A New Chapter

24

I wasn't aware of how long I was staring at my phone until the screen went black. After a few seconds the phone played it's notification sound and the name appeared again. Before I processed what my hands where doing, the number was blocked from my phone. There was no time to waste out on the road, I had to grab a bite to eat and call Amy to see if she can help me find a place to get away from all the negative attention I was getting.

I put on my shades and cap before getting out of the truck; before I turned to leave into the restaurant, my reflection caught a glimpse of how I was in dire need of a shower. Since Arthur was known for calling me into "emergency" fights, I became prepared for it. I fetched my duffle, that I kept under the back seat of my truck which contained shower essentials and three pairs of clothes, and headed back inside.

The restaurant was nearly empty with the exception of the staff and couple of customers. An older female waitress saw my entrance and came up to me.

"Why don't you follow me darlin' and I'll find you a seat." I smiled at her, cautious of not saying a word to give myself up, and started to follow her until she leaned in closer to me. "Don't worry sweetheart I'll keep your secret safe with me." She winked at me before squeezing my shoulder and leading me to a booth away from the few customers; Tammy, as I saw from her name tag, handed me a menu before she left to get me a drink.

Since I didn't want to be seen by anyone, I sat facing away from the people to look out the window at the big rigs making their way in and out of the truck stop. My phone was on the table, waiting for my hand to dial Amy's phone number.

"Here ya' are." Tammy came to my table with a glass of freshly made ice tea and a big Texas sized burger. I looked up at her to see her smiling down at me like my grandmother would look at me.

"Tammy would you like to sit with me?" I got up and moved my duffle bag to make space for her to sit across from me. Tammy took her place across from me and looked at me, not like I was famous but like I was actually a normal person. "So how did you know it was me?" I took off my sunglasses and got a better look at how frail Tammy looked.

"Oh darlin' when you've worked in a place like this for many years, you know who are regular and who are people who are trying to find who they are." Tammy's modest smile made me smile.

"You are some woman."

"So I have been told." She reached across the table and patted my hand. "Get some food in your tummy and I'll go see if I can get a shower for you." Tammy smiled at me one last time before leaving me to attend her other customers.

As I was eating, my mind kept going over what I was going to say to Amy. When I finished eating, my phone rang and showed Amy smiling up at me.

"Amy I was just about to call y-"

"Listen Stacy, Arthur is probably going to come question me if I have talked to you or do something worse like hack into my phone or some mambo jumbo stuff you teens normally do. Anyways, I rented you a house out in the country so you can be with your boys. Jasmine has the address so she will be with you in a few days once she can get away from Arthur. Be save hun and remember I love you." Before hanging up, Amy gave me the address of the house she rented for me. I was so grateful for what Amy did for me.

Tammy came back to my table to clean up my plate and left me with some shower keys.

"Don't worry about the tab darlin', now you go on and get to showering before it gets to late to drive." Tammy winked at me as she left me alone. Before leaving, I wrote Tammy a thank you note and a generous $200 tip. After showering and freshening up, I was ready to make my way to my safe house.

By the time I went back to the truck it was starting to get dark out. I inputted the address into my GPS and headed out to it.

An hour later, I arrived at a big gate that was followed by a road covered with trees. Upon pulling into the drive way, the gate opened to let me into a place which I hoped would become my sanctuary. Five minutes later, the trees started clearing up to reveal a big beautiful white country home with a wrap around porch. I made my way to the back to see if there were any stalls I could house my boys in, and sure enough there was a matching white barn waiting behind the house.

I unloaded the boys and placed then in stalls so they can rest. Some fresh hay and cold water was already placed in the stalls, which I knew was Amy's doing. Once the boys ate and fell asleep, I made my way up to the welcoming house. When I entered the house, some lights automatically turned on to illuminate the furnishings of the house. The inside of the house was similar to that of the outside.

Cozy but elegant, something I can get used to. A bootjack was waiting by the door to remove my boots. Making my way up to the master bedroom sleepiness was kicking in. I turned on the bedroom lights to see a big king bed calling my name, but first I needed to shower. The bathroom was as big as the bedroom, white and silver colors filled the bathroom.

Without undressing I stepped into the shower. I stood in the shower for what seemed like years but was only seconds in reality, wishing the water would wash away all the problems. I needed a place of of salvation and peace but when would a day like that ever present itself to me?