Page 7 of Einar

“Iwill kill him!”Thevenom in her voice almost makes me smile.Maybeif it was another time, or another topic,Iwould.I’vealways envied my bold older sister.

“Youcould never get close enough to even try.He’suntouchable,Ruby, take my word for it.Ifthere had been a way,Iwould have already taken it.I’vehad years on the inside and couldn’t figure out how to make this nightmare end.Butyou just took his favorite toy, and he will be on the warpath to get me back.Iwon’t go back,Ruby.Nomatter what, do you understand whatI’msaying?”

“Loudand clear.Aslong as we’re together, he will never touch you again.Ihave an idea of where to go, butIneed to find a way to get us there with what little cashIhave.”

Reachingdown,Islide the zipper open on the duffle bag before asking, “Isthis enough?”

Iknow what she sees.Cashlines the entire bottom of the bag, and she doesn’t even know about the jewelry inside yet.

“It’ssure gonna help, baby sister.”

Exhaustionbeats down on me, andIhunker into the seat.Idon’t really feel like talking, andIthinkRubyunderstands for once.Thetears, when they come, almost catch me by surprise.Ididn’t thinkIhad any left.Ican feel my sister’s eyes on me as the streams of water roll down my cheeks.Iallow myself to set some of my misery free in a silent deluge of salt water, my eyes locked on the passing scenery, seeing none of it.

Evennow,Idon’t make any noise asIlet my pain loose.Toomany years of silence have left an indelible mark on my soul.

ChapterSeven

ROWAN

Timeand milespass by asRubydrives through the night.

Aswe pass through the town ofWaverly, an older modelSUVcatches my eye.Apparently,Rubysees me do a double-take, because her next words are full of apprehension, her eyes darting to the rearview mirror as she asks,

“Whatis it?”

“Turnaround, there is an olderSUVfor sale back there.”

Noddingat my explanation, she whips aU-turn in the intersection at the next red light, and heads back the way we just came from.Justas we pull up to take a look at theSUV, an older man in an armed forces cap comes walking out of the house.Igrab the edges of my hood and yank it back over my head, hiding my face from view.

“Juststay in the car.Thelast thing we need is to have to explain those bruises of yours.Howmuch canIsafely spend on this?Ihave like five hundred on me, but that’s it.”

“Ihave almost seventy thousand stashed in here.Let’sjust say it’s several years of severance pay for all the times he sold me during our marriage.”

Frustrationis written all over my sister’s face as she looks at me before exiting the car.Isee her facial expression change to a friendly smile before she turns to greet the older man walking toward us.Idon’t want to be unaware of what’s being said, soIreach over to crack the driver’s side window and mine on the passenger side, being cautious to keep my face hidden beneath my hood.

Rubydoesn’t beat around the bush as the first words out of her mouth are about the car and not pleasantries. “Hithere, saw your car here as we were passing by.What’reyou asking for it?Isthere anything wrong with it mechanically?”

Theolder man’s voice is rough as he replies, “Askingfour thousand.It’sa solid little ride thatIwould trust to take me anywhere.Itwas my daughter’s and she used it to get back and forth to school because it was easy on gas.Shejust got a big promotion and doesn’t need it any longer.”

“Ican give you thirty-five cash right now if you have the title handy.”

Herprompt words make me duck my head a little further and turn slightly asIsee the older man look over toward me in theCivic.Hisnext question has a bit of suspicion in it.

“Don’tyou want to drive it first?”

“I’lltake your word for it.”

Ican hear how firm her tone is and it makes me wince just a bit.

Wayto be obvious,Ruby.

“Manywouldn’t, but it seems you girls are in a hurry.Areyou in some sorta trouble,Miss?Nothingwrong with asking for help if you are.”Justlike that, the suspicion is gone, and genuine concern takes its place.Maybethere are good men left in this world.Ijust didn’t get lucky enough to find one.

“Nahh, we're good, sir.Simplywondering about the car is all.Areyou going to take that deal, or not?”

Rubyis trying to reassure the man, butIcan see her body start to slump as she starts to turn around before the older man’s next words stop her.

“Cash, huh?”

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