The Run (The Running Suspense Collection #1) Read online

attempting to fall asleep. Tomorrow will be better, it has to be.

  Every window glows, pouring light into the dark night. Shadows play on the walls of the living room. The movie menu for Over the Hedge plays over and over repeatedly, with no one selecting the ‘Play’ button.

  On the couch are Ella and Jamie. Ella has fallen asleep and allowed her body to fall to the arm of the couch. Her arm is under her head and the blanket covers the lower part of her body. Jamie has refused to lie down, sleeping in the sitting position with his head tilted back and his mouth agape.

  A trail of Cheerios leads to the kitchen. The milk sits out on the counter next to a dirty cereal bowl. Crumbs litter the counter. An open package of English muffins with only one left sits on the island next to the toaster. The chair is still pushed up against the sink.

  On the kitchen table lays the note that Ella had written:

  The movy is over, Mommy. Whare are you? You said you would be back.

  Outside on the front door mat lays the bulky Golden Retriever. He whimpers softly. His Mommy forgot to feed him today and his water bowl is empty.

  Shawn wakes to the sound of his alarm, rolls over and slaps it into silence. It’s seven; he pulls himself from the warm bed and drags his body to the shower. When he comes out of the bathroom, freshly shaven and smelling of toothpaste and deodorant, he checks his phone to see if he’s missed any calls. It’s still before eight, too early for business.

  Shawn, deep in thought, drives to the work-site. As he rolls to a stop at a light, he reaches over for his phone and dials Cora again. He had expected to hear from her last night but wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t called. He works out of town often and sometimes days go by before they find time to talk to each other.

  The phone rings three times before someone answers.

  “Daddy! Daddy are you there?”

  It’s Ella. When Cora drives, she sometimes hands the phone to Ella. They must be in the car.

  “Ella? Hi honey!” The phone is silent. He looks at the screen to see if they are still connected. Ella is gone. He redials the number. It goes straight to voice mail.

  “What happened? Where’s Daddy? He was just on the phone!” Ella cries at Jamie, begging for answers.

  “What’s wrong with the phone? Why is it blank?” Jamie touches the screen as if it’s his father.

  “It’s dead! We need to charge it! Where’s Mommy’s charger?” Ella scans the kitchen frantically.

  “She has one in the car.” Jamie offers excitedly.

  “No! We are not supposed to go outside. Where’s her other charger?”

  “The drawer by her bed! I’ll get it!”

  Jamie runs to the bedroom and returns with the charger dangling from his little hands. Ella takes it from him and carefully plugs it into the wall outlet near the table. She fumbles with the phone end until the phone finally shows the telltale sign of charging: a battery filling with green.

  “Call Daddy back. Let’s call him now, Ella.” Jamie jumps up and down begging his sister.

  “I don’t know how to, I could on her old phone but this one is different. But Daddy will call again; you’ll see.” Ella touches the phone on the table and patiently watches it charge.

  Cora stares at the dead leaf. In her mind, she is the leaf, dying of thirst. Her mouth feels like sand and her body begs for water. The pain on her left side has turned into a slow throb of volcanic pain. She has focused on turning the pain into a rhythm. With each breath outward, she blows the pain away. Long slow breaths.

  She had drifted back to sleep after her first awakening. Now her mind is becoming hyper-awake. As the minutes tick by, bits of the past creep in. She had left for a run. Kids on the couch watching a movie. Goliath on the porch. Glancing back at the house. Where had she run to? What road had she taken? It was all a blank slate from there. Nothing else.

  The questions fill the minutes. How long has it been? She has to avoid thinking of the children; it shakes her body with violent crying and causes agonizing pain.

  Every attempt to move is met with revolting and intense pain, then an instant rush of nausea. She has nearly vomited multiple times. Lying face down, she doesn’t dare risk vomiting and being forced to lay in her own puke. Plus she’s sure she needs whatever might be in her stomach.

  She tried yelling a few times, but her voice seems like a breath in a world of air. She has decided to save her voice for when it could really matter.

  “What are you doing?” Ella yells as Jamie opens the front door.

  “Feeding Goliath, he keeps whimpering”

  “Shut the door! We’re not supposed to go outside. I promised Mommy.”

  Jamie slams the door. Goliath whimpers louder, then walks back to his doghouse in the shade.

