Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1)

by Sara Schoen

  Chapter 13

  I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Steve was coming home, and if he found out something was up, then none of us would make it out alive. Our top priority was to get Jessi out of the house, but what if I didn't make it out of the house to help her?

  What would happen to Jessi? I was worried about her, but it was worth the risk. All she had to do was hide, and then I would take her home.

  We spent time looking for places she could hide. There weren't many options due to the lack of furniture. We were just about to give up, we were running out of ideas, and I was starting to feel like an animal in a cage. "We could hide her in the basement," Garrett offered reminding me of his little hidey-hole.

  "What if she can't open the door? She could get stuck down there," I stated, holding Jessi tightly in my arms. In the last few weeks we had grown attached to Jessi, we loved her like she was our own child, and she in return had found solace in us.

  "We could make sure she can open it," Garrett suggested. I could tell he was running out of ideas and needed to find a safe, but effective answer.

  "What if Steve notices it's open? He could find her and then her life would be over," I asked, realizing that I was scrutinizing everything. I needed to get her out; she didn't belong here. None of us did, but this would scar her for life and the longer we were here—the more she saw, would make it worse.

  "Then the only real option is the hole in the wall then," Garrett said with a shrug as he led us downstairs. He took Jessi's hand and placed his hand in mine. Over the last few weeks while we were caring for Jessi, showing affection had become natural, we needed it to have a reason to survive.

  "The hole in the wall?" I asked skeptically as the stairs creaked beneath our combined weight. That didn't sound like a safe or reliable hiding spot, but he would know better than I would.

  "Yeah, when I was little and my parents fought, I would hide in a hole in the wall. They never found me, so Steve could never touch me no matter how mad he was and I would come out when I thought it was safe," Garrett explained as he led me to the main room. He sneered the word parents; he would have to come to terms with what happened to him at his own pace.

  "Where is it?" I asked as I watched him start hitting the walls lightly. He was tapping his knuckles on each board in the wall as he walked along the borders of the room.

  "I'm looking for it. It should be somewhere around here, but I'm not sure exactly where," he said as he knocked on a hollow portion of the wall. He looked back at me and smiled as he started to slowly pry at the edge of the wooden slant to reveal the hiding spot.

  "What you doing Daddy?" Jessi asked, causing Garrett to suddenly stop pulling at the piece of wood at her words.

  "What did you call me?" he asked as he slowly turned around to look into Jessi's beautiful light blue eyes. I could see the soft smile curling onto the edges of his lips as he thought over her words. He was so pleased to have her call him that, it brought a light to his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

  "Daddy," she stated again with a smile as she ran up to Garrett and hugged him around the legs.

  "Jessi, you know I'm not your daddy, right?" he asked, petting her blonde hair.

  "I know, but you look like daddy."

  Garrett smiled at me for a moment and then knelt down to wrap his arms around Jessi. "Well, this daddy is going to take care of you so you can get out of here safely."

  "Okay, Daddy!" Jessi said with a smile.

  Garrett let her leave his hold as he went back to trying to open the hiding spot. It took a while of him prying and cursing when the opening slammed shut and pinched his skin. After prying open that piece of wood, it finally sprang open fully and revealed a giant hole in the wall. It was more than enough room for her to fit in.

  "Do you think you could fit in here, Jessi?" Garrett asked, lifting her up from the ground to show her the hiding spot.

  "Yeah! That way when Mommy comes I can pop out!" she giggled as she hid behind her eyes and played peek-a-boo with me.

  "Right, that's a good girl," Garrett said, placing a kiss on her forehead as he put her back on her feet. "You ready to go see your real mommy and daddy, Jessi?"

  "Yes, Daddy. Will you come see me too?"

  "I'll try my best," Garrett promised, as a door slammed shut outside sending all three of us into a panic. Garrett and I reacted at the same time, I grabbed Jessi and ran upstairs while I heard Garrett close the hatch of his old hiding spot. His footsteps soon followed me up the stairs as Steve started banging his way into the house.

