Chapter14
Rita tried to protest, but after a vicious slap to the face, she grew quiet. She didn’t want this man to get even more violent. If he did, she not only put herself in jeopardy, but the baby, as well, and she couldn’t afford to do that. So she followed him as best she could as he dragged her down the stairs. It didn’t seem to make any sense that he was towing her out of the front door, but at this point, the man seemed beyond any point of reason.
Her heart was racing in her chest as she feared the worst. What if this man killed her? What if he tried something else? Her fingers twitched in nervousness and she could feel her body being covered in nervous sweat as she tried her hardest to compose herself despite the circumstances. But it was no use when blood was pulsing through her veins and she was scared out of her mind.
“Please…” she whispered once they got to the ground floor. “Just let me go and I won’t tell anyone what happened.” She tried to plead with him one last time, but he just stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at her, his eyes full of hatred.
“Like hell I’ll let you go,” he growled, his fist clutching her hair even harder until it felt like he would rip it out of her skull. Her whole body shivered in fright as her eyes darted down toward his other, shaking fist. She feared he would hit her at any moment, but to her relief, he just looked away and continued to drag her out of the building.
Once they were outside, he pushed her in front of him and toward a black Jaguar. She stared at it for a minute before recognizing it from the street race. He opened the passenger side door and shoved her inside.
“I hope you’re ready to go for a ride.” There was a maniacal look on his face as he flashed a pearly white smile in her direction.
***
Axel watched as Eliza scavenged through the bookshelves, looking for something to bring home. She seemed to be pulling books out left and right, creating a pile nearly as tall as herself. Axel chuckled.
“Eliza, you do know you can only take out five books at a time right?”
“What? Only five…?” Her voice fell as she made the realization. She looked down at her pile in disdain. How was she ever going to be able to choose between Goosebumps and Nancy Drew? She sat down and started to look at each book individually, trying to pick out the best of the best. As she started to skim the cream, Axel walked over to the used books section. All of these books were on sale for a dollar. They were mostly self-help books that never got checked out of the library in the first place.
He looked through them, completely out of his element. Occasionally, he glanced over to check on Eliza’s progress, but so far she had only been able to dismiss a single book. He knew she would be a while. He chuckled and started looking at the used books a little more closely. Maybe he could find something for Rita. She said she wanted a poetry book, but he had no idea what that meant.
Maybe he could ask someone. He looked around the brightly-colored children’s section of the library. There were various librarians scattered around the room, keeping an eye on the kids. He could probably leave Eliza in here for a while without worrying about her too much. “Hey, Liza, I’m going to go upstairs and look for something for Rita, okay?”
“Wait! I want to come,” she said quickly, but then glanced at her pile of books.
“But it’s only books for grown-ups up there.”
“I’m seven, I’m almost a grown-up,” she answered immediately.
Axel couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine. But put your books away before the librarians get mad at you. We can come back later and pick some out, okay?”
Eliza hesitated, unwilling to depart from her stack. Eventually, she put them all away before she grabbed a large leather-bound tome with the words Dragon Tales, written in gold on its cover.
“I’m just going to check this one out,” she told her brother, holding it up to her chest, cradling it in order to keep it safe and sound.
“Sounds good to me. I didn’t know you liked dragons.”
“They’re pretty cool! I think I am going to dress up Spot as a dragon next year for Halloween and then I can go as a dragon tamer, wouldn’t that be cool?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement.
“Very cool,” Axel responded as he patted her head. “Anyway, do you know anything about poems? Rita wants a poetry book,” Axel explained. As he looked down at his seven-year-old sister, he knew it was a long shot, but she probably had a better inkling of what they needed to get than he did.
“Oooh. Well, Rita likes to write about animals and love, so maybe something like that. We can ask the librarian,” Eliza suggested.
100“Wait, what do you mean Rita likes to write about animals…and love?” Axel tilted his head in confusion. He had been living with Rita for nearly six months now and he had never seen her pick up a pen or write anything down.
“Oh well, when she is home alone with me, she likes to write poems. She never shows me, but sometimes she lets me draw pictures for them. She tells me the general idea and I draw a picture. Lots of birds…” Eliza explained honestly.
“I see…” Axel whispered. It was news to him that the mother of his child was some sort of a poet, but still, he couldn’t help but smile. In a way, he felt proud of her and what she was doing. “Okay, do you want to ask the librarian then?” he asked his sister.
She nodded and walked up to the circulation desk, getting on her tippy toes so she would able to look over it.
