Bear by Lily J. Adams
Chapter Sixteen: Last Call
Delphia
The afternoon had dragged on. I know I should have felt safer being here. But I didn’t. The problem had become more complicated as I didn’t feel that Bear was safe simply because I was here in his home. It wasn’t about me anymore. All I could think about was losing Bear.
A culmination of fear and distress led to a hasty decision. I was living in a walking nightmare of Rocky breaking in here and shooting us both. The bloody images went through my head. I couldn’t live like this anymore. I was about to lose my tenuous hold on my sanity. Shaking like a leaf whenever my phone rang was enough to send me into a crazed frenzy. Now sounds were doing the same as I would pause to wonder if it was Rocky coming to get us.
Us! Yeah, that is what hit me like a barrelling train.
He could kill us. Not just me.
Finally, I heard that familiar roar.
Bear had returned.
I unlocked the door and hugged him tight. He meant so much to me. He had become everything to me, in fact. I clung to him like I hadn’t seen him in weeks, not hours.
He took a look at me, seeming to see my fear. He smoothed my hair with his large soothing hands. “Please don’t be so afraid. You’re safe. I will not let the man hurt you ever again. Do you hear me?” He then lowered his head and kissed me deeply.
I fell into him like I was melting.
Finally, he pulled those warm lips from mine and looked down at me. “Ink said all was well here. Angie come by? She told me she was due to see you.”
“Yep. She came by and she dropped off the newspaper. I’m going to read it, eventually.”
Bear moved further in and locked the door. He had a gun strapped under his vest.
Funny, I never noticed it before. I gulped heavily, it’s because he wasn’t wearing it before. But now he was. But if he were riding, it wouldn’t do him any good. Rocky could shoot him in the back from his own bike. I shivered again.
Bear took a good look at me. “You need to eat then get some sleep, baby. Come on let’s get some dinner.”
I mutely nodded.
Fear had become a living thing inside of me. Fear for Bear. I could not believe how I’d been going around for all this time, worried about myself. When at any time while Bear had been protecting me, Rocky could have sniped him.
Fear for one’s self was one thing, but fear for someone…Someone you loved was a whole other terror.
I was leaving town. It was time for me to pack, run and go.
Nobody could help me. Not unless they were willing to put themselves between me and Rocky. And that would be Bear, for sure.
I kept seeing his gun in front of my face and now I saw it in front or in the back of Bear himself. This ghastly image had now been imprinted in my mind.
If he succeeded in killing Bear, Rocky might as well just put the gun in my mouth and pull the trigger. Cause I wouldn’t care anymore.
The next step would be to research the place I wanted to head to. I had my laptop here and I could make all my plans when Bear left again. The feeling of terror rode me like I was its bitch. I visualized my brother’s bugged-out eyes from the days before his death. I wanted no soul to know, and Bear was too close to me. I would be the greatest fake of my life but I had to keep everybody safe.
After dinner, Bear and I sat in the living room. I wanted to take him in for the last moments. I noted his thick muscular thighs and his rugged, athletic body and smiled to myself, knowing he was a loyal, protective man and one of the rare breeds that I’d met. Parts of his personality reminded me of my brother. Maybe it was a biker loyalty trait, but it was one I respected.
The ride out of the hell hole was about to commence. I followed through with all the motions of a normal evening.
After checking all the windows and doors, Bear went to take a shower.
Instead of watching Netflix that he had gotten a movie on for me, I researched hair dyes on the laptop and asked myself what person I wanted to shapeshift to. Would it be a platinum blonde or a redhead? I let my mouse scroll over the colors as I pulled at the strands of my hair. There was no time for a haircut. I would have to get the scissors and snip it into a bob. I clicked on YouTube videos looking for tutorials on how to cut hair.
I found a couple that looked right for me and made note of them. I made a promise to myself I would do it my way. I decided on blonde because people always said blondes have more fun. I thought of Angie’s vibrancy and her confidence and I had to agree with that saying.
Next, I had to select a Greyhound route. I looked into a place that I’d recently discovered. A place where I would be safe and start a new life. I opened up Google maps and ran my mouse cursor over it. Cutover, Mississippi. A decent population, a couple hundred miles away, and not a place too many people would even think to find me. I would have to catch the late Greyhound and leave in the dead of the night.
Fixing my gaze on the screen, I suspended my hand over the mouse for longer than I should. I closed my eyes and steadied my breath to book the ticket. I watched the wheel turn on the screen as it verified my payment. I then went to the Uber site and arranged for the car to pick me up on the next block over from Bear’s house.
