Page 111 of Baby Daddy
“Mommy!” wailed my baby girl, reaching out for me.
“Ty!” I shrieked, my sobs clogging my ears. My heart was cracking over every nook and cranny of the uneven sidewalk. My lungs and limbs were burning. Every breath, every step hurt. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. How could this be happening?
“Somebody help me!” I yelled out to a neighborhood of deaf ears. “PLEASE!” Why didn’t anyone hear me?
I was at least fifty feet behind them when Kyle reached his Dodge. Tears blinded my eyes as he skidded up to the driver’s side and yanked open the door. My feisty little girl was pounding and kicking him.
“Stop it, you little brat,” I heard him growl.
“Let her go!” I pleaded. Oh, please let her go! Panting, I kept running, my eyes on Kyle as he flung Ty into the vehicle and then hopped into the driver’s seat. He attempted to start up the rundown car, but the ignition wouldn’t catch. Luck! It gave me more time to catch up to them. But as I jet-propelled myself forward with all the muscle power I had left, the unfathomable happened. My foot caught in a sidewalk crack and I felt myself lurching forward. Oh God, no! I was about to take a tumble. Trying to stop the momentum, I took two awkward steps forward, but nothing could stop me from falling to the pavement. As I hit the ground, burning pain seared my palms and knees. I’m sure I’d scraped them and torn my jeans, but without looking at the extent of the damage, I scrambled to my feet as Kyle tried to start his car again. This time the motor rumbled.
Then, as I stood up, a familiar voice startled me.
“Dee, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
Drake! He was in his convertible heading up the street. Oh my God! What was he doing here?
“Drake! Kyle’s got Tyson!” Frantically, I pointed at him, taking off in his car.
“Fuck!”
My heart beating out of control, I clasped my hand to my mouth as Drake cranked his wheel and made a lightening-sharp U-turn that screeched in my ears and left tire tracks on the street. My heart in my throat, I trailed behind him as he zoomed down the narrow, twisty street that could barely fit two cars in hot pursuit of Kyle. Oh dear God!
Driving recklessly at some ridiculous speed, Kyle was almost down the hill where the road made a hairpin turn. As he rounded it, a large moving van came into view and climbed up the street. I stopped dead in my tracks. Everything happened all at once. As a horn blasted from the van, Kyle’s car slammed head on into it, the explosive crash clamoring in my ears. “Noooooo!” I screamed as Drake’s car came to a screeching halt. My heart literally stopped as I watched him jump out and sprint down the street to the scene of the accident. With a mixture of adrenaline and dread pumping through my veins, I ran toward it too, my heart now pounding so fast and furiously I thought it would ricochet out of my chest. Through my glazed eyes, I saw Drake run up to the passenger door and yank it open. On my next excruciating breath, Ty was lying limp and unconscious in his powerful arms. Oh, my baby! My poor baby! She was hurt! Hysterical sobs wracked my body as I began to think the worst. No, oh no! Oh, please God, NO! You can’t take her from me!!
Holding her in his arms, Drake dashed onto the tree-lined street. “Dee, call 9-1-1!” I heard him shout out. Fuck. I didn’t have my phone. Had it fallen out of my pocket when I fell? Or was it back at the house? Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
A horn wailed in my ears like a siren. And then—BOOM!—Kyle’s Dodge burst into flames. All I could see ahead of me was a thick cloud of black smoke and a massive fireball. The air was heavy with the smell of the smoke, burning rubber, and charred flesh. They were gone. NOOOOOOO! The earth opened up beneath me and everything faded to black.