Page 45 of Exile
Marie lets out a frustrated sigh before answering. “She sent a text this morning saying she was sick and probably wouldn’t be in all week. I hope she’s okay, but man, her timing sucks. I was seriously considering starting my maternity leave this week, but I can’t leave Eddie and Marge in the lurch like that. Lord knows if they have to rely on André, nobody in Birch Falls will get the right coffee order.”
“I heard that!” André hollers from the kitchen on the other side of the passthrough window.
“Good! I meant for you to hear it!” Marie rolls her eyes at me, ignoring André’s indignant huff behind her. Deciding I’m not in the mood to get burned by a pregnant woman’s wrath, I redirect the conversation.
“Do you have her new address? I’ll drop by the notes from class so she doesn’t fall behind. I’d ask her, but her phone is off and going to voicemail.”
“Yeah, I think she changed it for payroll. Let me go check.” When Marie returns with Serena’s new address on a slip of paper, I am out the door on a mission to rescue my friend no matter what it takes.
Dominick’s house is located outside of town, secluded on a large lot surrounded by trees. After parking in the driveway, I send a quick text to my parents with a pin for my location, just in case. Seeing only Serena’s car present, gives me hope that she’s here alone. I don’t trust the asshole cop not to start some shit if he’s here, but I refuse to leave without speaking to Serena myself. He can fucking arrest me for all I care—I just need to make sure she’s okay.
“ReRe! You here?” I bang on the door loudly, hoping she realizes it’s me at the door. The memory of how broken she looked last time we saw each other haunts me, lending a frantic energy to my knocking. “ReRe! It’s Kai. Can you open up? Your mom asked me to check on you!” I press my ear to the door, listening for any signs of life coming from inside the house. I hear the faint shuffle of footsteps. The sound is light, almost timid. Definitely not Dominick. “Serena, I can hear you. Can you please come talk to me?”
The sound of the lock disengaging sends relief flooding through my system, but that feeling is quickly squashed by the scared, haunted face appearing in the small gap she allows when she opens the door. Her eyes are bloodshot, streaks of tears staining her cheeks. The look of absolute terror in her eyes is what makes my blood run cold.
“Kai! What are you doing? You shouldn’t be here!” Her warning is delivered in a panicked whisper like she’s afraid of waking a sleeping dragon.
“Your mom called me. She was worried about you and wanted me to check on you. Can you let me in so we can talk?” The only way to describe the look on Serena’s face at my suggestion is pure unbridled terror.
“I’m fine, Kai. Please, you need to go now. Dom will be home any minute. I’ll call my mom later, okay?” She moves to shut the door, but I shove my foot into the opening before she can shut me out of her life again. I am not backing down this time. Not without a fight. Serena is clearly scared and in danger and I refuse to let her deal with this alone. The move to prevent her from shutting the door surprises Serena enough that she takes a step back. I take the opportunity to push my way in, hoping if I can get her to talk to me, I can convince her to leave. What I see when I finally get a good look breaks my heart into a thousand pieces.
Serena stands before me in a tank top and shorts pajama set that more closely resembles lingerie than the normal pajamas she prefers. It is also wildly seasonably inappropriate and goosebumps erupt all across her bare skin. She crosses her arms over her chest and ducks her head like she’s trying to hide herself from me, but it isn’t enough. I see the angry purple-red bruises dotting her biceps and her thighs, the size and shape of fingertips. The more I look, the more of the disgusting, punishing marks I find, dotting her chest and neck. My vision goes red from anger. I reach out for her, ready to drag her to safety if I have to, but Serena pulls away before I can reach her, eyes wide with terror.
“No, Kai! Please, you need to leave. You can’t be here; Dom will kill you if he catches you.” Tears shimmer in her eyes as her gaze darts around the room like she’s waiting for him to jump out of the shadows.
“The fuck I will, ReRe. I am not leaving you here with him! Are you kidding me? What did he do to you? You’re covered in bruises.” This time Serena doesn’t pull away when I gently grab her hands, pulling her arms away from her body so I can take in the full scope of her injuries. I feel like I’m going to throw up at the sight of her trembling, battered and bruised body. The guilt I feel for letting this happen to her causes bile to rise up in my throat. Serena’s face crumples as a sob escapes her. I pull her into my arms, holding her as tight as I dare while my own hot tears slide down my cheeks and land in her hair.
