On The Run

Chapter Thirty Six

I hung up the phone and look to my right where Steve is standing with one eye brow cocked in curiosity.

"He wanted to know if there was left over's from last night. He hates breakfast." I say nonchalantly with a shrug. He just rolls his eyes and starts walking toward Riley. I stay behind and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. If he found out about what I just did, it would all be over. I know that I told myself I didn't want others to get hurt or involved, but if there's one thing I have learned from the past its that I can't do this alone.

I know that Nick is probably a mess right now, but I need him more than ever so I really hope he will pull through. My brother has been the only thing in my life that I can rely on, and I wish I could be a better sister for him.

Looking into the living room, I see Steve bend down next to Riley and start to make a short conversation with her while she plays with the few dolls she has scattered on the floor. She seems more interested in the two Ken dolls kissing than anything he has to say. I watch his eyes travel to what she is doing with the dolls and see his eyebrows furrow in surprise. I suppress a chuckle as I know that he has no clue how to react to that. He just leaves it be and continues talking, but I am too far away to make out what they're saying.

Suddenly, she starts laughing so hard she nearly topples over. I have to be honest that I am extremely surprised that he is so comfortable around Riley, seeing as what he is about to do to her and her only family she has left. I am also surprised that he was able to keep his intensions secret from her this entire time. She is so unsuspecting, which makes this so much worse.

They both get up, and he takes her hand helping her out the door. Knowing that he's about to leave and force me to put the plan into action, I turn around and try to stop the tears from falling down my face. At this point, all I can do is hope for the best.

"It's time." Is all I hear before I am hit upside the head with the back of a gun I didn't even know Steve had.

...

My eyes slowly drift open but I am met with blackness due to the blindfold that Steve must have placed over my eyes. I have no clue why he'd think it was a good idea as I already know the places Ty and I have been hiding out in. But I don't want to struggle because I know I need to save my energy. This killer headache won't go away if I start to make a fuss either.

I hear Riley singing along with the radio, I think it's a kid's station. She has a nice little voice for her age, and it's actually quite soothing. I also hear what I assume to be Steve tapping along on the steering wheel to the beat of the child's song. With the rhythm and comforting beat, I feel myself start to drift off once again. Into, what I am assuming will be, the last semi-peaceful sleep I will ever have.

...

This time I wake up on the ground. I have no restraints, and I can see everything clearly. I'm in the middle of the floor of the trailer that Ty and I had stayed hidden in for so long. Slowly getting up not wanting to agitate my already throbbing head, I notice little droplets of my blood on the floor.

Dryly chuckling at my stupidity, I quickly reach for a wall. I can tell I have a concussion as I am off balance and can barely keep my eyes focused for more than fifteen seconds at a time.

I slowly make my way to the little sofa that the trailer has, hopefully to find Riley sleeping there. However, once I reach the seat, she's not there. Instead of looking around more, as I know it will just make me even more dizzy, I decide to just sit down and await the inevitable.

Just then, I hear the door of the old trailer, which was my home for weeks, open slowly. My head quickly snaps in that direction and I immediately regret that action as the pain in my head only seems to worsen. I bring my hand to my head and feel the crusty dried blood behind my ear where the back of the gun hit. Redirecting my attention, I open my eyes and bring them back to the door.