“I’m not supposed to help you do this, but I’ve been you. I was you many years ago and wish that someone would have helped me.”
Tears flowed down her face as she looked at Hope. How could someone as sweet as this woman ever be treated the way that she had?
“Here’s what you’re going to do. Go down the back stairwell and it will lead you to the back parking lot. From there, you need to find your way to the pizza place on 5th Avenue. When you get there, ask to speak to Dustin and tell him that Hope sent you. He can help you from there.”
Cassidy nodded her head praying that she would remember all of this. Concussions sucked and this was probably the worst one yet.
As she finished getting dressed, she wondered how many times Hope had helped someone in her position. It had to have been many with the directions that she just provided.
One doesn’t give information that precise and that quickly without having done so many times previously.
“Be careful, Cassidy. Make sure to take care of yourself and if you start to have any signs of complications, you need to find your way to the nearest emergency room. Remember that you just had major surgery.”
Finally dressed, Cassidy gave Hope a big hug and whispered a thank you before slipping out the hallway. This was going to be the start of her new beginning, as long as she survived her escape.
CHAPTER ONE
OLIVIA
She bolted awake, heart beating out of her chest. It’s just a nightmare, he’s not here. Olivia tried to calm her breathing as she looked at her surroundings.
She pulled Nibbles, her stuffed bunny in close, rubbing her ear against her nose. There wasn’t a night that passed where she didn’t have a nightmare.
Most nights she slept for a few hours before one took over. Going back to sleep was next to impossible, so Olivia has learned how to function on just a few hours of rest.
She looked over at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. It was five forty-five in the morning and she knew it was pointless for her to try and go back to sleep.
Opting to take advantage of the extra hour she had, Olivia decided to take a bubble bath and relax. She hoped that maybe it would ease the thoughts racing in her mind.
Turning on the tap and watching the bath fill as she poured in her favorite bubble bath. She let it run for a few minutes, before turning it off and heading into the kitchen to grab her firstcup of coffee.
She would drink several cups before she even left for the party that her best friend, Rae, invited her to. It was the only way that she knew she would be able to function.
Undressing, Olivia glanced at the scar running along the left side of her abdomen. It has been nine months since that night, but the scar would never fade.
The emergency surgery that she underwent made sure of that. Following her escape, Olivia managed to contract an infection in the original incision causing her to become septic.
The ER doctors in the tiny town where she had stopped, had to reopen the wound and clean out the infection. The scar that remained would just be a permanent reminder of that night.
Shivering from the cold and the memories that haunted her mind, she climbed into the warm bath waiting for her and let her mind continue to drift. Olivia had taken every step she could to erase who she once was.
Cassidy Taylor would never exist again and that was for the best. Even though it still didn’t feel like enough, Olivia would always feel unsafe.
Knowing that David was still out there looking for her would always rattle her nerves. She could only hope that he wouldn’t be able to reach her here in the tiny Arizona town where she took up residence.
Sipping on her coffee, she stayed in the bath until the water ran cold and her body became wrinkly. Finally getting out, Olivia wrapped up in a towel before heading into the kitchen for a refill.
Sitting at her vanity, she decided to put effort into what she looked like for today's party. The only place she ever went was to Ivory Mountain Nursing Home, where she worked on the dementia unit with Raelyn.
Taking the time to curl her hair and apply the smallestamount of makeup, Olivia slipped into the light pink sundress as the alarm she had set earlier went off.
Gathering her phone, wallet, and keys she put everything into the pink crossbody purse she planned on carrying today. Almost everything she wore was some shade of her favorite color, pink.
She drained the last of her coffee, kissed Nibbles goodbye, and headed out the door.
Gripping her purse tighter to her body, she made her way to the car as quickly as she could. That didn’t stop her from hearing the catcalls as she slid into the driver's seat.
Olivia didn’t live in a good area. There wasn’t a day that went by that something wasn’t getting broken into or she couldn’t hear the gunshots from down the road.
