Back to You (Sequel to Take Me Away From Here)

Chapter 34

Faith POV: 

A boy sits by the window, occasionally trying to peek toward me, before looking away quickly when he catches me watching him. He's no older than fourteen. He sits in the chair, watching something carefully out the window, making me wonder what he's watching. I try to sit up to see, but I'm yanked back by my cuffed arm. 

"Tim?" I call out, but he's ignoring me. A hand rests on my free arm, catching my attention. 

"It's alright, baby." I hear him say, making me turn my head. He stands by my bedside, resembling the man from Charleston. He kneels down beside me, pushing back my hair and resting his hand on the back of my neck. "Just breathe, alright? We're going to figure this out." He says, looking at me with his warm brown eyes. I nod, feeling a little calmer with him beside me. He looks at my hand, before glancing down at me once more. "It's no biggie... We'll just have to squeeze your hand through the cuff, okay?" He directs, as I hear someone laugh. I glance at the foot of the bed, seeing the version of him from the night that led to our divorce. He leans against the dresser, looking down at the pistol. 

"She can't do it." He remarks, disheartening me a bit. He looks at me, before sighing. 

"Don't listen to him." The version of Tim who stands closest to me says, guiding me through how to get out. "Just pull as hard as you can." He directs, while I give it a slight tug. It's too tight around my wrist to even budge. I pull harder, before leaning back for a second. 

"I can't..." I release in defeat, as the oldest version shakes his head slowly. 

"Told you so." He remarks, while the one near me glares his way. I pull against the cuff even more, feeling my skin burn as I pull. I make some headway, but not much. 

"Keep going, baby..." He tries to coax me, but my hand aches too much. The cuff is cutting off circulation the more I pull, making my hand throb painfully. I feel tears run down my face, before he wipes them away, grabbing onto my free hand. "You're so close... Just a little more, and then you'll be free." He says, forcing me to look up at my hand. I give a harder pull, before feeling major movement. My hand is almost free. "Pull, baby!" He says, as I give it one last tug. 

My hand comes out of the cuff, bruised and bloody after the metal scraped me. All three of them disappear, leaving me in the empty room. I look down at the injection marks on my arm, seeing a nasty bruise forming. The clock shows that I've been here for over twelve hours, chained to a bed... I stand up, rushing toward the pistol, and checking it. It's still loaded. 

"Don't." I hear his voice once more, forcing me to turn toward the bed. The version of him I remember from just a few weeks ago stands in front of the door, tears hanging in his eyes. Gray speckles his facial hair and hairline. "Don't put in the effort to kill him." He says, making me narrow my eyes. 

"He threatened our kids." I release, as he shakes his head slowly. 

"If you die seeking revenge, you're no better than he is." He says, hitting me weird. "Leaving our children without a mother is not worth getting a shot toward him. He'll be dead in a couple weeks. Just let him die alone, miserable, instead of giving him the chance to kill you." He continues, while I feel my heart pound. "If it's necessary for your escape, shoot him. If not, then run and get to somewhere safe." I shake my head, feeling my hands ache on the pistol. 

"I have to." I release, before storming out into the hall. 

"Faith, you're stronger than this." He warns, marching out after me. "Don't get yourself killed for something worthless." He continues while I search from room to room. I hear the TV from the living room, forcing me to march that way. It grows louder the closer I get, before I see him sitting in his recliner, watching the evening news. He glances up toward me, before appearing shocked. "Shoot..." Tim says, while I hesitate once more. "Faith, shoot!" He screams, as Dad reaches for a gun on the coffee table. "Faith!" Tim shrieks, before I raise the gun.