“I’m so scared, Kai… He’s not who I thought he was. I fucked up. God, I fucked up so bad.”
I squeeze her in my arms, trying to comfort her without hurting her more. “Shh, no you didn’t. He’s the one who fucked up by hurting you. I’m going to fucking kill him.” I don’t recognize the cold fury lacing the tone of my words, but I know without a doubt I mean every word I say. I hold Serena for as long as I dare, but I know every minute we waste gets us closer to being caught by Dominick.
“Come on, ReRe. Let me get you out of here and somewhere safe.” Serena looks up at me, fear shining bright in her eyes. Her mouth opens to tell me no, but I put my finger on her full lips, shushing her before the word makes it past them. “I am not leaving without you, so get that out of your thick skull right now. Get your shit so we can go. I am not going to let him put his fucking hands on you ever again. We good?” I feel Serena’s head nod more than see it, but it’s enough affirmation for me to remove my finger so she can talk.
“He took my purse, keys and phone to work. I’ve been trapped here since Friday. He wouldn’t let me go to work or class today. I don’t know if he will ever let me go back.” The broken, defeated inflection to her voice stokes the fire of rage burning inside of me, strengthening my resolve to see her to safety.
“Aight then, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Serena doesn’t protest when I take her by the hand and lead her out the door, away from this nightmare.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
KAI
Iturn left out of Dominick’s drive and head away from town. If he finds out Serena left, there will be no safe place for her in Birch Falls. Not when he can send his cop buddies an APB to look for her. No, we need to be far away from Birch Falls while we come up with a game plan. I glance over at Serena and see her staring vacantly out the passenger window, tears silently trailing down her cheeks. I reach over and take her hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve got you, ReRe. He’s not going to hurt you ever again. I swear my life on it.” Serena doesn’t respond right away, just continues to stare out the window, so I leave her be while I try to figure out where to go.
I dismiss the possibility of staying with friends or relatives. It would be too easy for Dom to trace us that way, and I don’t want to land anyone else on the wrong side of the police. I don’t even feel comfortable driving my car right now, the memory of the last time he pulled me over fresh in my mind. We need to get off the main roads and somewhere secluded quick, before he realizes she’s gone.
“He’s not going to let me go, Kai.” Serena’s soft voice, barely audible over the hum of the tires on the road, pulls me from my thoughts. She sounds so broken and scared, it breaks my heart all over again.
“I’ve already got you away from him. There’s no way he’s getting you back now.” There is steel in my voice, and I mean every word of what I say.
“Do you really think he will just throw up his hands and let me run off? He’s the police, Kai! He’s already threatened to have you arrested if he catches you near me. What do you think he’s going to do when he sees his security footage and finds out I left with you? You should take me back before he has all of Birch Falls PD looking for you.” The resignation in Serena’s words is like a knife to my gut.
“ReRe, let’s get one thing straight. I don’t give a fuck what he threatened to do to me. I only care about what he did to you. I will not hand you back to that piece of shit abuser. We are going to find a place to lay low and make a plan, okay? Just trust me to take care of you. Please, ReRe.” Serena lets out a small sniffle as she wipes away more tears and nods her head. “Alright, good. Get my phone and see what you can find for hotels that are at least an hour away. Preferably away from the main roads.”
An hour outside of town—up in the mountains off the Parkway—we find a small motel with scenic views that seems to do most of its business during the summer and fall. Now that the trees are bare and Christmas is close, most of the parking lot is empty. I pull around to the far side of the building, parking as far away from the road as possible.
Turning towards Serena, I lift her chin up gently, directing her gaze from her lap to my face. “I’m gonna go get us a room. I’ll be right back. Wait right here, okay?” She presses her lips into a thin line but gives me a subtle nod of assurance that she isn’t going to wander off on some self-sacrificing mission. I debate moving the car nearer the motel office so I can see her when I go in, but I don’t want to risk anyone driving by seeing it.