Rushing inside, I smiled when my dad’s favorite nurse greeted me. Sarah had been working here for years before my dad came to live here. She reminded me of a perfect grandmother. Her short gray hair fell in curls around her ears. She had the nicest brown eyes I had ever seen. The care she gave my dad went above and beyond. I hesitated before going up to the counter. Trusting people was impossible right now. Sarah seemed like the nicest person in the world. But so did Alex. And Detective Thomas.
I weighed my options and decided that I had no other choice. Sarah smiled warmly at me.
“Sage, back from your trip already? Your dad is still sleeping, but I’m not sure today is a good day to see him. He didn’t have a good night last night,” Sarah told me sadly. Then she looked me up and down. “Are you okay? What happened? You smell like…smoke.”
“I’m fine. I just didn’t have time to shower after the bonfire last night. I cut myself on something.” The words came out fast as I tried to explain my crazy appearance. “Something did happen, which is why I’m here now. Can I just go in and see him to say goodbye? I’m leaving for a while.”
Sarah’s forehead wrinkled as her eyes widened. “Leaving?”
“Yes. Here is my new phone number in case of emergency. But you can’t give it to anyone. Please. I know you remember my boyfriend, Alex?”
She nodded.
“We broke up. It ended really badly, and he might come asking to see if my dad has my new number. I don’t want him or anyone else to know it. That’s why I came back in such a hurry,” I lied as I handed the paper with the number to her.
“All right, Sage. I’ll make sure this number stays between us. I’m sorry about you and Alex. He didn’t hurt you, did he? I’ll kick him where the sun doesn’t shine,” Sarah said, placing her hands on her hips.
“I’ll be fine, just need to get away for a bit,” I tried to say reassuringly—and failing miserably.
She didn’t look fully convinced. “If you need anything, you can always ask me.”
I smiled and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks. I really do appreciate it.”
I followed Sarah to my dad’s room and peeked in. He was sound asleep, snoring slightly. Opening the door wider, I tiptoed to his bed.
“I love you, Daddy,” I whispered and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Tears were pooling in my eyes as I backed away into the hall. I thanked Sarah and reminded her again not to give out that number before heading back to the truck. Sitting behind the steering wheel, I ordered myself to not lose it. Not yet.
The next place I went to was the bank. My name was added to all my dad’s accounts when I turned eighteen. Lacey used to oversee the money but hated the responsibility. My parents had us later in life, and my dad started saving when he got his first job at sixteen. Dad had made each of us a savings account for college throughout the years, and there was still enough to cover his nursing home since he’d paid off the house years ago.
There was still some in my college fund, and Lacey had barely touched hers. I took nine thousand dollars out of her savings account. I wanted to take out more but knew if I took out more than that, the process of getting it would be much longer. There wasn’t time for that. I put the money in the glovebox in the truck and drove to my house.
After parking the truck in the garage, I shut the overhead door. Just in case someone drove by. The second I was inside the house, I collapsed onto the kitchen chair. My body ached. My back was still sore from being thrown to the floor. Bruises were emerging on my arms from when Eric had grabbed me. Five hours of driving had made all the pain worse. Putting my face in my hands, I sobbed. I needed five minutes. Only five minutes to release everything I’d been holding in.
I finally got it together enough to stand back up, knowing I couldn’t stay here long. This was the first place they’d look. I went upstairs, stopping in front of Lacey’s room. Why? Pain clawed at my chest. Why did it have to be my family? I went into her room and walked over to pick up Lacey’s favorite necklace from the dresser.
In the rush to leave for vacation, she must have forgotten it. The necklace used to be our mother’s. It was a simple teardrop shape with a sapphire stone in it. Our mom’s birthstone. I put it around my neck before going to my room and grabbing a duffel bag. I threw in a few pairs of shorts and jeans, some shirts, and a couple other essentials. Nothing fancy. Only what was needed.
Going downstairs to the kitchen, I called the phone company from the landline. We barely ever used it, but now I was grateful to have it and not waste minutes on my new prepaid phone. I reported my cell phone as lost and asked to have it locked so it couldn’t be accessed. I made a mental list to change all my passwords when I got a chance.
Before I could break down again, I locked up the house and went back to the garage. I grabbed the money out of the truck and put the truck key in the toolbox before sliding into my small car. It was more inconspicuous than a massive pickup. I backed slowly away from the house and wondered if I’d ever see it again.