Less than ten minutes after she got the call, Iris squealed to a stop in front of Ivy’s house. She was terrified at what she would find. God she hoped Glen wasn’t here. She had assumed he wasn’t if Ivy had been able to call her, but she hadn’t thought to ask and this could definitely get ugly if he was home. She glanced around at the broken down neighborhood, the dying lawns, broken shutters and run-down houses. No one around here was going to help them if it did. Not that there was anyone around anyway.
As she jumped out of the car the front door of Ivy’s house banged open. Iris held her breath, then let it go in a rush when she saw Ivy run out. Sophia was bundled up in her arms and the diaper bag was slung over her shoulder. Iris rushed through the small front yard and ran up the stairs to meet Ivy on the porch. She winced when she saw Ivy’s face. The entire left side was swollen and bruised and there were streaks of blood around her mouth and nose.
Grabbing Ivy’s arm she squeezed and pulled her cousin tight in a fierce embrace. The words flew out of her mouth in a jumble. “Are you ok? Is this everything you need? Let’s get out of here.” Ivy trembled in her arms, trying to hold back tears. Her voice came out rushed, almost panicked. “Yes, this is it. I’m fine if we get out of here now. Glen just ran out to get more beer. We don’t have much time. Let’s go.” She pointed to a car seat sitting just inside the open door, her hand shaking. “I just need to grab the car seat and that’s everything.”
Iris pushed Ivy towards the stairs. “Get in the car. I’ll get it.” Iris grabbed the car seat by the handle as Ivy ran down the stairs towards the civic. She pulled the door shut behind them and ran down the stairs after Ivy. She watched as Ivy pulled open the back door and tossed in the diaper bag, then froze in place, panic finally overtaking her.
Eyes huge and leaking tears, Ivy stared down at Sophia in her arms, then back to Iris holding the car seat. She looked up and down the street quickly, fear clear on her face. Iris could see her thoughts churning, her desire to leave fighting against the need to keep her daughter safe. Her shaking grew violent and Iris could see Ivy was breaking down. Iris knew she needed to take charge if she was going to get Ivy and Sophia out of here.
As she reached Ivy she rubbed her back and tried to calm her. “Hold Sophia. I know how to do it. Don’t worry.” Iris pushed the car seat into the back of the civic and started running the seatbelt through the loops. Dammit. They did not make these things easy to attach. Every single second counted and this was taking too long. They needed to get out of here, but she was going to be driving fast and she would never forgive herself if something happened to Sophia. She fumbled with the straps, finally getting everything in place, then pulled tight. She leaned back out of the car and gently pulled Sophia from Ivy’s arms. Ivy collapsed into the front seat as Iris strapped Sophia in.
With Sophia secure, Iris slammed the door and raced around the car. She slid into the front seat and started the engine in one motion. She dropped the car in gear and peeled out. They were almost free. She raced down the street, desperate to get away from Ivy’s house. Thank God she was finally getting Ivy away from that monster.
She saw Ivy twisting in her seat, still shaking, looking everywhere for any sign of Glen. Iris didn’t blame her. She could barely focus on the road, constantly flicking her eyes back and forth between the street ahead and the rear-view mirror as the seconds slowly ticked by. Still no sign of Glen. She blew through a stop sign at the end of the block and kept going, still picking up speed. Just a few more minutes and they would be safe.
When they crossed the next block, relief flooded through Iris. They had to be far enough away now. There was no way he could find them in the dark. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, finally relaxing. She felt Ivy reach across the seats and grab her hand. She looked over and saw tears running down Ivy’s cheeks. “Thank you,” Ivy whispered.
Iris squeezed Ivy’s hand, relief flowing through her, making her weak. Thank God they had made it out of there. She took one last glance into the rearview mirror, then gasped. Pure terror ripped through her at the sight of a huge black pickup truck accelerating towards them. That was Glen’s truck! How could he possibly have found them? She screamed out. “Shit!” Ivy whipped her head around and screamed as she saw the truck, panic filling her voice. “Go. Go. We have to get out of here! He’ll kill us!” Iris mashed the gas and the civic leapt forward again.
Ivy started crying, fear breaking her resolve. Sophia screamed out from the backseat as she picked up the dark emotions in the car. Iris stared grimly at the road ahead as they raced through the dark. She muttered under her breath. “Hold on. I’ll get you out of here. I promise.” But neither Ivy nor Sophia seemed to hear, and neither stopped crying.