JAMESON
I didn’t want to wake Soph. The way the dawning sky and dying moon glowed against her face in bed was enough to keep me in a perpetual state of pause. I couldn’t get her to elaborate on her thoughts and I felt like the wall I had rebuilt between us was growing deeper, despite her running away with me. I forced myself not to feel that way, ever, and not to care, but I was so beyond who I was a month ago. There was no going back from the person Soph had made me. I felt whole again. My soul felt as though Soph was on her hands and knees, collecting the shattered pieces of my heart, my memory, and assembling them despite the cuts and scrapes she incurred.
I rolled my head against the pillow, glancing toward the door and laughing to myself when I noticed Soph had woken at some point and placed a chair beneath the knob. I was surprised she even got out of bed to use the bathroom, let alone put up the chair. She made me sleep on the door side of the bed, so nobody would get her. It was easy for me to protect her from the fictional monsters. It was the real ones I struggled with.
I had to get our next steps in order. My head rolled to the left, absorbing what my mind would allow of Soph’s sleeping form. She was curled in a ball on her right side, hands beneath her cheek, facing me, sound asleep with her lips slightly parted. I could eat them…just a quick nibble. Holy hell, Jameson. Control yourself. I needed to shower in the Arctic. I hadn’t lied earlier. She was entirely my undoing, and delightfully so.
I pulled some sort of crazy gymnastic move to get out of the bed without waking her. I was on the nasty carpet floor, reaching for my cell phone, searching for my shirt when I heard her weight shift. Frozen and crouching with all my weight on my left knee, I waited at the side of the bed for her to settle again. When she was still, I pulled my shirt over my head, grabbed the room key, and stepped into the hallway.
I walked, regrettably barefoot, down to the opposite end and out the narrow exit door, searching for the familiar contact in my phone. I felt like a criminal while I walked along the sidewalk. I listened to the soundtrack of early morning freeway traffic as I waited.
“Hello?”
“It’s Jamie,” I whispered, my restless feet still pacing the sidewalk, “I’m sorry to call you so early. I need your help.”
“What’s going on?” Olivia’s tired voice muttered from the other line. “Is Sophia okay?”
“Yes,” I assured her. “I need to talk to your dad, Liv.”
“He’s not awake. It’s…Jamie, it’s like four in the morning. Tell me what’s going on?”
“I can’t…yet. Just trust me. Believe me.” My left fingers dragged through my scalp, firing unsettled nerves into my brain. Just wake him up, Olivia.
“What do you mean? Jamie, what are you talking about? Let me talk to Sophia.”
“She’s asleep.”
“You’re with her?”
“Yes. She’s fine, Olivia. We’re fine.”
She huffed, her voice now awake with condemnation. “I thought I knew you, Jamie. You really hurt her. I’m going to find you and kick you in the junk again.”
“You do know me, Olivia,” I groaned, beyond frustrated this conversation was already so long, keeping me from Soph. “Trust me.”
“I did. I was your best friend when you moved here.”
“Soph’s too.” I smiled. “You sure have a knack for taking in the orphans.”
“Or I care about people. So, let this be your final warning…”
“Got it. Can you please get your dad?”
I heard Olivia grumble something, followed by static noise before a male’s voice resumed our conversation.
“Jameson?”
“Mr. Hart.” My posture stiffened. This was it.
“What can I do for you, son?”
My free hand pulled along my face, bracing myself for the reality of this dialogue.
“I needed to leave Florida for a while,” I whispered. “I remember you told me once when I first got there…you told me if I was ever in need of help, that I could call you…I wanted to know if that offer still stands.”
His response was mute. Silence. I’m such an imbecile. He’s going to call Thomas, flag my phone, and this will all be for nothing.
“Let me call you back from my phone. This number?”
“Yes, sir.” Click.
I glanced at my phone, watching Olivia’s contact photo fade away. The moon and sun were bidding each other farewell, holding on to their last embrace as the stars drifted behind the rising glow of morning. I paced back and forth, knowing if Soph woke without me in the room, she would panic. My phone buzzed with an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Jameson,” Mr. Hart said, as relief washed over me. “What do you need?”
“I need your help.”
“Where are you going, Jameson?”
“I don’t know yet…I once overheard you and Thomas talking about some work you did for a case he had to oversee. There was a kid involved. He was testifying against some psycho who shot outside of his school.”
