by Laurèn Lee
Please, God. If you exist, don’t let a bullet hit me or Wayne. Please let us get out of here alive!
In the distance, I heard car engines revving as the chase and the fight for our lives continued.
“Keep driving!” Wayne hollered.
“I’m trying!” I screamed back trying to knock away the inflated airbag from my view. I saw headlights coming closer and closer behind us. I felt like I was playing Grand Theft Auto, but in real life.
“There’s a turn coming up on your left, take it! And, don’t slow down!”
“What if the car flips?”
“It won’t. Keep going,” Wayne begged me.
As promised, I made the turn and felt the car lift slightly off the ground as we swerved around the corner. We landed back on the road with all four tires on the ground and intact.
“Wooooooooooo!” I screamed out the window and into the night.
“Hell yes! Keep driving straight and get onto the highway.”
I glanced at the speedometer again to see the needle well past one hundred miles an hour. The entrance sign to the highway stood just straight ahead.
“Don’t slow down,” Wayne urged. “They’re gaining on us!”
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” I took the onramp to the highway at an even higher speed. “Now where?”
“We need to get to the city. Draw them out into the open.”
I nodded and kept my foot on the gas as the hazy lights of the city’s skyline crept into view. At least three cars continued to chase us. The only delight I felt came from the fact I knew Jerry was dead. Karma is a bitch.
A few minutes passed and the city’s appeared even closer as the highway’s exit approached, too.
Wayne rubbed my back and tried to soothe me. His warm hands brought much-needed comfort and his touch helped relax me.
“Almost there,” he said.
A gunshot hit the back windshield and I ducked.
“What the fuck?” I shouted.
“Don’t stop! Keep going! The exit is only two hundred yards away!”
Another bullet pierced the mirror on my driver’s side. It spiderwebbed and divided up the headlights on each piece of the glass.
Without even thinking it through, I turned off the car’s lights and made the turn off the highway, hoping the crew behind us wouldn’t realize in time we’d taken the exit.
“It worked! They are still on the highway!”
“Fuck yeah!” Wayne shouted.
We poured out onto a busy avenue lined with fast food chains, run down strip clubs and cheap grocery stores. I slowed the car down so we’d blend into the traffic a little better. Despite the late hour, several cars cruised down the avenue. Either on their way out or, on their way home, there were plenty of cards to help disguise us.
I took my first full breath since we’d broken through the fence.
“Now what? Where do we go?”
“Well, we can’t go back to either of our places. They’ll expect as much.” He sighed.
“Do you think my mom is still alive?” I whispered. I hadn’t even thought about her since I’d been taken. I figured she had to be safe, otherwise, she would have been down in the basement, too. Right?
“I honestly don’t know,” he said slowly.
That’s a no.
“Hey, pull into that hotel on the right just up there. Maybe we can crash there tonight,” Wayne offered.
I looked down and finally realized just how much blood had stained my clothes. Wayne looked about the same as me. “You think anyone’s going to rent us a room looking like this?”
“Look at this place,” Wayne said as I pulled into the dilapidated motel’s parking lot. “Do you really think they can afford to turn us down?”
57
Wayne
“Can I get a room, please?”
The attendant eyed me from head to toe and scrunched her nose. “We’re full.”
“The sign outside says, ‘Vacancy’.”
“Well, it’s wrong,” she said as she crammed some French fries into her mouth.
“Give us a fucking room, or I’ll choke you with those fries!” Serenity lashed out unexpectedly.
The woman, in her early fifties with a brunette cut from the 80’s, looked as though Serenity had assaulted her. “Fine. But, it’ll be extra on account for you two are freakin’ dirty.”
“Okay, yeah whatever,” I said, throwing a hundred-dollar bill at her as I reached over the counter and grabbed a key which read “53”.
We didn’t wait for her to say anything else before we dashed up the stairs to find our room.
I turned the key and opened the door to our hideaway for the night. Even though the room smelled dank and probably hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned in over a year, at least it would provide us safety for a night.
As soon as we crossed the threshold of the room and closed the door behind us, reality crept into view and my heart sank into oblivion. Sammy was gone. My little brother, my best friend, my adopted son. I felt as though a piece of my own soul had been shredded beyond repair. How would I ever survive this? How would I ever move on?
Sensing the eternal ache ebbing from my body, Serenity asked, “Wayne?”
I didn’t know what to say. Hot hatred and heat rose within my gut. This was Serenity’s fault. If it wasn’t for her, Sammy would still be alive. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have to bury my brother.
“Wayne, please?”
I wanted to hate her. I wanted to leave this room and never see her again. She crumbled to the floor then. Tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Wane, I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. This is all my fault!” She moaned and rocked back and forth.
And then, it hit me; it wasn’t Serenity’s fault at all… It was mine. I was the adult here. It was my decision to go into that house. It was my fault and mine alone. I wouldn’t let her carry my burden. I wouldn’t let this destroy her, too.
Tears of my own splashed out of my eyes and I sat beside Serenity on the floor.
