Page 116 of Turn the Tide
He’d never admired her more.
***
Donny ran through the woods, his heart pounding, trying to remember all the things Mama T had taught him when he was little. He focused on keeping his breathing quiet and made sure he didn’t run through tall grasses that would leave a trail. He searched for grassy, mossy, or rocky areas and hopped from one to the next so he wouldn’t leave footprints.
But somehow, Freddie was still behind him. He didn’t think of him as his father, not anymore.
“Stop running, Donny. You can’t get away, you know.”
Donny glanced over his shoulder and tried not to cry. He couldn’t see him yet, but Freddie’s voice was getting closer. He picked up the pace, memories of what Freddie had done to Mama flashing behind his eyes. He couldn’t get caught, not before he warned Mama that Freddie was coming for her. Donny knew exactly where he was, knew the woods in this part of the Forest inside out. So he also knew he wasn’t close enough to the rusted old trailer they’d called home to send Mama a text. Not yet. The trailer was on the border of a cell signal. If he could get close enough, he could warn her to stay away.
“Dammit, boy! You’re ticking me off. Quit running. I just want to talk.”
Yeah, right.Donny knew Freddie would beat him when he caught him, but he was tough. He could take it. He had to protect Mama. She wasn’t as big as Donny, and she couldn’t handle another beating, not when Freddie was as furious as he was now.
“Heading home? Fine. We can talk there.”
Donny looked back, caught a glimpse of Freddie jogging toward the house, knife in his hand. Donny ignored the way his heart pounded and his side cramped. He dodged around a tree and took off in a flat-out run. Never mind footprints.
He raced through the trees, looking for a diversion, something. He ran around the backside of the trailer, leaped up the two steps and opened the door, then slammed it shut and leaped back down the steps. He ducked behind the woodpile and pulled out his phone, stabbed the screen while it woke up.Come on, come on.
His thumbs flew as he wrote the text:Freddie at trailer. Stay away.
He hit Send and looked up a split second too late. Freddie yanked him up by the arm and swung him around.
Pain gripped his arm, but Donny had gotten word to Mama. That’s all that mattered.
