“Will you please shut your mouth? You can go home to your wife as soon as I’m safe.” I thought for a second, to try and get the cops off my back. “Can I use your cell phone?”
He fidgeted in his jacket pocket and pulled it out. When he turned to look at me I shoved the gun against his shoulder. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’ve got no problem blowing off your head to get where I need to be. My life depends on this ride, so speed it up.”
I pulled up the internet and looked for the local news.
Sure enough there were a few articles surfacing around my situation.
Early this morning Ivy Wheeler escaped from the Suntherville Institution, using her doctor as a decoy. He was later discovered in her family home along with the patient’s mother, both injured. They were taken to local hospitals to treat non-life threatening injuries. Authorities have released a photo of the woman. If anyone sees her they’re being asked to contact local police.
Of course they’d used the most hideous picture ever. It didn’t even look like me.
I continued reading.
*Update*
At one-forty-five p.m. police responded to a call of shots fired. They discovered an injured officer on the side of the road. A few miles further police located a man and a child, claiming they were held hostage by the escaped patient. There is currently a Amber alert issued for a separate missing child. The mother is also missing.
Authorities are still obtaining details regarding this late breaking news.
I sat the phone down and looked in the rearview mirror. Aside from traffic, I didn’t see any police activity. There were no officers at check points. I assumed they were still checking the airport, especially since I’d bought tickets to leave the country in my sister’s name. The train ticket hadn’t been taken out in my name. I still had a chance to get out of this god forsaken place and start over with my infant child.
“We’re here. Do you want me to park or drop you off at the door?”
Since I was still wearing a ball cap, and a pair of sunglasses, I figured I was disguised enough. Besides, the picture they were using to find me didn’t look a thing like me. My hair was up, and I now had on clean clothes. The other photo was my mug shot.
“The front door is fine. I need to get my ticket and go.”
He pulled up and came to a halt.
I threw the gun in the passenger seat before slipping out of the car. The man pulled away quickly, not even giving me a second to turn around and warn him about saying anything.
I shrugged it off and walked inside, prepared to fetch my ticket and be on my merry way. The cashier smiled as I approached. I told her the name and she handed me a printed voucher. “Your departure time is listed at the top. If you need to make changes they have to be done before departure time in order to get the full ticket price.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I picked up my bags and the child carrier then walked over to a location with cushioned seats. There were several people around me, some working, while others read or sat silently waiting. I pulled Marcus out of his seat and held him in my arms. He cooed and smiled, like most babies do. A woman, about my age, leaned over and began talking to him in a high pitched voice. “Hi baby. You’re so cute. How old is he?”
I didn’t even know. “Um, four months. He’ll be five in two weeks.”
“Oh wow. He’s so cute. Congratulations. Children are such a blessing.”
I smiled and welcomed the attention, because it camouflaged the fact that I was a single woman traveling with an infant.
Every few seconds I’d check out the security guards positioned at each exit. At any moment they could come looking for me. I had to be alert of my surroundings, and scope out the exits.
While doing so, the woman got up to use the restroom. I was preoccupied with the baby, and keeping a close eye on the people around me. When a female sat down again, I figured it was the same lady.
It wasn’t until I heard her bone-chilling voice – a voice I thought I’d never hear again.
Chapter 15
“It can’t be. I watched you sink to your death.” I rubbed my eyes. “Am I dreaming? Is this some sick kind of nervous breakdown?” There was no way my sister was sitting next to me, in the flesh – alive. I killed her. I’d taken care of my lifelong problem. She was gone. I’d been so sure.
“Oh, sister, it’s me. How foolish you were to think my husband would allow you to kill me. While you thought we were saying our goodbyes, he was loosening my restraints. He whispered in my ear where to look for you, in case he didn’t make it. Stoshua would have risked his last breath to protect me. That’s what love is.”
“No. That’s not possible. He didn’t know. He couldn’t have.”
“He did.”
“No. This doesn’t make sense. The police picked him up a while ago.”
“You’re right. They did, however, they still can’t find me. You see, unlike the authorities, I know how you think. All I had to do was drive by the airport to know you weren’t there. It was crawling with police. There was only one other place you’d go to get out of town fast. Now, they wouldn’t give me names of passengers, not that I needed to check. You were sitting out in the open, as if you were waiting for me.”
“Fat chance. You may have found me, but it means nothing. If you think I’m going to let you end me, you’re wrong. I’ll shoot you and shoot myself before I let that happen.” She didn’t have to know I was unarmed.
I tried to get up, but she placed her hand on my thigh. “Don’t you dare move. Hand me my son, Ivy. This plan of yours is over. You’re going down, and this time, you won’t be getting out. You don’t have the balls to shoot yourself, and since you are dying to get out of here, I know you won’t risk making a scene by shooting me. Now, give me my son, before I make every officer in here aware of the fugitive sitting next to me.”
“Screw you. Do me a favor, walk over to the tracks and wait for a train to come, then jump in front of it.”
“I’m not going to ask again.”
“You’re ignoring the topic of your precious Stoshua. After what he did, I can’t believe you’d go back to him. He’s a cheater, and he’s so damn good at it.”
