NO WAY BACK
1330 Words
My throat got tighter as I stormed up the stairs. I could barely hear Mami calling my name behind me. Her heavy footsteps hurried after me.
“Crystal, wait—"
I kept walking straight up the stairs and didn’t stop until I was halfway up. When I turned, her eyes were wide with that mix of fear and exhaustion I’d seen my whole life.
“Not now, please.”
“Yes, now.” She grabbed my wrist. “You cannot speak to your father that way. You know what he’s capable of.”
“Someone has to stand up to him, Mami,” I hissed.
She glanced down the stairs, nervous, then pulled me closer. “I know. I know it’s bad. But pushing him only makes it worse.”
“I have a plan." I cut her off, lowering my voice even more. “For all of us. You, me, Steve, and Melanie, if she’ll come. But I need you to trust me and stay quiet. Can you do that?”
Her eyes searched mine for a long second. “Whatever you’re thinking... please be careful, mija. Please. Your father has ears everywhere. If something happens to you—”
“Nothing’s happening to me,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I believed it. I squeezed her hand. “Just be ready. And don’t say anything to anyone.”
She nodded slowly, but the worry didn’t leave her face.
My hands were still shaking when I locked the door to my room. I paced the room, replaying Papi’s face. I sank onto the edge of my bed, head in my hands. The worst part? I knew he wasn’t bluffing about the timeline either. So I had barely 3 months to perfect my escape plan.
Noah and I were meeting up tomorrow; I could not wait for it to happen. It was a necessity now. My eyes were fixed on my phone while my thumb hovered over it.
“Well, screw it,” I muttered.
I typed out a text before I could talk myself out of it.
Pick me up from Planet Fitness instead. 2:30 pm. Be discrete pls.
His reply came faster than I expected. Was he already waiting for me to reach out?
Noted. I’ll send a ride.
I sighed in massive relief and fell onto the bed. This was it.
I don’t recall how I fell asleep. In one instant, I found myself sitting at the edge of the bed with my mobile phone in hand; in another instant, I was waking up to find the sun’s rays coming into my room. But then again, this was not the morning sun; it was the noon sun.
Time on my mobile showed 12:49 pm. Thank goodness.
My neck was stiff, my back hurt, and I was wearing yesterday’s clothes; my shoes were left somewhere in the room, and there were some leftover traces of makeup on my face. For a while, I remained seated, listening to sounds of clattering kitchen utensils, of people talking, and of doors slamming shut—but from afar. After a little while, I got up and made straight for the bathroom.
It took only a few minutes for the shower steam to spread. I spent some extra time there, letting the steam help relax any tension in my muscles, along with slowing down my breathing. As I stepped out of the shower, I felt calm.
My outfit was the least of my concerns. I immediately turned to my favorite set: matte black, high-waisted leggings tailored to perfection, which I combined with a dark grey sports bra and an unzipped crop top. My hair was placed up in a ponytail to get it out of my face while I put on my sneakers.
Darius was following very closely as I drove to the gym. The watchdogs didn’t bother surveilling in the shadows anymore.
Planet Fitness had just one operating exit, and that meant it would be the ideal place to shake off my trail. I walked right to the bathroom at the rear of the facility. The small window above the last stall was my escape. I had loosened the bolts some weeks ago, just in case. It gave a loud shriek as I pushed it open.
Then I heard heavy footsteps approaching the bathroom.
“Miss Evans?” one of the staff called from outside the door. “You alright in there?”
I squeezed myself through the window, feeling my heart pounding. As I fell onto the ground, I felt a sharp pain in my left thigh from where it scraped the edge of the window. I didn’t have time to pay attention to it.
The SUV came right where Noah had told me it would. Two serious-looking men in the front.
“Miss Evans?” the driver asked.
I nodded and climbed in quickly, grateful for the invention of tinted car windows.
We drove for almost 15 minutes in silence, heading toward… wait, this was the road to the airport.
Of course, this was what Noah meant when he said he was sending a ride.
I hadn’t really given much thought to how I was going to make the commute from Marksville to Lewisburg and be back in time before Darius reports my absence to Papi. And honestly, I didn’t care at this point.
The transfer to the chopper was very quick and smooth. None of the usual airport delays.
I had been on a jet before, but only when my family was heading to Mexico for Nyla’s wedding. It was the whole Evans family in the jet. This was a different experience. A private experience.
It was the massive oak trees covered in moss that told us that we had reached our destination, the estate of the Stone family—the massive house located right on the shoreline.
The chopper landed on the helipad behind the mansion. Noah stood waiting for me on the expansive porch of the house, clad in his shirt with rolled-up sleeves, exposing those muscular arms. His blue eyes locked on me immediately.
“You actually came,” he said in a slightly high pitch.
“Didn’t really have a choice.” I followed him inside, the heavy door closing behind us with a silent thud. How could something look so heavy and yet be so silent?
Soaring ceilings, dark wood, huge windows—the house looked like an empty museum. It was beautiful and lonely, kind of like the man who owned it.
We ended up in a big living room overlooking the water. A middle-aged man in uniform poured two glasses of something and handed me one.
“So,” Noah said, sitting across from me. “What did your father do this time?"
“He’s about to sell me off, too," I laughed bitterly. “Guess your timing was perfect.”
Noah leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I can get your family out. Your mother, your brother, even your sister, and Lucas, if they want it. New identities, new place, money to start over. Whatever you need.”
I swallowed. “And what will be the terms of the surrogacy?"
He smiled. “Relax, Crystal. We have the whole day to ourselves. Let’s have lunch first.”
The whole day? Does this man not understand my situation?
“Noah, can we discuss the terms quickly so I can get back home before my father starts tracking my phone?” I said while zipping up my crop jacket. It felt too revealing all of a sudden.
“You won’t be able to go home tonight, sweetheart.” There was a small smirk on his lips, although his voice sounded very serious.
“What?”
Thunder cracked somewhere over the water, loud enough to shake the glass.
Noah didn’t look away.
“The storm’s already here,” he said quietly. “And no one’s getting in or out.”
- Writer
