AN: I told you I'd be back when I finished the other story.
Thank you for letting me know you were excited about the start of this one! I hope you enjoy it as we go along!
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
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Putting herself and her daughter into a strange woman's car had probably not been the smartest thing that Carol had ever done, but she had very few options at the moment and she had to trust that these people weren't out to kill her. In fact, she was pretty sure that they couldn't do her much more harm than the man she'd married—her daughter's own father—and they had lived with him.
The man, Daryl, had made a phone call and, while they'd waited, he'd offered Carol and Sophia both a burger to eat that was cooked by one of the people who worked at the bar. Though it wasn't the most nutritious meal that Carol might have fed her daughter, it was warm, it was filling, and it was delicious. Besides that, having her stomach full had simply made Sophia even more tired and complacent to simply sit and wait to see what would happen. They'd barely finished eating by the time the blonde had come walking through the door carrying a duffle bag with clothes for Carol and a t-shirt that worked as temporary dress for Sophia.
Carol hadn't missed the way that everyone in the bar had reacted to the blonde's arrival, either. Clearly she had a reputation around there because everyone seemed to know her well. They'd practically parted like the Red Sea when she'd come through the door and everyone that had greeted her while she walked had practically treated her like royalty.
Andrea. The woman's name was Andrea.
As far as Carol knew, Andrea was like Cher. She had no last name. But, then again, Carol hadn't exactly shared her last name either.
Andrea had waited for Carol to change and to get Sophia changed. Then she'd offered Carol a ride and promised her that they could crash at her place that night.
Carol had felt it was an offer she couldn't refuse. After all, she had nowhere else to go, the nearest motel was apparently fifty miles away, and her only means of transportation was drowning in a ditch on the side of the highway.
When they pulled up at the house, it was dark except for one floodlight just above the door. The rain was still coming down in sheets and Andrea told Carol to stay in the car while she got the door unlocked and turned on a few lights, but Carol hadn't listened to her. By the time she got Sophia out of the car and closed the door behind her, Andrea was already standing inside the little house and was holding open the screened door.
"Come on!" Andrea called. "Before you get soaked again!"
Carol darted through the water and into the house. Sophia was so desperate to sleep that she barely woke through any of it, though she did whine some as Carol stepped into the house, and she lifted her head off of Carol's shoulder.
"Where are we?" Sophia asked.
Carol laughed to herself.
"We're at—we're at Andrea's house," Carol said. "We're going to spend the night here, sweetheart. I'm going to put you down, OK? Let you get some sleep in the bed?"
Carol rubbed her daughter's back.
"I'm sorry—do you have another shirt she can wear?" Carol asked. "This one's already wet again. I hate to be such a bother."
Andrea laughed and shook her head.
"I've got plenty of clothes," Andrea said. "Come on—I'll show you the room. It's not the Beverly Wilshire, but I'm a pretty clean housekeeper. The sheets are clean. I washed them two days ago and nobody's slept in there since."
She led Carol to a room, opened the door, leaned in and turned on the light switch. She waved her hand to wave Carol inside.
"Bed's pretty big too," Andrea added.
"I really hate to impose," Carol said.
"You're not," Andrea said. "It's a guest room. That's what it's for. Besides—I like it when people crash here. I'll get you something for her to wear to bed. Something else for you too. When you get her settled in, you oughta come out here. Have a drink or somethin'? Unless you're too tired."
Carol was exhausted, but she also didn't want to turn down the offer of her very generous hostess, especially not when the woman seemed to really want her to take her up on the drink. Carol forced the best smile she could.
"No—no—I mean, I'd love the drink. I'm not too tired," Carol said.
Andrea smiled at her.
"Great," she said. "I'll bring you some more clothes. Then I can change into something dry myself."
Carol nodded her head, shifted Sophia's weight, and waited in the doorway of the little room for Andrea's return from what was, apparently, her bedroom. She thanked Andrea once more for the clothes and stepped into the little room. She eased Sophia down onto her feet, waking her by telling her that she needed to stand up a moment and help Carol get her clothes changed.
"Where are we?" Sophia asked, her eyes half closed. She stared at Carol through slits.
"We're at Andrea's house, sweetheart," Carol said.
"Who's Andrea?" Sophia asked.
Carol laughed to herself.
She could be honest with Sophia. She could tell her that she had no idea who Andrea was and she had no idea why the woman—who she'd never met before in her life—was being so nice and so welcoming to her. But Sophia was five. And part of being five meant that, sometimes, Carol didn't want her to know the truth. Not all of it. Part of being five, Carol thought, was being able to believe in the good in world without questioning it through the screen of past experiences.
