Shaking her head, her eyes well with tears and she cups my face. “No, mijo. It was me who messed up. They all told me to lie to you for your own protection and I listened.”
“You did what you thought you had to. I made the mistake of listening to Dad and ran like a coward, leaving you alone.”
She swallows hard and tugs on my chin. “None of it matters anymore. You're back. And you standing here is no longer just a dream.”
Too bad none of it feels real. I keep thinking if I sleep too long, I'll wake up back in chains, sitting on the cold concrete of a basement. My mom lifts another ornament from the box and places it beside mine. “He called me, you know.” Her eyes meet mine, locking me in place.
“Who?”
Her fingers sweep over the dove, her eyes following each movement. “Everett.”
“Is that even his real name?”
“I don't know. It's who he is to us.”
Shaking my head, I rip the dove off and toss it in the box, the tip of a wing chipping off against a sparkling ball. “No, it isn't. Because he is nothing. The man never existed. It was all fake.”
She reaches for me and I dodge her hand, walking past her. “Please don't mention his name again. I don't care to know anything about him.”
“Mijo…he's worried about you. I was angry at first too. I was. Then he brought you back home to me.”
“I would have never been there to begin with if it wasn't for him. He's hardly a fucking hero. I bet he's back at work already, working on his next case.”
Shaking her head, her jaw tics. “No. He's on leave and staying at his brother's house.”
I know where he is. I also know where he goes when he can't sleep at night. He walks around the neighborhood or nearby park trail. Whenever I'm alone in my room and not stalking his brother’s home, I pull out my phone and watch the tracker app, waiting for him to go somewhere. Wondering when he'll finally break and come to me.
“You didn't tell him where we were, did you?”
“Of course not. He wanted your number and I told him I'd only give it if it was okay with you.”
“It's not and you should change your number too. Who knows if someone's tracking it.”
“We could have gone back into protective cust—”
“No,” I shout, slamming my hand into the wall. “I'm not going to cower and hide away in some fucking box with cops knowing my every move. We are fine here.”
We came to this little cabin an hour away from home for the holidays. As much as I wanted to go back home, I knew there was nothing to go back to. All I had left to remember was a few boxes my mom kept in the shed outside, one of them full of Christmas ornaments. Our house was burned to the ground the day after I was taken with the hopes my mom was still inside.
Anger heats my cheeks thinking about it. Soon, I will show them all what it's like to want to run and hide. When I find them, they will wish they died in a house fire. I won't make it quick and easy. No, I will drag it out for as long as I can.
My mom remains quiet, collapsing onto the nearby couch, reaching for her cup. “We'll stay here then, and after Christmas, we can visit your tia.” We came here instead of going straight there because I wasn't ready to be around other people, and I'm not sure we'd be safe with my tia's abusive ex keeping close watch of her.
“Yeah. I uh…need some air.” I exit the living room and walk outside onto the back porch, inhaling the crisp air. The cold nips at my skin and I wrap my arms around myself, shivering in my light jacket. My head aches from the rush of wind hitting my face and I walk closer to the bare trees, trudging my feet through the dirt.
“Hello?” I say, as a figure moves through the wooded area behind the house.
I take a step back, my hand reaching for my gun in the back of my pants. My mom hates it but I never leave the house without it.
“Who's there?” I ask, my voice trembling.
Glancing around frantically, I lift my gun in the air, waiting for the person to move again. They were too tall to be an animal.
“Come out. I know you're there.”
Leaves rustle me and I spin around, trying to keep my eyes everywhere. Knowing it could be a trap, I don't enter through the trees. For all I know, they could be waiting for me.
I rush back to the house, never letting my guard down. A loud click comes from behind me and I dive forward as the sound of the gun goes off.