Barely Breathing Page 2

  Kay answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Kay. Is it possible for Johnny to stay with you this weekend?”

  “Of course. We’ll turn it into a slumber party. I have Cara, too.”

  “Cara?”

  “You know, Sophia’s daughter.”

  “Where’s Sophia?”

  “She went out of town for a few days, but she will be back tomorrow.”

  “If it’s too much, I can find someone else.”

  “John, bring him over when you’re ready. Jacob and Jeremy will be so happy to have someone else to play with besides each other.”

  Jason and Kay were the proud parents of Angel, six- years old, Jacob, five, and Jeremy, two.

  “Thank you, Kay. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me a thing. See you soon.”

  He went upstairs to wake his son and get him dressed.

  “Daddy, are we going to see Mommy?” his son asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

  “No, Johnny, you’re going to see Jeremy and Jacob.” He began packing a bag.

  “I want Mommy.” Johnny began to whine. “Mommy…”

  How did you tell a little boy he wouldn’t be seeing his mommy for a while? “Don’t you want to play with your friends?” He looked at his son. Does he even look like me? His son had straight, brown hair, hazel eyes. All this time he’d thought the boy favored Amy…but what if he favored someone else?

  “Yes,” Johnny answered, grabbing his toy truck.

  ***

  Minutes later, John pulled into Kay’s driveway. Johnny had fallen asleep on the way. He stepped out and opened an umbrella, unbuckled him, and picked him up.

  Before he could hit the doorbell, Kay opened the door with a dark, pretty little girl beside her. Cara had grown since he’d last seen her. Kay wore a long, pink, casual dress, making her brown skin look flawless.

  “Come in. It’s pouring.” Kay moved to the side.

  He placed the umbrella near the door and entered.

  The little girl just stared at him, and said, “Hi.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Hi.”

  “Cara, do you remember Johnny’s dad, Mr. John?” Kay asked, closing the door.

  She nodded her head. “My mommy says you have pretty eyes.”

  “Well, tell your mommy I said thank you, and you have beautiful eyes, too.” She had dark brown irises and amazingly long lashes.

  “Thank you.” She batted her eyelashes. “Goodnight, Mr. John.” She skipped away toward Angel, Kay’s bouncy, beautiful little girl.

  “She’s a darling,” Kay said, gently taking Johnny from his arms.

  “Hi, Uncle John.” Angel grinned.

  “Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

  Angel smiled. “I’m fine,” she answered, and both little girls skipped away. “Bye, Uncle John.” They waved, going to the back of the house.

  He kissed his son on his head. “Kay, thank you again for doing this.”

  “You’re very welcome. I’ll be right back. Let me put him down.” She disappeared into one of the bedroom, and after a few minutes returned. “The boys are sleeping.”

  “Sorry for the short notice.”

  “It’s fine. Is Amy with you? I was told she took a leave of absence,” she said, looking at him.

  He observed Kay to see if he could tell if she knew, and by the way she waited for his answer, she didn’t. “I don’t know where Amy is and I really don’t care anymore.” He walked to the front door.

  “She loves you.”

  “Really!”

  “Fight for your marriage,” Kay said, grabbing his arm. “She has some issues she needs help with.”

  He wanted to say, yes, she has issues and one of them is keeping her legs crossed, but he didn’t. John only shared certain personal things with a couple of people and Kay wasn’t one of them, not that he didn’t trust her. “Kay, it takes two people to fight and I only see one person in this. I can’t do it anymore.”

  She released her hold on him. “John, if Jason and I hadn’t fought for our marriage, we wouldn’t be this happy now. Every marriage has its ups and downs. Don’t give up.” She looked at him with concern in her eyes.

  “From day one, our marriage has been one-sided. She tried, but she doesn’t want this life. Being a wife and a mother was never in her plans.” He placed his hands in his pockets. “You know she didn’t want this.”

  The house phone rang. “Don’t leave.” Kay picked up the phone and said hello.

  “Kay, he knows!” Sophia cried into the phone.

  Kay moved into the living room, not wanting John to overhear her conversation. “Calm down, Sophia. Who?”

  “Terrell. He’ll be released from jail soon, and he left my mom a message saying he’s coming to get his revenge.”

  Kay could hear the fear in her voice. “Sophia, where are you?”

  “I’m on my way home. I can’t lose her. She’s all I’ve got.”

  “It’s raining, and the roads are icy. Be careful coming through those mountains. Please calm down, or pull over to the side.”

  “I have to get to Cara. She needs me, and I need her.”

  “Cara is fine…” Before Sophia could keep speaking, the phone went dead. “Sophia?”

  John came up behind her. “What’s wrong with Sophia. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything is fine. She was just checking up on Cara.”

  “Are you sure that’s all?”

  “I’m sure.” She gave him a fake smile. He could clearly tell something was wrong, but it wasn’t his business, so he made to leave.

  “I’ll pick him up on Sunday. Thank you, Kay, and tell Jason he needs to stop working this late.”

  She smiled. “He’s out with his dad.”

  He opened the door. “See you Sunday.”

