Chapter Thirty-One
The door opened and a tired woman in her mid-thirties opened the door. "Jamie? At this time? Are you off duty today?" She asked but suddenly stilled as her eyes fell upon the innocent young girl behind him.
"Who's this Jamie?" She asked him. Jamie moved to allow Arianna into the house. "Jane, this is Arianna Willis. Ben and I saved her from Jake Langley. She needs to hide here. She's pregnant and her in-laws are after her life," Jamie informed her. "She'd be going to Russellville with you guys."
Jane allowed her into her small apartment. "Arianna, you're safe here. This is my sister and Ben's wife, Jane Grimley," he informed.
"Thank you Jane. I'm indebted to all of you for saving my life," Arianna said with tears in her eyes.
"Not a problem at all. Now, I have to get back to my cab and return it to the owner in one piece. Arianna, I might not come back since I might be stalked by Jake's men," he said with a wave.
"I'm sorry that I caused you so much trouble, " said Arianna guiltily.
"No trouble at all. I've worked for Jake for five years. He knows that if he messes with me, I'll go to the cops. If he kills me, 2000 people from my fighting club will rip him apart. He doesn't mess with me," he said with a grin and left. Jane locked her door.
"Are you hungry Arianna?" She asked.
"I don't want to impose upon you, Jane, " said Arianna guiltily.
"You need to eat since you are pregnant Arianna. My gut sense tells me that we're gonna be together for a long time," said Jane.
"Thank you Jane," said Arianna but inwardly she hoped that her sixth sense proved wrong. She wanted to return to Laurence as soon as possible. Jane went to her small makeshift kitchen and brought a plate of runny beef stew and rice.
"This is all I have dear," she said, handing her the plate.
"This is delicious. Thank you," Arianna said, eating the food. She was too hungry since she hadn't eaten anything since last night.
"You sleep for sometime. We would leave for Arkansas at night. It's a long truck ride," she informed her. They were poor people and would be hitching a ride with a transit truck. Ben's friend Sammy owned and drove the vehicle and he offered them a ride.
"Can I borrow your phone? I dropped my phone somewhere. I need to call my husband, " Arianna said with worry.
"Sure," said Jane, handing her an old phone.
"Thanks," said Arianna, punching Laurence's number. The call didn't connect through again. "I can't seem to reach him. He never switches off his phone," said Arianna in desperation.
"Let me try. Tell me the number, " said Jane. Arianna told her Laurence's number and she tried twice to call him. "I think the handset is damaged. The call isn't connecting and neither is there any recorded error message," she said. Arianna gaped at her. Damaged? How would Laurence's phone be damaged?
She lay down for sometime, deep in thought. She would try Isabella's number once more before leaving for Arkansas. She dozed off to sleep, tired and depressed. It was late afternoon when she woke up. At first she couldn't fathom where in the world she was. Then she remembered the trauma she underwent in the morning and realized that she was in Ben's house.
"You woke up? You're running a temperature dear," said Jane, feeling Arianna's forehead and neck.
"Maybe from the exhaustion and stress. Did your husband pick up your call?" Asked Ben as he sat on the floor packing his stuff.
"No, the call's not going through," said Arianna. "Have you been able to lose Jake?" She asked with concern.
"Yes momentarily. If he enquires at my workplace, he'd know where I live. So it would be wise to leave now. We were waiting for you to wake up," said Ben.
"We could buy some mild medicines for her on the way," said Jane. Ben nodded and went out of the bedroom. Arianna freshened up and changed. She drank some soup that Jane made for her. Then they locked up their apartment and left with their luggage through the backside onto a waiting truck. They immediately sped off without wasting any time.
"Thanks Sammy. What time do we depart tonight?" Ben asked the driver who was his friend. He had agreed to give them a ride to Arkansas.
"Ten, who's that travelling with you guys?" He asked curiously.
"Oh she's my wife's cousin. She's pregnant and we can't leave her alone here. Her husband's away on work," said Ben. Samuel Hughes nodded but his interest was piqued by the gorgeous woman wearing expensive clothes. He drove them to his two bedroom apartment where he lived all alone. He was twenty-six and still single, not having found a woman to interest him.
Arianna took Jane's mobile and called Laurence and Isabella again and again. "Your husband's not picking up your call?" Asked Sammy, sitting beside her.
Arianna nodded. "Maybe he's busy. I'll call later," she said. She didn't look at Sammy who watched her with compassion. He couldn't understand how her husband could be so callous about such a young and beautiful wife? If she would have been his, he would have cherished her all his life.
"Sammy, dinner's ready," said Jane. Sammy got up and left the room. "Arianna do you want me to get your food here in the room?" Asked Jane. She saw Sammy's growing interest in her.
"Yes please," said Arianna.
"Eat and take your medicine. Sammy got it from the nearest pharmacy since it's not safe for Ben to go out," said Jane. Arianna nodded guiltily. Jane went to get food for her. Arianna ate silently and took her medications for her fever. She closed her door and lay down on the bed. Why didn't Laurence and Isabella pick up their phones? She didn't remember anyone else's phone number. Her mobile wasn't there and she couldn't search the internet for Laurence's office landline number. She worked there for only two weeks and was on an extension line. She didn't remember the numerous numbers of his office. They were saved on her mobile phone.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't know when it was time to leave. Jane gave her mobile to Arianna to make a last call to her husband but in vain. The call didn't connect at all.
They left and climbed onto Sammy's vehicle which he owned and transferred goods in it having an interstate transit license.
"Are you comfortable, miss?" Sammy asked Arianna who sat between Ben and Jane. She covered her head with a stole and had changed into simple clothes which she borrowed from Jane. It would attract lesser attention to herself.
"Yes, thank you," she said although the seat was harder than Laurence's car and it would give her cramps. But she couldn't complain. They were poor people and they had saved her life and helped her in her difficult times. She soon dozed off on Jane's shoulder. Her fever was coming back and she felt drained.
Arianna woke up sore and saw that they were still travelling. It was already around 8 o'clock in the morning. "Shall we make a stop?" Asked Sammy seeing that Arianna was up. They all agreed. It was a motel on the highway where Sammy usually stopped.
"Where are we?" Asked a dazed Arianna.
"Albuquerque, New Mexico," informed Sammy.
"I'll get you a room to freshen up, miss. We'll rest here an hour. After breakfast we'll leave," said Sammy. Arianna nodded at the kind man.
"Thank you," she said and Sammy coloured slightly. Arianna got some fresh clothes from her luggage in the truck and took it along with her to the motel. Sammy got her a clean room and she was more than thankful. After a shower, she changed into clean clothes. Jane too came in to take a shower and change. She then brought food for themselves and then they lay down to rest their sore muscles. Arianna took medications and closed her eyes to rest.
They left after an hour. Arianna sat in the truck quietly thinking about Laurence. She was too depressed and didn't have the energy to call him anymore. She couldn't figure out why Laurence wasn't taking her calls. Was he okay? She closed her eyes to block all bad thoughts out of her head. She had made around 100 calls to him and around 20 calls to Isabella. Were they both alright? Tears pricked at her eyes thinking about where her fate would lead her to.
It was past lunchtime when Sammy made another stop. Arianna had fallen asleep as her fever had come back. Sammy took a room for her again and she freshened up, ate and took her medications. She lay down for sometime to rest her tired body.
They again started after an hour's rest. Arianna didn't feel any better. It was evening and she threw up again and again.
Under such conditions, Sammy took a detour and drove all the way to Russellville to drop them at their house. He couldn't see Arianna's condition.
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Featured picture: Cillian Murphy as Samuel Hughes
