Still Waters

Chapter 51

                                                          ** MATURE CONTENT AHEAD **

As soon as we got in the car and started to drive away, I broke down crying. Shayna didn't say anything, but held my hand until I stopped.

"I have to tell you something," she admitted once we got on the highway and headed toward Norfolk.

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

"No. Nothing like that." She knew I was thinking that they were trying to take us out of the house. I felt weak when I realized how easy it had been for them to separate us and I immediately wanted to go back to my daughter. "Natasha, it's ok. They'll be there when we get back." I started wheezing and she rolled down the window so that I could get more air. "Wow, those anxiety attacks have gotten really bad, huh?"

"Yeah," I nodded, fanning my face with my hand.

"Jasmine told us to come get you," she said quickly and looked over at me.

I stopped fanning and looked back at her.

"She knows, Natasha. We all do."

"Knows what?"

Shayna looked over at me again. "You know her husband's a cop, right?"

"Husband?"

"Yeah. She married that dude...you met him at church." She looked at me, waiting for it to click. Suddenly it did. "He was at your house the other night. When you called them..."

Shayna knew, as sure as I was sitting there still alive, that it must have been life or death for me to call the police out to Collin Stewart's house. We all knew that just wasn't how it was done when it came to Collin.

"So..." she continued, "are you ok?"

"Yes."

"Is the baby ok? Did he hurt her?"

"No. She's ok."

"Then...what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Ok..." She looked out at the road. "We're about to go through the tunnel. You cool with that?"

"Yes." I loved Shayna for asking me that. And I was suddenly happy to see her. "Where are we going?"

"Jasmine asked me to bring you by the club. She's going to take off early and come hang out with us."

"Really?" She didn't seem like the hanging out type.

"Yup." Shayna nodded, but didn't give any more information. "Here," she handed me her cell phone, fully aware that the old Collin wouldn't have let me have anything that could have possibly had a GPS tracker on it, so the new Collin probably didn't either. "In case you want to call them...at any time tonight."

"Thanks." I smiled at her. It felt good to have someone...it just felt good to have someone. "Collin probably won't come back tonight, anyway. He hasn't been home in...a really long time."

"Hmm." She nodded, expressionless.

Her lack of judgement encouraged me to say more. "He's been gone for like, a month."