Page 19 of Bronco

“Fine. I’ll go look for her there.” It kills me, but in the sweetest tone I can muster I add, “Do you need anything brought back?”Like a hole in the head?

Even Jude can’t rebuke my generosity; it isn’t the Christian way. “Uh, no, th— thank you, I have all I need.” Then, because she’s a sour-faced bitch who can’t help herself, she adds, “It’s not like you to be so thoughtful.”

“Oh, I’m full of surprises!” I yell, taking off down the laneway toward the village. I need to find Erica and fast. We don’t have much time.

As I’m running by the tables being set up outside the church, I have to think fast. Of course Jude wouldn’t have told me where Erica was even if she did know, so I have to put my thinking cap on. She knows today is the day, but she won’t be at the meeting point for two more hours, and by then, the van will have been and gone. With all the activity going on today, we won’t get another opportunity like this until next year. If I have to live another night here, I’ll scale that wall myself and suffer the consequences, I don’t even care anymore.

Erica wouldn’t be visiting friends, not today. She also wouldn’t let Olive out of her sight either, so they’re definitely not at the school, which is out for the holiday break anyway.

Suddenly, I know where she’ll be… My lungs burning and my legs killing me, I finally find the two of them, paint brushes in hand, putting the finishing touches on the table decorations at the shed where we store the outside tables and chairs.

“Erica!” I’m barely able to get the words out.

She turns and when she sees me, she pales. “Amber, are you okay?”

I double over, trying to catch my breath. There’s nobody else in the barn, only Olive who gives me a wave. She doesn’t know anything about what’s going on because we couldn’t run the risk of her accidentally telling anyone. Kids can be too honest, and the last thing we need is all of our prepping blowing up in our faces.

“The van,” I wheeze. “It’s here.”

Her eyes grow wide. “Already?”

I nod.

She places a hand over her mouth, unable to talk.

“We have to move, we’ve got maybe forty-five minutes.”

“To get through the entire village?”

“Yes, if we leave now, we’ll make it to Mcgregor’s farm.”

“No, we won’t.” Panic starts to rise in her. “It’s too far!”

“Mama?” Olive says, looking up from her painting. “What’s wrong?”

Erica wipes a tear. “Nothing, sweetie, nothing at all. I’m just having a talk with Amber.” She grabs my elbow and leads me away. “Go play with Anna.” Anna is her ragdoll she won’t go anywhere without.

“It’s too soon. They’ll see us!” she spits.

“No, they won’t, nobody will be there. The Mcgregors aren’t even at their place. Carlo will drop the bags off in the barn and that’ll be his last stop. It’s perfect.”

“You’re crazy,” she hisses. “I should never have agreed to this!”

I pull the collar of my dress to one side, showing her the fresh marks Vince left on my skin. “Do you think I agreed tothis?”

Her scrutiny falls upon my skin and I see the sorrow there in her face. I know this is all she knows, but we’ve both lived in the outside world, we know that there’s more than this. Now is the time to truly believe that anything is possible.

She wipes her tears and puts on a brave face. “No, you didn’t, and neither did I.”

I take her hands. “We need to run for our lives.”

5

BRONCO

Present day

Cupcake crawlsacross my lap as I wait for my turn at the pool table. I really wanted to avoid female drama tonight. I’ve had a long fucking day and I don’t need to deal with her petty shit.

---