Chapter 9

Friday

The day went by in a bit of haze really, for some reason I slept in and didn't seem to catch up with myself. It was mid day by the time I made it to the Bonds Office only to be told that Lula wasn't coming in to work and Connie was closing early as there were no new files and the courts had closed for the weekend. We agreed a time for me to pick her up and she would send a message to the others so I decided to go say farewell to my family. As I pulled up I saw my Dad sat on the doorstep and did he look fed up, my Mum was going in and out of the house putting things down to be packed. I wondered over and sat next to him waiting for him to say something first.

"You okay Pumpkin?"
"Yeah, girls night out tonight"
"Well take care while we're away, she still worries about you"

"I know but at least she's backed off a bit"
"Yeah now I'm in her sights"
I laughed at that as he got up and started to pack bags into the trunk of the car. My Grandma came out wearing a lilac tracksuit and hair to match and kissed me on the cheek before she got in the car, just as Mum closed the door to the house and came up to me.

"Stephanie, you're sure you don't want to come?"
"No Mum, you have some time alone with Dad"
"Well that's the plan"
"Drive carefully Dad"
"I love you Stephanie, don't ever forget that"
My Mum almost had me in tears as she said that, maybe all she ever wanted was what she thought was best for me. I waved as they drove down the street and out of view. Then I jumped back in my car to go home and get ready for my night out, I was looking forward to it and felt really pleased with the choice of dress.

Lula led the way into the club complaining loudly about the amount she had to pay to get in, I knew this place wouldn't be cheap which was another reason I'd opted to drive I wouldn't have to spend a fortune on drink. Mary Lou was next to me and Connie followed talking to Clarence who had really washed up good, in fact when he put his mind to it he was a good looking kid. We found a table away from the bar but with a good view of the dance floor and let Lula and Clarence go to the bar for the drinks. It was really loud and really difficult to hear what anyone said so I pointed to Mary Lou and then the dance floor pleased when she got up with me. I had a great time dancing sometimes with one of the girls and sometimes with men that would ask me. At the end of the evening we'd all enjoyed ourselves and left in the early hours of the morning me holding them up of course. The thing was I couldn't remember anything unusual about that night, I mean yes the place was packed but I didn't see anyone that I recognized.

As I finished writing I looked at the time, I knew I'd skimped on trying to remember what I may have seen at the nightclub but no one seemed obvious or to jump out for me, the other days yes but Friday no. It was nearly midnight and although it wasn't as late as I wanted it to be I needed to do some thing so sat up and stood by the bed, for some reason my head swooned and I had to sit down again and my ankle was throbbing. I needed a painkiller so walked out into the hallway and then into the kitchen to see if there were any in the cupboard I'd seen Stretch get the bandage from. There was a bottle of Advil in a first aid bag so I took the bottle and after taking two tablets out put the bottle in my pocket. I poured some water into a glass and swallowed the tablets and the rest of the water. I felt hot so without thinking opened the door that led into the backyard. I stepped outside relishing the feel of the cool night air and then suddenly panicked, dogs, he'd said there were dogs out here, but I couldn't hear or see any, in fact it was eerily quiet. I wondered back into the kitchen and refilled the glass then walked into the hallway. Nothing happened, no one appeared which seemed really strange, I felt like I could just walk to the front door and walk out but something was stopping me, I was scared to do it. A shadow passing in front of the door had me scurrying back to my room and I watched as the door opened and that man who had burst into the bathroom walked in and then went through the first door. I left my room and as I walked up to the door he'd disappeared through I knew the answer, the smell of cigarette smoke permeated the air. I suddenly felt much more awake and actually felt better so I made my way back to my bedroom opening the closet and dressing in jeans, T-shirt and a jacket, I removed all the bandages from my ankle and slowly eased the bracelet down until I was tugging at it to go over my heel. At last it came off and seemed intact, I replaced the bandages onto my ankle, so next I tried to put on some trainers but they were too tight around my ankle so I swapped them out for cat boots leaving the laces lose around the ankle. I had my poetry book in the inside pocket of the coat and the rucksack on my back. I sat in the dark by the door watching the hallway, I knew the man would need another smoke and an hour later he wondered out and went through the front door again. I stood up and readied myself, the bracelet was in the bed so I didn't need to worry about that, maybe once out I'd need to panic but for now getting out was my only focus. I watched as he came back in and as the internal door closed behind him I ran toward the front door opening it just enough for me to slip through and close it quietly behind me and then I just ran. I went to the end of the drive and for some unknown reason turned right and headed down the road not knowing if the men in the house knew I was gone or not. I didn't keep running though, I couldn't I was almost hopping as I went, my ankle was really painful now and I was struggling to get my breath but I knew I had to keep going. There were no lights on the road and I took that as a good sign and at this time of night there were no cars. The road came to an end but there was a pathway through the tall grass that I followed using the light from the moon to stay on track. I don't know how long I walked for but I knew I was exhausted, I felt elated when at the next curve in the track I saw a lot of lights and as I approached I could see a main road and a truck stop below me. I slid down the banking and found myself amongst trucks that were parked up. It was quiet with no one around so I went from truck to truck trying to find some way of hiding. Each door I tried was locked and feeling so tired and frustrated that I couldn't get any further I slid down by a tyre, pulling my knees to my chest with my head down I felt the tears start.

"Hey girl what the hell do you think you're doing?"
I jumped and I looked up into the face of a young man, tears still pouring down my face.

"You in trouble?"

I shook my head, unable to find any words.

"You after a ride"
I nodded and made to get up but stumbled when my ankle gave way. He bent down and with his hands under my armpits lifted me up leaning me against the side of the truck.

"You need help to get in?"
"Please"

He opened the cab door and then as he pushed I pulled myself up and inside until I was sat in the passenger seat, he closed the door and then went round to the drivers' side and climbed in. The engine started with a low growl and the gears engaged with a cranking sound but at last we were on the move.

"What's your name?"
I didn't want to let him know who I was so I went for the first name that came into my head.

"Joyce"
"You in trouble with the police?"
"No, some men"
"They hurt you?"
"Yes and tried to keep me prisoner"

"Do we need to get the police?"
"No"

I thought about that but in the end decided that if it was the FBI who were keeping me prisoner then the police would just hand me back over to them.
"Okay then, where do you need to be?"
"Where are you headed for?"
"I'm going north and I've got a lot of stops to make"

Probably heading north was safer, I mean Stretch would assume I'd head for home and if there was a contract out on me that's the last place I wanted to be.
"That would be brilliant, thank you for helping"

I must have dozed because the next thing I knew we'd stopped; the guy was busy at the back of the truck unloading boxes. He obviously delivered things to the smaller grocery shops because we seemed to be in a small residential area. The sleep seemed to have done me some good, my stomach felt settled and my headache had backed off. I pulled my book from my pocket and opened it ready to write in, I re read Friday but I still couldn't tell you who had been at that dam club and there was nothing obvious that had happened.