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Chapter 21
Willow
When Gavin leaves me, I check my purse and realize the Xanax I keep in the pocket with a ripped seam is still in the pill case. A sense of relief goes through me that Gavin didn’t find the pills. I take several out and shove them in my jeans pocket. If I get the chance, I'll slip them in his drink.
I'm not sure how much time has passed when I hear Gavin unlock the door. He has a bag of McDonald's in his hand while he holds a drink tray in the other. He puts the items on the table when his cell phone rings.
"Yo?" Gavin answers.
He pauses and listens to the caller, "what the fuck did you say?" I hear as he clicks the door shut behind him.
I move quickly, taking off the lid, and am relieved to see Coke in the cup. The carbonation will help mask the bitter taste of the Xanax.
I root around in the bag and pull out the cheeseburger and open the packaging. I put the burger on a napkin and mash the pills with my finger. I hear Gavin's raised voice, but I'm not sure what he's saying. My heart is racing, and my fingers are clumsy. It's not precise, but it will have to do. I fold the paper in half and finagle the powder into the drink. I stir it with the straw and close the lid.
I sit down at the table, put the cheeseburger back on the paper, and take the other drink. I bite the cheeseburger and work to calm my racing heart.
When Gavin comes back into the room, he's frowning. He slams the door, but I keep eating the cheeseburger, not looking at him. After a moment, he's seated across from me, taking a large sip from his straw. We eat in silence for a few minutes. I can barely swallow the food because I'm nervous. So, I decided to get him talking.
"Where do you want to go?" I ask, taking the last bite and immediately crumble the wrapper, not wanting him to see any white residue.
"I have a buddy in Georgia where we can stay for a while," he says without further explanation.
"I'm a teacher.
It will take time to get certified in a new state," I say reasonably.
"I don't want you working for a while anyway. Plus, who knows, we may take some time to have an adventure before we settle in a place," Gavin smiles, putting a fry in this mouth.
I take a sip of my drink, "so how will we afford this adventure?"
"I've got the money situation handled," he says, taking another bite from his burger.
"I see. So, do you plan just to take control of all this then?" I ask in amazement.
He stops what he's doing and looks at me seriously, "I've been waiting a long time for this, Willow. We’re meant to be together. It's time for you to stop worrying about everything and let me take care of you."
I look at him, and I know my eyes must be the size of saucers because I feel nothing but dread as I look at his eager face.
"I want to say goodbye to my sister and Cody," I state.
"No," he says, firmly taking the last bite and starting to crumble the wrappers.
"No?" I question.
"Don't look at me like that, woman. You always could crush me with those eyes. We can touch base with them after we've been gone a while," Gavin sips his drink.
"My family will worry if I don't check in Gavin," I say, stressing his name.
"I'll text them, so we're covered," he assures me.
"When do we leave?" I ask.
"We'll leave in the morning," Gavin smiles and grabs my hand. His hand is warm, and if this were another lifetime, maybe I'd be happy with such a proposal. I cared about this guy once, but I don't know how I missed this intensity. Either something has changed since I'd been gone, or I was utterly obtuse.
Gavin stands and says, "let's watch some tv and relax. I'm going to have to head out at about 9 pm to meet someone, so we'll have everything we need to go."
I watch him arrange the pillows on the bed. He lays down, propped up, and taps the space beside him. I go ahead and join him without complaint because I'm hoping the drug will kick in soon. He's flipping channels and settles on a submarine movie I don't recognize. As I lay beside him, I feel his hand resting on my thigh. I want to move, to scream, to do anything to protest, but I keep reminding myself that he'll get sleepy and I can try to get out of here. I stare straight ahead, not noticing the pictures on TV. Gavin's breathing evens out after a while, and I dare to look and see his eyes are closed. His hand on my thigh has gone slack. I wait, keeping my breaths even, and let two commercial breaks play. By now, Gavin is snoring, and I move ever so slowly and carefully off the bed. He turns away from me on his side. I stand there, breathing lightly. When he seems to indeed be out of it, I look behind me at the table but don't see his keys.
"Shit," I think as I move to inspect his pocket, but don't see a bulge. I want to curse because I think they might be in the pocket he's lying on, but before I can check, I hear a vibration. I turn toward the sound and remember he put his cell phone down on the tv console. I almost cry in relief when I notice his keyring is there too. I grab my purse, his cell, and keys as quietly as I can and say a silent prayer when I try the doorknob. It turns without issue, and I move as quickly as I can. I almost laugh out loud when I notice a latch affixed to the outside of the door, so I bolt it into place, locking Gavin in the way he did me. I see the sun is moving toward the horizon, and there are pink and orange streaks in the sky. I don't know how long I've been here, but I hope to figure out where I am once I get to the main road.
