"You know I can't let you go, right?" The man asked, voice gentler than I was expecting it to be. I looked up and he was staring right at me, eyes uncharacteristically kind.
I nod slowly, whispering, "Go ahead."
~~~
Ava Williams is just trying to l...
Rất tiếc! Hình ảnh này không tuân theo hướng dẫn nội dung. Để tiếp tục đăng tải, vui lòng xóa hoặc tải lên một hình ảnh khác.
"I don't know how you managed this, Alma."
Alma and I were currently sitting in the backseat of a black Audi which was being driven by one of Jaime's guards, Levi, along with another one named Victor in the passenger seat. I had noticed Levi outside my room before when I peeked through the curtains, but I've never talked to him before. He seemed nice enough.
Alma had somehow convinced Jaime we needed a "girls day out" or so she had put it and surprisingly, he conceded. It was hard for him to put up much of an argument since he was still gone, and Alma seemed to be the only person to persuade him into anything. It seemed like half of the house left when he did. It was like a ghost town. Even dinners weren't mandatory right now. Yay. It had also gotten pretty boring with no one there.
Alma shrugged her shoulders. "I have my ways." We were going to a strip mall outside of the city, so I guess Jaime figured there wasn't too much of a risk.
Levi pulled the car into the parking lot. Him and Victor got out first, surveying the full parking lot before rounding the car to open our doors. I looked at the dozens of stores and looked at Alma, "Where to first?"
Several hours later, we were settled at a small table in the middle of the food court, several shopping bags littering the ground around us. Levi and Victor sat at a table behind us, out of earshot but close enough to keep an eye on things.
"-then he took all of his clothes off and ran out from under the dining table. Naked as a jaybird."
My jaw dropped before I burst into laughter. "How old was Jaime?"
"Almost two, I think." Alma laugh joined mine as I imagined a toddler Jaime streaking, on Thanksgiving day no less. "His father was livid, but when Nichole scooped little Jaime in her arms with the widest smile on her face, he forgot his anger."
My smile shrunk just a little bit. "What happened to his mom?"
"She got sick. Died three days later. It was all very sudden." We had that in common.
"I think he sees you as a mother figure." I nudged Alma with my shoulder. "You sure do act like one sometimes."
She raised her eyebrows, giving me a look that dared me to say it again, only proving my point.
We finished eating, and Levi left to go get the car. I dropped my bags on the curb and pulled Alma into a hug. "Thank you for today. I feel almost normal again."
Alma wrapped her arms around me, giving a small squeeze. "It's nice to do these things again."
I sniffled a little when I stepped back, picking up my bags as the sleek sports car pulled up to the curb. Levi and Victor helped load our bags into the trunk.
Alma was about to launch into another embarrassing childhood story about Jaime that I definitely wasn't going to tease him about when Levi slammed on the brake and rounded the next corner unexpectedly. I was thrown against Alma as he righted the car, earning honks from several passing vehicles. I was about to ask what the hell he was doing when he took the next left turn, cutting off an oncoming car. Levi's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Call base." He ordered Victor.