  She patted him on the back. “Think of what I said.” She held the door open. “And John? The roads are very dangerous. Be careful.”

  Chapter Three

  He’d been on a narrow, back road for more than two hour. The radio weather station announced there was a thunderstorm moving in, and the road he was on was about to close, due to floods and mudslides, he needed to hurry. The rain poured down and John knew he shouldn’t be speeding, but no one else would be on that road. He grabbed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned pale. His world had been shattered into million pieces. He was having a hard time focusing on the road. Why would she do this? Sex, Johnny—what else had she lied about? He’d known, for a long time, that she had problems with alcohol, but adultery too?

  When a deer ran out of nowhere, he swerved and lost control of his car. He could see headlights from an oncoming car and honked his horn, trying to alert them, but they kept barreling toward him. It seemed like slow motion when he hit the other vehicle head-on, making it lose control, too. The other car swerved into a ditch, and his car continued until he veered off the road and into a tree.

  The impact made the windshield glass shatter, and both sets of air bags exploded.

  It took long seconds, possibly minutes, before he was again aware of his surroundings. He was breathing. Not in much pain, at the moment. Small, cold chips of broken glass were everywhere he touched, though the air bag was all he could see.

  As he pushed away from the air bag, he could feel something running down the side of his face. He touched his left eyebrow and then looked at his fingertips, which were covered in blood. He opened the car door and crawled out, thanking God for the safety features in his car. The rain was cold, drenching him. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his cell and tried to dial 911. When nothing happened he yanked the phone from his ear and stared at the screen, blinking several times to clear his vision. The little bars that denoted service were nonexistent. His next only option was the OnStar button in his car. I should’ve renewed the damn thing. There went that thought. He leaned his wet body on his wrecked car, and grabbed his pounding head.

  “Oh, God.” He remember
ed the other car, and ran. He made it to the side of the ditch and saw lights. John slid down the embankment to get to the car, and saw the still form of someone leaning over the steering wheel.

  “Are you okay?” he banged on the window, screaming as he tried to open the door, but it was stuck. Sheets of rain came down harder. He could tell the driver was a woman. “Ma’am?”

  When she still didn’t answer, he thought. She must be really hurt.

  His long hours at the gym paid off, because he yanked on the car handle until the door gave with a screech barely opening. John jerked harder. He noticed the rising water and glanced around. The car was starting to flood, and worse, he could smell gas. He had to get her out. He touched her shoulder, but she didn’t move. He felt for her pulse. Thanking God, that she had one.

  Curly, black hair covered her face. He moved the damp strands from her face, and gasped. “Sophia…” Her head was bleeding, and her right leg looked pinned under the steering wheel. He caressed the side of her face. “Sophia, answer me.” She still didn’t move. He gently touched her leg, to make sure it wasn’t trapped.

  “I have to get you out,” he said, reaching around her until he could unclip her seatbelt. He placed one arm under her knees, the other around her back, and lifted her out. “I got you.”

  He walked away from her car and began to carry her to his, but that wasn’t going to work, because his car was starting to get flooded, too. It was cold, and the rain just kept pouring. “Why did I take the back road? No one in their right mind takes this route when it’s raining.”

  Sophia began regaining consciousness. “Cara…” she whispered. “I won’t let…”

  “Sophia, its John.” He looked into her brown eyes as they fluttered open.

  She tried to lean up. “Where are we?” she asked, touching her head.

  “We were in an accident. Are you okay?”

  “My head hurts. What happened?” She looked at the blood on her hand, even as it washed away with the rain.

  “A deer ran out of nowhere, I lost control of my car, and I hit you. Didn’t you see me coming?”

  She closed her eyes. “I had so much on my mind, by the time I saw your headlights it was too late.” She pushed against his chest. “Please put me down.”

  He placed her down, and she stumbled.

  “Ouch…my leg.”

  There was blood on her pants. He helped her up. “You’re hurt.”

  She pointed at his head. “You’re hurt, too.” She pushed his hands away, and limped off, back to her car. “It’s totaled,” she said, a bit angry.

  “My insurance will cover it.” He moved to be near her.

  “I’m not worried about that.” She wiped the blood from her eye. “I need to get to Cara.”

  “I saw her. She’s okay.”

  “Where?” She asked anxiously.

  “At Jason’s.”

  They stared at each other for a couple of seconds. “Did you call for help?” She leaned on her car.

  “It never occurred to me to call for help,” he said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at him. “There’s no signal out here,” he said, lifting his cell phone.

  The rain came down even harder, along with thunder and lighting. The thunder startled Sophia. She sat in her car, picked up her cell, and tried to call, when it didn’t work any better than John’s had, she screamed.

  “You didn’t believe me.” He moved closer. “Sophia, we can’t stay here. It’s getting dark, and your car is getting flooded.”

  “You don’t have to stay. Someone will eventually pass by.” She played with her phone.

  “According to the weather channel, they were about to close this road due to floods and mudslides.” He leaned on her car.

  “What are you saying?” she asked absently, putting pressure on her leg.

