“That’s the best you can do for me?”
Evan didn’t know what else to say to the cop that asked her the question. She had never trusted cops, and while he plastered on a face of concern, she could see that nothing would come of this waste of her time.
“That’s all I remember. I’m not from here, I don’t know the street names. I was on Church Street when the ambulance came. There’s a blue house near there.”
“Okay,” he said, closing his little note pad and getting on his cell phone. “I’ve been told you’ll be here a couple of days. There’s security, so you should be fine. I’ll take a look into your statement.”
Evan felt betrayed and hopeless. She was thankful for escaping, she was thankful for the little woman that had gotten her help, and she was thankful that the smiling woman had walked away instead of pursuing her further, but Evan wasn’t hopeful that any other justice would happen for her. She certainly wasn’t going to stick around long enough to press charges. She had nothing here, nothing except hurt, and a couple of arrests didn’t interest her.
“So, just stay put is your advice?”
“Yes.”
His statement was matter of fact as he stood and let himself out of the room. Evan watched him step aside for a nurse hurrying by and laid her head back on the pillow. She needed to get out of there. Security aside, security that was probably useless, Evan didn’t want to be stuck in this one spot waiting for something to come find her. She needed to get back on the road and get out of town.
Convincing the nurses that she needed to leave, after she signed a few documents saying she was leaving against medical advice, Evan made her way out into the town. She was grateful that when the old man had taken her, she had dropped her keys, the car being reported abandoned and towed away. The cops had been able to locate the towed vehicle, and using her stuff left inside, returned her property to her. At least they had done the nicety of bringing it to the hospital.
The beat-up car was parked in the back of the parking lot, and though it had taken a couple of tries to start up, she had been able to get the car back on the road. She rolled down the driver side window and turned the radio up, dialing through stations to find something she didn’t hate having in the background. Part of her wanted to cruise up and down the streets trying to find the house she had escaped from, the thing that might make more sense to some, but she was scared, tired, sick of being trapped here, and wanted to be as far out of town as possible.
She turned the car onto the main road through town and drove a bit before getting on the highway, rolling up the window to not blast herself with the summer air. The inside of the car had cooled down enough after baking in the heavy sun of the hospital parking lot. The car was kind of a POS, but the smell of cigarettes soaked into the seats reminded her of home, her dad, and her sister. Well, half-sister. Not like she had seen her in years, not since their dad had died, but she had some fond memories of them driving around, their dad chain smoking in the same car she drove now.
She changed the radio station, the commercials for car lots and the state lottery annoying her on every channel, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw how close her gas gauge was to zero.
“Dammit,” she groaned to herself, smacking her palm hard against the steering wheel.
She knew the general area she was in, but she hadn’t seen an exit for quite a few miles. So much for taking back highways. She rolled into the gas station just as the little indicator light had clicked on. She parked, placed both hands on her steering wheel, and took a deep breath. She checked all of her mirrors, checked the windows, and made sure she could spot multiple people getting gas themselves.
“You can do this.”
The fear of getting out of the car was to be expected, but just like most things, getting gas felt innocuous enough that she shouldn’t have been bothered by it. She felt her forehead with her right hand, smoothing over the invisible bump and bruise that had gone away while she was locked in the basement. A wave of additional anxiety washed over her as she prepared to walk inside. This place felt familiar because it was familiar, the echoes of her childhood waving through her body, the sounds of playing and fighting and arguing all running through her head.
Evan got out of the car, locked the doors behind her, and ran inside the gas station to pay the attendant. The woman behind the counter turned and stared at Evan before an annoyed look overtook her face.
“Jesus Christ, Evan. You could have called.”
“Sorry, I was a bit held up.”
“A bit held up? Sure. Well, grab something to eat. You look like you haven’t had anything in days. And hush, I’m trying to watch this.”
“Thanks, sis.”
The woman behind the counter harrumphed.
“While the name of the victim has yet to be released, witnesses in the neighborhood reported seeing an older woman exit the house. One neighbor managed to catch a short video of the woman apparently walking down the street before disappearing. We will have that clip for you in a bit. Again, we are out on Hungary Spring Road reporting on an alleged homicide. An unidentified victim was found apparently fatally injured in his home after neighbors witnessed some suspicious activities. Law enforcement is said to making a statement later this evening, and until then, we will bring you details as they come in. This is Sandy, taking it back to you in the studio, Ted.”
“Thanks, Sandy. In other news, it looks like the school district is—”
The TV went mute as Reese pressed a button on the remote and set it down behind the counter.
“So, sis, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I was in the area unexpectedly, needed gas. Figured this was the best place.”
“Thank God you needed gas, or I might not’ve seen you for another 7 years. Didn’t bother to come back for any holidays or nothin’”
“Hard to come when you’re not invited.”
Reese rolled her eyes.
“Oh, come on, Ev. You know you have a standing invitation. Do I really need to call for every single thing?”
“You could call for some of the things.”
“Ev, I called as soon as I found out myse—"
“Is that Evan I hear?!” Rodney shouted from the back, cleaning his hands off on a rag as he came around the corner from the garage.
“It is, Rod.”
The dirty mechanic scooped Evan up in a giant bear hug, lifting her off the floor, her shoe almost slipping off as he thrashed her back and forth.
“What’s it been now?”
“Too long,” Reese answered for her.
“Too long indeed,” Rodney retorted, “How long are you in town? Are you staying at the house?”
“Haven’t gotten that far, Rod. So far, we’ve just had the surprise,” Reese cut in.
“Well, you’re comin’ to the house for supper, right? You have to stay for supper at least. No vanishin’ act again until I’ve gotten to spend a little time with ya.”
The couple stared at her expectingly while she chewed on an old Rice Krispie bar.
“Uh, sure. Yeah, I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
“Perfect, well, hang out here, or run around. But don’t go too far. I don’t wanna keep you locked up, but we’ll be at the house around 7. Maybe we can go to that pizza place in town you like. Get you some cheese fries like ol’ times.”
“Yeah, sure. I’m probably gonna just go check out the old house, maybe just take a drive. Speaking of, can I get ten on five.”
Reese slid the bill back.
“You’re good, sis. Just fill ‘er up.”
Evan took the ten-dollar bill back after Reese pushed it across the counter at her.
“It was really good to see you again, Ev,” the dirty mechanic said.
Before she left, Evan could see Rodney beaming with a smile.