The Shadow Grove Chronicles - Book I: Fated Reunion

VII - Harried Flight from Paradise Lost

Becca took a quick shower and got dressed before we left her studio. She said that she wasn’t about to go around doing some of what she called “skullduggery” in her bathrobe. It was quiet on the way to my house, Becca sat in the passenger seat and focused out the windshield in stony silence with a hard, determined look on her face. My mind raced through all the things I wanted to say to Derrick should he already be there, laying in wait for me to return home.

Becca reached down and turned on the radio, switching it over to a heavy metal station streaming from the satellite radio provider. Normally, I don’t listen to any kind of metal, but the angry singing, heavy drum beats, and fast guitar riffs amped me up for the rushed activity to come. The loud music bolstered my courage like a primal war cry as I tore down the dark residential streets of the small town that had been my reluctant home. My heart was beating hard in my chest as we turned onto my street, the large modern house in which we lived looming at the end of the cul-de-sac.

It was about one forty-five as we pulled into the driveway. Derrick’s large, white pickup wasn’t there. Yet. That was probably a good thing as I wasn’t sure if I could control myself if it was. Should I see red, I didn’t know what would happen. Disarming the security system as we stepped up to the door, I unlocked the deadbolt, slapping the bolt home with a loud click. I could see that the girls were still up when I looked in through the living room window. They were still up, watching a brightly colored cartoon on the big flat-screen downstairs. They were waiting-up for me to get home, I figured.

Jessi heard the door unlock and was quickly in the foyer to see who had come home first, her father or me. She had a worried look in her eyes until she saw me. She started towards me, as if to give me a hug, but I stopped her with an upraised hand.

“Jessica, this is important. I need you and Tamara to go upstairs and pack some clothes and your bath stuff. We’re going to go and stay with Aunt Becca for a few nights. Move!” She stood there looking at us like there was a question on her mind, but she held it in as she went back into the living room to relay to her sister their marching orders. Becca and I were right behind them as we all made our way up the stairs and into our respective bedrooms to quickly pack what we could in a very limited amount of time. Becca, unbidden, opened my closet door and started to pull out clothes for me off the bar as I went into the bathroom to gather up what I would need for an extended stay and shoved everything but my makeup kit into an old backpack I still had from my college days.

Returning to the bedroom, I set the two bags on the bed and pulled a red valise from off the closet shelf and started to fold and mentally inventory the clothes that Becca pulled out for me, handing them to Becca one stack at a time as she carefully stuffed them into the small rectangular bag. Finished folding, I went to my dresser and pulled out several pairs of socks, some bras, and panties and tossed them onto the bed for Beccs to add to the mostly stuffed case. I also pulled out from my sock drawer the small, slightly tattered, white folder, embossed with a picture of two intertwined wedding rings and “Marriage Certificate” in gold leaf on the front flap. It held not only Derrick and my marriage license, but also social security cards, vaccination records, and other important personal documents for all four of us. I pulled out his Social Security card and set it on the tall chest of drawers that he used as a dresser and quickly took a picture of it, just in case it would be needed later. I put the folder and my phone charger into the front zippered compartment of the little suitcase. I checked my phone. Time elapsed: forty minutes.

With my bags packed, we went to check on the girls’ progress and they stepped into the hallway before we could get to their doors. They both had backpacks on their shoulders and their suitcases next to them, bulging noticeably. Oh, how I love them!

“Okay, let’s go,” I said to my girls. I practically ran down the stairs two at a time with the three of them trailing me, my backpack bouncing heavily on my back as my every step landed on the polished tile floor and the white gravel driveway beyond the threshold of the wide open front door, my suitcase swinging wildly as I ran. I popped the trunk and started to load it, first with my own bags and then adding the girls’ as they reached me. I unlocked the car doors and my daughters jumped into the back seat as earlier Becca, while carrying my makeup bag, had called “Shotgun!” when all three were still under the wide front porch.

I went back to the door and called out to the smart speaker there, “Alexa! Shut off all the lights in the house!”

“Okay, Allie. Turning off all the lights in the house.”

I already had the front door latched and bolted as the lights inside all shut off at once. Clicking the arming button on the security fob, I ran back to the car, starting the engine as I went. As soon as I flopped into my seat, I clicked my seatbelt securely before checking to see if Jessi and Tammi had done the same. I didn't have to worry about it as they were already strapped in ready to go. I looked back at the large house that had been my home one last time before we left. It had once seemed to be a paradise to me when we first moved in, with wide open spaces and well lit corridors. Now it was a symbol representing the prison my time with Derrick had actually been now as I looked back over the years.

The gravel of the driveway crunched loudly as I pulled out of the driveway, faster than what could be called “safe,” spraying the small white rocks as the tires spun out at first before traction could be established. I checked the clock on the dash, two-thirty. Plenty of time, or so I had thought. We passed Derrick just as we turned off our street and onto the main road leading back to Becca’s. He didn’t even notice us and drove on, not even turning his head. I guess it really would take a baseball bat just to get his attention right now, considering the night he just had.