Chapter 5 - The Escape

Panic gripped my chest like a cold fist.

The red and blue lights of a police cruiser were flashing through the thin motel curtains.

I gently scooped up sleeping Lily and strapped her securely into my chest carrier.

I locked myself in the tiny, filthy bathroom.

There was a small frosted window located high up above the shower head.

I climbed onto the edge of the slippery bathtub and pushed the latch.

The window creaked open, letting in a blast of freezing wind.

I heard the heavy motel room door splinter and crash open in the other room.

Heavy boots stomped across the carpet.

I squeezed my body through the narrow window frame, praying I wouldn't drop my baby.

I fell hard onto the snowy ground in the dark alleyway behind the building.

I scrambled to my feet and ran blindly into the woods behind the motel.

I ran until my lungs burned and I could no longer hear the police radios.

I found shelter under an abandoned bus stop pavilion just as the sun began to rise.

I was completely out of options, money, and time.

There was only one person left in this world who hated my mother as much as I did.

I pulled out my nearly dead phone and dialed Aunt Susan.

She was the black sheep of the family who had brought the stuffed bunny for Lily.

Susan answered immediately and told me to stay exactly where I was.

Ten minutes later, her beat-up station wagon screeched to a halt in front of me.

I climbed into the heated car and burst into exhausted tears.

Susan handed me a warm bottle for Lily and a loaded revolver.

She told me to put the gun in my pocket because Marcus was tracking my phone.

May you like

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

Before I could throw my phone out the window, the station wagon's engine sputtered and died completely.

Two massive black SUVs pulled out from a side street and boxed us in on the empty road.