“I’ll never forgive myself.” She sobbed.
I pulled her into my lap despite her attempt to pull away. “You don’t have to forgive yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong,” I offered painfully. “It’s my fault.”
Serenity looked at me incredulously. “How is it your fault? I pushed you to go in, to help me.”
“And I said yes” I reminded her.
She put her head down, but I took my finger under her chin to bring her gaze back up to mine. I kissed her lips softly and then let her head sink into my neck. I rocked her gently for what felt like eternity. As much I felt despair from losing Sammy, I felt just as much love in my heart for Serenity.
She was a pain in my ass most times and feisty as fuck, but at the end of the day, we understood each other. We had a connection no one else could ever have. I never imagined in a million years I’d fall for someone with the likes of Serenity, but here I was, painfully and woefully dedicated to this pink-haired spit fire in my lap. Cranberry Lane cursed us, but maybe it saved us, too.
I gently stood and pulled her up with me.
“Why don’t you take a shower? I gotta do something.”
“No! Please don’t leave me here,” she whimpered.
“I gotta hide the car. I don’t want them to find us.”
“Can I come with you?”
“No, Serenity. Please, stay here. I’ll be back in no time.”
“Okay,” she whined. “Don’t take too long.”
I stepped back out into the cool night and hopped into my car, which surely looked like hell. The airbags had since deflated, but both windshields were missing now, and shattered glass covered the interior.
Sammy’s lifeless body stayed in the backseat and I half expected him to sit up and ask when we’d be having dinner.
I flicked a tear off my cheek as I started the car and began searching for a dead-end road or an inconspicuous street. A few minutes down the bustling ave
nue, I noticed a Save-A-Lot still had its lights on and “Open” sign aglow.
This’ll have to do.
I didn’t want to stray too far from the hotel, otherwise, it’d take me too long to trek back. I pulled into the lot and parked the car in the back of the store, typically reserved for employees. Several other cars looked beaten up and some abandoned, too. No one would notice mine. Fingers crossed.
I crept into the back seat and took Sammy into my arms.
“You’ll be safe here, buddy. I promise I’ll come back for you once the coast is clear.”
I kissed him on the forehead and gently set him down into the trunk. It broke my heart to leave him like that, but it had to be done. I couldn’t have the cops finding my car with my dead baby brother inside. That’d open a whole new can of worms I wasn’t ready to deal with just yet. I prayed he’d be safe back there and I hoped he wouldn’t be too mad about me leaving him behind if, ya know, he was looking down from heaven.
I jogged back to the hotel and knocked on the door once I’d made it to our room. I didn’t take the key with me just in case I’d been apprehended or Gino found me; I didn’t want to lead them back to Serenity.
A few seconds passed, and I knew she’d be checking the peephole to see who was at the door. It opened forcefully and she pulled me inside, slamming it closed behind me.
“Everything go okay?” she asked, wearing a white towel around her body.
“Fine. I’m going to take a shower now.”
I went into the bathroom and the neutral smell of cheap hotel shampoo lingered in the air. Rust had worked its way around the tub, but I didn’t care. I smelled like a homeless man who’d just gotten his ass kicked and had been thrown into a dumpster.
I put the hot water on and only the hot water. I wanted to feel the burn of the shower. I needed it to remind me I was still alive.
“Everything okay in there?” Serenity asked from bedroom.
“Yeah,” I grunted.
I finished the rest of the all-in-one body wash and shampoo on the shower ledge and turned the water off. When I’d grabbed a towel, I happened to glance into the mirror at my reflection. My skin appeared raw and chafed and my eyes were hollow and sunken in. I looked like death, and felt like it, too.
Serenity had already laid down upon the queen bed in the room and sprawled across it, still in her towel. “I’m so tired.” She yawned.
“Me, too,” I agreed. “Scooch over.”
I climbed into bed next to her and pulled her into my arms. Holding her reminded me I still had someone to live for. As soon as my head hit the pillow, a dreamless sleep took hold of me for the next several hours.
58
Serenity
I woke up just before the sun had begun to rise and for a moment, just a tiny fragment of time, life wasn’t so fucked up. I’d forgotten Sammy had been killed and the fact Wayne and I were hiding out in a cheap motel in hopes his boss wouldn’t find us and kill us, too. And, like an eyelash blown away from the tip of your finger, that moment of nativity had vanished.
“Wayne,” I whispered in his ear as I nudged him softly. “I think we should get up now.”
“I want eggs and toast with gold flakes,” he mumbled with his eyes closed.
“Huh? Wayne, get up.” I shook him more forcefully this time.
He sprang up like the father in the board game “Don’t Wake Daddy!”
“What? What?” he fretted automatically reaching for his gun.
“Hey! Everything’s okay,” I said soothingly.
“Oh, fuck. I was having a nightmare,” he trailed off.
“You mean apart from the one we’re actually living?”
He nodded solemnly.
“You were talking in your sleep.” I smirked.
“What did I say?”
