Page 15 of Safe
"Well, I certainly wasn't going to make the appointment under your real name, Danielle. The point is to hide you, not leave breadcrumbs." Alex rolled his eyes as he stood up, lifting my bag onto his shoulder. "Are you ready?"
I rolled my eyes back so hard they might have gotten stuck, making one final, childish attempt to convey my annoyance. It proved to be futile.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked, knowing full well the answer.
Alex made an exaggerated show of staring at the ceiling, pretending to contemplate. "No. There are more bags of your clothes in the car, along with some of Cody's. Oh, one last thing."
"What now? What could possibly be left to take from me?"
Alex set my bag on the bed, bent over, and wrapped his arms around me so tight it caught me off guard. This wasn't just a goodbye hug; it was a worried and concerned hug. It took that moment for my frustration to crack. It was the first time he wasn’t treating me like some unnamed victim. I understood Alex better at this moment. It took that hug for me to understand that he wasn't doing this to control me. He was genuinely terrified for my safety. This wasn't any easier for him than it was for me.
"I'm going to find him, and soon. I promise," he whispered.
He turned to Cody, offering a firm handshake and a pat on the back. "Please, keep her safe, man."
"You know I will. Try not to worry about us." Cody grabbed my bag from Alex and left to locate the car.
Alex guided me into the wheelchair. The hard casts were gone now, and all I had left was a single large brace supporting my femur. Walking still sent pain through my leg, but Dr. Matthews had provided a cane to help distribute some of the pressure.
Everything was in slow motion, making the journey to the loading dock feel like it too all day. For three months, these hospital walls had been my sanctuary, and now I was venturing into a world where Landon could be lurking anywhere. And I had to trust someone I didn’t know, and manage a whole new level of unprotected anxiety.
At the loading dock, Cody was already waiting with the car while Alex and the nurse helped me navigate the few stepsseparating me from the car. Alex pulled a baseball cap and sunglasses out of his back pocket and held them out to me.
"Please, Danielle, wear these until you're finished at the salon." His voice was soft and worried, which is a tone I hadn’t heard from him in the past few weeks. Something in his expression made my usual defiance crumble. I didn’t want to leave on a bitter note, because the truth was, I didn’t know when I would see him again. Anything could happen, and I refused to let our last moments be volatile.
Without protest, I accepted them, carefully tucking my hair into a bun beneath the cap and sliding the sunglasses into place. Alex knelt down and planted a soft kiss on the top of my head.
"I love you, sis. This will be over soon, I promise."
"I love you, too."
Alex helped me from the wheelchair as Cody appeared at my side, supporting me while I gripped my cane and maneuvered into the car. As we pulled away, I watched Alex's figure grow smaller in the rear window, my heart heavy with uncertainty. When would I see him again? Would I see him again? The questions I'd been avoiding crashed over me. What if Landon remained uncatchable? Worse still, what if he found me first? I shoved the thought back down before it could fully surface. I had to trust Alex; I had no other choice.
As we emerged from the garage into the sunlight, my new reality settled in. Outside the hospital walls, I felt exposed, like I was naked. I was stuck with Cody indefinitely. An involuntary sigh escaped my lips, loud enough to catch his attention.
"What time is the appointment for?" he asked, attempting to break through the tension.
"10:30. In New Market." I couldn’t respond in any way but cold.
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Okay, then. I guess we'll head right to the salon." We didn’t speak another word to each other on the fifteen-minute drive.
At the salon, I attempted to exit the car before remembering, with bitter frustration, that I needed Cody's help for even this simple task. My resentment, though unfair, continued to build with each passing minute. Cody opened my door, retrieving my cane with one hand while offering his other to help lift me from the seat. I couldn’t shake an unjustified, growing feeling of total resentment, specifically toward him, as I grabbed his hand.
The salon was modest but welcoming, nestled in a strip mall in this sparsely populated town. The long, narrow space had brick walls and circular backlit mirrors at each station that made the small, industrial space feel warmer and inviting. A blonde woman around my age stood at the counter, greeting us with an enthusiasm that seemed almost artificial, as if she'd overdosed on caffeine.
"Hi, welcome! Do you have an appointment?" Her voice bounced off the walls, fueled by her excitement.
"Yes, my name is Dan... Stacy. Sorry, my name is Stacy." I almost forgot about the alias.
"Ah, yes. 10:30 cut and color. Right this way." She emerged from behind the counter, matching her pace to my slow progress as Cody helped me to the chair. "What happened to your legs?" she asked while assisting me into the seat.
"Oh, um, I was in a really bad car accident. Just got released from the hospital. My brother wanted to do somethingnice for me, so here I am." The lie felt hollow on my tongue, and yet the words came out smooth.
"Oh, that's sweet of him." She smiled up at Cody, and I felt oddly relieved she hadn't assumed he was my boyfriend.
