Chapter Thirty Five

Opening her eyes, Jayme wasn’t sure what time it was but it was dark in the room. There were no lights on and no clock. Looking around, she saw Scott asleep in the chair. Looking down at Bella, who was awake and moving around, Jayme picked her up and slowly moved to get off the bed. Quietly walking to the door, she slowly and carefully unlocked the door. Looking at Scott, Jayme reached for the doorknob and turned it, opening the door.
Leaving it cracked open, Jayme turned and ran away from the room. She wasn’t sure where she was going, she wasn’t familiar with this town, but she knew she had to get away from that motel. Running down the sidewalk, she came to an all-night convenience store and burst through the door. It was the same store they had stopped at earlier.
Running to the counter, she saw the man behind the counter who spoke broken English. “Please help me, I need to use your phone.”
“No use the phone…” The man denied her, shaking his finger.
“Please, at least call the police.” Jayme said. “Tell them I’ll be locked in the bathroom until they get here.” She said and ran towards the back of the store, looking for the bathrooms.
“Lady…” The man shouted but she didn’t acknowledge him.
He had no choice but to call the police on the woman who invaded his store. Jayme ran into the woman’s bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Knowing she couldn’t change Bella’s diaper, she at least wanted to feed her. It was what she did while she sat and waited for the police. And she expected Scott to come looking for them.
Before she finished feeding Bella, she heard a woman’s voice at the door. “Hello? This is the police. Can you open up the door?”
Jayme got up and unlocked the door, opening it to see the woman in uniform. “I’m Officer McNally. You requested to speak to us?”
“Yes, I, we were kidnapped by my husband, who, for the last two months, had been assumed dead. He held us against our will. I need someone to call Under Sheriff Adams from Hillman county, he’ll…” Jayme realized that Rex probably assumed she was kidnapped by Jim. “He kinda knows what’s going on…” Jayme rectified her statement.
“Ok, we’ll try to reach him.” Officer McNally agreed. “Are you alright? Is either of you hurt?”
“No. Neither of us are hurt.” Jayme answered.
“Come on, let’s come out of the bathroom.” The officer requested.
Coming from the bathroom, Jayme looked throughout the store but didn’t see Scott anywhere. A wave of relief came over her and she relaxed. She hadn’t realized how stressed the situation made her as she nearly collapsed on the floor beside the bathroom door.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Officer McNally knelt down beside her.
“Yes, it’s just the release of stress…” Jayme said.
“I was able to speak to the Under Sheriff of Hillman County and he said he’s on his way right now.” An officer spoke up from the back. His words calmed Jayme even more.
“While we’re waiting on the under sheriff to arrive, why don’t you explain to me what happened?” Officer McNally asked.
“I don’t have time to explain everything, but, I’ve been dealing with Jim Taylor, if that name rings a bell…” Jayme started.
“Jim Taylor, yes, I know that name.” Officer McNally commented.
“I’m his wife’s lover’s wife. My husband, who everyone thought was dead, has come back to claim what’s his, but I’m no longer his and he can’t accept that, so he kidnapped me, and his daughter. We escaped and ended up here, locked in the bathroom.”
“Ok. Where is your husband now?”
“I left him at a motel down the street.”
“Which one?” The officer asked.
“I don’t know the name. But there is a green car sitting outside door number seven.” Jayme said.
Officer McNally motioned for two officers and they immediately left the store. “Is there anything you need, you or your daughter?”
“The only thing we need is a diaper.” Jayme said.
“Oh, of course. Grab the pack you need and I’ll pay for it.”
“I’ll pay you back as soon as Rex gets here.” Jayme said and grabbed the last pack of diapers in Bella’s size.
After the officer paid for them, Jayme took Bella back into the bathroom and changed her diaper. Luckily, she hadn’t wet through her clothes. As Jayme came from the bathroom, she saw Rex walk through the doors. Immediately, he went to her and wrapped his arms around her, and Bella. “Thank God you’re both alright.” Rex said. “What happened?”
