“Want some help?” She stood and took the baby sling from me.
“Yes. It took me forever to get her in that thing.” I sighed. Lauren strapped the sling around me, and held it in place while I threaded Ava’s legs through.
“I think we’re good.” She smiled as she gave it a little tug to see if it was secure. “Let’s go before we change our minds.” She opened the door, and I knew what she meant in that exact moment.
As the door opened, we were blasted with freezing air. The temperature must have dropped at least twenty degrees since I was on the beach. “Crap! This is cold.” I shivered as I held Ava closer. She was snuggled against me, and already sleeping.
“She doesn’t seem too bothered by it.” Lauren laughed as she pointed at Ava.
We made our way down the stairs and turned to walk along the sidewalk. It was a standard city block, and people were out shoveling the sidewalk. I had boots on, so the snow didn’t really bother me.
“How was your date yesterday?” Lauren nudged my shoulder.
“Is that what this is? You wanna know about Blake?” I stopped and faced her.
Lauren giggled. “We all do. We’ve all met Dr. Blake at the hospital. He’s never come to visit any of us, just you.” She pointed at me.
“He took me to the beach. We had breakfast. That was it.” I nibbled my lip nervously. I didn’t want to talk about this. I didn’t want to be house gossip.
“That’s it? Are you two dating now?” I had sped up, and now she was matching my pace.
“I don’t know. I’m not really ready to talk about it,” I muttered.
“Fine, but I want to be the first to know.” Lauren smiled as we turned the corner. We walked quietly together just watching the snow fall. It was like a Christmas card. Businesses were starting to decorate for the holidays, kids were building snowmen, and people were clearing their steps and porches. I’d almost forgotten where I was, I was so lost in the scenery.
“We need to move faster, Brooke.” Lauren put her arm around me and started guiding me up the sidewalk.
“I don’t want to slip. What’s wrong?” I started looking around, but Lauren was blocking my view.
“Just trust me,” she hissed. I forced us to stop moving before I stepped away from her to look around. It was then that I saw him. Right across the street and standing at the crosswalk, was Warren. His head was covered in a black beanie and he was wearing a long, dark wool coat. His eyes bore into mine as the ‘don’t walk’ sign changed to ‘walk’. As I stood there rooted to my spot, Warren’s long legs began to eat up the pavement. Lauren tugged at my arm, but it was like I was frozen in place. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t make myself do anything but wait. All the therapy I’d been going to had still not broken Warren’s training. He’d always told me running was worse. If I ran from him, my punishment would be worse. I’d trained myself to stand still when I saw him; to not move, and in this moment my body was doing just that. “Come on.” Lauren pulled again, but I didn’t budge.
She stayed there with me, I don’t know why, until Warren made it to our side of the crosswalk. He gave me a disapproving smile as his eyes scanned over me. “I thought I taught you better. I can’t believe you came outside dressed like that,” he scoffed as my eyes went downcast. I knew better than to look him in the eyes.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” I mumbled.
“I can be wherever I want.” He sneered as his arm raised toward me.
I stepped back, and instinctively wrapped my arms around Ava. “You can’t be here,” I mumbled again. I glanced at Lauren and noticed she had her phone out and was furiously typing a text.
“You need to leave,” she growled at Warren. “I’ve called the police. They’ll be here any minute.”
“This is none of your concern,” he snapped at her before redirecting his attention to me. “You’ve turned into quite the little slut lately, haven’t you? Prancing around with that doctor. You think he sees anything different than I do? You’re stupider than I thought. He sees a pair of legs, that’s it.” Warren threw his head back and laughed. “He’s in for a rude awakening if he thinks that he’s getting in there. Hell, I couldn’t get there without force. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove with all this,” he waved his arms around, “but you’re fooling yourself if you think you’ll make it. You’ll be on my steps begging me to take you back in a few months. You’re too dumb to survive on your own.”
As I stood there in shock, letting his words hit their mark, he turned and almost jogged down the block. It was then that I looked up to see flashing lights of a patrol car rounding the corner. Lauren stepped closer, and attempted to put her arm around me. “Let’s go back,” she murmured, but I shook her off.
“You go back. I need to stay.” The snow was falling heavier at this point and I was freezing, but Warren’s words were all I could think about. Was he right about Blake? Was Blake using me? Would he want me if he knew all the things Warren did?
“Everything ok?” Cal’s voice broke me out of my trance as he stepped from his patrol car by the curb.
“I think she’s in shock.” Lauren’s eyes went from me to Cal.
“I got it.” Cal moved closer. “You head back. I’ll make sure she gets back
