Three guards are in the garden, including Laura.
I could sneak along the fence and use the flower bushes for cover in order to reach the back side of the property. I would need to be careful with the surveillance cameras, though.
With a deep sigh, I go back inside and rush up the service staircase until I reach the first floor. A guard walks along the hallway and away from my position. Carefully and quietly, I move toward Matty’s room.
I find him awake, looking around in slight confusion.
“Hey, baby,” I say as I close the door behind me. “How long have you been up?”
“I just woke up, Momma. Where are we?”
“Do you remember last night?”
He nods slowly, still groggy from sleep, his hair an adorable mess. “Yeah, a little.”
“We moved to another house with a pretty garden and a huge peach orchard,” I reply, smiling softly as I put his things backin the go bag, checking his inhaler in the process. “Would you like to see it?”
“Peaches?”
“Yes.”
His eyes widen with excitement. “Can I eat them?”
“Sure you can.”
“Yay!”
“But we have to be quiet,” I whisper. “No one can know, okay?”
Matty gives me a confused look. “Momma, are we doing a secret mission? You’re whispering.”
We used to play this game a lot whenever we were in the doctor’s waiting room. Matty would get fussy around other people and crying children, so I’d get him to play pretend, imagining that we were on a secret mission and that nobody could hear or see us. It would keep him busy for a handful of minutes, at least.
I wonder if we can pull it off and escape Bill Lockwood’s clutches.
“It’s a secret mission, yes. Can I count on you, little man?” I ask him with a serious tone, and he nods enthusiastically.
“Yeah!”
“Cool. Then let’s get you dressed. We’re sneaking out of here and going to the peach orchard.”
Five minutes later, I’ve got Matty clinging to me like a spider monkey, the go bag hanging from my shoulder.
Deep breaths, Clara. You’ve got this. You can do this.
Yet no matter how many times I tell myself that, I still feel afraid.
Courage was never the absence of fear, though.
My life and my son’s entire future depend on what I’m going to do next.
Suddenly, the door opens, and Margot walks in.
I freeze in the middle of the room, and she gives me a hard look.
“What the hell are you doing, Clara?” Margot asks.
There’s no right answer here to get me out of trouble. It’s obvious that I am about to escape, and Margot is standing in my way. As much as I’ve tried to shield Matty from the violence that has been threatening us for so long, I fear that the only way forward for us now is through.