“I figured that I would be safe to go to my parent’s house about four thirty, thought they’d be home. But at six thirty, no one had yet come home. I heard a knock on the door, I thought it would be Jim… but, it wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t Jim?” Rex seemed surprised.
“No, actually, it was Scott.”
“Scott? Your husband, Scott?” Rex asked, stunned.
“Yes.” Jayme answered.
“What, why the hell wasn’t I notified that he was still alive… Oh Jayme…” He said and hugged her again. “I don’t want to lose you…”
“No, Rex, don’t worry about that. I love you, not Scott.” Jayme said, pulling back to look in his eyes. “I want to marry you. But I guess, now, I have to get divorced first.”
“Thank you, Jayme. I love you more than you’ll ever know. Let’s go home, shall we? Or at least back to Jaxson’s house.”
“No, let’s just go home.” Jayme said. “I’d rather spend the night alone with you. You can protect us all sufficiently.
“Let’s go.” Rex said.
Putting Bella in the car seat that Rex had strapped in the back seat, Jayme climbed into the passenger side of the patrol car. Leaving the premises, Rex headed toward Hillman. It would be an hour drive, although it only took him thirty five minutes to arrive. By the time they arrived home, it was nearly four in the morning. Jayme laid Bella in her crib then laid in bed.
Rex turned off the lights and locked the door before joining her in bed. It was the first time they were alone and Rex was healed enough for sexual activity. For two hours, they engaged in sex before Rex had to go to work. Jayme had to get up and go to Jaxson’s house.
Dropping Jayme off at Jaxson’s house, Rex went on to work. Jayme went inside to find Rachel sitting at the kitchen table. “Oh good, you’re here.” Rachel said. “let me see that baby.”
With a smile, Jayme reached to hand Bella to Rachel. “Do you mind watching her for an hour or so, so I can get some sleep? Rex and I have had a long night and I didn’t get any sleep.”
“Absolutely, sleep as long as you’d like, she’ll be fine with me.” Rachel said.
“Thank you.” Jayme said and went to lie down on the couch.
Sleeping for approximately three hours, Jayme was abruptly awaken by a scream coming from the kitchen. Jumping up off the couch, Jayme ran to the kitchen to find Rachel standing on a chair, holding Bella.
“What’s wrong?” Jayme asked, terrified by her scream.
“It’s a mouse.” Rachel said.
Drawing in a deep breath, Jayme relaxed and smiled. “Just a mouse.”
“I’m sorry, Jayme, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was startled.” Rachel said.
“It’s all good.” Jayme said and went to take Bella. “She’s probably getting hungry.”
“Yeah, she was getting a little fussy.” Rachel said.
Taking Bella to the couch, she first changed her diaper, then relaxed against the couch as she offered Bella her breast. Bella was eager to take it and Jayme knew she was hungry. Laying her head back, she closed her eyes and nearly fell back asleep before jumping to an awaken state. When she finished feeding Bella, she bathed her then put her down for a nap.
Rachel stated she needed to run to town but didn’t want to leave Jayme at the house alone. Jayme didn’t want to wake Bella up and refused to go until she woke up. But Rachel had a deadline and needed to leave in the next ten minutes for an appointment. Jayme still flatly refused to wake Bella and told Rachel she would be fine for an hour.
Feeling awkward and bad, Rachel left the house, leaving Jayme and Bella alone. While Bella slept, Jayme relaxed on the couch, still trying to catch up on sleep. She wondered how Rex was feeling, having been up all night too. She knew he would be exhausted when he returned home.
Feeling hungry, Jayme got up and went to the kitchen for something to eat. Searching in the refrigerator, she looked for anything she could just heat and eat. But the only thing she found was some leftover hamburger patties and that didn’t sound appetizing to her. Shutting the door, she turned to walk towards the pantry. It was when she felt the blow to the back of her head that caused her to pass out and fall to the floor.