Thank you all for your kind reviews! Good catch andromedacrawley on the nod to the song in the last chapter ;). Enjoy!

Chapter 7

January 2019

Her entire body was trembling. She kept herself back against the wall, her right arm up against her chest with her left hand cradling it. Her eyes rapidly blinked, holding back the tears. She could still feel the cold steel against her neck, although it had left her skin mere minutes before.

He was passed out on the bed now, in a deep drunken stupor. The knife was still in his hands.

A sob crawled up her throat, but she pushed it down, afraid to wake him.

With quiet steps, she walked into her closet, pulling out the smallest piece of luggage she owned. Inside were already clothes and things she might need if she escaped. She had packed it just a week ago, just in case. At the time, she thought she was being crazy or overreacting. But today, she was glad it was done.

Tiptoeing out of the room, she carefully closed the door behind her. She remained locked in place for several moments, making sure she didn't hear him move. It was silent.

Now it was time to grab Zachary. She went to his room; he was in a deep sleep. Thankfully the screaming, yelling, and crying had been muffled by his sound machine. She bent down to pick his sleeping frame into her arms, wincing as her right wrist felt the pressure against it. Moving through the pain, she rested him against her chest. He stayed asleep.

She continued on her mission, trying to remain quiet. The nanny was gone for the week and that was how everything had escalated. She hadn't given Alex the attention he felt he deserved every evening. Zachary, he felt, got too much of her time.

Once, Anna had been able to soothe things over. At least, calm him before things went too far. She thought she had things under control. How wrong she had been. The last three months he had been escalating more and more, making her scared. Tonight, however, he had threatened her life, promising to kill her and leaving Zachary without a mother.

A shaky breath left her lips. She slipped out of the house and to her car. Her eyes dashed behind her, making sure she wasn't followed. But she hadn't been. It was dark. She placed the luggage in the front seat, before putting Zachary in his seat. Her wrist ached and she could taste blood on her lips.

Ignoring it all, she made sure Zachary was safely in the car, before going to the driver's side. Her heart was racing in her chest and she locked the door. Again, she eyed the house. It was still quiet.

She turned on the car, but not the lights, not yet. There was enough light to pave her way out the gate.

When she was safely on the main road, she turned on her headlights and drove directly to Mary's house. The entire drive, she wondered if she was making the wrong choice. Would Mary even want to speak to her? She hadn't been the best friend to her that she should have been. They barely spoke. Anna hadn't even shown up to her engagement party. Tears prickled in her eyes. How had she allowed this all to happen?

Pulling up in front of Mary's house, she turned back to look at her sleeping son. She had to do this. If not for herself, she had to do it for him. Alex had underestimated what Anna would do to make sure her son was safe. She parked the car and lifted Zachary back into her arms. He woke slightly and confused.

"Mama?" He murmured, his little eyes blinking. Anna kissed the top of his head.

"Shh, my sweet boy. Mama's here," she promised him. That seemed to be enough to calm him and he put his head back on her shoulder, falling back into his slumber.

Anna walked up to Mary's front door and inhaled sharply. She knocked on the front door, well aware that it was three am in the morning.

At first, there was no sign of anyone coming to the door. She cursed herself for not calling Mary first, but she had been too focused on getting them out of the house. And now, with her hurt wrist and holding Zachary, she was struggling with pulling her phone out of her purse. She tried again, hitting the doorbell this time.

Lights flew on and moment later, she could hear loud whispering. Until finally, Matthew opened the door with a bat in his hand. The moment he saw it was Anna, he put down the bat, calling behind him.

"Mary! It's Anna."

Mary flew to the door, her eyes taking Anna's whole state in and her mouth gaping.

"Oh my god," Mary then said. "What has he done to you?"

"Please take him," Anna begged, her body growing weary. Without anything else needing to be said, Mary took Zachary into her arms. Then she helped Anna inside, telling Matthew to take her bag.

"I'm going to put him in the port-a-crib I have upstairs for when Sybbie visits, you go and sit on the couch," Mary said, taking over. "Matthew, get her some tea and biscuits."

Anna did as she was told, her body still shaking like a leaf. Matthew brought her the tea and biscuits, but remained quiet. She was grateful. She didn't want to make small talk. Mary was down only moments later and took the seat next to Anna.

"I'm going to go back upstairs," Matthew told them, respecting Anna's privacy. "Let me know if you need me."

As Matthew walked upstairs, Anna could feel her resolve fading. Mary reached over to take Anna's hand and Anna made a face. Noting Anna's pain, Mary dropped her hand and frowned.

"What has he done to you?" Mary asked again. "Please, Anna. Tell me what happened."

"It…I…" Anna tried to get out. "I don't know what, exactly, set him off. We were talking about Zachary's birthday next week. I said or did something that made him angry. He…he dragged me by my hair from our kitchen, up the stairs, and into our bedroom. I didn't realize it, but he had a knife in his hand. He pressed it against my neck and…when I tried to get him to move it, he hit my face and…and twisted my wrist. I can't….." A loud sob left Anna's lips. Mary carefully brought her arms around Anna, allowing her to let it all out.

"I'm so glad you came here, Anna," she whispered into her hair. "You can stay with us as long as you need. Why don't we call the police? Have them come and take your statement?"

Anna nodded. "Alright."