“Stoshua is my husband. He’s one-hundred percent devoted to me. He’d never give up on us, and neither will I.”
This couldn’t be happening. How was she here, getting under my skin. I wondered if someone had given me a pill, making me hallucinate my worst fears. “No. You watched me with him. I saw your face. You were disgusted.”
“Of course I was, but I also knew he was doing it to survive. With him free, he could save me, and our children. We’ve known at some point you would come after us. Yes, he went to extremes, and trust me, it was horrible to witness, but it meant nothing to him; you meant nothing to him. You’re sick in the head. You’re a loose cannon. You’ll go to extremes to get what you want. That’s not normal. People don’t go around hurting others for personal gain.”
I stood, not caring if I caught the security officer’s attention. “If you follow me, I’ll put a bullet through his little body. You think I’m crazy, right? You think I’m capable of awful things? Take one step toward me and I’ll show you how crazy I can be.”
I spun around, prepared to walk away and never look back, and that’s when four armed officers met me. “Ivy Wheeler, you are under arrest. Anything you say can be held against you…”
“No!” I screamed. “Don’t come any closer. I’m armed, and I’ll hurt this baby if I have to. None of you understand. You couldn’t begin to see I’m not the bad guy. It’s her you want. I’m Willow, she’s Ivy.”
“It’s not going to work this time, Ivy.” Stoshua came out of nowhere, carrying Destiny. “They know everything. You’re going away for the rest of your life. It’s over. Surrender before it gets ugly. Give Marcus to his mother.”
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the man who’d given me the ride. He was pointing in my direction, te
lling an officer about what he experienced. The officer was checking out the pistol I’d left in the guy’s car, making sure it was no longer loaded.
More police blocked the entrances; others approached.
“Ma’am, put the baby down.”
I checked in every direction, desperately searching for a way out.
Then I heard it – the sound of an incoming train in the far distance. With the baby still in my arms I knew they wouldn’t shoot. There were no other options. It was my only way out. I had to make it to the tracks and jump it. I could run fast if I needed to. We could make it to safety, him and I. We could still be together.
I put one foot in front of the other while people began screaming my name. Like slow motion, I made it clear across the terminal. I clung to the child, protecting him until the last second. I pushed through the double doors, running adjacent to the tracks. I had to make it further out, so it still had enough speed coming in to deter them from catching me. Someone grabbed the hem of my shirt, spinning me around. I fought to free myself, jerking my body away, but losing my grip on Marcus. All of a sudden the officer let go of me and caught him. I swung my arms around to catch my balance and keep running, but I fell backwards. There was no time to get up – to roll, or turn. I watched the train coming in, closing my eyes at the last second, and succumbing to death.
Chapter 16
“Ivy, can you hear me? Ivy, wake up.”
I opened my heavy eyes and felt blinded by a bright light. At first I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The light was the gates opening up for me. Maybe I’d been forgiven of my sins because God and the angels felt sorry for me.
Then my eyes adjusted and I saw her standing over me. She was alone, with her lips pierced shut. “There you are. I knew you wouldn’t give up without a fight. When the doctor called I had to come see it for myself.”
I tried to sit up and found out I was cuffed to the medical bed. A monitor was tracking my vitals, and an I.V. dripped some kind of fluid into my body. “What the hell?”
“Jumping in front of a train didn’t kill you. Granted, you’re going to have a tough time chasing us down in the future.” She almost laughed when she said it. I didn’t get her joke until she pointed to my legs, which I found weren’t under the covers. They’d been cut off and sewn up. Bandages covered the nubs.
“No. No. No. this can’t be real.”
She leaned closer with that same shit-eating grin. “Oh sis, it’s so real it hurts, doesn’t it? How does it feel knowing you did this to yourself?”
I could feel a rush of warm tears falling from my eyes. Never in a million years could I have thought this was the way my life would end. I should have died, but I’d been stuck to live a life as an amputee. This was terrible.
“Aw, what’s wrong? You’ve got nothing left, do ya? There’s no one here to support you – to love you. I feel sorry for you, Ivy. We came from a loving family. You could have been anything you put your mind to, but you were lazy. You wanted everything handed to you on a silver platter. Life doesn’t work that way. You need to work at it, to strive to be your best. Mom and Dad didn’t love me any different. They thought if they rewarded me for my hard work you’d learn to try harder. They wanted you to be your own person, not steal my life. It’s sad how you turned out. You’ve lived your whole adult life using people for personal gain, but have you ever looked in the mirror and loved yourself?”
“Get out!” I managed to say between sobs. “Just leave.”
“Oh sister, I’m just getting started. You deserve way worse than our little chat will provide. If it were up to me I’d fill a syringe with air and gouge it into your neck. The difference between you and me is that I have restraint. I know Karma is taking care of you. As for me, I’m going to stay for a while, because this will be the last time we ever see each other. I’m going home to my husband and my babies. Eventually, when you recover, you’ll be put in a jail. You’ll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair, eating sludge in your eight by eight cell. There won’t be a doctor to seduce. Who would want you in your condition anyway? I mean, you’re hideous. You put little children’s lives in danger. You tried to kill your own family members. You’ll never have friends, and you certainly won’t have visitors. This is the life you deserve. I hope you’re happy.”
