Chapter 6 - The Great Escape

“Defoe?”

The name did not click. Lucy was too distraught to think. Her brain had recognized the voice, but it took her a little over a second for it to register.

“I’m so sorry for calling,” Defoe continued. “I just really felt a strong urge to try the number… A part of me thought it was a fake one actually…”

“No, no, I remember.” Lucy said, springing to her feet. “Defoe. You’re the guy that saved me in the jail. I remember you.”

“This was a mistake,” Defoe said with a sigh. “I really don’t know why I called.”

“Uh… How are you?” Lucy asked, trying to continue the conversation. She rubbed her shaking hands on her jeans, patiently waiting for him to say something. “Defoe?”

“I shouldn’t have called you, I’m sorry,” was all Defoe said.

“No!” Lucy said, louder than necessary. “No, come on. You already called, we might as well have a friendly conversation. Don’t hang up, come on.”

Just then, Lucy heard the crash of glass shattering downstairs. A roar from John followed. It sounded like he was yelling at Rita again, angry about something as usual. Lucy felt a shiver run down her spine upon hearing the terrifying tone he was speaking with.

“Is something wrong?” Defoe asked. “You sound weird… agitated.”

“Can I come stay with you?” Lucy blurted.

She scurried over to the door and locked it. Then she moved to the window and tried to steady her breathing. It felt like she was suffocating, and no matter how much she tried to ease her breathing, it was useless.

“What?”

“Please,” Lucy said. “Where are you? I’ll come over to your house. We could hang, have that friendly conversation in person.”

“You’re a pretty straightforward lady, aren’t you?” Defoe said, chuckling. “Shouldn’t you ask a guy out to dinner first?”

“Wait, no.” Lucy shook her head. “It’s not like that.”

“Lucy, I’m sorry I gotta go. I don’t know… it was nice talking to you, but I shouldn’t have called you.”

“Defoe, listen,” Lucy yelled, losing her patience. “My stepfather has a gun and he’s threatening me. I can’t stay here anymore. I just can’t do it. He is going to kill me, Defoe, I just know it.”

“What?” Defoe asked. “What are you talking about?”

“I am begging you, just let me stay at your place for the night,” Lucy whispered into the phone. “Please. At least until everything calms down over here. He just tried to shoot me, but there was no bullet in the gun and he said that the next time he comes into my room, he’s going to shoot me for real.”

“Then go to the police, dammit. Why are you still in the house?”

“I can’t go to the police,” Lucy rasped. “This isn’t just about me, Defoe. It’s difficult to explain but I promise I just want a place to stay for the meantime, that’s all. I have no ulterior motives, I can promise you.”

“It is not about that,” Defoe said, stressing on each word. “How do you know I don’t have ulterior motives, huh? How do you know I’m not going to hurt you if you come stay with me?”

“Well someone who is planning on hurting me wouldn’t ask me if I thought he had ulterior motives.”

“I’m hanging up now. I really think you should talk to someone who is a position of authority to help you,” Defoe said before hanging up.

“No, wait, Defoe!”

Lucy threw her phone to the bed and groaned when she heard the beep. Gathering her hair in her fists, she got to her feet and started to pace as she tried to figure out her next move. One thing was sure. She couldn’t stay in this house for much longer. She was a sitting duck, and at any time, John would come in and get the deed done.

The screaming from downstairs had gotten louder. Lucy had blocked it out for so long without problems. But now that she knew John had a gun, maybe two, and he wasn’t averse to using it, she was terrified.

“Oh come on, Defoe.”

Lucy picked her phone up again from the bed and dialed Defoe’s number. He’d defended her in jail without knowing her. For some reason, Lucy was assured he could help her. He did look the part, scary and defensive. That was the exact kind of person she needed at this point.

Lucy rapidly tapped her foot on the ground, praying that Defoe would give her a chance to persuade him. She understood why he was skeptical about helping her. Listening to herself speak, Lucy knew that she sounded crazy. However, anything had to be better than the hellhole that she was forced to live in.

