Page 13 of Ayden

Things had been all right for a little while. They’d had a savings account that had held them over until one of them got another job. But then she began hearing things about Donnie and what he had been caught doing on the job. The man had been selling drugs to kids around the neighborhood.

Once he’d been arrested, never believing that he’d do such a thing, she stood beside her man while she waited tables in the local pizza joint. Then, one night, out of the blue, he’d knocked her around when she’d come home with fewer tips than she had the night before. It had taken her nearly a week to be able to go back to her job, where everyone warned her that Donnie had a temper and she might be better off leaving him.

It was the first time that he’d hit her, and she didn’t want to make a snap judgement about him for that. There had been a great deal of stress in the household, and he was having trouble getting even a first interview for another job. When he did start to work, the man at the gas station had hired him until he found out that the rumors were true, that Donnie had been selling the drugs to the kids, and that he hadn’t stopped.

It nearly cost her life when she asked him about it. As it was now, she was having trouble seeing out of one eye and had a hearing problem with certain high-pitched sounds. As soon as she was out of the hospital, she packed up her things while he was in jail and left. That had been three months ago, and he’d brought her back twice now and beaten her again.

She needed to get away, and the only way that she knew how to do it was to depend on others. But the issue with that was that they all believed him when he told them that she was a part of the drugs being sold as well.

“Also, I’ve spoken to Mr. Fraizer. He’s the one that is running the charity place. He said to tell you that if you want out of town,all you need to do is meet him at the place at midnight tonight, and he’ll make sure you can have enough to start over.” She wanted to ask him if he trusted him, but she couldn’t speak. Fear made her mute when she needed answers, and she was out in the open like she was right now. “He said that you’d be safe if you came around as his brothers were there as well. You know that they’re wolves, right?”

Again, she didn’t answer him. It was bad enough that all she had for company was herself, but talking to a stranger that she didn’t even know his name was terrible, too. Wiping at the tears that had done her no good so far, she said ‘yes’ to his queries for the first time since she’d been hiding out.

It was nearly eleven when she made her way to the charity place. It was well-lit, something else that she was afraid of, and there didn’t seem to be anyone around. As she was staying to the edges of the house, she heard a low growl and looked in the direction she thought it had come from.

There standing there was a great gray wolf. He lay down when she leapt back against the building, but he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until someone, another man, came out of the darkness that she felt like she might be able to make it. He told her his name was Ayden, and the wolf with him was his brother Guy.

“We have a ticket for you for the bus station. There are some things too that you can put on so that no one recognizes you.” She took the bag that he told her was beside her. “I’ll take you to the station, not the one here in town but across the county, and help you get on it. The ticket is for a round trip to the furthest end of the line, but you get off at Pillsbury Station. Once there, there will be someone there that will meet you and get you further downstate.”

“I don’t have any identification.” He said that it was taken care of and that no one would know she was on the bus so longas she didn’t cause trouble. “I won’t. I promise you.”

After getting all the instructions that she was going to need, a big car pulled up, and she was asked to get into it. That was something that she’d only just realized. No one had ordered her to do anything but had been polite in asking her to do what was needed.

By the time the car pulled out of the lot, she was dressed in baggy clothing, a wig on her head, and a nice warm coat that she’d missed having. Getting her food situated in her new ‘purse,’ she was ready to go when the car pulled up in front of the station house. Christ, she was terrified, but so far things had gone—

“Don’t move.” She didn’t even blink or breathe when the man stopped in front of her. “Your husband is over there, see him?”

She whimpered when she saw him and the man told her that he had her. Ayden assured her that he’d not get to her, and Guy took off as his wolf again to chase him away. It might well have been funny, but she was terrified out of her mind.

Getting on the bus an hour later, she had a newspaper to read, several puzzle books as well as another change of clothing. Donna had lost so much weight that she was afraid that a good wind would blow her over, but for the first time in months, she felt like she might be able to survive her leaving her husband.

The bus seemed to be traveling forever. It was warm on the thing, and she found herself dozing a bit off and on. The big man, the wolf Guy, had followed her onto the bus, but he didn’t sit with her. As she became more sleepy and more exhausted, she found herself feeling safe for the longest time.

When the bus pulled into the Pillsbury Station, she waited until everyone got off before she did. Guy got off after she did and when she went into the station house, there was a note on her luggage. There was another hundred dollars for her to take a hotel room in the name of Brandy Fraizer, and she was to meetup with someone in the morning who would take her the rest of the way.

Nerves got the better of her, and she sat in the hotel room, waiting for someone to break the door down and come after her. She wanted a bath and a soak in a tub but was afraid of that as well. Everything seemed to scare the shit out of her. When the phone beside her chirped, she nearly had herself a heart attack before she could answer it.

“It’s Guy. I’m going to take you to dinner. I have your husband’s scent now, so he’s not around. Meet me in the dining room.” She told him that he didn’t have to do that. “I don’t have to do a lot of things, but I want to do this. You need some normal in your life, and I’m going to give it to you the best that I can. Also, I have pictures of the people that you’re meeting tomorrow, and I thought that would be easier on you.”

She met him there and was glad when he made it seem like it was old friends having a meal. It was the first one that she’d had in a while, and she was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

By the time he was walking her to her door, the burger and fries being divine, telling her that she’d be all right, not only did she have pictures of the people who were going to help her, but he’d given her two credit cards that she could use with her name on them. Also, an identification card with a picture that looked enough like her that it would pass as being her.

Taking a bath, she felt like a new person. Her body was clean, and her hair was soft. Everything about this was going to get her out of harm’s way. As soon as she lay down on the bed, the hotel was going to call her when she was to get up. Donna fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up once, not even to go to the bathroom.

The people met her in the dining room again and hugged her like they were old friends. She enjoyed their company and was glad that they didn’t mention her leaving. It was a short visitwith them, and she was happy for the friendship that they were making.

“I’m to tell you that your husband is in jail. He’s going to be there for the next couple of days, for as long as they can hold him for breaking and entering. You’ll be settled into your own home by then and starting your new job.” She said that she didn’t have any experience at anything just yet. “You’ll be fine. Also, there are several numbers that you can call if you need anything, but the Fraizers are finished, all right?”

Telling them yes, she was asked what she’d change about their involvement on the way she was getting out. It took her a few minutes to figure out anything that had been done wrong, and all she could think about and it wasn’t really anything wrong, but she thought that they needed better wigs. It was all that she had for them.

“I’ll let them know.” The three of them laughed. “I thought you’d say something like it needed more money or something like that.”

“They gave me five hundred dollars the first night and gave me a ticket to get out of town. I think it’s more money than I’ve had in a while, and I was actually nervous about spending it. Waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess.” Peggy, the woman with the man named David, told her that they tried very hard not to have that much cash on them, so when an emergency came up, they weren’t able to supply them with much. “I have enough to get food in the house, and that’s all I can think about right now.”

The ride to the next town was quiet. Peggy gave her advice on things that she was to do. Told her about her job and what was going to be expected of her. She wasn’t to take on a job that she had before, as that would give Donnie a clue as to where she was.

By that evening, exhausted again, she was in her new place. It was furnished and had a lot of touches that made her feel likeit was a real home for her so that she was comfortable by the time she was ready for bed. Someone had even put up a little tree and put gifts under it for her, but she didn’t open them. Life, she decided, was going to be much better than it was now, and she was going to make sure that she didn’t let things jade her, what Peggy had told her because not everyone was like her soon-to-be ex-husband.

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