Page 25 of Confined Space

"I don't ask you for anything. You need to leave. Now."

A door opens, and I look over Davis’s shoulder to see Georgia stepping out of her apartment.

"I'm fine, Georgia, you can go back in." I try to reassure her, but she stands there. Davis looks at her then back at me. He leans in close and whispers so she can't hear. He grips my arm, and it takes everything in me to not push him away because she's watching. I don’t want to make a scene.

"Give it up for adoption, or get rid of it, now. If it's not done soon, I'll be back, and you won't like what I'll do. No police. I'll hurt anyone who gets in my way. I told you once not to cross me." His grip on my healing arm becomes so tight I bite my lip to not cry out. "Next time you'll suffer more than a broken bone." His words give me pause and I look up at him, my eyes flaring wide. "Goodbye, sweet little Coral." He sneers loud enough for Georgia to hear as he steps back and turns away from me.

I shut the door, ignoring Georgia, and for the second time today, I fall to the floor and cry. When I finally get up, Archer is beside himself upset, and it takes me a bit to get him calmed down.

I hold Archer and nurse him as I cry, trying to figure out what I can do now. What is my next step? I'm going to have to run again. I love my job. I love living here. I wanted to try with Rowdy. But between child services and Davis, I'm scared. More scared of Davis now. I'd heard the rumors around campus after my assault. I wasn’t his only victim. He’s assaulted other girls. They hadn’t filed charges against him because he’d threatened them too. There was even a rumor a girl at his high school had disappeared and was never seen again. I don't want that to happen to me, but I know I need to do what's best for Archer.

When the pounding sounds on the door hours later, I jump and cry out in fear.

"Coral, open the door. I know you're in there." Rowdy's voice comes from the other side of the door.

My fear is consuming me and I don't move. I can't move. I don't want to lose my son.

"Open the door, Mouse. I just want to check on you."

I stay in my little bubble, holding Archer to my chest. I hear a commotion coming from the door, but I'm lost to the panic attack that is consuming me. The fear.

"Mouse, baby!" Rowdy's voice comes from next to the sofa. I turn to look at him. The fear has me sliding away from him as I hold Archer closer to me.

* * *

Rowdy

The stark fear in her eyes has me dropping to my knees in front of her. Something happened to cause this. Something awful. She’s caught up in a full-blown panic attack and isn't seeing me.

"Mouse, baby, I'd never hurt you or Archer. You need to calm down before you hurt him or yourself." My words slightly calm her, and she releases her tight hold on his little body. They both turn to look at me, both of them with the same blue-gray eyes. Hers are still full of fear, but he smiles at me.

"Hey, little dude. Are you keeping your momma safe?"

He coos and babbles to me. He's in a sleeper with baby koalas on it. She's in a pair of overalls with the knees shredded and a tank top. There is a fresh bruise on her upper left arm above her brace. Her eyes are swollen from crying.

"I brought a pizza and soup. Which would you like, baby?"

I wasn't going to let her push me away. She still hasn't told me what Melissa said to her at the ballgame, but this doesn't have anything to do with that. I look at the bruise again. I can make out what looks like fingers.

"What happened to your arm?" I try to keep the bite out of my tone.

"Nothing," she says as she looks down, and I know she's lying to me.

"How about you let me put Archer in his seat and we get you some food?"

Georgia opened the door for me after informing me two people came by to see my girl. A woman earlier this morning right before she texted me and canceled our date, and then a guy a couple of hours ago. Georgia said he was weird, and I'm sure he's the one who bruised Coral. Georgia wouldn’t tell me about the woman, but I could tell she was holding something back. She told me that Coral would have to tell me herself. I don't want to push her, but I need to know what I'm up against here.

Coral is starting to relax finally, and she puts Archer in his chair. A knock sounds on the door, and I stand but so does she.

"Stay here," she orders me, and I smile at her. She knows me better than that. I'm not going to stay put. I move to the counter where I left the pizza and get us each a slice as she makes her way to the door.

A paper on the counter attracts my attention. It's a notice from child services acknowledging a drug test and mandatory visits. What the fuck is going on? I'm about to turn around and ask her when I hear a male voice come from the doorway. Oh, hell no is he back. I step up behind her and see my cousin Logan standing there.

"Hey, Logan." I rest a hand on Coral's waist, and she trembles slightly.

"Hello, Rowdy. I didn't know you were here too." He looks between Coral and me.

"Yeah, Coral and I were supposed to go on our first date tonight, but we decided to stay in. What can we help you with?" I’m not going to deny that she is mine.

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