“Defoe?”

Lucy sprang to her feet when he answered. “Don’t hang up, just please listen to me,” she continued.

“I really would like to help you… really. But I can’t. Frankly, I don’t know you and I sincerely have no idea why I called you, but you’re making me regret it.”

“I’m going to die if you don’t help me,” Lucy sobbed. “I won’t be any trouble, promise. I’m known for minding my business, I won’t trouble you… I’ll be quiet, I promise.”

Defoe sighed. He took longer than necessary to respond and Lucy was scared he was going to hang up again.

“You really cannot go to the police?” he asked.

“I cannot, they are not going to believe me. That’s why I was in the station two nights ago.”

“Fine. I don’t want nobody’s damn blood on my hands. But I stay in motels, I don’t have a permanent apartment. So, if you’re coming to me, you’re coming to a motel.”

“That’s okay,” Lucy heard herself say. “That’s fine. I’ll come wherever.”

“Cool, now write down this address.”

Lucy looked around the room in search of a pen and paper. She found both just in time and wrote down the address. Lucy didn’t know where it was, but when Defoe asked if she did, she said yes. It was better to look for it herself than frustrate Defoe by asking him for directions.

“Thank you very much. I’ll be there in less than two hours,” Lucy told him before hanging up.

A sigh of relief escaped her as she made her way to the wardrobe. A brown duffel bag was the biggest thing she owned to carry anything with. The bag could only contain clothes for four days, so Lucy packed that in. She wasn’t planning on coming back, but Defoe didn’t need to know that. She had told him she was staying overnight, but she had plans to stretch her stay for as long as possible.

“Lucy?”

Lucy turned while she zipped her bag. It was Lacy and she was knocking now, but Lucy didn’t open up. She made sure to finish packing before going to unlock the door.

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked, walking back to the duffel bag. “Why are you back already? Isn’t Stefanie’s birthday holding?”

Lacy shook her head. “It hasn’t started yet. I came back because I forgot to bring her gift along. I was so excited to go, that I forgot about that.”

“How do you forget to bring a birthday present to a birthday party?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind, okay?” Lacy retorted, throwing her hands in the air. “My sister got arrested and I had to go to the police station for the first time in my life. I was so scared.”

Lucy smiled. “Right. You’re going through so much. How could I have forgotten about that? It’s almost as bad as being arrested and spending the night at the police station.”

Lacy rolled her eyes. She obviously wasn’t in a mood to argue.

“Mom and John are fighting downstairs again. I don’t know what it’s about, but he sounds pretty upset.”

“Lacy,” Lucy said with a quaking voice.

She paused, trying to calm herself before she spoke. Thoughts about her altercation with John began to flood her mind again. She feared that Lacy was going to sense the agitation in her voice if she wasn’t careful.

“Can you do one thing for me?” Lucy asked, crossing her arms to hide her shaking hands. “Promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?” Lucy asked.

Lucy grabbed the bag from the floor and walked up to Lacy. She stopped and placed one hand on her shoulder. “Take your own advice to me. You’re young and you’re having an amazing time in school,” Lucy started. “Focus on that. This house should be the place you sleep, not the place you live.”

Lacy’s eyebrows furrowed. “What does that mean?”

Lucy exhaled softly. “What I mean is, don’t get involved in things that concern this house. Stay out of mom’s business, I’m begging you. You see how I had lived pretty well before I got involved? Try to copy that. Lock your door, young lady, and just… be invincible.”

“But it’s mom… How can I pretend like I don’t hear her screams?”

“You don’t pretend,” Lucy told her. “You listen. Wait for her to call out for you. You wait for her to scream for your help. If at the end, you don’t hear your name, then don’t get involved. If she wanted you to be involved she’ll call for you. She never called for me, so I had no reason to go.”

Lacy sighed and nodded. “What’s the bag for?” she asked.

“Uh,” Lucy hesitated. “For the night. I’ll be gone for the night. Don’t miss me.”

“Well, where are you going?”