  “No one is coming anytime soon.” He observed her. “I’m not leaving you here. We need to start walking, before it gets any darker. We need to look for shelter until someone finds us, this road isn’t safe.”

  She got out of her car and observed the woods. “And you think it’s safer in there?” She pointed.

  “Are you scared?”

  “No, but…” She limped to her trunk. “We can stay in our cars.”

  “We can’t stay. My car is already halfway covered in mud and flooded, and yours is almost there.” She leaned to look. “We need to find someplace safer.”

  She took out a gym bag.

  He watched her look through it. She had granola bars, goldfish crackers, juice boxes, a flashlight, and a blanket.

  “Damn, what else do you have in there?”

  She closed her car trunk and limped up to him. “I’m a mom. I’m always prepared,” she said, handing him the torch.

  He grabbed the bag, put it across his chest, and turned on the flashlight.

  “I forgot something.” She turned, got into the car, and opened her glove compartment.

  As she turned, he was shocked to see her with a gun. “Why the hell do you have that?” He arched a brow.

  She placed it in the bag he was carrying. “It’s for protection.”

  “From who?”

  “Nobody in particular. We might need it to defend ourselves from some creature out there.” She pointed at the woods.

  He knew she was lying, but would leave it alone for now. After all, she’d trusted him with her gun.

  “I hope we find a place soon. I don’t think I can walk for too long.” She stared into the woods.

  “I’ll carry you.” He gazed at her.

  “Are you crazy? I’m no lightweight.”

  He was six feet tall and she was maybe five feet three. “I bench more pounds than you. I’m not going to let you hurt yourself anymore.” He bent into position. “Get on up.” She moved forward and scrambled onto his back. “Good.”

  “Good.” She held on tight as they entered the pathway through the woods, between tall trees and bushes. The ground was muddy, his feet sink in the muck.

  She shivered. “It’s cold.” She reached around and yanked the blanket out of the bag, bit by bit, then, awkwardly, wrapped it around her.

  “Is that better?”

  “Nope.” She giggled. “It’s already wet.”

  He made sure he had her secure in his arms, just in case they fell. As they kept on through the trees, he heard—or imagined—creepy sounds from everywhere. He wouldn’t ever admit it to her, but he was a tad bit frightened.

  “I hope we don’t find a teddy bear or a big bad wolf,” she said.

  He appreciated her attempt to lighten the mood. “I don’t think the big bad wolf lives in these parts, but I don’t know about the teddy bears.” They laughed, and then he got serious. “And if they do, I bet you can take care of them with your gun.”

  She didn’t respond to his last statement.

  They walked for more than an hour, and they didn’t find anything. “You need a break.”

  “We can’t stop,” he said, plodding forward, but she wrestled herself off his back.

  And landed in water.

  They were both soaking wet, and now she was covered in mud.

  “Why are you so stubborn?” he asked, staring at her with the aid of the flashlight. “You don’t know what you’re sitting in.”

  She smiled, putting her hands in the mud, and threw it at him. “Now you don’t know what’s on you.”

  “How can you play in a time like this?” He tried to wipe the mud off him, even though it was raining.

  “John, you want me to cry instead? There’s nothing much we can do. We’re in the middle of nowhere.” She threw some more mud at him, and laughed.

  “You’re crazy,” he said, trying not to smile.

  “I know. Are you afraid of getting your expensive clothes all dirty?”

  “I couldn’t care less about my clothes.” He pointed the flashlight at her.

  “I was just kidding.”

  Even with the rain, he could see she was still bleedi
ng. He sat next to her and gingerly touched her leg. “It’s getting worse.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve been through much worse.”

  He grabbed his long sleeve, which was already torn, ripped it, and wrapped it around her leg. It wasn’t the best bandage ever, but it would have to do.

  “I see you were a Boy Scout.”

  “Funny.” At that moment, he jumped, dropped the flashlight, and screamed like a little girl.

  “What? What is it?” she screamed.

  In a frenzy of motion, John scraped a huge earthworm off his forearm. Sophia laughed at him, covering her mouth with her hand to try to hide her mirth. He picked up the flashlight and she picked up the worm, then stared at him with a mischievous look.

  “Don’t you dare.” He pointed at her.

  “You’re afraid of this little thing?” She threw it at him, and he ducked out of the way.

  “Sophia, stop playing.”

  She couldn’t stop laughing.

  “I can’t believe you just did that.” He got to his feet and moved forward, picked her up without saying another word to her, and they kept going.

  She grabbed onto him tighter. “It was just a worm.”

  “I’m not talking to you right now.”

  She kissed his head. “Sorry.”

  They walked for about another thirty minutes. The mud was getting deeper.

  “It’s freezing.” She began shaking. “We won’t survive the night out here.”

  He grabbed her tighter. “We’ll find shelter.” He knew the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, but what worried him was the cold weather. The rain anyone could survive, but not the cold.

  A cracking sound startled both of them. She gripped him a little bit tighter. “Did you hear that?” Sophia asked him after the sky illuminated with a flash of lightning.

  “It’s just the wind,” he lied, trying to move faster.