  "By this time tomorrow, we'll all be fighting for our lives," I said to Garrett as he passed by. Jessi left my hold to hide in our room. She feared Steve greatly, and with good reason too. He had pulled her out of her life and threatened her.

  "If it works out, only one more day of being in this house," Garrett said as he leaned down and kissed me, then placed a kiss on Jessi's forehead when she ran back out to give him a hug. She had grown so attached to Garrett, which was great since Steve wanted them to be close. The perfect family in his eyes—that was all he wanted.

  Of course, that's not how it worked out.

  We had been sitting down to dinner that Jessi had helped me make. Truth be told, I just couldn't let the little girl leave my side because I was afraid of what Steve would do to her. Garrett was worried about both of us, and if he wasn't careful he would put us all in a dangerous situation. Steve was bound to notice the glances.

  Jessi was bouncing up and down with excitement that we were having macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was her favorite meal so I had asked Steve to pick up the ingredients for it. She had spent the last hour with me in the kitchen while Garrett was watching the television, but really he was watching us from the other room. I had her sit in between Garrett and me for dinner, which she didn't mind since Steve gave her a 'sicky' feeling as she called it.

  "Thank you, Mommy. I like this," Jessi said, shoving her dinner down her mouth as fast as she could. It was if she hadn't eaten in days.

  "You're welcome, Jessi. I'm glad you like it, and thank you for helping me," I said with a soft smile.

  "But why didn't Daddy help?"

  I froze, my hand gripped on to my fork so hard that I could feel the impression digging into my hand. I couldn't think straight, and it got worse when I felt Steve and Garrett both look at me for an answer. How was I going to get out of this?

  "Because Daddy does other things for us, so we do this for him." My voice shook with fear as I offered a forced smile in Steve's direction so he would think we were talking about him. If I just told him what he wanted to hear we could all get out of this alive.

  "That's right. Mommy does all the house work while Daddy does work to pay for the house," Steve said in a smug tone.

  I rolled my eyes slightly at his words. Did I become a 1950's housewife? The real reason 'mommy' does housework is so she can live without torture, while 'daddy' leaves everyone trapped here.

  "But Daddy doesn't leave the house," Jessi said in a confused tone as she looked up at me. She couldn't see the danger that was looming in the room, and her statement sent it over a cliff.

  Steve put down his fork, letting it clink on the plate below him. "What do you mean daddy doesn't leave the house?" he asked with anger lacing his words.

  I heard Garrett gulp loudly as he took a drink of water, as if it was his last. I started to eat my food as calmly as I could while Jessi just glanced between us. I pleaded with her silently to keep quiet, and maybe we could get out of this.

  "Daddy doesn't leave. He's with Mommy and me all day!" Jessi said with a smile.

  "Yeah, she doesn't stop talking about you when you leave here, Dad!" Garrett said with a forced tone of glee. "She's really grown attached to you."

  Steve glanced between the three of us suspiciously. I placed my hand on Jessi's and saw Garrett do the same thing as we continued to eat. Maybe if we kept contact with her we could squeeze her hands and she would know not to answer. It wo
rked for a little while and I thought we were in the clear as dinner came to a finish. Then Steve asked the question I had feared most once Jessi said 'daddy'.

  "Jessi, who is Daddy?"

  "Daddy!" Jessi said with adoration in her voice, as she broke from my hold and pointed to Garrett.

  "Jessi, it's bad to lie. I thought we talked about this!" I stated urgently, still trying to save the situation as best as I could.

  "But Mommy-" she cried.

  "Jessi, do Daddy and Mommy do anything gross?" Steve asked, interrupting Jessi and me, glaring at me with intense hatred.

  "Mommy and Daddy kiss. Then Daddy kisses me and says he loves us!" Jessi smiled as she gave Garrett and me a kiss on our upper arms.

  I saw Steve's eyes flash from hatred to fury as he forced himself away from the table and charged at me. I didn't move so that I could place myself between Jessi and him. He lifted his hand to slap me, but a chair scraped across the hardwood floor. I shut my eyes to prepare for the impact, but it never came.