After a few minutes, she came back looking at Axel. “Third floor, second shelf, in the S section, she says there is a poem book called Set Her Free that Rita might like.” Axel nodded as he laid his hand on Eliza’s head and together they made it to the third floor. With ease, Eliza found the book they were looking for. He took it out of her hands to examine it closer.
On its cover were tiny black birds. Everything else was white. At the bottom, left-hand corner were the words Set Her Free in a free-flowing black font. He appreciated the book’s simplicity and opened it up. The pages were filled with various poems. He didn’t bother to read them, though.
“I’m sure this is fine.”They made their way back to the circulation desk, where he checked out the two books with Eliza’s library card. They had two weeks to return them or they would have to pay the late fees.
“Can we come to the library more often?” Eliza asked her brother.
“Of course.” He smiled as they walked back to the car. “But let’s go back home now. We might still catch Rita before she goes to work. With that, he turned the car on and eased it onto the road. He drove carefully, as he always did when his sister was in the car. The day was beautiful. There were flowers blooming on the side of the road and the sky was a deep blue color as it seemed to sparkle with the start of summer.
Soon enough, they were approaching the apartment. Axel’s face scrunched in confusion as he saw a black Jaguar, parked on the side of the street. It seemed odd that such an expensive car would be parked in this part of town. Before Axel could think about it any further, his attention was diverted toward the apartment.
A large, hulking man came out of the building, towing Rita behind him. Axel’s whole world stopped as he saw the man’s large fist tangled into her hair. As he heard her whimper in pain, his heart throbbed, feeling like it would shatter at any moment.
He wanted to jump out of his car and help her, but found himself completely frozen. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Blinking, he tried to force the image away from his vision, but he continued to see one of his former clients, forcing Rita into the expensive car.
“Axel! That man is hurting Rita!” Eliza screamed, trying to get his attention as she shook him.
Axel suddenly snapped out of his trance and jumped out of the car, about to attack the individual that was kidnapping his lover. However, just as he made it to the rear of the Jaguar, it peeled away, leaving him in a cloud of dust. He coughed and suddenly, his body went into high alert.
He ran back into his car and sped down the street after the abductor. “Hold on tight,” he warned Eliza, who looked horrified in the passenger seat.
“Wait! What about Spot?” she asked, her voice cracking as she thought about her beloved companion. Almost as if on cue, he came bounding out of the apartment and running toward the car. Axel cursed at the delay, but stopped the car nevertheless, allowing Eliza to open the door and let the dog in.
As he peeled away in pursuit of the Jaguar, he tried to figure out why the dog hadn’t done anything to protect Rita. Then again, there was always the possibility that the attacker had locked Spot in a room or something. His mind reeled with a million different scenarios as he tried to play out the possible turn of events in the house. Why didn’t Rita call the cops? Why didn’t he come home sooner?
Guilt overwhelmed him as he pushed his car to its limits, but it seemed like this was a lost race. His car wasn’t a sports model and after his crash with Rita, he was out of practice. He cursed himself as he messed up a drift on a street corner. His client was getting away.
“No…” he whispered to himself. He couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t dare to lose Rita like this. He floored the gas as his engine started to smoke under the strain it was being put through.
“Hold on,” he warned his sister as he was slowly managing to close the gap between himself and the offending vehicle.
His fingers tightened on the wheel as he pushed his car even further. This was his one and only chance. If it didn’t work, he faced the risk of losing Rita forever.
With this thought in mind, he moved to the edge of his seat as he positioned his car behind the left taillight of the one in front. He needed to make the guy lose control. In doing so, he faced the risk of hurting Rita in another car crash, but he refused to think what would happen if this man drove away with her. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Eliza clung to her dog as she saw her brother come dangerously close to the car in front of them. With her heart beating a mile a minute, she thought she was going to throw up. Suddenly, with a violent jolt, they rammed into the other car, clipping them on the left side. The expensive vehicle lurched forward, twisting to the side as it swerved across the road, losing control.
While this was going on Axel sped up, cruising along the left side of the car. Without thinking, he rammed into it with his clunker. Eliza screamed at the impact as her door caved in with a horrible, crunching noise. Before any real harm could be done, however, the Jaguar crashed into a pole, stopping completely.
Axel slammed on his brakes and got out of the car. Eliza couldn’t move as she sat there, terrified. Spot licked her face in an attempt to comfort her. As Axel stepped out, his fists were already clenched, anger taking him over as he approached the sports car. He tried to look inside through the tinted windows, but it was impossible.