I finished with my arrangements then went to pack a light bag. Makeup, hair stuff, a few outfits that I had brought with me. I would head to my house to get anything else I might need. I then hid the bag in the closet by Bear’s back door. I felt like some kind of sneak thief. Bear would be more than upset, but I’d rather he be mad at me than him being dead. I again shuddered, telling myself that this was the right thing to do. It had to be.
Bear came back into the living room, dark wet hair and his torso gleaming.
I swallowed hard. Damn, it would be more than hard to never see him again. The man was a bear, but he’d been my bear.
He grabbed me up and kissed me.
Again, I clung to him as if my life depended on it. But that was the thing, I didn’t want his life to be taken because of me.
We went to bed quite early that evening longing to be in each other’s arms.
Bear seemed to know that I was bone tired, so he just held me.
Finally, after lying there within the warmth and the haven that was my Bear, I knew he was sound asleep. I eased out from his hold.
He stirred and muttered, “Where ya going?”
I held my breath then faked a good answer, “Just to the restroom.”
He nodded and rolled over in the large bed.
I took the note I’d written earlier and laid it onto my pillow next to Bear.
Sneaking out of the bedroom, I quietly shut the door. I grabbed the bag from the small broom closet. Bye, Bear. You’re the best man I’ve ever met in my life.
There was no hesitating once I was outside. I quickly maneuvered through the alleys and over to the next block. The Uber was there waiting. I got in and he took me to the all night Walmart. I picked up the hair dye. Then I went on to my house.
Once I got inside, I pulled my suitcase out of the closet and started shoving clothes into it.
The scrounging around for all my belongings continued as I opened up my cupboards and grabbed things I thought I would need on my journey. I scooped up the coffee, sugar, spoons, a mug, no plates—I figured I could get plastic plates if I had to. By the time I finished up, it was one in the morning and I was bone tired.
The phone rang, and I was annoyed at myself for jumping and then answering it so quick. I hoped it wasn’t Bear or my plan had just gone out the window.
“You answered.”
A cold, fresh chill ran down my back as a hoarse, evil voice took over the phone.
“Rocky.” Heart palpitations revved my pulse into overdrive. Enough was enough for me. “You rob the gas station and now you want to call me? You’re going to be all over the news. I hope you like to read the paper.” I was almost yelling, but all I heard from the other end of the line was Rocky’s horrid laughter like the reckless maniac he was.
“You are such a dead bitch. Dead. Dead. Dead. Like your brother. It was fun for me, you know. I loved the thrill of it. Could’ve been avoided if you told me about the money, honey.”
A knife twisted in the cavern of my stomach as he spoke effortlessly about killing my brother.
“You know where the money is,” he went on. “I know you do.”
My gag reflex triggered into full flight mode as he dug the large, dull knife blade in a little further. “You better run because the cops are already after you! You piece of shit.” My mouth was running off pure adrenaline.
More Jekyll and Hyde laughter filled the phone from Rocky as the phone clicked dead.
I slumped to the ground and cried. Really cried. I reached the tissue box and sat there until the pool of tears flooded my face. Looking around my home for the last time was a surreal experience. A watery smile flickered over my face as the image of Bear popped up in my mind. At least, he would be alive and safe. I had a couple of selfies with us together and I would cherish them. The big warm protector Bear.
I’ll never forget you.
I had to move on with my life once and for all. Stomach pains were jabbing through me as the thought of leaving freaked me out, but it was best for everyone.
Bear’s day ride was in the morning and I would be gone by then… except it would be three a.m. in the dead of the night with nothing but my suitcase and my survivor’s overnight bag. The lease on my apartment was due in two months and I had enough in my savings to make it. More than enough. I’d been living in fear for the last year, so that was the bonus. I went from home to work, work to home, but that was no way for me to live. And I refused to allow Bear or anyone else to live with the same fear every damn day.
It was just me and my little car now, and I would have to leave it parked here at my house. It was a junk heap anyway, and whenever the weather was cold, I found it hard to start. The registration on it was about to expire, and the tire tread had worn down considerably. I probably shouldn’t have been driving it.
I rose, washing my face and started to systematically cut my long hair. Finally grasping the strands of my new hair, it was shorter than I wanted it to be, but it aged me in a way that didn’t freak me out. I did look older and more sophisticated.
There was one last touch I had to do to make sure nobody would recognize who I was. I opened the hair dye packet and laid out the instructions as I sighed to myself in the mirror. I didn’t have a comb to part the sections of my hair like the diagram said I would have to pick apart my strands and place the hair dye there. Inhaling deeply, I knew I was about to be a brunette for the last time. Now I was about to turn into a blonde. I fingered the dye through my hair and let it sit for over thirty minutes as I inhaled the scent of chemicals.