“Somewhere where no one would shove a gun down my throat, Lacy.”

Lucy gently ran her hand over Lacy’s hair before walking out of the room. There was no use explaining what she was up to. If Lacy found out she was planning never to return, she wouldn’t let Lucy go without causing a scene. Lucy thought it was best if she left, then later on figured out a way she could be with Lacy without her mother making a fuss about it.

Going down the stairs was intense. Lucy’s heart thumped in her throat as she eased quietly down. Just like Lacy said, John and Rita were arguing about something in the kitchen. Lucy did not have the slightest interest in what they were bickering about. She was sure that in a couple of minutes, John would lose his patience and throw Rita a punch that would silence her. That was the only time that they both became conscious of their surroundings. But as long as they were still exchanging words, Lucy had a good chance of slipping past them unnoticed.

It had happened like she expected. Lucy quietly slipped out, shut the front door behind her and ran out into the street. When she reached the end of the street, she stopped to catch her breath and double checked to see if anyone had followed her.

“Oh, thank goodness.” She sighed in relief. “Okay…”

The address was in Cooper City, Florida. Lucy figured it would take thirty minutes to get there by bus, or fifteen if she took a cab from where she was. She had the money for the cab, but she didn’t want to incur more expenses than necessary. She checked the time and saw that it was past three o’clock. She had promised Defoe that she would be there before four o’clock and she didn’t want to break that promise.

“Oh, what to do…”

Then she knew. She ran to the bus station. She didn’t want to waste any money since she had no idea how she would fend for herself for the duration of her stay with Defoe, or if she ended up overstaying her welcome and Defoe sent her on her way. Unfortunately, the bus wasn’t at the station when Lucy got there, so she had to wait.

“Calm down,” she murmured to herself. “It’s not like he’s running away.”

After waiting for what seemed like forever, the bus finally arrived. Lucy got on and sat by the window. She exhaled in relief when the bus started to move. The further it went, the more relaxed she was. Finally, when the bus was speeding past buildings, she felt calm.

John and Rita made it like she was the issue. Like if she disappeared, everything would magically get better. Lucy hoped that it was true, for Lacy’s sake. But secretly, she also hoped that her disappearance worried Rita. She knew that if her mother were to earnestly ask for her to return, her resolve would weaken and she’d return. But until that happened, she was going to wander about for as long as possible.

She finally reached the bus stop and alighted. Finding the particular street was easy when she looked up the directions on the internet. When she reached the gas station that was the landmark, she crossed to the other side and found the motel.

“Becky’s…” Lucy mumbled as the approached the front desk.

The lady seated there had to be Rita’s age. Her buzz-cut hair was dyed red and she was chewing a gum so loudly it echoed in the empty reception.

“Hello,” Lucy greeted, reaching the desk. “Good evening.”

The lady raised her head and threw Lucy a lazy smirk. “What can I do for ya? Here to book a room?”

“Oh, no. Actually, I’m here looking for someone,” Lucy revealed.

“Ya partner already booked the room?” the lady asked, then turned to the computer. “What’s his name?”

As much as Lucy wanted to correct the lady, she decided to let it go and just play along. “Defoe,” she answered.

“Defoe…” she mumbled before proceeding to tap on the keyboard. “I’m sorry. We don’t have anyone by that name here at the motel.”

Lucy frowned. “What? Perhaps there’s a mistake…”

“What does your man look like?” the lady asked. “I know everyone in this building.”

“Well…” she stopped to think. “Red head, light brown eyes, six-feet… something tall. He is very muscular, works out a lot. And he’s got a very intense gaze. It can be unsettling and magnetic, sometimes at the same time. Uh… pouty lips. His jawline is cut, like really–”

“Alright, that’s enough,” the lady said raising her hand in the air. “Nobody with such a pretty description stays here. No one with red hair either, just me. Sorry.”

Lucy took a step back and scanned her surroundings. It was the right motel, she was sure of it. Defoe couldn’t have given her a false address to throw her off, it made no sense.

Or could he?