“Rita?” he called out loudly, hoping for an answer, but all was deathly quiet.
He feared the worst. What if he had managed to kill them in the crash? His heart sunk and his stomach felt like it carried a boulder inside of it. Desperate, he looked around to find a discarded metal pipe on the side of the road. He grabbed it and, with all his might, slammed it against the driver-side window. It spider-webbed but didn’t shatter. He cursed and tried again, and again. After a few well-aimed hits, the window finally caved in.
He stepped back in horror as he saw one of his old-time clients, with his head completely busted. He had slammed it into the steering wheel and the force of the impact had killed him on the spot. There was blood everywhere and Axel was terrified to look over at the passenger side.
To his relief, Rita stared at him, completely shell-shocked. Her eyes were buggy and her dark skin looked almost pale. Her eyes darted down at her attacker, now lifeless next to her.
“Are you okay?” Axel asked quickly, checking her over for any injuries, but it was hard to do so while she was still sitting down.
“Yeah…” she whispered, making sure. She didn’t have a scratch on her, but her head already felt prone to whiplash as her mind felt like it had tumbled around in her skull.
“Can you move?” he asked, bypassing the dead man in the driver seat, to peer inside of the car.
“I think so,” Rita answered as she tried to get up and out of her seat. With a bit of struggle, she managed to do it, her bones creaking with the effort as if she was a hundred years old.
“Careful,” Axel warned. “Try and make it to the back seat. I can open this door.” Axel pulled at the handle and with a little bit of force, it flew open.
Rita crawled out of the car as Axel wrapped his arms around her tightly. His emotions got the best of him as he started to cry, pinning her to his chest as he sobbed into her hair. He couldn’t believe what they had just gone through. He was just relieved that he had managed to save her, without Rita suffering the same fate as his client.
“Come on, we should get you to the hospital and make sure you’re okay And that the baby is okay.” Axel looked down at her bloated belly with a worried expression. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to the baby during such a crash.
Rita nodded at him and with his help, she eased into the backseat of his car. Eliza turned around and looked at her with a terrified expression on her face. She was still tightly holding on to her dog.
“Are you okay…?” she finally asked meekly. She was shaking with the aftermath of the crash. She had never been in a car accident before and had never even seen her brother drive this recklessly.
“Come here,” Rita said as she held out her arms for the small girl. Eliza nodded and crawled into the backseat, leaving her dog in the front. As Axel entered the car, he looked over at the huge Dalmatian who seemed excited to be sitting in the front seat, all by himself. As Axel continued to look in his direction, Spot barked loudly.
In the back, Rita wrapped her arms around the small girl, who curled up in her lap. Eliza rested her head on the woman’s chest, listening to her raging heartbeat.
“Who was that man?” she asked innocently.
Rita looked down at her, wondering how she should answer. Obviously, she wasn’t about to tell her that the man used to buy drugs from her brother. She was about to come up with some lie when Axel started the car, the weak sputtering breaking her line of thought.
He turned the key several times, but the car still wouldn’t start. He cursed under his breath and got out, popping up the hood. Black smoke lunged out at him and he coughed, standing back, now covered in soot. He could see the engine was blown, but he had to somehow get Eliza and Rita to the hospital. He bit his lip and looked around. They were on some small, back street. It was completely deserted. No cars. No people. There weren’t even rats.
He took out his phone, but, of course, had no reception. His only choice was to jimmy a fix for his car, just enough to get them to the nearest hospital. With this thought in mind, he walked to the trunk, taking out his tool kit. He unraveled his pouch of wrenches and picked the right one for the job. He started to loosen up some bolts and tighten some clamps. Finally, he found the root to the problem. His engine fuel line had sprung a leak. An easy enough fix.
He took a roll of duct tape and wrapped it around the hose until it was sealed shut. He hoped this was the only problem as he got back in the driver seat and turned the key again. To his relief, it hummed to life. Smoke still edged its way up from under the hood, but for the time being, he didn’t care. All he had to do was get to the hospital.
“Buckle up,” he said, looking in his rearview mirror at the two girls, still huddled together. He had protected his family and now had to make sure they were actually okay.
*
At the hospital, the doctors ran several diagnostic tests to find out if everyone was okay. Miraculously, they all bore nothing more than minor injuries. They were free to go back home.
“I’m so sorry…” Axel whispered as they sat down in his car once again.
In the parking lot of the hospital, it finally dawned on him that this was all his fault. If he hadn’t sold drugs in the first place, none of this would have ever happened.