  “What if he starves to death?” Jamie, with tears in his eyes, has been extremely emotional all day long. Every time something isn’t done the way his mommy does it, he cries.

  “He won’t starve. He’s a dog. He can hunt for food if he needs to. He can catch rabbits. I’ve seen him do it before.” Ella stands with fists to her hips, she isn’t giving in.

  Shawn didn’t think much of the phone call. He made a mental note to try and call after dinner when he knew Cora would be less busy. She must have been driving when he called her and couldn’t speak. Maybe he’ll send a text message later. He doesn’t dare do it now while he’s driving. And he definitely doesn’t want her to take her eyes off the road to read his message.

  Shawn’s heart aches, he’s been gone for almost two weeks straight. Two weeks is too long to be away from his family. The kids seem to grow-up a little bit every time he’s away for work. When he is home they drive him crazy, but he loves them to death. When he thinks about how happy they make him, his heart jumps.

  He misses Cora. He misses their long conversations about nothing. He misses how she gets his jokes and her big belching laugh. When he closes his eyes, he can almost smell her and feel her beautiful body. He’s ready to go home.

  They sit at the kitchen table. Ella makes a plate of toast with butter on it and each has a glass of warm chocolate milk in front of them. A block of cheese partially sliced sets on a plate between them.

  “I’m tired of toast.” Jamie stares at the plate with his arms crossed in front of him.

  “I’m sorry, Jamie, it’s all I know how to make besides ramen noodles.” Ella tries to smile at him.

  “When’s Mom coming home?” Jamie asks casually again.

  “Soon. I’m sure she’ll be home soon. She said she would be back. She never breaks her promise.” Ella cuts her piece of toast into fourths.

  “What about my birthday!” He stops picking at the cheese to make his point.

  “That’s different, Jamie. You asked for a dinosaur! She thought you meant a fake one, not a real one. That’s impossible. She did get you a dinosaur.”

  “I’m scared, Ella.”

  “Don’t be; I’ll take care of us till she gets back. I’m eight years old now, I can do this.”

  Shawn’s watch reads nine o’clock. Cora should be at home and done with her chores by now so Shawn decides this is the ideal time to call. He listens as the phone rings and rings then goes to voice mail.

  “Hi, this is Cora. Leave me a message and I’ll call ya back.” Her voice is reassuring even though it’s just a recording.

  “Cora, its Shawn. Hey, I’m getting a little worried. I’ve been trying to call and it keeps going to voice mail. Shoot me a text, at least, so I know you are okay. I love you, honey. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  The sun is setting. Despite the temperature in the upper seventies, Cora still shivers. She knows this is a bad sign. Stay calm, she must avoid going into shock.

  Throughout the day, she has gone in and out of sleep. She worries that she won’t wake up. But the pain subsides when she sleeps, so it’s a welcome retreat.

  Three cars went by when she was awake, she could hear them. I must be near a road. They must not be able to see me. Thi
rst has become her only thought during every waking moment.

  The pain in her left side has turned from sharp and striking to dull and achy. New pains rise to the surface, now that the pain on her left half subsided. All of them are muted by her thirst.

  The TV blares music from The Incredibles. Ella and Jamie sit together on the couch, closer than usual, with a blanked pulled over them. The air conditioner has put a chill in the air now that the sun has set.

  On the kitchen table, Cora’s phone lights up and sings with a call coming in. Shawn’s name pops up on the screen. The kids, zoned out on their movie, don’t hear its singing call.

  On the mat in front of the door, Goliath lay with both eyes closed. When a hoot from an owl cries out, he opens one eye briefly, then goes back to his slumber.

  Cora startles awake with a sudden crunching sound near her ear. Her eye pops open and makes contact with a deer grazing less than ten feet away. It is beautiful. So strong, so alive. She watches the little muscles in its jaw ripple as it chews. She focuses on its wet black nose.

  The sudden ache for water causes her to moan out loud. The deer’s head shoots up and looks around, both ears like satellites on top of its head. Cora fills with sorrow and begins to cry. The deer makes eye contact with her for a brief moment, then leaps off into the woods.

  She feels the dampness on her from the resting humidity overnight. She imagines licking her arm to get some of the moisture. Desperately, she stretches her tongue out,