I rinsed out the potent cocktail hoping that all of my hair would remain intact and sure enough it did. The result was some sort of color between a dirty and ash blonde. In the mirror, I saw a new Delphia. Older, wiser, more conditioned for the real world… minus the naivety. I nodded back at her as I blow-dried my new locks. Nothing like Angie’s golden strands, but I was happy enough with it.
I made myself a cup of coffee and drained it, letting the brown liquid keep me awake. Time slipped through my fingers and the moment of the hour came for me to leave Holbeck. I would call my parents after my arrival in Cutover, when I settled into a motel room. I would let them know when I arrived safely. By then, they wouldn’t be able to do anything as it would be too late for them to scramble and try and look for me.
Extreme sadness washed over me as I now called for a taxi to take me to the Greyhound station.
Tick tock. Tick tock. The clock to me looked as if it was running on its own time, and I wanted to take the second hand and push it forward myself.
Sitting silently in the dark, I waited for the taxi to whisk me away to the Holbeck depot where I would catch the Greyhound. A trace of a teardrop poured onto my skin, my fingers wiped it away. No place for tears now, only time to move through the night in stealth mode.
A beep at the front door delivered a shot of adrenaline to my heart as I nervously grabbed my things and looked around my apartment, feeling a little bit of excitement at the new start and a ball of fear.
“Bye, apartment. I’m going to miss you, plants.” My plan was to get my mother to come by and water them once I delivered the blow that I was in another city. The article was coming out and I would be miles away so Rocky couldn’t come for me. I hoped the cops delivered what Angie told me they would.
The taxi driver was a little impatient as I dragged my items out of the door with a struggle. The night air was cool and its chill made me wake up.
“Sorry, I’m here, just these bags are a little heavy is all,” I apologized.
“No problem, let me help you with that.” The man took the suitcase off my hands as I looked up at the streetlights and the quiet houses in my neighborhood. Everything in my body felt like it was beating out loud.
The taxi driver broke into my nostalgic moment, “You’re getting on the road early. You got somewhere to be?”
“Yep. A whole new city. Time for a change.” I pulled my dark blue hoodie up over my head and sat inside the taxi.
“Fair enough. I changed cities when I was thirty, and I loved it. Best change I ever made. I met my wife, and here I am in Holbeck city. Shame you gotta leave it.”
The taxi driver’s idle chatter was good for me. Him talking stopped my mind from icing over with the huge decision I’d just made. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m not saying I will never be back, just now I have to go for a while. I’m young, so it’s better if I do it now,” I replied.
“That’s true. My cousin used to travel all around the world and he thought that’s what he was going to do for the rest of his life, but he ended up coming back to the same place that he started in. We always come back home,” he mused.
“Maybe we do. I’ll have to wait and see.” My head turned out the window. Holbeck looked different at night. Peaceful and more sleepy than it already was. The depot showed up in front of me; the Greyhound bus was waiting there, with the driver standing outside smoking his cigarette.
“Here’s our stop. I wish you good luck. That’s 15 bucks. Maybe I’ll see you around one day.”
I crushed the cash into his hand as I got out of the car and tried not to bump my head on the roof.
The taxi driver popped the trunk, dropped my suitcase down on the ground, and handed me my overnight bag.
My legs were trembling as I picked up all my belongings and walked over to the Greyhound where other people were loading their stuff into the underside of the bus.
“Gotcha ticket with you, little lady?” the Greyhound driver asked me as his moist eyes shone back at me.
I shivered as I reached into my purse. “Yeah, I got it here.” I reached in and pulled out my ticket as my heart stampeded through my chest. I was going to have to do something to slow that down.
He ripped off part of the ticket and handed it back to me. “Here you go Ma’am, you’re free to board when you’re ready. We’re going to be leaving in the next ten minutes. If you need to go to the bathroom or anything like that, now would be the time to do it.”
“Thanks,” I replied as I looked at the brick toilet block and decided to pass on it. I got on the bus and looked into the faces that were already on the bus. A few people were in their places already as I found a window seat right in the middle. I pressed my face against the glass and waited for the driver to take off.
I saw a shadow… The hulk of a man.
No way. No way. I covered my face a little further and pushed away the thought that Rocky had followed me to the bus station.
Closing my eyes, I caressed my temple with two fingers.
“My god, what have I done?” I muttered to myself.