Guilt washed over him as he felt something wet caress his palm. He glanced over at Spot, who looked up at him innocently as if to say that this was his fault too. Axel shook his head, unable to keep the smile off his face as he scratched the dog behind his ears.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Rita whispered from the backseat. Eliza had managed to fall asleep in the hospital. She looked exhausted as she rested her head on Rita’s lap. Rita didn’t blame her as she gently caressed the little girl’s long, beautiful hair. “You didn’t know that guy was going to be there. And in your defense, Spot was just as useless.”
Spot whimpered at the comment, hiding his face behind his paws as if he understood what Rita was saying. Axel sighed. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel the burden of responsibility on his shoulders.
“It is my fault. You deserve better than this. Because of me, you are forced to live in the slums and I can’t guarantee that this won’t happen again. And that makes me so mad.”
“Don’t put this all on yourself. I chose to live with you. I could have asked my dad to take me back or could have moved with Carolyn to D.C. But I decided to live with the father of my child. It was my decision and even if it did put me in this neighborhood, I don’t regret it. At least I get to be with you.” Rita’s words were soft and gentle as she looked at him.
“Still…” Axel said, trying to make a case for himself. He didn’t just want to write this off as something that was out of his control. He felt responsible and it would take some time for him to be able to live without the feeling of guilt wrapping around his head, threatening to suffocate him from the inside.
“Well…what if we save up and try to get another place? Maybe some place in a nicer neighborhood. Would that make you feel better?” she asked softly, looking up at him with eager eyes.
“I could try and get another job. We could use the extra income to get us a new place before the baby comes…” he whispered to himself, liking the idea. Now that he thought about it, he was getting sick of living in that rundown apartment. He wanted to live somewhere nice for once. As his fingers tightened around the steering wheel, he vowed to make it happen.
“Yeah. That’s the spirit.” Rita grinned as she heard the enthusiasm in his voice. “But first, let’s go home, I’m exhausted.”
***
To Axel’s relief, he found a second job with relative ease. The fact that he was out of the house most of the time made him weary, but they didn’t have much of a choice. It was either he worked sixty plus hours a week or they continued to live on the edge of poverty.
It was July now, and Rita was already eight months pregnant. Her bloated stomach had forced her to stop working at the nursery since she was rather slow on her feet. The reduced income had been a hard blow for them, but as Axel was gradually gaining recognition in the mechanic industry, it became easier for him to find more odd jobs here and there, which warranted him a few extra bucks.
One day, Rita was sitting in the living room with Eliza. They were sitting cross-legged on the ground, near the coffee table. Eliza had some new books from the library and her head was buried inside the pages as she took in the various adventures of dragons, goblins, and wizards in the current book, Gnawing Goblins.
“Do you want me to read to you?” Eliza asked suddenly as she looked up at Rita.
Rita however, did not answer. Instead, she seemed deep in thought as she stared blankly into the distance. Her dark face was painted in concentration as she did her best to seize the idea that was running through her mind. Suddenly, she grabbed a piece of paper together with a bright blue crayon and started to scribble some words on the page. Her hand moved quickly as she filled the page to the brim with her thoughts.
Eliza watched on in amazement. She loved to observe Rita while she was writing a poem. She always seemed so focused. It was as if there was some kind of spell being cast over her body that didn’t let her move. Eliza watched her, placing a bookmark in her book.
Finally, Rita allowed the crayon to drop from her hands as she straightened herself out. In that moment, her hands moved to her stomach, rubbing the smooth skin. She gasped when she felt the baby kick. The feeling was odd. It wasn’t painful, but at the same time, it wasn’t particularly pleasant. Even so, she felt her body swell with glee at the feeling of her baby alive and well inside of her.
“What’s wrong?” Eliza asked, tilting her head as she looked down at Rita’s stomach. “Is it the baby?”
“Yes. It’s kicking,” Rita explained. “Do you want to feel it?” she asked kindly, her dark eyes sparkling with pride.
Excitedly, Eliza nodded and moved over next to Rita. She looked up at her, uncertain as to how to proceed. She was terrified of hurting the baby in any way. Rita chuckled softly, noticing the girl’s wary expression.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt,” Rita explained as she grabbed the girl’s hands and placed them on her stomach. “Just make a heart with your hands. Like this, around my belly button.”
“Why?” Eliza asked, but did so anyway.
“Trust me,” Rita whispered.
