Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
I loved my job, and when Ben asked me out one day everyone pushed me to say yes. All the other women at the daycare I worked with said he was a catch. He was sweet and handsome, they said, and I thought so, too.
We went on a lot of dates, but for some reason I could never get past kissing him. He’d said all the right things, did all the right stuff, but when his lips met mine something felt wrong.
Then he started pushing for more. He would try to go further than I wanted to, and he began being more forceful each time we were together. His hands would wander and I grew more and more uncomfortable when I was around him. I tried to break it off, but he laughed like I was joking. He kept coming to my work, calling, showing up at my parents’ house when I was there visiting. He would act like I invited him. He was everywhere I went, and I swear a few times I woke up in the middle of the night and thought he’d been in my apartment.
Then finally one day my dad told him to leave me alone. Ben lost it. He never hit me but was always really forceful. He was bigger than me, and I knew if I said or did the wrong thing, he could easily overpower me. It wasn’t just abuse, it was intimidation. I’d been lucky to get away the few times he’d cornered me, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he finally got me where he wanted me. Then, when he finally snapped, I didn’t have a choice but to run away.
“I’m so sorry I got you mixed up in this, Bebe.”
“Don’t you say that,” Bebe snaps at me. “He’s a prick and you did nothing to bring this on yourself. Everyone else in this community is at fault. No one is doing their job—protecting you. They’re letting him rip you apart. He’ll keep doing it until you crawl back to him. I know that’s what he’s trying to do.”
“I know it is,” I agree, letting out a deep breath.
After I made the report at the police station no one would talk to me. Not even at work. Eventually they fired me. Somehow he got my father fired from his manager job at the car dealership. He’s been there over twenty years. He convinced everyone I was mad he broke it off with me. Ben even told me if I came back to him he’d tell everyone we made up. That we were getting married. That made me want to vomit.
“I’ve come up with a plan,” I tell her.
“I figured as much.” Bebe pulls out her driver’s license.
I take it from her. Bebe and I look a lot alike. People often think we’re cousins or even sisters. We both have pale skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Where mine is straight, hers is curly. But she straightened it today like I’d asked her. The main difference between us is shape, which doesn’t matter. All that matters is the picture on the driver’s license.
“You got an extra ID, right?” she asks as I hand her mine. I nod yes at her. Her ID is only for traveling. I’ll need my real one when I get married so it’s legal.
“Okay. So I need you to go to the airport and book a flight somewhere. I don’t care where. But not too far because you need to be back to work on Monday.” She shakes her head in understanding. “You’re going to have to take a bus back home. Book the flight in my name. When you land, get a cab to the train station and get back here as fast as possible. Only cash.” I reach into my pocket, pulling out the only money I have left and I try to hand it to her. “He’ll think I went wherever you fly to. Then maybe he’ll leave you alone.”
She pushes the money back at me. “I have money, Willow. Keep it. You might need it.”
I put it back into my pocket, knowing there’s no point fighting with her.
“Where are you going?” she asks me.
I shake my head. I can’t tell her. It’s too dangerous.
She closes her eyes and a tear slips out. I wipe it away.
“I have a plan and I’m going to be okay. I’m going somewhere safe. I’ll reach out to you when I can.”
She grabs me, pulling me into another hug. I wrap around her as tight as I can. “I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you, too. Come back to us.”
I nod and pray I’m not lying.
Chapter 2
Willow
I sit on the bus, looking out the window and watching the world pass me by. I hope I’m not running from one devil’s hands to another. At least this way I know my family and friends are safe from Ben. If I’m running into another mess it will be one I only have to take on alone.