  "So I guess what Jessi said is true," Steve spat.

  "Yes." I heard Garrett say with defiance strong in his voice. I peeked through my eyelids to see Garrett with arms outstretched to prevent Steve from getting to us.

  "You ungrateful bitch!" Steve yelled at me, knocking Garrett aside with a quick punch to the groin. I heard Garrett cry out as he crashed to the floor, causing the chairs and table to move.

  "Daddy!" Jessi yelled. She tried getting up from her seat, but I held her down for her own safety.

  "Shut up you little ingrate! How dare you call him your father! I took you, I'm your father," Steve yelled as he reached for Jessi; his eyes were furious and deadly. I stood up abruptly to protect her.

  "No, you can't have her!" I yelled as I pulled my arm back and went to punch him in the face, but he stopped my hand and pulled me to him.

  "Fine, if I can't have her. I'll have you." His voice was menacing as it rang through my ears. I felt my feet leave the ground and heard Jessi scream as I was carried away. I tried to escape his hold, but he was too strong for me.

  "You're going to regret falling for that idiot son of ours," he promised as he locked the door behind him, sealing me inside with him alone.

  "It's time for the chase."

  Chapter 14

  "Shut up, Kelly! After you, I'm going to go after that little brat I brought back home for you! I should have known that bringing another child in would make you act like this," Steve threatened as he yelled over my screams.

  The pain was searing every inch of my body as I tried ineffectively to fight him off. I couldn’t think of anything else except the pain and his threats about Jessi.

  "You wouldn't dare!" I screamed at him through clenched teeth. I leaned forward, determined to keep him away from Jessi, and banged heads with him. He was stunned for a moment as his hands went to cover the impact point. Then I punched him in the stomach and thrashed around for a little bit while he regained his senses, but my actions only made him angrier.

  "I'll throw you out into the woods for a few days, then I'll come after you, and when I find you you'll wish you were back here letting me have you like this. Oh, it won't be pleasant, but you have to learn," Steve growled. He pushed off of me, leaving me to bluster before he threw me out.

  "I'll see you soon, Kelly. It will be worse than before, I promise you that!" Steve spat.

  "I won't be back!" I screamed as tears fell onto the bed sheets.

  Steve just laughed as I heard the zipper of his jeans slip back into place.

  "We will see about that. Now, where is that little bitch that called Garrett 'daddy'?" Steve growled as he threw open the door, which cracked due to the force.

  "Jessi! Run! Hide!" I screamed through the pain, hoping she would hear me and go any place that would keep her safe.

  "Yeah, Jessi, run and hide! When I find you, you won't be able to hide anymore," Steve threatened as he left the room.

  I couldn’t move—the pain was intense. I was too exhausted to force myself up from the bed, my arms tired from struggling

  There were footsteps quickly approaching, along with a voice I couldn't hear clearly. I turned my head toward the door, but my vision started to blur. I was being enveloped by the pain and had to force myself to focus on the objective at hand. I had to get out of the house. I had to save Jessi, and then we had to run for our lives. As footsteps got closer, I could hear the voice clearly, but it sounded blocked, as if someone had their sweatshirt over their mouth and was talking to me.

  "Come on," the voice said as, they lifted me effortlessly from the bed and into their arms.

  "Garrett?" I asked in a confused haze.

  "Yeah, who else would you expect?" he asked with a tingle of laughter in his voice.

  As Garrett carried me out of the room I heard something break. A few seconds later another loud crashing sound penetrated the through the ceiling. There were heavy footfalls racing around the house as more things impacted against the wooden floors. The sounds echoed off the bare walls and empty halls, making it impossible to pin point where Steve actually was.

  "Where's Jessi?" I asked as the haze started to clear enough for me to think properly.

  "I got her out. She's waiting for you outside." Garrett said setting me down on the floor. It was ice cold on my bare skin, but it eased the pain and heat of my skin.