Eliza nodded again and looked down at Rita’s stomach, focusing on it, like she was attempting a telepathic communication with the unborn child. In this moment of anticipation, Spot came bounding over to them. He stopped a few feet away, observing them with an intrigued look on his face. He couldn’t seem to figure out what the two girls were doing.
Slowly, he tried to sneak up on them before he plopped down by Eliza’s side, laying his head on her hands. The small girl giggled.
“Spot wants to feel the baby, too,” she explained.
In that moment, the baby gave a very powerful kick.
Eliza gasped. “I felt it!” she exclaimed. “Why did he do that?” she asked with a bewildered look on her face. She continued to keep her hands on Rita’s stomach, hoping to feel another.
“Well, it gets cramped in there, so he’s trying to find a more comfortable position. Don’t you move around in your sleep?” Eliza nodded at the question and smiled. “But I think he is okay now,” Rita observed as she rested her hand on her bump and then looked back at the poem that had suddenly popped into her head.
Eliza peered at it, hoping to catch a glimpse of her writing, but as always, Rita pulled it away before she could read anything. “Aww…how come you never let me read your poems?” Eliza asked, a little disappointed.
“One day you might. Just not now. When they are done.”
“They aren’t done?”
“No. They need to be revised.”
“Why?” Eliza tilted her head, not really understanding what it meant for something to be revised.
“So that they can be perfect.”
“I’m sure it’s good.” Eliza tried to reassure if only to read the poem.
“Not as good as I want it to be.”
“Oh. Well, can I know the idea of this one, so I can draw a picture for it?” Eliza offered.
“Don’t you want to keep reading?”
“I’ve done a lot of reading today. I think I’ll be okay,” Eliza said quickly before she gathered her crayons and a new sheet of paper. Rita could tell she wouldn’t be able to convince the girl otherwise.
“Okay,” she finally answered. “It’s about babies and how they remind me of fruit.”
“Fruit?” Eliza asked in confusion.
“Yeah.”
“I’m confused,” Eliza replied, her cheeks turning a little red as she tried to picture what Rita could be talking about.
“Well, you know when they are babies, their hair is all fuzzy, so it reminds me of a kiwi, or their toothless gums that are kind of like orange segments.” Rita’s voice sounded like honey as she gave a few examples.
“I see,” Eliza said, seemingly unconvinced. “I’m just going to draw a baby,” she announced as she grabbed a brown colored crayon.
“That works,” Rita said as she leaned back, propping herself up with her arms. She watched as the little girl worked on the drawing, her tongue popping out of her mouth ever so slightly. She noticed that Axel also did that sometimes and smiled.
While Eliza was deep in concentration, Rita thought about her baby. They had yet to pick a name and time was quickly running out. In less than a month, she would meet her child and she wanted to be able to address him by his proper name.
“Eliza?” Rita broke the silence of the room, making Eliza look up. Spot also looked up, letting out a small growl at Rita who had disturbed his sleep.
“Yeah?” she asked, putting her crayon down.
On the page was a large head. It still didn’t have a face, but it had large, dopey looking ears and little lines sticking out of its head for hair. Rita smiled, finding it endearing.
“Well, you are going to be an auntie soon. Do you have any names you like?”
“Names?”
“Yes. Axel and I have to name the baby and we haven’t chosen a name yet,” Rita explained.
“Ohhhh,” Eliza sighed in comprehension. “Is it a boy or a girl?” she asked, eager to know.
“We don’t know for certain, but I have this hunch that it is a boy. But it could be a girl,” Rita answered.
“So we need names for both, just in case?” Eliza asked, making sure.
“Yes.”
“Hmmm….” She rubbed her chin in contemplation. “I think I like…Nolan for a boy…and Makenna if it’s a girl!”
“How did you come up with those?”
“They are the characters in one of my books. I really like them. They are pretty cool and have this stone that lets them go on a lot of adventures,” she explained, excited.
“Nolan…that’s a nice name. I like it.” She smiled. “Thanks, Eliza.” She kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you finish that drawing for me so I can put it with all the others?”
Eliza nodded and got back to work. Once done, she handed Rita a page filled with a happy, smiling baby face.
“Rita?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You already did.” Rita chuckled as she teased the girl who simply pouted in her direction.
“Another question,” Eliza pressed.
“Fire away,” Rita answered after a moment.
“Why don’t you write a book?”
“Huh?” Rita blurted out, caught off guard by the question.
“Well you always take out poem books from the library, so why don’t you write one yourself? You have enough poems,” Eliza offered innocently, her bright blue eyes wide with encouragement.
