The Border Part Eight by Amy Cross Page A

asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Neither do I.”
    He took a deep breath. “Can I at least use the spare room for a while? I was going to stay with Tom Lanegan, but the guy’s a complete asshole.”
    “He’s not the only one.”
    “Can I please use the spare room?” he asked with a sigh. “I know I have no right, but… I can’t afford to move into a motel.”
    Beth opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, before feeling Lucy shift slightly. She waited in case the girl woke up, but after a moment she realized her daughter was sleeping soundly now, which felt like a miracle after the images she’d seen on the phone.
    “You can use the spare room,” she told her husband finally. “After that, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
    “That’s all I ask.”
    “It’s all you’ll get.”
    They both waited, each of them assuming it was the other’s turn to say something, before Bob took his bag and headed up to the spare room.
    “Everything’s going to be fine, sweetheart,” Beth whispered, kissing the top of Lucy’s head. “I promise.”
    ***
    “What do you mean, leaving ?” Mary shouted as she followed her daughter out the front door. “Where the hell do you think you’re gonna go? And what the hell happened to you, you look like a complete mess!”
    “I’m getting out of this place,” Katie said firmly, opening the trunk of her car and shoving a couple of hold-alls inside before slamming the trunk shut again and heading to the driver’s door. “I’ve been saving money. I have to get away, I have to get as far from this place as possible.”
    “But -”
    “It’s physical!” she shouted, turning to her mother, almost trembling with rage. “It’s a physical thing! It’s not mental, it’s not emotional, I have to physically get away from Bowley or I’m going to lose my mind!” She took a deep breath, feeling a pain in her injured shoulder but determined not to let it show. After all, her mother knew almost nothing about the previous night’s events, and she figured that was how things should stay.
    Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at her car. The low morning sun was casting an orange glow along the street, and for a moment Katie felt a sense of fear at the thought that she had no destination in mind. She was just going to drive away from Bowley and hope that somehow she slotted in somewhere else. At the same time, she knew there was a danger she’d just get lost and run out of money, and then maybe end up slipping through the cracks of life. The fear was invigorating, however, and after a moment she felt a new sense of purpose.
    “You don’t seem right,” her mother said finally. “You’re worrying me.”
    “I’ll call,” Katie replied, with tears in her eyes as she kissed her mother’s forehead and then climbed into the driver’s seat. “Or email, or something like that. It might take a while before I know where I’m going but…” Pausing, she stared at the road ahead. “I’ll find somewhere. Not every place can be like Bowley.” She took a deep breath. “Everything’s gonna be fine, Mom. I promise.”
    With that, she pulled the door shut and started the engine. Five minutes later, she was on the interstate, trying to work out where exactly she was going to go. As she watched the road ahead, she felt her fear starting to grow, except that it wasn’t just fear. There was anger too, and rage and fury. And sorrow. And wonder. And curiosity. And regret. And joy. And something else that didn’t even have a name.
    Finally she lost control of the wheel as she floored the accelerator and screamed.
    ***
    Kicking open the next door, Ben made his way down into the darkness, with only a few red lights on the wall. When he got to the bottom of the steps, he looked across the main room of the Border’s twentieth and saw a shape moving in the shadows, twisting as if it was trying to get away. Raising his shotgun, Ben made his way across the room and made short work of the