The Broken (23 page)

I feel the
blood dripping from my wrist. It hurts like a bitch, but it’s
making it easier to slip my hand free. I know Danny’s been gone
longer than an hour. He needed a computer to transfer funds he’s
stealing from some big organisation. He was boasting about how easy
it is to keep taking little amounts that go under the radar but add
up immensely, especially over the two years he’s been doing it for.
Danny is an expert when it comes to computers. He found out
straight away that Saunders had been robbing my father blind at K’s
motors. He re-programmed the whole system so he could monitor all
the accounts, and everything I did while I was at work. I don’t
know what he expected I would be doing. I wish I’d had the guts to
book me and Blay a flight, but Blay was dependent on Danny to
supply his drugs. I hated that he had such a shit life. Some people
should never have children. He was my parents’ outlet for their
hatred and abuse. My mom never once stopped the beatings. I knew
she was afraid, but I would have gladly taken the harsh treatment
just so Blay could sleep without fear, without the demons that
awaited him once he closed his eyes.

A loud popping
rings out into the quiet cabin, followed by a small sob that tears
from my throat as pain shoots up my arm. My hand is free but I
can’t use it. It’s limp and swelling fast. I quickly use my other
hand and the rope that was used to bind me to make a sling. It’s a
shabby job, but it will do, and will hopefully stop me from doing
any more damage to my wrist. I pry the knots around my ankles and
stand. I feel faint, but this is my chance, I have to take it. I
rush to the front door and it opens with ease. It’s pitch black.
The cabin is surrounded by trees; the pathway is overgrown and
recently trodden down, which be from Danny coming and going. It’s
eerily quiet. I’m debating the best route to take. If I use the
path, Danny could come back and find me there easily, but if I
chance the trees, I could become more lost and risk further injury,
even death. Fuck it, I risk death by not taking my chance with the
woods. I drop down the stairs and hurry into the woods. Adrenaline
pumps through my veins. I stay relatively close to the treeline so
I can follow the path, but from the safety of the trees. I hear
rustling from the wildlife all around me and fear begins to replace
any adrenaline I first had. My wrist is throbbing, my head feels
too heavy for my shoulders and my bladder is full. My shoes aren’t
fit for traipsing through this type of terrain. My heart is
attacking my ribcage with every step I take, and bugs are using me
as a food supply. My skin itches.

I hear a car
then see a slight whisper of light highlight the trees. Panic
seizes me. I’m shaking so much I think my bones will crack and
shatter to the floor in a million pieces. The light is passing, and
before I can make a dash to get away, it’s gone. I know it’s only a
matter of minutes until Danny reaches the cabin and notices I’ve
gone, so I need to make these minutes count. I pick up my pace,
running fast and with purpose. I won’t stay still and keep being a
victim; I’ll fight back for me, for Blaydon, for Jasper and Sammy,
for my baby.

Branches whip
at my face and body, and I stumble a few times. I hear the engine
of a car, but no headlights show. Car doors open and close, more
than one. My mind is working overtime to keep me sane. Has he
picked someone else up? I crouch down low, my breathing sounds so
loud in my ears. I place my hand over my mouth to hold the
terrifying fear inside myself. I hear a muffled mumbling, then a
shriek, calling out my name in the distance. It’s Danny, but if
Danny is far behind me, who is in the car in front of me? Do I take
a chance it’s someone who’ll help me, or would I be putting them in
danger? But who would be out here the middle of nowhere? Oh, God
they could be another threat. Danny’s voice pierces the night
again. He sounds frantic and I run, my body making the decision for
me. I clear the trees and plummet down a small drop into a ditch,
my head colliding with a small boulder. The sharp pain takes my
breath away, and I hear panicked voices coming closer. I force
myself to my feet, my hands grasping at grass and rocks to pull
myself from the ditch. Blood coats my face, blurring my eyes. I
manage to make it from the ditch and run straight into a wall.

A warm
wall.

“No, no! No,
let me go! Let me go!”

I’m screaming
and thrashing my body, trying to free myself.

“Shh, it’s
okay, River.”

I look up into
the soft eyes of Derek.

“River! River,
oh God, River.” Sammy’s voice. His scent fuses into me as he pulls
me from Derek’s arms.

“I’m dreaming,”
I cry. “I didn’t escape, I’m tied to that chair!”

“Quickly,
Sammy. Get her into the car, Danny is closing in.”

I shake my
head. “Is this real, Sammy?”

I pull back
from his embrace and notice his arm is in a sling.

“It’s real.
I’ve got you, baby.”

I go limp.

“Move now!”
Derek shouts.

He pulls his
gun and takes off up the overgrown trail towards the cabin. Sammy
ushers me into the car with him, cradling me into his lap. The
silence is deafening until a gunshot rings out, shattering the
silence. Sammy moves underneath me, and slips me into driver’s
seat. The engine gives a low hum in the stillness of the black
night. Sammy gets out of the car and I begin to have an anxiety
attack fear making my whole body vibrate.

“Please, Sam.
Don’t go.” My hand shakes as I cling to his leg to stop him from
leaving the car.

His hand
strokes down my cheek. “I swear I won’t let him get you, River, but
I can’t leave Derek out there with Danny. Danny has no humanity
left in him. He’s a killer and Derek may be injured.”

I know he’s
right, but I’m afraid of losing him again, and Danny taking me back
into captivity.

