Page 4 of Walk Thru The Fire

Speaking of Lance, he was walking around here like we didn’t have us hostage. Even though Jace didn’t know he was being kept against his will. Lance has been playing the game with him, and he was oblivious and in heaven. Lance was smart enough to take our phones and turn them off. He wouldn’t even let me call my mama and daddy to let them know I was alright. I’m pretty sure my mama was going out of her mind by not hearing from us. I’m positive Jackson has told them I left his house, or he went over there looking for me and they told him they hadn’t seen me. I couldn’t wait for this shit to be over. Lance better hope I don’t kill his ass before Jackson and Buck find him.

“Ma, when are we going back home? I miss Nana and Papa.” Jace looked up from the TV he was watching. My baby was getting bored because he couldn’t use his phone or his iPad. Lance took all devices but had a PS5 here for them to play. He just didn’t allow him to go online. He told him the Wi-Fi wasn’t working.

“I have to go back to work, so it should be soon. Okay?” He nodded his head, not saying anything else. The look on his face was crushing me. I already had ill feelings toward Lance. Now Iwas starting to hate his ass because my child was caught up in the middle of his shit.

I busied myself with fixing something to eat for me and Jace. Lance had groceries here, but it wasn’t much of anything that I would prefer, but I had to make do. I found stuff to make some spaghetti. That would be quick and simple enough to get done quickly so I could lie down. It was almost time for me to refill my medication, and I prayed Lance let us go before I ran out. I’m almost positive that he wouldn’t get me any medical attention if I needed. I knew that was one of the reasons I knew my parents and Jackson were worried about me. They were the only ones that knew of my condition, besides Lance. I didn’t let it consume my life, so I never broadcasted it. It was no one’s business about my health. As long as I was able to function as a productive person, that’s all they needed to be worried about.

While I let the sauce simmer, I started picking up a few of the things Jace had all over the floor. I ventured to the back of the house, and, to my surprise, the door wasn’t closed completely. I don’t know if Lance knew he left it unlock, or this was a miracle. Quickly, I ran back up front to get Jace so that we could make a run for it.

“Jace! Jace, get your shoes!” I yelled as I made it back up front. When I got there, all the life and hope drained from my body when I saw Lance walking back inside.

“What he need his shoes for?” He grimaced. I tried to take off, but he was right behind me.

“Let me go, Lance!” I cried as he tackled me to the ground.

“Bitch, you ain’t going no-damn-where. If you think you gone go back to that young nigga, he gone pay me,” he grit.

“Mama!” I heard Jace cry out. I looked over and saw Lance’s half-brother, Maurice, holding Jace with his arm around his neck.

“Don’t hurt him,” I pleaded. “That’s your son, Lance. Please don’t hurt him.” I cried harder. He looked over at his brother before back at me. He finally got off of me, pulling me with him.

“Bring him.” I didn’t know where he was taking us, but I could only pray that it wasn’t to our demise.

Lance and Maurice escorted me and Jace out the back door and into a basement. It was dark and dank down here.

“Lance, this isn’t a place for your son to be.”

“Well, you should’ve thought about that before you tried to escape.” He shoved the both of us inside before walking out and slamming the heavy door.

“Ma, I’m scared,” Jace cried.

I hated my son was in this situation. I didn’t care what they did to me, but I needed to make sure that my son was safe.

“I’m scared too, baby, but everything is going to be okay.” I rubbed his head to assure him of the words that I just said, not even believing them myself.

“I want Stacks,” he continued to cry.

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

***

It’s been a few days since Lance threw me and Jace in this rank ass basement. He would come and let us use the restroom and wash up, but brought us right back down here. He would bring food and water down here, but never let us go back inside. He said he didn’t want us to try to escape and go back to that ‘bitch ass young nigga’. All I could do was shake my head because I take full blame for this. Had I not tried to let him see his son before he left, we wouldn’t be here right now. I ran out of medicine a few days ago and needed to get my refill. My prescription usually lasts about three months, and it was timeto refill it. Hopefully, I could convince Lance to let us go if I promised not to tell the DeLuca’s where to find him.

“Ma, why is Dad doing this to us? Why didn’t he just stay gone?” I looked down at my son and silently cried. The two of them already had a strained relationship and now it would get worse. I’m positive that once Buck and Stacks get close to him, my son will be without a father.

“I don’t know why he’s doing these things, baby. Hopefully, he’ll realize what he’s doing is wrong and let us go back home. I’m pretty sure Nana and Papa are worried about us.”

“And Stacks? You think he’s worried about us?” In the small amount of time that Jackson and Jace were around each other, they formed a bond. I didn’t know if it was because Jackson was young or that he was really that good with kids. Either way, I was grateful for the bond that they had because I knew now it was ruined.

We sat quietly in the small room until Jace finally drifted back off to sleep. While he was sleeping, I was looking for ways to escape from under Lance. While I was in my head, Lance and his brother Maurice busted through the basement door.

“Get the fuck up and come on!” He yelled, yanking me up in the process.

“Stop fuckin’ snatching on me! What is wrong with you?” I watched as Maurice grabbed at Jace. “Stop grabbing him like that!” I snapped. “Lance, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is your lil’ boyfriend and his bitch ass brother went to my mama’s house and threatened her. We need to leave.” I stood in shock that Jackson was actually looking for me. Maybe he really cared enough after all. “Now!” Lance’s thunderous voice brought me out of my daze. So badly did I want to rebel against his wishes, but I didn’t want them to harm Jace. He already had my hands cuffed, so all he had to do was grip my upper arm and walk me out. It was dark outside, so noone would notice that we were being held against our will. The gun he held was motivation enough to keep my mouth closed because I be damned if I let this nigga kill me and my baby. The only reassurance I had right now was that Jackson and Buck were out looking for us. That small revelation gave me the hope I needed to survive this ordeal.

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