by Maggie Thom
After climbing out of what Bailey knew was longer than her usual allotted five minute shower, a habit from days on the run, she dried herself off. The clothes from the day before were dry but felt grungy against her skin as she pulled them on. Finger brushing her teeth, she then detangled her hair as best she could. She let her mind wander, trying to figure out what she needed to do.
She had no idea if the guy from the night before was still after them. Why he was chasing them. Or what he wanted. What she did know was that she had to go back through time, through a sketchy history from the memory of a little kid, who would rather the past just went away, disappeared. Since that wasn't going to happen she had to go back through a maze of places, hopefully find some people who remembered her and her mom and then be able to tell her something that would make sense. The thought of going back through time, made her shiver. Goosebumps covered her arm. The face, not unlike that of the joker on the latest Batman movie which had plagued her childhood and many of her adult dreams, popped into her mind.
Refusing to allow that nightmare to take hold she opened the bathroom door. A loud sucking sound as though air and a bit of water was being suck through a small straw, met her. Then there was a gentle whooshing sound. Tiptoeing across to the far bed, she stood and stared at her partner. He lay on his back, his head turned to the side. She was amazed with the amount of noise he was making, that the curtains weren't fluttering due to his snoring. His bangs fell over his face. It wasn't until she felt the heat of his skin on her fingers that she realized she was about to touch him and yanked her hand back.
She sat down heavily on the other bed, confused by her concern and her reaction to him. The last thing she wanted to do was to go 'there', to analyze what was going on with her emotions. To avoid it, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV while lowering the volume. She flipped through stations until she found the News. The reporter was talking about a serious car crash that had happened in Calgary's south side. Another large company was about to declare bankruptcy and there had been a hit and run.
About to flip the channel, she stopped when they showed the street that the killing had occurred on. She pressed her hand to her mouth as she recognized that it was the same place she'd been last night and it was around the time she'd been there.
"Payme, well known to police?"
Bailey stared hard at the picture of the man they put up. He had a long, lean face, brown eyes hook nose and bad acne. She recognized him instantly as being the visitor in her Mom's house. Who the hell was he? What did he want with her? Who killed him?
Her mind started to race with lots of questions. The one that stood out and kept repeating itself was, 'What did you do, Mom?'
The one thing she knew for sure was that her mom was at the bottom of this. As she thought about it the information that Guy had been trying to give her, almost from the moment he'd met her, would no longer be ignored.
You're not who you think you are.
Bailey hadn't wanted to listen to nor to allow that thought to enter her mind because she knew as soon as she did she'd have to admit that for whatever reason, she knew it to be true. Just letting it loose in her head confirmed something she knew in her gut. Why she had that sense she didn't know but she knew with certainty that it was a fact. She didn't know exactly what it meant but she did have a strong sense that whatever her life had been for the last 29 years, it wasn't what it should have been.
All the frantic moves, the constant picking up and starting over, the living in places not fit for four-legged creatures - although there'd been plenty of those kind of roomies - eating whatever could be begged, borrowed or stolen, the late night disappearance acts, the constant need to hide, all came flooding back. Along with that came the horror that not only had she been alone all her life, now she didn't even have an identity. That hit her like an avalanche that started as a loud roar and then soon buried her under its weight.
Clutching her chest, she curled on her side, pulling her knees in as tight as she could. She lay there for a while trying to stop the images that were flying at her on high speed. At five, there was the mouse that ran across her mattress on the floor and her screaming like she'd never be able to stop. At three, staring out the back window of the cab as they drove away. At ten, running away to go live under a bridge, which only lasted a few hours but felt like days. All sorts of faces, distorted into scary Halloween masks.
Enough!
She jumped to her feet, slid on her runners, grabbed her coat, yanked open the door and raced outside. Not stopping to think, she ran. After all, it was what she knew how to do. She'd been taught well. It did cross her mind at some point that people were probably thinking who is this weird person. Not really caring or giving a lot to that thought, she continued to pound the pavement. Her heart thumped in her chest, her pulse throbbed in her neck. Her mouth hung open gulping in what air she could. It wasn't until her muscles tightened and knotted up, screaming in protest that she finally stopped. Bent over, heaving with exhaustion, she didn't straighten up for a good five minutes. Her head pounded, her legs weak and her lungs protested the excessive exercise. The one good thing about it was that she had something else to focus on. Something other than what her life was. What it could have been. Standing up slowly, she rubbed her hands up and down her thighs, easing the aching muscles. Her fingers moved over the small but distinct lump in her pocket. Reality came slamming back. She straightened. Fighting, that's what she knew how to do.
She hadn't really had a destination in mind when she'd set out. Nor had she really paid attention, not even to those places she'd passed two or three times. But looking across the street she couldn't believe her luck - an internet caf?. She'd heard of them but had never gone into one. She gave little thought to the fact that she was jay walking and zipped through the steady stream of vehicles headed both ways. Walking through the door, she stopped as the aroma of coffees, teas, spices, herbs and stuff she didn't know, assailed her senses.
Nirvana came to mind. Reeling from the overdose of smells and salivating on command, she walked up to the old fashioned counter with the tall baker window beside it. She refused to look at the delectable selection of sweets, something she'd tried to refrain from eating most of her life. Instead, she smiled at the middle aged woman.
"Hi. I was wondering?" Bailey's eyes opened wide as she patted down her pants pockets and realized she didn't have any money on her. Her purse was back at the room. "Do you have a computer and access to the internet that I could use?"
"Yes. Depending on the amount of time you want to be on there, determines how much it will cost. And in about ten minutes it will be busy for about an hour, then around 11:00 until 1:00ish and late afternoon through the evening."
"Do I book or just show up?"
"It's first come first served."
"So I can get on it now?"
The woman shook her head and waved in the direction of a few people at the tables. "Sorry, that's the line up."
"Fine. Thanks." Spinning on her foot she turned and walked out the door, only to be met by a pair of very intense blue eyes.
"If you came to buy coffee, you forgot it." His tone indicated that he wouldn't believe any excuse she gave him.
Ignoring that and the twinge of guilt she felt, she replied, "Actually I did want a coffee but as luck would have it I forgot my money."
He eyed her critically for a moment before shoving his hand in his pocket and pulling out $20. "Black coffee and two glazed donuts."
"Looking for an early heart attack?" Before he could reply, she stomped back into the caf?. Five minutes later she was back, balancing two coffees and a bag of treats.
She handed him the coffee but turned away when he reach for the bag. He arched an eyebrow at her. She gave him a real smart-aleck smile. "Uh-uh-uh. I get to choose first and you'll just have to wait until we get back to the room."
As though knowing she was talking to it, his stomach growled. They looked at each other and started laughing. It was enough
to allow them to walk companionably but silently, each lost in his or her own thoughts, back to the motel room. She felt almost a sense of calm, of just being. It was something new for her. Then Guy started looking over his shoulder every few seconds. She should be concerned as well but she just couldn't muster the energy. She had enough to ponder. He could keep up his head spinning act.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO