Catherine waited until she was a block away from her apartment before dialing 911.
She didn't want to do it in the prison, too many people watching her every move, good and bad alike. And she couldn't do it on the bus for the same reason. Only when she was sure no one would be actively listening did she pull out her phone.
The wait for the ringing to stop was hell.
The line crackled to life. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
Catherine drew in a shaky breath. She was really going to do this. It was really happening. "Hi, my name is Catherine Todd and I believe I have information regarding a missing persons case." She rushed out. "Jason Wayne's case."
"Alright ma'am, one moment please." She could hear movement over the line, the lady presumably sorting through something.
"Alright, please go ahead."
Catherine forced herself to take a deep breath, slowing her heart. Calm down, this was for Jason's good.
Then her phone beeped, signaling she was running out of minutes. "Look, I don't have much time, can I just give you my address and you can send people over?" The women on the other side agreed. Catherine listed off her address.
"Thank you ma'am," the woman said. "Police should be there in twenty minutes."
"Thank you," she nearly sobbed.
Her baby was going to be safe. He was going to finally go home to his father.
This time a sob did tear through her.
She was giving up her baby. A baby that she could no longer lay claim to. A baby she had clothed and fed and loved. A baby she had stolen.
Damn Willis. Damn him to whatever hell would take him.
No, she couldn't think about him right now. She needed to tell Jason. He deserves to know. His life was going to be changing a lot soon and he had to be ready. He might not ever see her again, and as much as that hurt, she knew it was the right thing to do.
Jason came first, no matter what.
Jason knew something was wrong the moment Mom walked into the apartment.
He'd been sitting against the wall reading an old Jane Eyre book, waiting for his mom to come back so he could start making lunch. He'd just found this new stir fry recipe he wanted to try for them. But something was wrong. There was an urgent air to her, a fear simmering just in the background as she came in.
He set the book down. "Mom?"
Her eyes flashed to him and something like relief or pity flashed through them. Immediately she walked over to him.
"Okay baby, listen to me," she said, crouching to his level, hands grasping his shoulders. "Something happened today that's very important, and it's going to change a lot of things around here, okay?"
Jason perked up. Did his mom get a new job? A better paying one? If that was the case shouldn't she be happy? He could practically feel the tension bleeding off her as it was.
Seemingly sensing his anxiety, she continued. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you. But it's going to be very confusing and maybe even scary. But I want you to remember that no matter what, I have alway, and will always love you no matter what, do you understand?"
Jason nodded slowly, concern bubbling up inside.
"I've only ever wanted the best for you," she continued. Emotion started to choke up her voice. "If I had known I- I swear I would've fixed it."
"Mom, you're scaring me," Jason mumbled.
A sad smile split across her face, a hand reaching up to brush his cheek. "Don't be scared baby," she tried. "I swear everything's gonna be better for you, now."
But not for her, he thought to himself. The thought made him tense up.
"Mom, what's going on?" He demanded.
"Your father is coming to get you," she said, voice straining to stay level.
"Willis!" He cried, jumping to his feet. "No Mom, I don't wanna go with him, please don't-"
"No, no, no, baby, no. Not Willis," she rushed to reassure. "Not Willis."
But, who else could she be talking about?
"Willis was a very bad man, Jason, and you'll never have to see him again," she told him. "He did something unforgivable, and I called the police as soon as I found out." She brushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "Baby I swear, I never meant to hurt you. And I am so sorry."
Sorry for WHAT? What wasn't she saying? What had Willis done? Why had she called the police?
"Mom, what aren't you telling me?" He demanded, ignoring the way tears had started choking up his voice.
Catherine opened her mouth to respond.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
"One moment baby," she said. "I swear this will all make sense soon." She gave him a quick peck in the forehead before heading to answer it.
Two men stood in the hall when she opened the door. "Catherine Todd?"
"Yes, thank you for-"
BANG!
Blood sprayed through the air behind her as a bullet went into her head.
Jason's heart stopped.
He watched dumbly as his mom fell to the floor, eyes already vacant. Blood started spreading through the graying carpet at an alarming rate, creating a crimson halo around her head. Red flecks had also speckled the area behind her, even reaching Jason.
No. No she wasn't- this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
His heart thundered in his ears. Was he breathing? He couldn't tell if he was breathing. His mom wasn't breathing; Oh god, she wasn't breathing. He had to help her. He had to- he needed-
The man at the door lowered his gun- which Jason hadn't even seen him draw- tucking it back into his waistband. "Grab the kid."
What?
The other man stalked forward, but Jason wasn't seeing him. His eyes were glued to his mom, who was still lying on the floor.
She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. This was a nightmare. He'd wake up and his mom would be right there and-
"Come on brat." Someone tugged at his arm.
That was all the kick Jason needed to get his mind functioning again.
"NO!" He cried, lurching back.
He stumbled back onto the floor, landing in part of the growing puddle next to his mom. The guy who'd grabbed him lunged for him again, but Jason rolled out of the way, scrambling to his feet.
"Get back here you brat!" He called.
Suddenly hands were on his shirt collar, yanking him backwards.
"He said you were a fighter," the man sneered.
Rough hands encircled him, picking him up and carrying him off to-
He sunk his teeth into the nearest flesh he could reach.
"FUCK!"
The arms released him, letting him fall to the floor. Jason spat out the blood that had got in his mouth and once again scrambled for the nearest exit.
Down the hall, through the door, past the mattress, the window-
"Get the fuckin' kid, Mac!" He heard behind him.
His heart thundered in his ears.
Jason slammed into the window in the shared bedroom, hands fumbling for the latch. They kept slipping, red smearing wherever he touched.
That was blood.
That was his mom's blood.
"He's in the bedroom!"
Oh fuck.
Thundering footsteps echoed behind him. With one final twist he undid the latch and thrust the window open, shoving himself through and out onto the fire escape.
Tumbling onto rusted metal, Jason pushed himself up and flew towards the stairs. He heard the mens angry shouts behind him, struggling to squeeze out the window.
Not bothering with the stairs, he flung himself over the side, hands clinging to the guard rail like a gymnast on the bars. He dropped to the next one.
The rust grated on his palms. He refused to cry out.
Then the next, and the-
He missed the last one. Heart in his throat, he hit the pavement. Hard.
Pain lanced up his leg and he crumpled like a marionette. He couldn't breathe, pain like a vice around his lungs. Above him he heard more shouting, followed by the sound of a gunshot.
"-fucking idiot we need him alive!"
He had to get outta here. Rolling onto his stomach he pushed himself to his feet, ankle protesting the entire time.
He had to run. Had to get away.
The sound of banging followed him from the fire escape. Risking a glance back he saw the two men racing down the rickety metal, taking the steps two at a time.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Stumbling to his feet Jason dashed out of the alley, the pain in his ankle practically forgotten as adrenaline pumped through him. He was small, he was fast, he knew these alleys better than anyone. That had to be enough.
The sound of footsteps behind him was getting louder.
Careening out of the alley and onto the main road he scoured the layout until he spotted what he was looking for.
There!
Up ahead, past the bodega on the corner. There was an old garbage chute that led straight into a condemned office building.
He weaved through the street crowd, not even bothering to apologize when he crashed into someone.
Heart in his throat, bare feet slapping against the hot July pavement, he dove into the alley just before a hand could grab him.
"MotherFUCKER!"
He dove up the chute, leveraging his size to wiggle up. There was banging behind him as the men attempted to follow, but Jason knew they wouldn't fit.
Something slick on his hands made him nearly lose his footing and fall all the way down, but he kept it at the last second. An agonizing minute and a half later, he tumbled out into the building.
There was a service door to the roof, and from there he managed to get another two blocks before finally coming to a stop in an alleyway.
Back slamming against the brick wall, Jason sank down to the ground. The alley was smelly, and he could see pieces of glass and old needles littering the ground, but he didn't care. The only thing he could feel was fear. Fear and confusion.
Those men, why had they chased him? Jason was a nobody, his old man made sure of that. The gangs he worked with never told him anything about the jobs he did, so what would be the point in nabbing him?
His ankle throbbed. His wrist where that guy had grabbed him was turning purple. His hands-
They were still covered in red. Now tacky and browning, it was still there. Oh God, that was blood.
Looking down Jason saw it covered the whole front of his shirt and part of his shorts. He vaguely recalled rolling through the puddle, but he wasn't sure.
Tears started leaking from his eyes. He wanted them to stop, to just go away, but they kept falling. Hiccuping sobs rattled in his chest, and all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and disappear.
Why was this happening? Why him? He buried his head in his knees, arms wrapped around his legs like a lifeline. His fingers clenched on the fabric of his shorts until the knuckles turned white. Distantly he felt nails break the skin of his palms, but he couldn't be sure.
His mom, she-
Glassy eyes staring at him from the floor.
And the men had-
Crimson soaking into the carpet.
He couldn't-
Rough hands grasping for him.
He didn't know what-
A lifeless, blooded corpse with brains sprayed all across the apartment.
Jason threw up.