“Right. The Colfax case.”
“The kid never came in to testify the second time,” I continued, hoping he would admit my theory. “You helped him. Didn’t you? You helped him get out of Florida?” Silence.
“Jameson,” Mr. Hart’s throat cleared. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and whatever it is you’re suggesting is entirely absurd and illegal. I’m going to give you the contact of a friend of mine. Since you don’t know where you’re going, he should be easy for you to find. I’ll text you.”
“Thank you, sir.” My words were brief.
Living with Thomas for four years taught me literacy in avoidance. I could read between the lines. He’s actually helping me run. He’s helping me keep Soph safe.
“Mr. Hart?”
“Yes?”
“If you do happen to come across my aunt and uncle…” I smiled to myself. “Please tell them thank you for everything they did.”
“Take care, Jameson.”
I felt horrible for not saying goodbye to Olivia. Part of me hoped her dad would come up with a story about my call that would keep her satisfied for a while, or at least until she started to wonder where Soph was. Shit. Soph!
I ran back into the hotel and slowed my pace outside of our door, quietly placing the key into the slot. I held the knob to the right, hoping to prevent the latch from snapping upon entry. Perfect. I tiptoed beyond the stale bathroom and back to the bed. Just as I had left her, Soph was sleeping. Her brows met above her beautiful eyes, her lips were beginning to quiver.
“No…” she mumbled in her sleep and I froze. “…don’t…S’il vous plaît ne prenez pas ma mère…S’il vous plaît…Ne pas lui faire du mal.”
I couldn’t understand anything she was moaning about in French, but the tone of her voice and her quickly rising chest translated everything I needed. She needs me. I set my phone against the laminate nightstand and slowly walked around to Soph’s side of the bed. I watched her body fidget, uncomfortable and fighting some demon within her nightmare. Slowly, I lowered myself onto the mattress at her side, wrapping my left arm around her and holding her until the trembling stopped.
“Ma proteger.” Her whispered word was barely audible as her back moved closer against my body and her heart went still. Her protector. That, I knew, because that is who I am.
“How long have you been watching me?” Sophia’s foggy voice mumbled as she turned beneath my arm.
“I’ve been up since four.”
“Jameson.” She wiggled out from my grasp and sat against the acrylic headboard. “You won’t be able to drive anywhere today on three hours of sleep.”
“It was enough.”
Shaking her head at me, Soph climbed from the bed and headed for the bathroom. In her absence, I reached for my phone and prayed for a message from Olivia’s dad. There it was. A Memphis address. Thank you.
“Where are we going today?”
“Let’s talk about it over breakfast.”
She stepped out of the bathroom, her hair pulled back and her eyes wide. “Jameson, it’s practically noon. We’ll talk about it over lunch. Or we can talk about it now.”
“Soph…” A sigh escaped my lips and I looked away. “We need a plan.”
I thought about the conversation Thomas, Elizabeth, and I had, the pieces of this puzzle falling into place. I wasn’t entirely sure how to discuss with Soph that we were already connected, separate from fate. She broke my daze, her sweet hum pulling me back to her.
“We’ll talk about it over lunch. Get me out of here. Please.”
She lifted my school bag into her arms and headed for the door, stubborn and determined. Just the way I liked Soph. I watched her foot begin to impatiently tap against the filthy carpet of the doorway.
“Coming?”
“Yes, ma’am.” My grin was unbreakable, watching Soph wait for me at the door with her hands tightly bound around my bag. “Want me to carry that?”
“Uh…” She looked at the bag and back at me, her eyes nervous. “…No. It’s just my clothes.”
I glanced at her, my eyes narrowing against the soft blue beams into her soul. “And their money.”
Soph quickly turned from me, walking toward the hotel lobby. My strides were lengthy, but I could keep up with her. She was heading to the car when I caught up with her, my hands fiddling with the car key.
“Get in,” she mumbled as I approached, her words hasty and low.
I obliged, unlocking the doors and getting into the driver’s seat. While starting the car and fastening my seatbelt, I watched Soph drop the bag at her feet and turn in her seat. Her face was inches from mine as she stared at me.
“What’s wrong?” I responded with an equally intense expression. No more secrets. I have to tell her what I know.
