Chapter 4: It’s just a game baby

~Rose ~

Just there.

I slammed my ankle between his legs with every ounce of strength left in my body.

Mr Scott doubled over instantly.

A heavy groan tore from his throat as he staggered backward in shock, landing hard on the floor.

His hand eventually slipped off my arm.

And I didn't wait.

I grabbed Lucas, lifting his little body into my arms.

“Mama,”

“Hold on to me, baby.”

I pressed his head tightly against my neck and bolted.

I could still see Mr Scott on the floor from the corner of my eyes, his hands between his balls while he kept growling in pain.

But I didn't stop. I dared not. I ran like my life depended on it. Pass our scattered belongings. Pass the overturned chairs and clothes we couldn’t park. I shoved through the heavy back door and stumbled straight into the pouring rain.

The cold water instantly soaked through my thin sweater and drenched Lucas' hair.

“Run bitch!”

Martha’s voice followed us from behind.

“That's all you can do. Run… And don't you ever come back here!”

I didn’t look back. I kept running until her voice grew fainter, until it turned into a distant murmur.

Until my lungs burned, my ankles throbbed. My chest felt like it was being ripped apart, but I kept moving.

I didn’t know where I was going.

I just knew I had to go far away.

Very far away.

Until my legs eventually gave out.

And I just stood there, in the dark, soaking wet, holding my son tightly against my chest while my legs trembled so badly I had to sink down against a brick wall just to keep them from collapsing.

“Mama?” Lucas whispered against my neck. He pulled back slightly, his little hands cupping my face. His thumb brushed over the tears mixing with the rainwater on my cheeks. “Are we playing a game?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to stop my jaw from chattering. “A… a game, baby?”

“Yeah,” Lucas said, trying to smile, though his lips were already turning a faint shade of blue from the chill. “Like… like the adventure game you told me about? Where the knights have to leave the castle and go on a secret quest?”

I felt a sob caught in my chest.

I forced it back.

“Yeah, baby,” I whispered, pulling him closer, burying my face in his soft hair, smelling the cheap shampoo I used on him. “It’s… it’s a secret quest.”

His eyes brightened.

“Where are we going?” He asked.

I didn’t answer immediately.

“Are we going to another castle?”

I forced a smile.

“Something like that, baby.”

“Is it a big castle? Is it very big? Does it have a bedroom, mama?”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

“And a kitchen?”

“Yes.”

“With food?”

I almost laughed through my tears.

“Yes, baby. With plenty of food.”

He smiled. A smile so innocent, it melted my heart in seconds.

“And a window?”

“A window?”

He nodded eagerly.

“A window with the sun. The basement didn’t have a sun, Mama. And I love the sun.”

I pressed my lips together, fighting as another wave of tears beamed my eyes but I didn’t let it fall, I wouldn’t want him to see me cry.

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know we were homeless.

He didn't know the only money I had left was twenty four dollars.

He didn’t know I had nowhere to take him tonight.

He didn’t know that the life I’d spent seven years desperately protecting had just fallen apart in seconds.

Seven years of keeping him a secret.

Seven years of hiding. Seven years of working eighteen hours a day. Seven years of eating leftovers just so my little baby could have milk and apples.

And now? I had nothing. No money. No home. No job. Nothing.

Except him.

And somehow, that’s enough.

“It’s… it’s gonna have a big window, I promise baby.” I said.

Lucas’ face lit up.

“Really? Really?”

“Yes baby, with alot and alot of sun, baby.”

His smile widened.

“Okay mama,” he murmured, wrapping his tiny arms around my neck and resting his cheeks on my shoulder. “I’m not scared then. If you’re with me, I’m not scared.”

“You don’t need to be, baby, I’ll always be here baby, always.”

I closed my eyes, squeezed him as tight as I could and let the rain wash over us. I didn’t know where we were gonna go, where we were gonna sleep tonight.

But I knew one thing.

We were going to be fine.

We’d always found a way.

Always.