Chapter Thirty Eight

Through the window, Jayme watched as his car pulled away from the cabin, heading down the two-track toward the road. She knew she wouldn’t have much time to figure out how to get away. Pulling on the chain, she followed it beneath the bed. Moving the mattress and box springs, she saw the chain was bolted to the floor in the middle of the bed.
She searched the cabin for anything she could use. All she found was a sledge hammer. Using it, she struck the bolt several times until it loosened. Using all her strength, she unscrewed the bolt and threw it to the side. Then she left the chain in place, using caution to not move it out of it’s place. Replacing the mattress and box springs, Jayme laid on the bed until she heard the car pull up into the driveway.
Looking out the window, she confirmed that it was Jim. He carried Bella in one arm and bags of ice in the other. Opening the door, Jim handed Bella to Jayme and looked to see the chain still appeared to be intact. He didn’t think twice about the chain as he turned and walked out the door. Knowing it was time to feed her again, Jayme changed Bella first.
As Jayme fed Bella, Jim removed the chain from Jayme’s ankle, allowing her to use the outhouse, or move more freely around the cabin. When she was done feeding Bella and using the outhouse, she returned to the cabin. Jim stayed outside to cook the food he just brought back from the store.
Jayme waited the entire day, anticipating their escape after Jim falls asleep. It was an exceptionally dark night out, especially in the forest. There was no moonlight to guide her through the woods but she wasn’t concerned with that. The old bed was creaky but she managed to slip out of it. Slowly, she pulled the heavy chain out from under the bed, trying not to make too much noise.
Just as she stood up, she saw Jim’s keys laying beside him on the bed. Kneeling down, she reached across the bed and quietly snatched them up, trying to limit the noise and movement on the bed. Slipping the keys into her pocket, she managed to pick up Bella with one arm, while holding the chain. Quietly, she snuck out the door, leaving it cracked open so it wouldn’t be noisy when she shut the door.
Bolting across the yard, she climbed into the driver’s side, laying Bella on the passenger seat. Then she tossed the chain to the floor on the passengers side. With shaky hands, she shoved the key in the ignition, then looked toward the cabin as she started the car. She locked the doors before putting the car in reverse.
Backing up to turn around, Jayme put the car in drive, then saw Jim flying out of the cabin. But, it was too late, Jayme sped down the two track, leaving Jim to disappear in the woods in the rear view mirror. Tears streamed from her eyes as she found the main paved road. It didn’t matter which way she was traveling, her sense of direction was disoriented in the woods. She just wanted to get away from Jim and that cabin.
Gaining her sense of direction back as she reached the first town, Jayme realized she was traveling in the right direction. Checking her gas gauge, she decided to keep going, as far as she could. She had no money or cards to get gas, although she could stop and call Rex, but she wanted to get as far away from that cabin as possible.
It was just over two hours to get back to Hillman, driving eighty miles per hour. She didn’t care if she got pulled over, it would just give her a way to contact Rex. Jayme drove straight to the sheriff’s department. Before going inside, Jayme found the key and unlocked the chain on her ankle. Although Rex was not there, he was reachable by radio.
By now, Rex was in such distress over Jayme’s disappearance that he couldn’t think straight. More than a million scenarios had passed through his mind but the biggest one was at the moment he found her. Rex was driving toward town when he heard the call come through his radio. Picking up his microphone, Rex responded, asking them to repeat what they had said.
Addressing him directly, they specifically said that Jayme had returned to the station. Feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of him, Rex sped back to the sheriff’s department. Bursting through the door, he searched the room for her and saw her as she turned to look at him. Instantly, they went toward each other for a tight embrace.
“Are you hurt?” Rex asked.
“No.” Jayme answered.
“They’ll want you to make a statement before we leave. Do you feel up to it?”
“Yes. I can write it out really quick. I remember details, but I couldn’t take you back to the cabin, I’m not sure how to get back to it. I know it took me two hours, traveling northeast to get back.” Jayme said as she sat at a desk with a piece of paper. Writing her statement in approximately one thousand words, Jayme signed it and handed it to Rex.
Leaving the department in Rex’s cruiser, he drove her to their house to gather some items. Having had enough, Rex decided it was time to take a vacation to get Jayme away from Hillman for a while. They each packed a suitcase, then went to Jaxson’s to get the rest of their belongings.
Leaving his police car parked at the airport, Rex and Jayme looked at the flights that were leaving within the next hour or two and decided on the flight going to Hawaii. It was a straight, fourteen hour flight. Checking in their four suitcases, they carried the diaper bag on board, although it was searched at security. Before getting on the flight, Jayme took Bella in the bathroom where she changed and fed her.
The fourteen hour flight was hard on all three of them, sitting in one spot for so long. Jayme felt cramped and didn’t have much room to feed or change Bella. But they waited it out and dealt with the circumstances. The climate change hit her immediately as she stepped off the airplane. She inhaled a deep breath of the warm, salty air.
From there, Rex hailed a cab to take them to the nearest hotel with vacancy where Rex rented a room for just one night. He figured for the two weeks they were there, it would be better to rent an apartment or house. Spending the day searching for a suitable abode, they made numerous calls before they found an affordable one on the beach.
Although they rented the room for the night, they abandoned it once they secured the house, leaving the keys inside the room. Making a trip to the grocery store, they bought enough food to last at least a week, taking it to the house with them.
But as neither of them felt like cooking, they left the house on foot and made their way to the downtown area where they stopped for dinner first. The cuisine was different to them but they both enjoyed it. Staying for a while after dinner, Rex enjoyed a few cocktails while they watched and listened to the band that was playing music that was native to their heritage.
Returning to the house, Jayme bathed Bella then dressed her in clean, clothes and swaddled her in a blanket. Bella was getting old enough to unfold her swaddled blanket by moving around. Laying on the floor with her, Jayme and Rex both played with her for a small while until she was ready to eat one last time before bed.
Just after sunset, Jayme went out to the beach to watch the sun dip down below the watery horizon. After checking on Bella, Rex joined her on the beach with two glasses of iced tea. With the salty water, the diminishing light and the warm ocean breeze, the atmosphere on the beach was romantic.
It was the first time in a long time either of them felt relaxed enough to fully enjoy each other’s company. Rex leaned toward her, placing his sandy hand against her cheek before he planted his lips on hers. “I’ve missed this…” He whispered as he gently kissed her again.
“Me too.” Jayme responded and kissed him back.
For several hours they made love on the beach, until they were both so exhausted they couldn’t continue. Dragging themselves back into the cabin, Jayme went directly to the crib where Bella was. She was awake and moving around, cooing and smiling at Jayme when she leaned over to pick her up. When she was finished changing and feeding her, Jayme laid her back down and went to bed. It was sunrise.