Page 47 of Neverland

“Hello.”

“Hi, Jason?”

There was a pause before he answered. “Yes?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s Diamond. We met at the club a few nights ago and you gave me your card.”

“I remember. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“Great. Look, um… some things have happened… some things, I… I’m ready to leave this place but I can’t do it alone. I really need to get out of here as soon as possible. Like tomorrow. Is your offer still available? Will you help me?”

“Of course, I can. Here’s how it’ll work…”

~~~

“Morning, Roy.”

“Morning, Miss.” I returned his smile in the rearview mirror.

“Roy… I need to get some things from the store.”

He pulled away from the curb. “I could have gotten them for you like I always do.”

“I know, I just want to get a few personal items. You know… pick them myself, instead of having a man choose for me.”

“I understand, Miss. It’s not fun for me either.”

I bit my lip to stop the laugh. Roy was a good man and had no idea as to the type of relationship Dominic and I shared. From the driver’s seat, he’d only ever seen and heard things that wouldn’t strike him as odd for a relationship. Dominic made sure to never reveal too much with others around and since Roy was only my driver, he was blissfully ignorant to the control his boss had over me.

I held my hands tightly in my lap, an attempt to stop the persistent tremble. Nerves were kicking in and rightfully so. I was placing trust in someone I’d met only once, who promised me sanctuary. But there was a lot to do before I felt like I could finally take a deep breath and relax. Staring out the window, I watched the same scenery I saw every day pass by me, thankful that this could very well be the last time I saw it.

Twenty minutes later, Roy pulled into the car park and looked in the rearview. “Here we are, Lucy,” he said while opening his door.

“Wait,” I replied with an unsettling urgency. “Do you mind if I just go in? I’ve gotta use the bathroom before I bleed out.”

Even I cringed at the crassness of my words. But I needed him to give me some space. “Do you need anything while I’m in there?”

“No thanks, Lucy. You go sort yourself out. I’ll be here.”

Giving his shoulder a squeeze, I slipped out of the backseat and entered the store. I could feel Roy watching, no doubt wondering if he’d done the right thing in letting me go by myself. He was under instruction to always follow me, Dominic alluding to simply being overprotective rather than be seen as my keeper. Navigating to the women’s sanitary aisle, I pretended to browse the products while casting a quick glance back outside. Roy was still watching, so without looking at what I grabbed, I moved to the counter and paid for the pack of pads. Collecting my change, I held the packet high enough over the shelves so Roy could see them through the window and pointed to the bathroom. Uncomfortable, he gave a small smile and turned away.

“Where’s the back exit?” I asked the attendant.

The pimply faced kid nodded in the direction. Bypassing the bathroom sign on the left, I pulled the exit door open. Hit by a blast of sunshine, I ran as fast as my shaky legs could take me. Cutting across the street and straight into the mall, running half its length before I saw the escalators to the bus terminal.

“Excuse me,” I said, breathless, squeezing past those blocking my path. Once in the terminal, I ran to the ticketing station. With two people in front, I grew anxious. Anxious that I’d be caught before I even made the first leg of my journey.

I spoke through the scratched glass when it was my turn. “Hi,” I greeted cautiously. “I’m… um… I’m Lucy.”

The attendant looked me square in the eyes, no doubt trying to figure out what made me so important that I had my own delivery. Her hand moved under the counter and returned with an envelope which she slid into the security tray.

“Thank you,” I said, clutching it as if it were my life source.

Opening the packet, I studied each ticket. I needed to get to platform F. F, Jason said, would then take me to Hide Street where I could catch the Greyhound bus to Arizona. Once I reached Arizona, there would be someone there to help get me established. I wasn’t given a name or a number but was reassured they’d know who I was. This wasn’t all for free. Everything came with a price, and that price would be to tell Vice everything I knew about the corrupt underbelly world of Dominic Salvatore.

Weaving through a crowd of people unloading from a bus, I saw platform F just ahead with the bus already waiting.

“Shit!” I murmured pushing my way through to the other side. When my path was clear, I took off at a sprint reaching the bus as the doors were closing. Using my flat palm, I smacked its side to get the driver’s attention. Stopping to let me in, I scanned my ticket, thanked the gentleman and walked down the aisle, gripping the headrests for balance while peering out the window. So far, I was safe.

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