  "How?"

  "I got her through the window in the basement once I heard Steve say what he was going to do to her." He paused for a moment.

  "What's wrong?" I asked as I tried to open my eyes.

  "That's a lot of blood," Garrett finally stated after a long pause, as if he was debating on telling me the truth. Another loud crash hit overhead as Garrett swallowed the lump in his throat. He had to find a way to stop the bleeding, if it didn’t stop I wouldn’t make it far from here.

  "That bad?"

  "Yeah, it's pretty bad, Anna. I have to think of a way to stop the bleeding before I get you out of the house. You'll leave a trail if you're dripping blood," he said, as another loud crash echoed through the house.

  "Do it quickly, I don't think you have much time," I said attempting to chuckle, but making a choking sound.

  There was soft thud next to me that caused me to turn my head and open my eyes. Through the hazy vision I was able to make out a fully stuffed backpack. Garrett had thought to prepare for our escape before it even crossed my mind. I was so overwhelmed with the actual process of escaping and making it somewhere safe that the amount of time I would be in the woods hadn't crossed my mind.

  "This is everything I found for you and Jessi to take. I have a separate one upstairs so don't worry about me," Garrett said as he moved me into a seated position and pulled the cotton fabric shirt over my bare torso.

  "What about the bleeding, Garrett? I can't go like this."

  "I packed these for Jessi, but I think you need one right now. They are old, but I think they should still work. I mean I've never heard of diapers expiring," Garrett said as he put my legs into the two leg holes and pulled a scratchy material up my legs.

  "Why?"

  "I'm hoping it will stop the bleeding or at least absorb so you aren’t covered in blood. I don't want you scaring the people that are supposed to help you," he stated with a light chuckle as he pulled jeans on top of the diaper. The jeans were too big for me because they were Garrett's, but fit better because of the bulky underwear I now had.

  "No, why for Jessi?" Jessi was potty trained, she insisted on going by herself even when Steve was home.

  "Because there may not always be time to stop and just in case. I'm trying Anna, it made sense to me," Garrett said with a sad sigh as he helped me up. I was so weak that I had to lean against the counter so I could stand.

  "Not so fast. I can't move that fast yet," I said as I held my head to stop the spinning. There was a constant sound of things crashing to the floor above me; we had to hurry.

  "Do you think you can run?" Garrett asked tak
ing my face in his hands and looking deep into my eyes. I swallowed all of my fears, and let determination take its place. I needed to get out of here now, before Steve came back downstairs and found Garrett and me together again.

  "I can, but not straight."

  "That's going to have to be good enough for now," Garrett said as he leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips. His kiss was tense because he was scared, I was too, but I tried to hide it so I could give him the same hope he gave me.

  "I love you," we said in unison when we broke from the kiss. I caught Garrett's shocked expression, he clearly wanted to say something, but he stopped as Steve started coming down the stairs. Garrett grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the front door.

  "I will see you again, Anna! I promise!" Garrett said as shoved me out the door.

  I stumbled down the stairs and into the dirt below. I hit my head on the ground, it was enough to wake me up and pull me back to my horrible reality. I shot up and glanced around, there was no car, which meant I had to start running.

  "Mommy!"

  I turned around to see Jessi hugging a tree like her life depended on it. I was about to ask he what she was doing, but I heard someone trying to force the front door open. I grabbed her hand as I ran past her and kept running; there was no turning back now. We were heading toward her hometown of Charleston. Jessi had found the name on the map that she recognized, which according to Garrett was a right turn from the house, and you keep running until you see the road. We had to be careful since Garrett thought the police were in on it with Steve, so we couldn't go there for help. I was going there to find her family, and then I was going to continue on toward the state line. Garrett thought if I crossed state lines I would be harder for Steve to find me, and there was a better chance to find helpful police officers.

  It would have been a few hours drive to Charleston; it would take forever to run there. I can only hope it doesn't take long, because Steve would be after me in a few hours.