The Love We Share

"He's not coming with us," I said.

He smiled. "So he won't hurt us no more?"

"No he will never hurt us again." The determination was clear in my voice. I hope to never see that man again.

"Okay." He stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. We crossed state lines and abandoned the car and got on a bus with all of our things. It would take hours to get there but it would be worth it. Donovan got comfortable in his seat, leaned against me and was soon fast asleep. I would do anything to protect him.

We got to Iowa with no problem. But that didn't change the fact that I was looking over my shoulder every few seconds. I decided to stay at a small town. Though people always say that it was easier to hide in a big city. I'm pretty sure Jake has heard that before. The only option was to use reverse psychology on him. He was never really bright. We should be safe here. We checked into a small motel we had seen from the bus. We didn't unpack because we weren't expecting to stay here long, maybe two weeks. But by then I hoped to find a job, a school for Don and an apartment for us.

Back in New York, I was a teacher, and I could definitely be one here too. But it would be easy for Jake to find us. I couldn't let that happen.

When we were on the bus, we had passed by a school, so that was the first stop. I needed to get Don into school as soon as possible. That way I could work at ease without having to worry about him too much. The school wasn't too far away, but not exactly at a walking distance either. By the time we got there, we were both tired, I guess a car has to be added to the list of things I need.

We went straight to the office. It was a Wednesday so school was in session.

"Go sit in the chair Don," I told him. He smiled, grateful to be able to sit after that long walk. I walked up to the secretary.

"Hello. How may I help you?" She asked.

"Hi. We just moved here and I wanted to know if my son can enter this school?" I asked hopefully. I couldn't ask for a transfer because Jake could track that too.

"Yes of course. Do you have the transfer papers for the school he previously attended?" Crap.

"No I don't. We had some trouble with his father and had to leave. I didn't have time to ask for the paperwork.

"Okay." She said and turned to the computer. "What's his name?"

"Donovan Riley."

"Age?"

"Five." And the questions kept coming. He was starting school on Monday.

After the paperwork was completed, we left to look for a job. We went to a bookstore, video store, a few clothing stores, even to a café. But none of them were hiring. Donovan was getting tired so we went to a diner we had seen. We settled into our seats and waited for the menus. Donovan stared quietly out the window while I looked through job ads in a newspaper I had bought.

"Hi. Welcome to BF's, Burgers and Fries. I'm Paul and I'll be your waiter today." A cheerful young man said, standing next to the table. "Here are your menus." He handed them to us. "Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"Two cokes please." After the long day a little sugar will probably cheer Don up.

"Coming right up." He turned and left us to look at the menus.