“I stole one hundred thousand dollars from Thomas and Elizabeth.”
I had no response. None. Nothing. Mute.
Her right hand grabbed mine, squeezing. “Jameson. Say something.”
I looked down at our hands, my eyes slowly traveling back to Soph’s face.
“You stole one hundred thousand dollars from Thomas and Elizabeth.”
“Y-yes. I did. Oh, my god, I’m going to jail. Aren’t I?”
“You stole. Money. From them.”
I was frozen in my seat, watching Soph curl into herself on the passenger seat. Her head went between her lifted knees, arms covering her face. She told me she took money. My sweet, unpredictable, thief…wait.
“Where did you find it, Soph?” I waited for her silence to subside, but she remained curled into her ball of protection. “Soph, you’re not going to jail. Did you go through his office? Just tell me where you found it.”
“The safe inside the safe room.”
“Jesus.” I scratched my face. “It was open? They’re not even staying there right now. Someone could’ve stolen whatever was inside of it.”
Her head lifted, those beautiful eyes dampening with anxious tears, and Soph bit her bottom lip with a small smile.
“I…” A giggle came too. “I cracked the code.” Jesus. This girl.
“You have to tell me about it over lunch.” I softened just watching her, and pulled from the parking lot. “We both have a lot to discuss.”
I heard the puff of air escaping her lungs while she adjusted into her seat, noticing her face turn toward the window. My intention was to make it as far as we could before eating, but already the fifteen minutes of not discussing the enormously hideous elephant in the backseat was knotting my muscles and tightening my nerves.
“Are you okay?”
I met her gaze, realizing I had been chewing my right thumb while driving. “No. We need to talk, Soph.”
She continued looking at me, her quiet eyes speaking volumes in their permission for me to speak. I dropped my right hand against the gearshift and switched lanes. We were somewhere between the Georgia-Alabama border, in the middle of nowhere, with one hundred thousand dollars in cash napping between Soph’s ankles and I still hadn’t told her what I knew. I’m pathetic.
“It might not be crepes.” I tried to smile at her. “But how does a fast food picnic sound?”
She smiled at me, ever so faintly. “It sounds perfect, Jameson.”
Soph’s hand rested on top of mine, softening the nervous crawl of more secrets running along my skin. As soon as I saw a stop with fast food signs, I pulled off the freeway.
“What do you want?” I asked, driving into the order lane and looking over at her. Soph was biting the inside of her lip, as though ordering fast food was one of the most difficult decisions for her.
“Soph? What do you want?”
“I don’t know.” She giggled. “I’ve…I’ve never really eaten fast food…what’s good?”
“This place has anything. You name it. You want a milkshake, done. Fries? Done. A burger? Done.”
“That sounds like the best stomachache ever. Yes, please. All of that.”
My mouth gaped. There was no way she could consume all that food. But then again, I hadn’t anticipated Soph breaking a safe, stealing one hundred thousand dollars, running away, and following me on our journey. Maybe her propensity to consume fast food was a small surprise, but considering she was full of them, it was endearingly hilarious.
“That’s my girl.” I laughed, pulling up to the speaker and ordering.
Her figure shifted in the passenger seat, preparing for the gross amount of disgustingness we ordered. I headed off down the slow street toward a travel stop. The parking lot was entirely empty, but for a few seagulls waddling around the multiple overloaded trashcans. Opening my door, I reached for the bag from Soph’s lap.
“Where are you going with my milkshake?” Soph smiled at me, shaking her head.
I nodded toward the back, waiting for her to follow. I lifted the hatch door and we both crawled in. It was a feeding frenzy—neither of us realizing that we hadn’t eaten in almost a day. It was a silence accompanied by gnawing, mashing, slurping, and moans of taste delight. Even devouring fast food, my heart pounded for this girl. Her head fell against my shoulder while we sat in the back, staring at the cars zooming by on the freeway.
“How’s your burger?” I mumbled between bites.
“Do you remember when you took me on a date?” She said, as though the memory from a few weeks ago had happened years prior and been entirely forgettable when it wasn’t. “We ended up having burgers and milkshakes on the beach.”
“I remember.” I kissed the top of her head. “That seems to be our go-to. Maybe when we’re an old married couple we can have that every year for our anniversary.”
“Maybe.”