Page 109 of These Family Ties

By the time I'm there, the old owner, Mr. Burgess, is putting out all the signs for the special for the day.

I nod to him, and he nods back to me. "Hello, Eitan."

"Mr. Burgess," I say as I walk in and grab a cart. I walk up and down the aisles, carefully selecting everything I could need for the week. I don't like to be gone too long; otherwise, people might think of coming to look for me as well.

I pause at the women's aisle and see some handmade bracelets for sale. ‘Proceeds to charity’. I look through them and find one that has the word 'mine' on it. I smile and keep a hold of it as I continue to shop. I stop at the meat counter and order meat for the week from Mrs. Burgess, who is teaching her twenty-year-old son how to cut up the meat the way it's supposed to be.

I watch as the knife carefully slips where it needs to go and makes a clean cut through the fat and meat of the cow that's on the chopping block.

"What can I get you, Eitan? The usual?"

"Yes, please," I say with a smile. "That would be great."

She starts to pack the meat up for me, and I continue to browse through the aisles, eventually coming back to collect my things.

Then it's off to the front, where I pay for my groceries, including the bracelet I'm getting for Brodie, and I wait while old man Burgess bags everything himself.

I pay, using the inheritance my grandmother left me, and I take my packages out to the truck and load them in the back. I stop to get some fresh milk for Brodie, something she can drink over the next two or three days. It'll make her bones strong.

Once I'm done, I drive out of town, only looking back to make sure no one is following me. Once I'm sure I'm completely alone, I drive directly to where I've marked the tree ever so subtly, and I turn off the road and trundle through the forest until I reach the lost road that leads to the motel.

All in all, the trip took me two and a half hours, which is plenty of time for Brodie to rest up for our exciting day ahead. Who knows where it might take us?

Maybe we can spend some quality time together.

Chapter Six

Brodie

I hear the rumble of the engine, and my heart flutters. I want to escape, but I know escaping means playing the long game. Eitan needs to trust me completely before I can make a move.

I have watched out the window. It has turned into a lovely day, and the sun streaming through the dirty glass is welcome.

It reminds me I'm fighting to get outside.

I hear the truck door open and shut. I know that truck well. Eitan bought it when he turned sixteen and built it up to the hunk of junk it is now.

There's a long silence, and I assume he's packing away whatever supplies he went to get. I can do nothing but sit on the bed, hugging my knees. At least I'm dry now, no thanks to Eitan.

The door to my room opens, and I look up. "You're back."

"Did you miss me?"

"I did," I say, trying to make it genuine.

"I'm glad you did. I bought you chocolate." He walks across the room and tosses the chocolate bar on the bed. I open it and take a bite.

"Hmm, that is good."

"I got you something else," he says. He holds out his hand. "It's for you from me."

I take the bracelet and read the word the letter beads form. 'Mine'.

I'm his. He's marking me in all the ways he possibly can.

I smile up at him. "Thank you." I slip it onto my wrist. It fits snugly. "It's perfect."

"The green in the bracelet suits the green in your eyes." He smiles proudly at me. "Are you feeling better now you've eaten?"

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