"Andrea is a friend," Carol said. "Something like a—fairy godmother."
Sophia's eyes opened wide.
"Like Cinderella?" Sophia asked.
"Something like that," Carol said.
"Except—instead of a pumpkin carriage? She drove us here in a Toyota," Carol said. "And—instead of a castle? She's giving us this room for the night."
"The fairy godmother didn't give Cinderella a castle," Sophia informed Carol.
"What matters, Sophia, is that she's being very nice to us," Carol said. "She's being very kind. So—just make sure you're kind to her too, OK? And—you thank her. Can you do that for me in the morning?"
Sophia nodded her head.
"How long are we going to stay with her?" Sophia asked.
"I don't know," Carol admitted. "Come on, sweetheart. Get into bed. Get some sleep. I'll tuck you in."
Carol swallowed and pulled back the cover on the bed so that Sophia could slip in and get comfortable. The bed was clean and it was plenty big enough for the two of them. What was even better was that the bed was one where they were going to be able to sleep without any worry of Ed. He had no idea where they were. He wouldn't find them here.
For the first time in years, Carol would be able to sleep without worrying at all about her husband.
Maybe she should have been worried that they were sleeping in a stranger's home, but she wasn't concerned at all. There was very little in life that she truly feared, she discovered, with Ed gone.
And she simply had a hunch that Andrea, although perhaps not the ideal role model for her five year old daughter, wasn't going to be the type to bring them any harm.
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When Carol stepped out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her, she quickly found Andrea standing in her kitchen. Andrea turned around when she heard Carol and smiled at her. She held up a bottle of wine.
"Are you a wine person, a beer person, or a liquor person?" Andrea asked.
"Honestly?" Carol responded. "Neither."
"You don't drink?" Andrea asked.
"Not often," Carol said. "It's not always a good idea to drink, you know? It's not a good idea to let your guard down." Andrea's smile faded a little and she nodded. Carol's stomach twisted and she immediately wondered if she'd said too much. She'd done her best to cover Ed's latest handiwork on her face, but a quick glance in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door had shown her that the rain had washed off all her makeup. There was no need pretending that the bruises weren't there and that they weren't visible. Still, maybe that was the sort of thing that Andrea didn't want to talk about. "I'd love a glass of wine, though," Carol said. "Unless—I've got some reason to keep my guard up."
Andrea's smile returned.
"I was going to say—I've got a full liquor cabinet but I don't drink the hard stuff all that often. And the beer I've got is really piss beer. It isn't mine. It's like—this hodgepodge collection of the shit that people have left here. The wine, though? This one's good. It's almost like dessert," Andrea said.
Carol nodded.
"Sounds perfect," she declared.
Andrea poured them both a glass of wine and then she handed one of the glasses to Carol before she gestured toward the couch.
"Couch OK or...do you prefer the table?" Andrea asked.
"The couch is perfect," Carol said.
Andrea laughed to herself.
"You can tone down your enthusiasm," Andrea said. "Not everything has to be perfect. And—if you want to? You can calm down. Breathe. There's no need to be worried. I'm not an axe murderer. Unless it makes you nervous that I told you that I'm not an axe murderer."
Carol laughed to herself.
"I didn't think you were," Carol said.
"Really?" Andrea asked. "Because you're watching me like I'm going to shed my skin." She settled down on the couch next to Carol.
"Actually—since I saw you at the bar, it almost looks like you did shed your skin," Carol said. "If you don't mind my saying—you look a lot different than you did there."
"I changed my clothes," Andrea said. "I washed off what was left of my makeup. My hair's a little bit of a mess thanks to the rain. But those are just the tricks of the trade that every woman knows, right? The ways to transform yourself into something else. At least one of the personalities that you have to assume to get by in the world. You've got those, right? Carol with no last name."
Carol swallowed and tasted the chilled wine that she'd been given.
"I've got those," Carol agreed. "Maybe I'm the one that's hoping to shed my skin."
"Maybe you will," Andrea said. "I know it's none of my business so—you can just tell me it isn't, but...crazy ex-boyfriend?"
"Crazy husband," Carol said.
"Soon-to-be ex-husband?" Andrea asked.
Carol swallowed. She nodded her head.
"Honestly? There's very little I'd love more than to be rid of him," Carol said. "But—I don't even know where to begin. I honestly don't know even where to start. I feel like—sometimes, I feel like he's gotten into my head."
Andrea laughed to herself.
