smirk that Matty had.

    “Kind of.”

    “So, how are you? I know you’ve got a son, anymore kids?”

    “Yeah, I’ve got two more kids. Actually, my two oldest are twins and I have an eight year old named Savannah.”

    “That’s great,” he said. He looked down at my finger and I guessed that he was looking for a ring. I took my rings off before I took a shower today and threw them in the trash.

    “So, is there a mister hanging around or something?” he asked.

    “There is a mister but I’m going to get a divorce,” I said.

    “Wait a second. If I my mind recalls, you disappeared at the same time as Seth Whitman, didn’t you? Is that the mister?”

    “Yes and yes. Things just aren’t working out anymore so I came home and filed for divorce.”

    “Are you just giving up and running away from him like you did with me?” he asked. I knew that I was facing that question also but it still hurt to hear the words come from his mouth.

    “Listen Jason, there’s a lot of unexplained actions and I really would like to sit down with you and get the air cleared with us but I don’t want to have this conversation at the grocery store.”

    “Well, there’s not really a lot to talk about is there? You left me and moved on, leaving me without an answer so I’m going to take my leave. I guess I’ll... uh... see you around,” he said, pushing his cart past me and I just stood there and watched him walk away.



I really wish he would give me a chance to explain my actions because he would realize that I really didn’t have a choice. After talking to Tobias that night, I knew that if I loved Jason the way I said I did, I wouldn’t have taken that opportunity away from him. I finished my shopping, fighting back tears and went home.

When I got home, Matty knew something was wrong and he kept asking until I told him what happened. He had a firm set in his jaw and I knew he wanted to say something to Jason but he wouldn’t because of me.




    “Why don’t you just tell him what happened?”

    “Matty, he’s right. I left him without an explanation and he certainly acted like he didn’t want to hear it now.”

    “He can sit down and listen to what you have to say. Than he can take it from there.”

    “I’m not worried about it right now, honey. Now, I’ve got to go to the school’s and get you all enrolled so you...”

    “No, I’m coming with you,” he said, putting his foot down.

    “Matt, I’ll be okay. Seth isn’t going to get here that fast.”

    “Unless he takes a plane. He can be here in less than 8 hours.”

    “Well, we’re good for another, three hours. That is if he was able to get a flight,” I told him.

    “Mom, I’m still coming with you,” he said, grabbing my keys and walking out of the door.



We headed to the high school first and I was able to give Dani and Matt’s information from their old school with no problems. The secretary told me that she had to get their transcripts faxed but they should be able to start by next week. I was told the same thing by the elementary school for Savannah. After we finished at the schools and we were walking back to the car, my phone started ringing.



    “Hello,” I answered.

    “I just love how you think you can get away from me,” Seth’s menacing voice came across the line, freezing me mid-step.

    “How did you get my number?” I asked.

    “I knew all about your secret credit card. Honestly, I thought you would use it to go off and get a divorce.”

    “I filed.”

    “Mom,” I heard Matt whisper.

    “I know where you are, Melissa. I knew you would go running back home if you ever left. I gotta give you credit though, you duped me good. Made me think that you were out for a run. How long have you had it planned, Mel? You know you’ll come back home with me,” he laughed.



Before I could say anything, the phone was ripped from my hand and Matt ended the call. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me back to the car. I couldn’t move, I felt frozen as my son moved me around and got me in the car. Was Seth right? Would I give in and go back to him? Right now has a definite no but what’s to say that he wouldn’t stoop so low as to threaten someone I love and use that against me.

I wanted to get away from the abuse and the constant feeling of being scared. For the first few hours, I had that but now I was more scared than anything.


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Darn that Seth... always gotta ruin a good time.

What about the run-in with Jason???  :-(   That makes me sad.


How much longer do you think it will be before Seth comes and tries to take them  back??  And do we think that Jason will give Melissa the chance to explain everything to him????


Leave me some love... Thanks