Page 2 of On The Run

I heard footsteps from upstairs, but then Papa opened the door and pushed me through so we were standing on the porch. I heard yelling from the house, but Papa took my hand and started running down the stairs.

“We gotta run. Really, really fast. Like a race.”

I loved races. There was a lot of banging happening inside though. Daddy sounded mad. I didn’t know if now was a good time for a race. I didn’t want to make Daddy madder. But before I could say anything, I was in the air, and I realized Papa was carrying me even though he said he had a boo-boo. He was running super fast, and we were down the street by the time I heard Daddy yelling from the porch. He sounded really angry, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“What’s happening, Papa?” I asked, very scared. I didn’t like this game anymore.

“It’s ok, baby. I promise. We just gotta keep running. No matter what you hear Daddy say or do, we’re gonna keep running.”

Daddy chased us a little down the street. He was only in underwear and wasn’t wearing any shoes. He was saying a lot of bad words and a lot of mean things. Papa didn’t turn around. He pushed me a little farther over his shoulder and took something out of my backpack. It was my special headphones. “I’m gonna put these on you, ok? And I want you to close your eyes for me. Pretend you’re on a really fast ride.”

Papa put my headphones on and I couldn’t hear Daddy yelling anymore. Before I closed my eyes, I saw him turn back. I thought he was going home, but I saw Daddy run to the car. I closed my eyes.

I kept my eyes shut extra tight. Bouncing in Papa’s arms was making me feel a little icky in my belly, but I didn’t say anything. I tried to pretend I was on a very bouncy roller coaster.

I didn’t know how long Papa ran, but then the bumpy ride stopped. I still didn’t open my eyes. Papa put me on my feet and pulled one ear of my special headphones away. “Open your eyes, sweetheart. We’re going on a bus.”

I opened my eyes. There were a bunch of buses all lined up in front of me. Papa pulled out two tickets and took my hand as we ran to get on one. The bus driver looked at us funny, but he took the tickets. Papa quickly got us on the bus and into a seat toward the back. The engine turned on, and just as the bus driver started to leave, I saw Daddy’s car pull up. He was yelling and waving his hands all over the place.

Papa closed his eyes and brought me close to him. The last thing I saw was Daddy running after the bus as it drove away.

PartOne

Chapter1

Aiden

Present Day

“Aiden,I need one medium, iced caramel macchiato and one, large iced mocha latte, hold the whip!”

“On it!” I shouted to Anna as I turned to the machines to make a drink. As far as some of the coffees we offered at this place went, these were relatively basic and ordered so often, I could make them in my sleep. Sometimes, I felt like maybe I was.

Once the orders were made, I handed them to the harried-looking woman standing by the counter. Her lips were pursed in annoyance, she had one hand on her hip, and she was tapping her foot on the floor like that would make her drinks come quicker. She seemed put out by having to wait a whole two minutes for me, but I kept my smile big and my expression friendly, not at all bothered.

“About time,” she muttered, snagging them out of my hand and hurrying out without so much as a thank you. I brushed it off and continued with my day. If I let every rude customer affect me, I’d have gone crazy by now. But I had a job to do. For the most part, it wasn’t terrible, and the pay was decent for this type of place. Plus, they worked with my school schedule and Pops’s chemo treatments, so I wasn’t going to bitch about one rude lady. Or even ten.

Like most Friday mornings, the café was packed. Since the new guy called out, again, Anna and I were stuck running the front completely by ourselves, and it was hours before we’d even had a chance to breathe. But we were used to it by now. Anna was already assistant manager when I started working at the café one day a week a little over a year ago, terrified to take on more hours just in case. But one year later, I was working four to six days a week and averaging just under thirty hours. The two of us held this place down on our own more days than I could count.

I was still frightened to be working somewhere this public most days, even if nothing had happened in a long time. This was the longest Pops and I had been able to stay in one place in seventeen years. It didn’t mean we were safe though. My biological father hadn’t found us yet, but until that fucker was six feet under, we were always one step away from danger. Most days, when we were not slammed, I still held my breath every time a new customer came in, expecting it to be him.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I finally got a moment to breathe. I practically collapsed next to Anna, my forearms on the counter and my forehead resting against them. The bill of the stupid orange hat that my boss insisted I wore on shift, because apparently my hairstyle was “inappropriate,” was getting in the way, so I tossed it to the side, just taking a moment to myself.

Next to me, Anna was doing much of the same, her butt resting against the counter as she sipped one of those gross teas she always drank. She didn’t have to wear one of these hats as long as she kept her long blonde hair up in a braid or ponytail. I was pretty sure that was a double standard and unfair, but I needed this job, so I let it go.

“Do you think Margie will ever hire another person who actually shows up?” I asked Anna. I forced myself to stand up and go pour myself a cup of coffee. Another benefit to the job—we got unlimited free regular coffee and tea, and all the fancy drinks were half off. I very rarely drank the fancy shit. First, it was a little too sweet for my taste. Second, I didn’t want to waste the money. Pops and I learned the hard way we needed to always have quick and easy access to cash and money saved up, no matter how safe we felt at the moment.

Anna shrugged and angled her body, so she wasn’t in the view of the camera, and pulled out her phone. Margie had a ridiculous no phone policy that both of us ignored. Anna had a 2-year-old, which meant she needed access to her phone, just in case, and I had Pops. He was doing well now, but I never knew when he might have a bad day. As much as I said I needed this job, I’d pick Pops every single time, no matter what. So, Margie could suck it with her ridiculous rules.

“Probably not. We got crazy lucky with you. Margie may be a 60-year-old straight woman, but I swear she has a hard-on for cute, young-as-hell twinks.” She glances at me apologetically. “No offense. Most of them only take the job because their parents are forcing them to teach them responsibility.”

I shrugged, not offended. Margie basically told me she hired me because I was young and cute. I thought, at 5’10”, I was a little big to be considered a twink, but I got Anna’s point. I wasn’t some rich boy forced into taking a job, though, and that was probably the major difference.

Anna was totally distracted by her phone, so I looked around the shop to make sure everything was ok. There were a couple tables where everyone left their shit all over like we were a restaurant with table service. Sighing, I let Anna know I was gonna go clean them up and walked around the counter.

I was focused on gathering the plates and organizing the shelves of mugs and cups that undoubtedly got completely messed up every day, when I heard the bell above the front door go off.

Maybe one day, I could hear that sound without my stomach knotting and pulse racing, but today wasn’t one of those days. I forced myself not to turn around the second the door opened. Even if it was him, maybe he wouldn’t notice me right away. I gave up dyeing my hair a long time ago, since it never actually stopped him from finding us and constantly bleaching my nearly black hair was destroying it, but maybe this hideous orange hat would come in handy for something.

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