“Lock the
doors, and hit the lights if you see Danny coming. Do not hesitate
to back the fuck out of here, and don’t stop driving until you know
can find a police station.”

I shake my head
as he exits the car and slams the door. I shakily search for the
lights and flip them on. A curtailing scream wrenches from me.

Danny is
standing in front of the car, pointing a gun at Sammy. Instinct
takes over, and my foot and hand work without my knowledge. Before
I can blink, the car is revving forward. Danny’s body hits the
bonnet with a chilling thud.

I
rush to River, diving back into the car and
shouting, “Drive, River!”

“Is he
dead?”

She puts the
car in reverse, but I grab her hand to stop her.

“No, go
forward, Twink. We need to find Derek, he could be injured.”

She pulls the
car forward, driving around the still body of Danny.

“Stop!” I yell
after a few yards.

Derek is lying
on his stomach, motionless. I jump from the car and rush to him,
turning him. There’s blood seeping from a wound on his back. I roll
him onto his side and check his pulse. It’s weak, but he still has
one. I drag him to the car and use every last piece of strength I
have to tackle his large frame into the back seat.

“Turn the car
around, Twink. Let’s get out of here.”

She struggles
with the wheel, using her free hand and her shoulder to turn it.
“Are you in pain, baby? Do you want me to drive?” She shakes her
head no. Danny’s still there when we pass him. I debate getting out
and picking up his gun to make sure he never gets back up, but I
don’t want the evil in him to crawl inside me. I’m not like him. I
couldn’t end another life and live with myself, even someone who
deserved it.

Derek had
called for backup once we first found the trail that led to the
cabin so I know they’ll arrive soon and take Danny into custody, if
he’s alive.

“Is Derek going
to be okay?” River’s voice is so timid. I can see the break in her;
the cracks in her psyche are there in her face, in her clouded
stormy eyes.

“It’s over,
baby. We’ll get Derek fixed up and get you looked at.”

I specifically
didn’t say get her “fixed” because like me, she can’t be fixed, but
we could be broken together, and fill the cracks that are left from
such a fucked up life.

“I’m pregnant,”
she whispers.

A faint smile
lifts my lips. “And you will be an amazing mother. I’ll try every
day to deserve you both.”

She chokes on a
sob. Headlights light up the distance and I blow out a thankful
breath.

D
erek comes into the front room with a takeout box
nearly as big as the coffee table.

“Pizza.”

Jasper
approaches River where she’s sitting, curled into a ball on the
armchair. He places a mug down, steam billowing from the surface,
sending a coffee aroma into the air. “Mmm, thank you.” She
smiles.

“Beer.” He
grins at me, holding up a six pack.

We had moved
into Derek’s mansion at his suggestion. I know he felt protective
over River for reasons I wasn’t entirely sure about. It has to do
with her losing Blay; he seems to share a similar loss, but I’ve
never questioned him on it. I’m just grateful for everything he’s
done for us. I didn’t really have any place to take River when she
refused to return to our houses. Ghosts haunted her there. She
cried for an hour straight when I told her Jasper was okay, one
less death for her to blame herself for. The acts of Danny have
imprinted onto her soul. She carries the burden, wears it in her
actions. It’s there in her eyes when she laughs and then catches
herself, like she feels wrong for feeling anything other than grief
and guilt. The only time I see glimpses of peace, glimpses of the
tropical eyes that looked at me through the hole in the fence is
when she’s holding our son, Michael. She named him after the
Archangel. She said the angels must have been protecting him in the
womb for him to be able to survive the trauma she went through
while he was so fragile. She wouldn’t listen when I told her it was
her resilience and courage that protected him. Michael Blaydon is
our son’s name. He’s beautiful, and loved not just by me and River,
but by Jasper and Derek too. I think he represents that from the
rubble of destruction can come a second chance. A soul full of
possibilities and hope. River still suffers from the after effects
of that night, and the memories that plague her dreams. She’s
terrified that Danny will come for her. When the agents got to the
cabin that night, they didn’t recover a body. He was gone. They
combed the area for two days, but he wasn’t found. If I’d known he
wouldn’t be caught, I would have done things differently. If I’d
have known how badly River would have anxiety attacks and
nightmares, thinking he was coming for her, I would have taken his
life that night. My girl is put together with sticky tape at the
moment, and I want him to pay for his cruelty. I want to give River
a small piece of justice. I want to fill her cracks and mend her
soul. That’s

Another reason
Derek insisted we stay with him. He has extra security measures put
in place at his mansion to make River feel as safe as possible.
We’ve all grown close, bound together by a shared trauma. Jasper
decided to move in with us rather than go home with his dad to
heal. The place is big enough for us not to get under each other’s
feet. If anything, I’m grateful to have him here. We need each
other. We’re a family of broken parts, but together we work like a
jigsaw. We all fit together to create a perfect picture, but just
like any jigsaw, the cracks are still visible. My dad and I spoke
about Jase being Keith’s. He told me he raised Jase because he
loves me, and Jase may not be his, but he’s a part of me which
meant he was part of him. Hearing that helped me in so many ways.
It helped mend the small boy who still lives inside of me, hoping
for my parents love and approval. River was shocked when I told her
Jase is her half-brother. She said he’s a gift from the wreckage
our parents wreaked, but agreed to keep it from him so he can live
without knowing the monster he came from.