And it didn’t matter. Alive. They were both alive. Both safe.
They could have been killed. The laughter died on her lips. They’d nearly been killed. But they hadn’t been. The frantic thudding of her heart started to slow, and she became aware of a familiar metallic tang in her mouth. Blood. A shaky hand to her face confirmed what she’s already guessed; she’d split her lip, probably on impact. She’d been lucky it hadn’t been a lot worse. They both had. But they were okay. That was all that mattered.
She nodded to herself, trying to get her jumbled thoughts in order. They couldn’t stay in the car. They needed to get out. Slowly, she pried her fingers loose from their death grip around the wheel and released her seatbelt, then gingerly opened the car door and stepped into the cold night air.
Hailey let out a groan under her breath as she caught sight of the damage that had been done to her wheel. The front left tire was completely flat, and she’d already used her spare a few months back. She should have replaced it as soon as she’d used it, and now look where it had landed her. She’d been planning to do it after Christmas, as soon as she could scrape enough money together.
Of all the dirty, rotten luck.
Wheels screeched from behind, startling her. She whipped her head towards the source. The driver, the same idiot who had just run her off the road, spun its wheels with another loud squeal and peeled away.
Wow, what an ass.
“Are you kidding me?” Hailey snarled. “Bastard!”
Furious, Hailey began stalking into the road, glaring at his rapidly vanishing plate, when she was interrupted by a piercing wail.
That last shout of hers had done it. Riley was finally awake.
She glanced after the car one more time, but it was long gone. Not that it mattered, she’d never have remembered the license plate anyway. Besides, the police had never been much help to her before.
Hailey had received far worse than a split lip before now, and no one had ever done anything about that. Michael had always liked to brag that he had ‘friends in low places’.
A renewed wail of despair from her son reminded her that she had more pressing matters to tend to. She quickly opened the backseat door, making small soothing noises to try and calm her son down.
“All right, Riley. We’re okay. Mommy’s here.”
His wail continued, and she couldn’t blame him. She wanted to cry herself right now. She squashed the emotion. This was no time for self-pity. Riley needed her.
She kept making low shushing noises as she pulled out her son’s car seat, the boy still tucked away inside of it. When she leaned down to grab an extra blanket from the back, she spotted a small, fuzzy blue leg sticking out from beneath the passenger seat. No wonder Riley was so upset. Car crashes and shouting? No problem. But being separated from Mr Jeffries? Now that truly was a disaster.
A smile played across her features as she recalled the day they’d acquired the cheap little stuffed animal. They’d had been on a day trip out to a carnival—just her and Riley. He’d seen the blue reindeer sitting in a row of prizes and reached for it immediately. She always thought those games were a fix, but three ring tosses later and she’d secured the toy, and Riley’s smile had been all the reward she could have asked for.
It was one of their few good memories since she’d left home. No wonder he treasured the little toy.
And, naturally, there was no way he was going to calm down without it. She set the car seat back down, making sure it was well away from the road, and reached back into the car to grab the reindeer, mashing her face against the seat as she reached for the fuzzy leg. Her fingers brushed against something soft and warm.Got it.
With a soft smile on her face, Hailey playfully wiggled the toy in front of her son’s face. Like magic, he instantly stopped crying. He let out a small gurgle and reached out his chubby fingers. Her smile widened as she quickly handed it over.
A loud crack sounded in the distance, startling Hailey out of her good mood. Her shoulders tensed as she straightened and looked around warily, half expecting the driver to have come back. Nope. No one. They were right near a forest; it had probably just been a wild animal.
Still, the sound had re-ignited her fear. What if the ramming just now hadn’t been an accident? It could have been another one of Michael’s schemes. Which would mean she was in a lot of danger now that she was alone. She should get Riley out of there quickly, just in case.
She glanced at the boy, content in his car seat with Mr Jeffries, then hurried round to the trunk to grab her duffel bag. If nothing else, being on the run for so long had taught her to travel light; something she was hugely grateful for at this exact moment. She grabbed her purse and keys, then hunted around quickly for anything else they might need before morning. Hopefully, there was a motel within walking distance. Any thoughts of being tired had long since fled, but it was far too cold for Riley to be out here at this time of night, and her own fingers were starting to turn numb, too.
Finally, she unbuckled Riley from his car seat. She wasn’t sure how far she’d have to travel to find help, but they had to get moving. They were too vulnerable out on the roadside where anyone could sneak up on them. An image of Michael snatching him from her arms and stealing him away flashed through her mind. It wasn’t a groundless fear; she knew the man would have no qualms about using their son to force her back by his side.
“Come on, Riley,” she said as brightly as she could, forcing a wide smile onto her face. “You hold on to Mr Jeffries nice and tight, we’re going to go for a little walk.”
Hailey held her son’s hand as she guided him around the snowbank. Once again, flashing red and green lights blinked across her vision, momentarily startling her. She stared, finally realizing where the strange light from earlier was coming from. She’d managed to crash her car right beside a Santa’s Village. A sad smile crossed her features. No doubt this was a place Riley would have loved to visit under better circumstances.
She glanced back at the road, and then to the amusement park again.
Would there be anyone around, despite the late hour? Obviously, the place was closed for the night, but maybe there would still be employees lingering about—perhaps a cleaning crew was still tidying up. All she needed to do was borrow a phone or somewhere to plug in her own.
The pair of them walked around until they reached the front gate. There was a closed sign up, but Hailey still pushed on the gate, hoping to find it open anyway. No such luck.
Hailey bit her lip, wondering what her next move should be. There weren’t any other businesses or residences nearby as far as she could see.
