Page 14 of Monster

I had been waiting until the last minute to get gas because of how expensive it was, and I didn’t have enough money in my savings account. We were going to run out of gas soon.

The black car was only three cars behind us now.

How the fuck did they catch up so quickly?

My heart felt like it was just seconds away from clawing its way out of my throat, and I didn’t know what to do.

How could this possibly be my reality at this very moment?

It felt like I was supposed to wake up any second now from a really bad dream.

It was, wasn’t it?

The car in front of me slammed on its brakes for minor traffic, and my car jolted as I also suddenly braked. I looked back at the black car as I switched lanes once more and took the exit that would take us out to the highway.

Hopefully, we wouldn’t run into any traffic there.

The man in the passenger seat hung out the window. “Get down!” I yelled at Braxton as I braced myself for the hit, and sure enough, a loud bang sounded from the side of my car.

Braxton let out a small scream. He didn’t get down like I asked.

I reached over to reassure him that everything would be okay as I made the sharp turn and merged onto the ramp leading down to the highway, the black car following close behind.

I thanked my lucky stars that there didn’t seem to be a lot of congestion on the streets.

I hoped Braxton couldn’t see the way my hands shook.

The black car steadily followed us, but at least the man on the passenger side was back inside the car and was no longer shooting at us.

“Okay?”

Braxton nodded.

“Just hold on, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you.”

How I would be able to uphold that promise, I didn’t know.

But I would not let anything happen to him.

No matter what.

I switched over three lanes to the fast lane, and the black car followed like I knew he would. I looked to the side, and when I found an opening, I switched all the way back to the exit lane and took the first exit I came by.

I looked in the rearview mirror again. The black car tried to follow but couldn’t. Horns rang out behind us, and I let out a small laugh.

Braxton smiled a little.

“Not out of the woods yet. Do you know how to get to your dad from here?” I asked.

He shook his head. “He owns a bar downtown that he likes to go to, but I’ve only been there two times before. I don’t remember where it is, exactly.”

I could tell from the tone of his voice he was moments away from losing it.

“It’s okay. You know how to get to your house, though, right?”

He nodded.

“Okay. We just need to find a hiding place first and wait until they stop chasing us. Then I’ll drive you home, and we’ll try to contact your dad from there, okay?”

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