Scott Wittenburg - See Tom Run

Tom realized that she had indeed been very wise keeping her parents out of the picture. “So what did you do?”

“I needed money so I called my foster parents just to see if they would loan me some. That was the stupidest thing I could’ve done, obviously. They begged me to come home, but I told them I couldn’t, that I needed to live my own life. After I realized that they weren’t going to give me any money, I told mom goodbye and that I loved her. That’s when she broke down and cried, then told me that someone had been looking for me earlier that day.”

“Kyle,” Tom said.

“Yeah. He’d actually had the nerve to call the house and ask for me! I couldn’t believe it!”

“So what happened next?”

“Courtney had a friend she knew who offered to drive me to Columbus if I wanted to go. I didn’t have much choice since Kyle was in town and hot on my tracks so I said yes. Courtney gave me all the money she had-seventy-five dollars-and Matt picked me up later that afternoon. And that’s how I ended up in Columbus. I stayed with a friend of Matt’s who went to Ohio State until I could find a job and get on my feet. I eventually earned enough to get my own apartment in Worthington and the rest as they say is history.”

“So why did Kyle try to find you again after all of this time, you suppose?” Tom asked.

Erin shook her head. “The guy was sick, that’s all I can tell you. He got so strung out on drugs that he just suddenly lost it and decided that he had to get me back-apparently to start exploiting me again, judging by our conversation on the way to New York. All I know for sure is that there was no way he was ever going to let me leave him again. He would’ve definitely killed me first.”

Well, at least you don’t have to worry about that now, Tom thought with more than a little satisfaction.

They lapsed into silence. Tom thought about Erin and wondered how she had managed to remain so together after all of the baggage she had been carrying most of her young life. He thought back to the way Kyle had spoken to her-his condescending and demeaning attitude toward her and total lack of respect. How could someone put up with someone like him as long as she had? And how could someone have the gall to imply that she was a slut when in fact Erin had done nothing but what she been forced to do at his hand?

But perhaps the most troubling aspect about Erin Myers was that she literally had no family now, and never really had. Her foster families had been either unwilling to make any sacrifices to keep her or dysfunctional and abusive. What would it be like to never know who your biological parents were? Or if you had any siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents somewhere out there?

It all seemed inconceivable to Tom. He tried to imagine going through life being tossed into random homes with random people who were expected to pretend to love and care about you as if you were their own but in reality lacked the real, rock-solid commitment that true blood parents possessed. Granted, it was better than nothing he supposed, but there were no guarantees and plenty of risks, considering what Erin’s second adoptive “father” had done to her.

Tom’s thoughts shifted to his own family and he wondered where they were now. He stared out at the dark highway, void of any traffic just as it had been the entire return trip, and realized that most likely nothing had changed since leaving Columbus the day before. Peg and the kids would still be gone. The rest of the world would still be gone…

And all that would be left in the world would be he and Erin.

It was 8:20 PM when Tom pulled off the I-71 exit at Morse Road. They hadn’t seen a single vehicle the entire trip and Columbus looked the same as the day before except for the snow that had begun melting away in the warmer temperature.

Tom was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. He would of course gladly trade that in to see his family again. Erin had mentioned that she would like to go to her apartment to get some clothes, so Tom drove past Indianola toward High Street.

“It looks as dead as ever, Tom,” she said quietly.

“Yeah, I know. But I don’t think either of us is too surprised.”

“Nope, I’m not. After all, when you drive thirteen hours and don’t see a single car on the road, you don’t expect to arrive here and see all kinds of people milling around.”

“I wish I could say that I’m getting use to any of this, but that would be a lie,” Tom declared.

“God, do I need a shower! I’ll even take a cold one-I have never felt so funky in my entire life!” Erin exclaimed.

“The good news is that we have a gas hot water heater at the house, so we can at least enjoy a hot shower.”

“Awesome-I can’t wait!”

Erin told Tom how to get to her apartment, which wasn’t far from downtown Worthington. He parked in front of the four-story brick structure and kept the car running.

“You want to come in? It will just take me a minute or two,” Erin said.

“Yes, I do. It’s going to be dark as pitch inside.”

“Forgot about that.”

Tom grabbed the flashlight and followed Erin up the walk. Erin led the way inside and up to the second floor. Her apartment door was still wide open-the way Kyle had apparently left it.

“Can I borrow the flashlight? I need to find my clothes,” she said.

“Sure,” Tom replied, handing it to her.

Tom stood near the door and watched Erin as she made her way across the small living room to her bedroom. He heard her rummaging around for several moments before she came out carrying a backpack. She went into the bathroom, stuffed some items into the backpack then rejoined Tom.

“Now take me to where that hot shower awaits!” she smiled.

Back in the Jeep, Tom yawned for what had to be the twentieth time since leaving New York. He tried to recall the last time he’d slept and realized it had been the night before while parked in front of Macy’s-about forty-five minutes worth in all before being rudely awakened by Chappy and his cronies.

He needed about eight uninterrupted hours of shuteye and a square meal.

After a shower.

He turned onto his street, pulled up in front of his house and did a double take There was a car parked in the driveway!

Although he didn’t recognize the car, its presence could only be good news: maybe someone had brought his family back home!

“Whose car is that?” Erin said.

“I don’t know but I’m hoping that Peg and the kids are in there right now. Maybe somebody found them!”

“That would be great!”

Tom pulled up behind the car and shut of the engine. He glanced at the license plate and recognized the name of the auto dealership advertised on the frame, which was located in Smithtown.

That was odd, to say the least.

“Maybe you’d better stay here while I check this out, come to think of it,” he told Erin.

“But you said-”

“I know what I said, but I want to be sure it’s safe before you come in. Once I’m sure that it is, I’ll come back and get you.”

Erin was visibly miffed. “I want to go, too! It’s not fair!”

Tom looked directly into her eyes. “Listen, Erin. We have no idea who is in my house right now. It could be a good thing or it could be trouble. I just don’t want to take any chances.”

“Okay. I’ll wait here. But come back as fast as you can, you promise?”

“I promise.”

Tom grabbed the flashlight and opened the car door. He shut it gently and made his way to the side door. It was dark as pitch inside, which was not a good sign. If Peg and the kids were in there, they certainly would have at least lit some candles or fired up the fireplace.