Page 66 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"I think so?"
"That's good, honey. Hide it somewhere she won't look for it. We're going to stay on the line but we're going to be really quiet, so your mom won't hear. If anything happens that makes you uncomfortable, you can say something out loud so we can hear you. Sound okay to you?"
"Yeah, okay. I can do that. I'll put it upside down on the floor under the bed so you can't see the light."
"That's a great idea."
"I hear her coming."
"Okay—quickly hide it. You did so good, sweetheart." I swallowed hard, trying to hold it together.
"I love you, Macy," I called out, just as I heard the phone sliding on the carpet.
Detective Morrison pressed the mute button on the phone and stood up straight.
Felicity embraced me, kissing my forehead and my cheeks—holding me. "She's going to be okay. She is a smart kid. Look at what she's done."
"How did we even get here? It's surreal—like I'm watching someone else's life. This can't be real. Things like this don't really happen!"
Morrison spoke up, "Unfortunately, you'd be surprised how often these kinds of things happen. Amber Alerts exist for a reason. It's a painful fact that abductions happen much too frequently. Getting to hear Macy's voice, having that phone on, we're talking about miraculous stuff here. They traced the phone using the number she called from, and we have pinpointed herlocation. We've got units on the way—maybe twenty minutes out. We're going to get your girl."
"How far for us?"
"It's a few hours away–where they are.."
"Can we go now?"
"Yeah—I'm working on getting the call transferred to my department cell. Once I have the call on my line, we're moving. Fast."
"Okay, yeah—that's good. Thank you, God."
I unfolded myself from my position on the floor, stood up, and helped Felicity to her feet. I looked into her eyes, placing my hands on either side of her face. I leaned in, forehead to forehead. This woman.I can't believe I almost lost this woman.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
~Jessica~
The shower wasn't helping. I'd hoped that the hot water, which usually calmed my racing thoughts, would settle me. Instead, I felt like I was suffocating. Through the shitty motel walls, I could hear trucks rumbling past, each one making me jump. In this Podunk town with no real hotels anywhere near me, I can't believe I'm stuck in this hell-hole.
Having my attorney get Caden to back off for a day was genius. Tomorrow we'll say she's still sick and that he can pick her up on Saturday. By then we'll be long gone. It's not like he could know, right? No one knows we're gone. Brad's got that thing later tonight. He'll probably be too drunk to notice I'm not even in bed.
Maybe I should text him. No, better to stay off his radar for the night.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I knew what would help—the pills in my purse would steady them, would make everything clear again. Just one. Maybe two.
No. I'd already taken... how many today? Where was I when I took the last one? Was it at McDonalds? Before that?Why can't I remember?
I turned off the water with trembling hands. The McDonald's employee—the way he'd looked at us, tried to talk to Macy. Creep. Trying to talk to my daughter. I shouldn't have stopped there for dinner. What's one meal? We could have skipped it and just eaten the chips from the gas station.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"It's okay," I whispered to my reflection in the foggy mirror. My eyes looked wrong—pupils too small, shadows too dark. When had I gotten so thin? "She's your daughter, not that woman's. It's your job to protect her. They can't tell you what you can do."
But through the haze, I didn't really know why I cared anymore—ifI cared anymore. My head was pounding. I need to make it stop.
I wrapped myself in the threadbare towel they provide, and opened the bathroom door. Macy was sitting on the bed, her back to me, unnaturally still.
"Macy? What are you doing?" Her stillness made me pause. She was quiet. Too quiet.