“Oh…I don’t know,” Rita whispered after a moment, and yet she couldn’t help but think that the little girl had a point. With all the material she had written during her pregnancy, she had more than enough to publish her own poem book. Plus, with all of Eliza’s drawings, she could probably make a nice picture book. It would be something different from the norm, but maybe someone, somewhere, would like it.
Besides, if it got any attention, she could probably bring in some extra profit for the household. They were no more than a hundred dollars away from being able to afford the new place. They had settled on a small, one family home in the suburbs. The rent was high, but after a long discussion with Axel, they had come to the conclusion that it would be for the best. The crime rate was low and the school system was well praised. It would be a huge improvement over their current living situation.
Their house was already covered in boxes in their preparation to move. They didn’t have much stuff, but either way, they couldn’t leave what little they owned behind.
“Maybe,” Rita finally said as she smiled, trying to picture herself as a published poet.
“Really?” Eliza asked, a little amazed that her suggestion had actually gotten through. “If you make your poems into a book, do I get to read them?” she inquired.
“Of course,” Rita smiled.
Eliza returned the smile before wrapping her arms around Rita, embracing her in a tight hug.
In that moment, the apartment door swung open. Axel barged in an excited expression on his face. He looked around quickly before his eyes finally rested on the girls, hugging in the middle of the living room.
“I have good news,” he announced a proud smirk on his face.
“What is it?” Rita asked, trying to figure out what he was so cheerful about.
Without saying a word, Axel held out a shiny new key in his hand. It seemed to glow, even in the dull light of the apartment. Rita stared at it in disbelief.
“Is that…” She couldn’t finish her statement as she got up and waddled her way over to Axel. She grabbed it, examining it for any clues.
“Yes,” he whispered in her ear before gently kissing her neck. Before he could nibble on her earlobe, however, Eliza popped up, hugging his leg. She peered up at them.
“What is it?” She asked.
“It’s a key.”
“I know that,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “I mean what kind of key is it?”
“A house key,” Axel grinned down at her.
“A house key?” she questioned.
“Yes. To that house we wanted to get. I put the down payment today. It is all ours. We can move in whenever we’d like,” he announced, looking delighted.
Rita could hardly believe it. For some time, she was doubting if they would be able to get a new place in time for the baby, but now, with the key in their hands, they had finally reached their goal. Her body felt like it would go numb.
“We should start packing…” she muttered to herself.
“No, you go rest. I don’t want you to overexert yourself. Liza and I can handle it. It’s not like we have all that much anyway.”
Axel chuckled as he left the room with Liza. Together, they started to box up the rest of their things.
“Are we really going to move?” Eliza asked after a few minutes of packing.
“Yes. Aren’t you excited?” he asked.
“A little…but we’ve lived here forever. Is it really okay for us to just leave? What if mom comes back?” she inquired, her eyes cast downwards as she asked the questions.
Axel sighed and moved over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to his chest. “I’m sorry Liza, but Mom won’t be coming back.”
“How do you know? She’s come back before,” Eliza pressed. She had never been very close to her mom, but at the same time, she didn’t want to lose her. What child did?
“She told me.”
“Oh…” Eliza’s voice fell as she looked down. Her eyes became watery.
“Don’t cry…” Axel whispered as he picked her up and placed her on the kitchen counter. “It’s okay. Rita and I will take good care of you. We will never leave. I promise,” Axel assured her as he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. She looked up at her older brother before she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest.
“You promise?” Her voice was barely audible as she asked the question, her petite frame shaking with her sobs.
“I promise. Rita and I love you very much and we would never think of leaving you.” He kissed the top of her head as he tried to sooth her. “Do you want to pinky promise? Will that make you feel better?” He leaned down, peering into her beautiful eyes.
She nodded and held out her small pinky. Axel locked his finger with hers and they both promised not to leave each other. With Eliza now reassured that they would stay together no matter what, she started to pack with renewed energy. In about an hour’s time, all of their stuff was neatly packed away in boxes. Axel was about to go back into the living room to grab Rita when he found she wasn’t there.
He looked around for her, eventually finding her in the bedroom. She was cleaning out the bottom drawer of his dresser. He looked at her strangely as she shuffled through some papers, putting them into a shoe box. She seemed completely transfixed on the task at hand that she didn’t even notice him entering the room.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
“What are you doing?” he whispered in her ear as his hands rubbed her stomach.
“Following my dreams,” she answered as she closed the lid to the box, sealing away her poems. She would follow Eliza’s suggestion. She would try and publish a book.