Anna didn't say anything else while they waited for the police arrive. It took a while, but finally Detective Willis was welcomed into Mary's home, ready to take Anna's statement. When he arrived, Anna told him in great detail what all had occurred with Alex.

"I think we can book him this time," Detective Willis assured her. Mary's eyes went between Anna's face and Detective Willis's face.

"This time? Anna, how many times have you gone to the police?"

Anna blinked harshly. Her head shook, as her lower lip began to quiver.

"A…a few times," she whispered. Mary gasped, but didn't say anything more at the moment. Anna looked down to her hands. "Thank you, Detective Willis."

Mary walked him to the door and then went to sit back down next to Anna. Even though Anna wasn't looking at her, she knew her friend was staring at her with worry.

"Anna, why…why didn't you tell me how badly things had gotten?" Mary asked. There was no judgement in her words, just concern.

"I…I don't know," Anna honestly answered. "I was…I was ashamed, I guess. I thought…" Her breath hitched within her throat. "I really thought…." Hot tears streamed down her face. "I don't know what I'm doing, Mary. You were right about him all this time and I wanted to prove that I hadn't made such a bad mistake. I…."

"Oh Anna," Mary gingerly said, running her hand over her friend's cheek. "Why don't we clean you up and then you get some sleep? Matthew and I can handle Zachary in the morning. We can talk after you've rested."

"Thank you," Anna then sincerely told her friend. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

At that, Mary lightly chuckled. "I never would."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

April 18, 2019

As soon as Detective Carson sent out a few of the officers to arrest Alex Green, John went back down to the lake that was being searched. He arrived right as a car was being pulled out of the water. It fit the description Mary had given him of Anna's car. His heart skipped a beat. Would they find her body, too?

He walked over to where they were pulling the car out of the water. It was placed onto the grass next to the road and John stepped right up to it. The front window was broken. John guessed Green had broken it and pulled her out. He reminded himself that it was likely she was taken somewhere else. Her earring was in his car. Unless, he tore the earring off as a prize. But that didn't make sense. He wouldn't have lost his prize.

Finding the car didn't tell them much, except that he was right about the location where Alex cornered her. He felt a chill go down his spine, as he thought about how terrified she must have been when she realized she had no escape.

John did a deep search of the car. There were no other clues outside of the window being broken. He would call Carson and tell him. Carson promised him that he could watch him interview Alex and that if he had more questions, he could ask them. He had to pry at Anna's door to get it to open. He found her cellphone on the floor of the car. He picked it up. Then gave it to one of the guys to add to the evidence pile.

Once he was finished, he decided to ride over to Mary's house and tell her what he found. He wished he had more news for her, better news. Though she had been pleased to hear that Alex was being arrested. But sadly, an earring wasn't going to be enough to convict Alex for Anna's disappearance. He hoped they would find something at the car to lead them to a better path or on the property. He had more avenues he wanted to explore after Alex was arrested.

John parked in front of Mary's house and went up to knock on the door. She immediately answered and her face fell when she saw it was him.

"May I come in?"

"Yes, of course," Mary tried to brightly say. "I'm sorry. I thought….they are supposed to be bringing Zachary in a little while."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can go…."

"No, I want to hear what you have to say. Any more leads?"

John asked again if he could some inside. Mary allowed him in, pointing to the couch. John could see that Mary had gotten Zachary's toys ready for them. They were spread out all over the floor. There was a nervous energy surrounding Mary and John hoped they brought the boy over soon.

"What have you found?"

"We found her car," John began. He watched as Mary inhaled sharply, as if she was preparing for bad news.

"They…was she…" Mary's voice caught in her throat.

"No," John quietly said. "They haven't found her body. The window of her car was broken. My guess is that he broke it and then took her out of the car."

Mary glanced away from him, wiping below her eye. He could tell she was trying to remain stoic, but the thought of her friend being ripped out of her car was upsetting.

John's phone dinged. He glanced down. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"He's been arrested," John told Mary. She looked at him.

"Alex has been arrested?"

"He has."

Mary let out a sound of relief.

"Thank god."

"Now, they won't be able to convict him. There isn't enough evidence to hold him for longer than twenty-four hours or so. I'll be helping in trying to get him to confess. I'll also be looking for more evidence so they can hold him longer. I will find that evidence."

"I believe you," Mary strongly replied. "I believe you'll make sure he rots in prison."

The bell of the front door rang and Mary quickly stood. She wiped the front of her shirt and quickly walked to answer it. John stood, but remained back.

He saw that it was a woman with Zachary in her arms. The little boy's eyes lit up when he saw Mary.

"Here," Mary's tight voice said, "Come to May-May." She quickly brought the little boy into her arms, holding him tightly. Mary's hand came up to run through his dark curls and she kissed his temple. "Oh, I have missed you. But you are safe now, sweet boy. You are home with May-May and Choo-Choo."

Zachary lifted his head, his eyes searching around the house.

"Mama?" He asked. John watched as Mary's face crumbled. She thanked the woman and shut the door, turning inside. Zachary continued to glance around the house. "Mama? Home? Mama?"

Thick, hot tears began to fall down Mary's face and she held Zachary closer, before a harsh sob left her lips. She was overcome by the happiness she felt of having Zachary back and the grief of him losing his mother, of her losing her best friend.

To be continued...

There are two more chapters left of Part 1. I'm still working on Part 2 of this story. It'll be split into three parts. Part 2 will likely be the longest of the parts, but I'm not sure, yet. Thank you all! :)