“He hasn’t been violent toward us either, but there are other ways to ruin someone’s life.”
“I know, and that’s why I support what you’re doing. I would do the exact same thing.”
I ponder her words.
“Is it about the money? Does he give you any money? He’s never spent money with us, so I know he’s stingy.”
And she knows that, too.
“Is it?” I murmur as she doesn’t answer and looks at me, somewhat embarrassed.
“Do you have a job?” I ask.
She evades my eyes.
“Yes. Yes, I do.”
A sigh leaves my chest.
I had a job, too, and it didn’t make much difference.
“What do you tell him when you’re going home to your kid?”
“I told him I had a roommate, and he’s never been interested in meeting her. I have a friend who’d go along with my story if it came to that.”
“I see,” I murmur. “What can I say? I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I don’t know what else to say to her.
“Don’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself,” she says, her smile tense.
Don’t we all? And then we find ourselves in the strangest situations, like me, a fugitive with a duffel bag full of money and a baseball in the trunk of my car.
The only thing I need is a dead body next to it and me sweating bullets, thinking how to get rid of it.
Life is odd at times.
I tilt my gaze down and stare blankly at my hand. My tense fingers are wrapped around the straps of my bag.
“If you can…” I say. “Tell him we are at my aunt’s place. Hopefully, he won’t be interested in knowing why we’re there.”
“What do you plan to do?”
I gesture softly yet remain silent.
“I know,” she says. “You can’t tell me. You shouldn’t tell me anyway.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I want to keep all of us safe. I don’t know how you deal with him when he’s drunk or high, throws a fit, or barks orders. I hope you can take care of yourself and also keep your baby safe.”
A few moments pass before I speak again.
“Listen… I know the importance of money and the grip it has on us. I know how it is not to have it and how it makes you feel like your life doesn’t even belong to you. Hopefully, you’ll choose wisely and pull away from him for your own good. He doesn’t take breakups lightly, just so you know. And when it comes to me and Tina, I’d be forever grateful if you could distract him for a while and keep things under control here. As much as you can, of course.”
I barely finish saying that, and her phone beeps with a text message.
She scoops it out of her purse and glances at the screen.
“He’s minutes away from here,” she says, a pang of panic glinting in her eyes.