I couldn’t control my emotions. My sister was standing over me, gloating. Bile rose to my throat as I considered my life resulting to this. I had nothing to live for. I’d never be in love, or get married again. I’d never have a child, or be a mother. Once again I was completely alone, while my sister thrived with life. She had everything and she knew it. “I want you to leave.”
She leaned over the bed again, this time looking out to make sure no one was coming. “Remember when I said I wasn’t the type of person to kill? Well, normally I’m not. I’m compassionate to a fault, and that’s why I’m going to give you a going away present. I’m going to give you an out, because it’s what you deserve. I want my family to be able to sleep at night without keeping one eye open. We need to feel safe.”
“What could you possibly give me? If you haven’t noticed I’m shackled to a damn bed, awaiting transfer to prison.”
She snarled. “You almost killed my children. As a mother, I can’t let it happen again. I need to make sure you’re incapable of getting to us, even by the use of other people. It’s my turn to take control. Goodbye, Ivy. Goodbye to all your evils. Goodbye to all your schemes. The world is a better place without you.”
I watched a pillow come over my face, unbelieving she was capable of doing it. While I struggled to free myself, attempting to scream with no sound able to make it through the stuffing. I could feel the oxygen leaving my body. She was suffocating me – ending my life to protect her own. She was right. This was Karma. I stopped fighting her then, finally realizing what I’d done. Willow wasn’t capable of murder, not unless she felt threatened. Her gift to me was ending my pain, and as I fought for breath I accepted it. Then there was nothing.
Epilogue
WILLOW
As a child we were sheltered from funerals. In my whole adult life I’d only ever been to two. This was my third. With the exception of my husband, no one would ever know my secret. I’d taken my sister’s life. One day I’d have to pay for that sin, but I wondered if God would punish me at all. Surely he wouldn’t want someone like my sister roaming his precious earth, hurting innocent people.
Did I feel bad for my actions? Sure. Every single day it tore at my heartstrings, but then I looked at my children and saw their bright smiles lighting up the room. They were safe from her wrath. They’d never remember the turmoil we went through to be free of her. They’d never remember the time when a psychopath kidnapped them, while we were tied and gagged in the backseat.
I glanced over at my parents, sitting in the first row of seats designated for family. Our friends had attended, but only to support us, not because they cared anything about my sister. She didn’t have friends. All she’d ever done was use people.
My mother sobbed with a balled up tissue stuffed in her hand. My dad kept his hands on his knees, while staring blankly at the casket.
Stoshua’s hand laced with mine. He knew I was thinking about my sister’s last moments, and how I’d been the person to put her out of her misery. My sister was sick. She had something wrong with her, and no one really understands why. She always felt neglected, but she never was. Growing up we had to share everything. I was only praised when I made an accomplishment. Every parent would do that for their children. Ivy never wanted to try to be better. She refused, thinking happiness was handed to you on a golden platter. She expected life to provide for her without effort. She was jealous of my life, my future, and most importantly my family. I squeezed my husband’s hand and felt fresh tears fall from my eyes. No matter what anyone assumed, I’d always love my sister. She was a part of me – my flesh and blood. She’d forever have a place in my heart. The crazy person that tried to steal my l
ife wasn’t the one I chose to remember. Somewhere deep inside my sister was an innocent soul, begging to be set free. I’d given her that last gift. I’d help relieve her pain.
Destiny ran up and climbed on my mother’s lap. In an instant I saw a smile form on her face. The comfort of a child always helped hard wounds heal. I closed my eyes and silently prayed a thousand angels would take Ivy’s soul and heal what was broken. I hope that wherever she was, she was free. To constantly want another person’s life had to be stressful, drawing out the life in someone, until they were an empty shell. That’s who I saw when I looked into her eyes in my van. My sister was gone permanently. It was as if a demon had possessed her body, forcing a once kind girl to commit acts of a selfish crime.
Thinking about it made me upset. I buried my head against Stoshua’s chest and felt his arms coming up behind my back. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.
Ivy thought I’d hate Stoshua for his part in what they did in the van. He and I had spent so many nights discussing what would happen if she ever got to us. Even though I hated seeing it, I knew his intentions were pure. He risked himself for the safety of our family. He did it to free me.
During the time my sister was in a medically induced coma in the hospital while she healed, I struggled to get over what happened between them. I kept seeing it playing out every time he tried to touch me. I had to finally let go. I couldn’t hold it in, so on that day they woke her up, I paid my sister a visit. With those images fresh in my head, I had the strength to do what was necessary. Every day I felt like a killer. When I looked at my children I wondered if I’d ever be worthy to be their mother. Maybe I didn’t deserve to live. Maybe I should have drowned in that van.
Something kept me fighting, and enough was enough.
As the pastor said his final prayers, I watched my sister being dropped into the ground. She was gone, and she’d never hurt anyone again. My secret was safe, and our futures were free.
Twinsequences Ivy Page 10