“Something about wanting eggs and gold, or something.”
He rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Now that I think of it, I haven’t eaten in a really long time.”
“You think this shit hole has a complimentary breakfast?” I asked.
“Hell no. Waffle House?”
“Deal.”
We rose out of bed and reluctantly put on our filthy clothes from yesterday. Naturally, we hadn’t planned a last-minute get-a-way, so we were stuck with the dirty, blood-sodden garb from the day before.
We exited the motel and the same woman at the desk from last night eyed us suspiciously as we walked out of the doors.
Luckily, a Waffle House stood only a few blocks away so, we could easily trek over without having to retrieve the car.
“Can I take your order?” a young girl asked with an unmistakable twang.
“Can I get a number one with orange juice?” I asked.
“Same for me,” Wayne said.
“Comin’ right up. Would y’all like some coffee, too?”
“Yes please,” we accepted in unison.
As the waitress walked away, I looked at Wayne and hoped he’d have some words of wisdom or a new plan in place. “I can’t believe this is real life.” I sighed.
“You’re telling me.”
“I miss Sammy,” I whispered with tears in my eyes.
“You know, a few days ago Sammy asked me if we were together,” Wayne said with a grin.
“He did? What did you say?”
“Oh, just that you were too crazy for me. But, he said he approved of us being together, if we were together, that is.”
“Sammy was a miracle, you know that?” I said. “He grew up on Cranberry Lane and still managed to have a kind, sweet soul.”
“What? I’m not sweet enough for you?” Wayne asked as he faked hurt.
“You know what I mean,” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
“Hey, can I borrow your phone?”
“Sure,” Wayne said as he retrieved in from his pocket. “Who you gotta call?”
“Well, I should probably tell my boss at the record store I’m not coming in. Ya know, since a mob boss is hunting us and all,” she said as she rolled her eyes.
“Haven’t you skipped most of your shifts in the past couple of weeks?” Wayne asked suspiciously.
“Oops.” I grinned. “It’s not my fault, though. I had two great guys keeping me hostage.” I winked.
My manager answered on the third ring.
“Hey, it’s me. Uh, Serenity? Yeah, I’m not coming in today. I’m uh- sick.” I fake coughed. “Oh, if I don’t come in you’re going to replace me? That’s cool, man. I didn’t like working for you anyway. Have a nice life, fat ass!”
“That’s one way to call in sick.” Wayne chuckled.
The waitress returned with our hot meals, ready to be devoured, and we both licked our lips.
Once we’d stuffed our faces with greasy grub, I knew it was time to face reality again.
“Wayne?”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s time you to take me home. I have to see if Ma is okay.”
“I know. We’ll go and get the car and I’ll take you there, okay?”
“Thanks.”
Wayne led me to the Save-a-Lot parking lot where he’d hidden the car overnight. He opened the driver’s side door and proceeded to start the car. I kept my eyes down, not wanting to see if Sammy’s body still lay in the backseat.
“Time to go home,” I said as I closed the passenger side door.
“Time to go home,” Wayne repeated.
59
Wayne
We passed the street sign reading, “Cranberry Lane,” and I feared what, or who, waited for us at Serenity’s apartment. Surely, we were walking into a trap, but I knew Serenity had to check on her mom. Because, what if it wasn’t a trap and her mom had been hurt and was alone in the apartment? Family came first, I knew that.
I parked the car on the side of the tattered street filled with irreparable potholes and cracks. I had my gun at the ready and Serenity had one, too. We climbed the steps to her apartment, and carefully li
stened to see if we had visitors.
I took the lead this time around. I figured Serenity had done enough of it last night. Her door stood closed and I turned the knob ever so slightly. It opened without any trouble. I looked back and saw the panic in Serenity’s eyes. Had she lost a loved one, too?
We stepped inside, not sure what to expect, and there, stood Serenity’s mom.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Serenity! There you are!” She pushed past me and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. “What is that in your hand? Is that a gun?”
“You’re okay? No one hurt you?” Serenity turned her mom around to check for any damage.
“Of course, I’m fine! Are you okay?”
“Not really,” Serenity admitted.
“I was so scared they were going to hurt you!”
Then, a look of discovery crossed Serenity’s face. “Ma? Why didn’t you stop Jerry from knocking me out and kidnapping me?”
“What? Oh, he said he was going to bring you right back!”
“Bring me back? What? After he killed me?”
Her mother’s head sunk and she’d begun to cry. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared.”
“Did you call the police?”
She shook her head.
“So, you just let them take me away in hopes they’d what? Take me for ice cream and bring me right home?”
“Serenity—” I began.
“No! This is all her fault!” Serenity spat. “If she hadn’t let that miserable sonofabitch rob us blind, we’d never be in this situation. Sammy would still be alive!”
“Someone died?” Her mother gasped.
“His little brother!” Serenity pointed at me.
Her mom looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
I didn’t know what to say, so, I didn’t respond.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway and my ears perked up. “They’re here,” I whispered.