dirtier and unkempt. The thin mattress
on the bed was nearly paper thin and covered with various stains, but it was
the only remotely soft place in the room, so I laid down with Tuck in my arms
and tried to get him to take a nap. I needed to think and the confused look on
my baby’s face only made me an emotional wreck.
I shut my eyes and let the tears fall as
soon as Tuck was asleep. All I wanted was for Ash to come bursting through the
door, but that would never happen. Ash was on his way back home, and as far as
he knew, Tuck and I were nestled nice and safe in the big house in the middle
of nowhere.
CHAPTER 11
The afternoon sun had long faded and
darkness filled the cell. Not a single light switch graced those cinder block
walls, and I had to rely on the tiny bit of moon that trickled in through the
barred windows to see my way around the cell.
At some point, I’d fallen asleep for the
night, but I was awoken hours later by a bright flash in my face. Startled, I
jumped up and clutched onto my sleeping son.
“Say cheese,” LeRoy said, a camera phone smashed up close to my face.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Why are
you taking my picture ?! ”
“So your daddy can see that you’re in
real good hands,” he sneered. “Apparently we underestimated the Black Dogs and
your daddy has decided to call our bluff.”
After a few flashes, he thumbed through
the pictures. “Perfect. That one will do just fine.”
He turned to leave, flashing me a
sinister look on his way out.
“Wait!” I yelled.
He stopped and turned towards me with
raised eyebrows, as if I was inconveniencing him.
“Are you going to feed us?” I asked. “My
son hasn’t eaten since dinner last night. He needs to eat.”
LeRoy laughed and slammed the door and locked
it behind him. The heavy trodding of his boots down
the hall grew faint within seconds.
My stomach rumbled, but it was only a
reminder that Tuck had to go without food too. I could last. I could fight
through the hunger pangs that were about to consume me, but he wouldn’t be able
to understand, and that scared me.
I lay back down on the thin mattress and
tried to remember happier times. I shut my eyes and pictured the day Ash had
proposed to me. We were sitting by a lake, fishing. It was one of the first
beautiful spring days after a long, harsh winter and everyone was dying to get
outside.
We’d gone joy riding in his pickup before
finding a nice, shady pond in the middle of nowhere. We hopped out and grabbed
the bait and tackle from his truck bed and found the perfect spot on the grass.
Ash always had to bait my hook, but I
think he liked feeling useful and manly. He’d grown up without a father, and
almost everything he learned about being a man was a direct result of my father
taking him under his wing. Ash was born to be a part of our family in one way
or another, and somehow our kindred souls found a way to make that happen.
“I got one!” I recalled saying as I
reeled in the line. “It’s really big! I can tell!”
Ash had to stand behind me and help me
pull the fish in, but after several fruitless attempts, we realized my line had
gotten stuck in the reeds and the fish swam away.
“That’s okay,” I said. I really didn’t
care about catching a fish that day. I just wanted to spend time with Ash. That
was when I was the happiest, and that was when everything in my crazy life made
sense.
I dropped the fishing pole and turned
around to grab the container of live bait, only when I turned around Ash was
standing there on his knees with a black, velvet ring box propped open. A
sparkly diamond shimmered under the midday sun and the biggest smile crossed
Ash’s face.
“Marina Elizabeth Barrett,” he said.
“Will you marry me?”
We were only twenty years old,
on the bed was nearly paper thin and covered with various stains, but it was
the only remotely soft place in the room, so I laid down with Tuck in my arms
and tried to get him to take a nap. I needed to think and the confused look on
my baby’s face only made me an emotional wreck.
I shut my eyes and let the tears fall as
soon as Tuck was asleep. All I wanted was for Ash to come bursting through the
door, but that would never happen. Ash was on his way back home, and as far as
he knew, Tuck and I were nestled nice and safe in the big house in the middle
of nowhere.
CHAPTER 11
The afternoon sun had long faded and
darkness filled the cell. Not a single light switch graced those cinder block
walls, and I had to rely on the tiny bit of moon that trickled in through the
barred windows to see my way around the cell.
At some point, I’d fallen asleep for the
night, but I was awoken hours later by a bright flash in my face. Startled, I
jumped up and clutched onto my sleeping son.
“Say cheese,” LeRoy said, a camera phone smashed up close to my face.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Why are
you taking my picture ?! ”
“So your daddy can see that you’re in
real good hands,” he sneered. “Apparently we underestimated the Black Dogs and
your daddy has decided to call our bluff.”
After a few flashes, he thumbed through
the pictures. “Perfect. That one will do just fine.”
He turned to leave, flashing me a
sinister look on his way out.
“Wait!” I yelled.
He stopped and turned towards me with
raised eyebrows, as if I was inconveniencing him.
“Are you going to feed us?” I asked. “My
son hasn’t eaten since dinner last night. He needs to eat.”
LeRoy laughed and slammed the door and locked
it behind him. The heavy trodding of his boots down
the hall grew faint within seconds.
My stomach rumbled, but it was only a
reminder that Tuck had to go without food too. I could last. I could fight
through the hunger pangs that were about to consume me, but he wouldn’t be able
to understand, and that scared me.
I lay back down on the thin mattress and
tried to remember happier times. I shut my eyes and pictured the day Ash had
proposed to me. We were sitting by a lake, fishing. It was one of the first
beautiful spring days after a long, harsh winter and everyone was dying to get
outside.
We’d gone joy riding in his pickup before
finding a nice, shady pond in the middle of nowhere. We hopped out and grabbed
the bait and tackle from his truck bed and found the perfect spot on the grass.
Ash always had to bait my hook, but I
think he liked feeling useful and manly. He’d grown up without a father, and
almost everything he learned about being a man was a direct result of my father
taking him under his wing. Ash was born to be a part of our family in one way
or another, and somehow our kindred souls found a way to make that happen.
“I got one!” I recalled saying as I
reeled in the line. “It’s really big! I can tell!”
Ash had to stand behind me and help me
pull the fish in, but after several fruitless attempts, we realized my line had
gotten stuck in the reeds and the fish swam away.
“That’s okay,” I said. I really didn’t
care about catching a fish that day. I just wanted to spend time with Ash. That
was when I was the happiest, and that was when everything in my crazy life made
sense.
I dropped the fishing pole and turned
around to grab the container of live bait, only when I turned around Ash was
standing there on his knees with a black, velvet ring box propped open. A
sparkly diamond shimmered under the midday sun and the biggest smile crossed
Ash’s face.
“Marina Elizabeth Barrett,” he said.
“Will you marry me?”
We were only twenty years old,
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