"That's what most of them do," Andrea said. "Still—looks to me like you've started. You took the first step. You're out. You're gone. He's not here."
Carol nodded her head and smiled to herself.
"He's not here," Carol agreed. "But I don't know where I go from here."
"You don't have to decide that tonight," Andrea said. "In the morning, Axel will get your car out the ditch and haul it over here—assuming it runs."
"If it doesn't?" Carol asked.
Andrea shrugged her shoulders.
"He'll haul it down to the shop and they'll get it running," Andrea said. "Then I'll drive you over there when it's ready. You can decide where you're going then. Or maybe just decide on the road."
"What if I wanted to stay here?" Carol asked. "In Liberty."
"There's nothing in Liberty," Andrea said. "Not really. Mostly the only people who stay in Liberty are the people who were born here."
Carol laughed to herself.
"That's what Daryl said," Carol said. "At the bar."
"He's right," Andrea said. "Liberty—it's the kind of place that keeps its hold on you. If you're born here? You never get out of Liberty. If you're one of the few that does break loose? You never come back for fear you'll just sort of sink back down into it again. Anyone who comes here and stays more than a couple of days just seems to get stuck. It's like the whole town is covered in molasses. Your feet stick right to the ground if you stand still too long."
"What about you?" Carol asked.
"I was born here," Andrea said. "And by the time I had the money or the balls to get out of here, Liberty already had her hooks in me."
"Is it such a bad town?" Carol asked.
"It's a town like any other, I guess," Andrea said. "I mean—it's a small town. We've got more festivals and parades than any town this size has any business having. We've got just about anything you want as long as you're not asking for too much. It's just a small town."
"Then what's wrong with it?" Carol asked.
"It's just a nothing little town," Andrea said. "That's all. And it's overflowing with people who are so miserable with their own lives that they can't help trying to make other people miserable. Misery enjoys company, I guess."
"That's everywhere," Carol said. "At least I think that's everywhere."
"I'm just warning you," Andrea said, "that if you stay too long, you'll get stuck."
Carol laughed to herself.
"It might be a risk I'm willing to take," Carol said. "I'm sure I've been stuck in worst places before."
"Well," Andrea said, draining her glass of wine, "you don't have to decide that tonight, either. Depending on what Axel finds when he pulls your car out tomorrow, you might be stuck here even if you don't want to be. At least for a couple of days."
Andrea stood up, clearly taking her glass back to the kitchen. Carol hadn't drank her wine as quickly as Andrea, so she waited a moment to see if Andrea would refill her glass to have another. When she didn't, Carol got up and drank down the contents of her own glass quickly. Apparently it was time to call it a night, and she didn't want to make Andrea stay up any later than she'd intended. Not when she was a guest in her home.
"Andrea—I have to admit that I'm not sure I can pay Axel," Carol said. "I mean—for the tow, maybe. But if there's anything wrong with the car? I just don't have that much on me right now and I can't really get in touch with my husband. I don't want to."
Andrea shook her head. She held her had up to Carol to stop her explanation in its tracks.
"You don't owe anyone anything," Andrea said. "We'll talk about it all in the morning. But you just—sleep well tonight. Don't worry about it. You won't owe Axel a thing."
"Why?" Carol asked. "Who is he?"
Andrea laughed to herself.
"He's one of the Judges," Andrea said.
"Your town Judge also drives your local tow truck?" Carol asked with a laugh. Andrea echoed her humor. She shook her head.
"The Judges," Andrea said. "Don't worry about it. You won't owe him anything. He's practically family. He's part of the club."
"The club?" Carol asked.
"The Judges," Andrea said. "The MC."
"MC?" Carol asked.
"Motorcycle club," Andrea said. "Go get some rest, Carol. I put a fresh toothbrush out for you and one for Sophia on the bathroom sink. I always keep them around for unexpected company. The bathroom's right through there. I'll see you in the morning and, when you're not so tired, you can figure out what you want to do."
Carol shook her head at the blonde.
"I can't pay you back for being so nice to me," Carol said.
"Good," Andrea said. "Because I wouldn't let you anyway. Welcome to Liberty. Front door's locked. The batteries in the smoke alarm are new. The phone hanging by the fridge is a landline that still works if you need it. Get some sleep. There's nothing left to worry about. Knock on my bedroom door if you need anything."
Carol laughed to herself. She nodded at Andrea.
"Thank you," Carol said. "Goodnight, Andrea. I still don't know your last name, you know?"
Andrea winked at Carol.
"And I still don't know yours," Andrea said. "Goodnight, Carol."