Page 55 of River

“You should stay away from him,” I said.

“He won’t let us stay away from him.”

“That’s why you need to stay with me. He will never know where you are?”

“I don’t know you; I can’t just move in with a stranger.”

“Sure you can, plus I’m gone most of the time.”

“Why are you gone most of the time?”

“My work takes me away. I was on vacation when I saw Haley running. I have a cabin my grandfather left me. I go there to fish.”

“I love fishing,” she said with a sigh.

“Have you ever fished in the ocean?”

“Yes, I went deep sea fishing when I was sixteen. The boat captain let me go for free if I cleaned the boat. Believe me, I got the wrong deal on that one. Two people on the boat couldn’t stop vomiting. It was nasty.”

“One was in the little cabin we had for sitting in, so you can imagine no one went down there. The other one locked herself in the bathroom. She wouldn’t unlock the door for anyone. I did catch some good fish. When I took it to the people I lived with, they were happy.”

“Why did you live with other people?”

“I was in the foster system since I was eight. These foster parents had a home in Florida; that’s where I went deep sea fishing.”

“Eight, how many times were you moved to other homes?”

“Seventeen times, I was sent to different homes. They didn’t like me because I would tell them when the foster daddy tried to touch me. I would even call the cops. The one thing my mom always told me was when someone tries to touch you, scream and never let anyone, man or woman, touch your privates.”

“What happened to your Mom?”

“She died from fentanyl poisoning. Her boyfriend said she didn’t know she was taking fentanyl. I think he probably gave it to her. She thought she was taking a pill for anxiety. A lot of good that did me. I was left all alone. So they put me in the system.”

“What about your Dad?”

“I don’t know if I even had a Dad.”

I shook my head and told her some stuff about my life. “When I was nine months old, my mom dropped me off at my Grandpa’s and never returned. I was so much better with my grandpa.” I said.

“Did she die?”

“I don’t know. She never came back.”

“You didn’t look for her when you grew up?”

“No, I didn’t want someone in my life that didn’t want me in theirs.”

“Yeah, I would never be that parent. If I have to kill Jonah, I will.”

“Did you tell the police what you knew?”

“Yeah, they were under his pay. I didn’t know which ones were good and which ones were bad. So I stopped calling them.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, how much further do we have?”

“A couple of days. Haley is safe. River and Kat are great people. They work with me.”

---