Runner {Watty Awards 2012}

Chapter 9 Part 2

It was cramped and dark in the boot of Jack’s car; Amelia was surprised that her and her daughter actually fit in the tight space. Amelia just hoped that she wasn’t going to be in there that long. She had forgotten to mention that she was claustrophobic. Well she hadn’t really forgotten but didn’t want to mention it as she was trying to seem strong in front of Jack.

She never used to be. But that night that Devon had come home off his face on booze and cocaine demanding for her to cook him a meal when she had already made a family meal several hours ago that he purposefully missed even though she had called his cell phone several times and paged his pager and hit his two-way. No answer.

Amelia had been asleep and her mind still groggy from sleep she had forgotten herself and dared to say no to Devon.

Big Mistake.

That night he had thrown the covers off of her body and fisted his large hand in her hair dragging her from the bed without a word to the basement. There he beat her without remorse before yelling that he would teach her a lesson and walked over to the far wall of the room, hoisting a long box, just big enough to fit her inside without giving too much room to maneuver.

Devon dragged her off the ground not caring one moment about the baby she was carrying in her womb for him.

Eleanor.

He bound Amelia’s hands and stuffed a dirty rag into her mouth to muffle her screams and locked her away in that box for hours.

Amelia almost miscarried that night. When Devon finally slept off his hangover and got round to letting her out of the torture box and saw all the blood and her half dead, he rushed her to the hospital and cried tears, praying to every god and promising her that it would not happen again.

Amelia didn’t believe his words as far as she could throw him.

Coming back to reality, Amelia shook her head to clear away the nightmare, Just as the car stopped and the boot popped to reveal Jack looking down at her, the sun behind him creating a rather fetching halo effect around his handsome head.

Jack reached in to take Amelia’s hand to help out of the space. His smile fading as he saw Amelia’s face in the light. Helping Eleanor out he said with a voice laced with concern “Amelia? Are you ok? You look pale baby?”

“yes I am ok Jack just a little lightheaded” Amelia replied quickly.

Eleanor giggled drawing Jack’s attention. “what’s so funny little miss?” he asked.

“you called mama “baby”” she answered.

Amelia blushed a little and Jack just kind of frowned a little, mentally kicking himself for slipping up like that in front of Eleanor. That girl was just too astute for her own good sometimes. Putting his legendary poker face into play he said “come on you too, in the car.”

As Amelia and Eleanor walked around to the passenger side of the car, Eleanor nudged her mother whispering “see he called you “baby” he likes you.

“shhhh…..” Amelia replied to which Eleanor began to whisper sing.

“Mama and Jack sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

“Eleanor!” Amelia fired back completely taken aback.

Eleanor just burst into a fit of laughter at her mother’s mortified expression as she closed the back passenger door and put her seatbelt on.

Jack tried valiantly to hide the smirk on his face at the exchange going on between the two girls that he was not supposed to hear but he did.

Jack gunned the engine and set off again.

Amelia couldn’t suppress the shiver that went through her body in answer to that big V8 rumbling through her seat. Her blush lasted a full 100 miles and even afterwards there was still residual rosiness in her cheeks.

Amelia sat in silence not trusting herself in such close confines with Jack. What was going on with her? Her hormones where jumping around like that of a randy teen all of a sudden, and it was getting worse, harder and harder to control.

Eleanor was completely oblivious, singing loudly in the back to every song that played on the radio like things like this happened every day.

Amelia thought that Jack was purposefully trying to drive her crazy. He used the gear stick to change gears even though the car had a triptronic gearbox and was paddle shift.

She couldn’t take her eyes of the way his long legs flexed beneath the material of the soft jeans he wore every time he pressed the clutch and wrapped his large hand around the gear lever, slipping it in place smoothly.

Amelia couldn’t help it; he had such a sexy driving stance.

Knowing what that body was trained to do and capable of and knowing that he had already pledged his life to protect her and her daughter didn’t help none either.

Finally they pulled into Matamoros, a full 200 miles or so from where there journey began. Jack made short work of finding them a hotel room.

“Here is your room keys Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I hope you enjoy your stay with us” the lady behind the desk said.

Jack paid in cash as Amelia tried to deflect another of her daughter’s remarks.

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith huh??” Eleanor said with an exaggerated wiggle of her eyebrows.  Before whispering “you would like that wouldn’t you if you weren’t married to papa….”

“Don’t you start, what is wrong with you today?” Amelia said with a roll of her eyes. Earning her nothing but another joy filled laugh from Eleanor.

The room was a simple little space, not half as grand as the places she had grown used to but it held a cozy but airy appeal and had a balcony looking out over the sea and a wide expanse of sandy beach.

Dropping their bags in the room Eleanor ran and jumped on her bed with a bounce and a plop “ohhh it’s so nice to be able to stretch” she exclaimed spreading like a starfish on the bed.

“Mon dieu, Eleanor have some bienséance” Amelia sighed.

The conversation between them all stayed light and playful all day. It was almost as if they weren’t being chased by one of the most deadly men in the world and for that moment Amelia could forget about her past and breathe.

It was late evening before Amelia had decided to leave the room for a walk. Jack looked like he had fallen asleep on the bed; Eleanor once again snuggled with him.

“He’s so good with her” Amelia noted.

She grabbed Jacks .45, Locked and loaded before grabbing a set of keys to the room and slipped silently out to make her way to the beach below.

She just needed to get away for a moment, get her head straight.

Amelia, making sure she was in the line of sight of the balcony dropped down on the still warm sand, reveling in the sound of the sea lapping the shore and the freedom that being alone afforded her. She crossed her arms over her knees and rested her head on her arms and just breathed softly.

This whole situation was draining her. She never in her life thought that she would be running from her husband and that she was (now she was alone she could admit it) falling in love with the guy who was helping her run.

Amelia sighed. If her dear mother knew what she was up to, caught up in and how she was feeling right now she would turn in her grave.

“Christ m'aider” she whispered out to the sea.