A month later, they were living in Oklahoma.
Cera finished giving the woman a mere fraction of the crap James had put them through, adding a hushed, “My mother has had restraining orders against him, but he kept ignoring them. We’ve moved three times, but he always seems to find us. There are all kinds of reports on file. Call the cops in Columbia, Missouri if you don’t believe me. That’s where it all started.”
“I believe you, Cera.” The kind operator sounded sincere. “I have a patrol unit on the way, and they’re only a few minutes away. In the meantime, can you tell me who else is in the house with you?”
“I-I’m in my bedroom with my little sister. Callie’s nine and sleeping in the bed next to me right now. My mom and Richard—Mom’s boyfriend who lives with us—are down the hall in their bedroom.”
“So there’s four of you. Okay, that’s good information, Cera,” Alice told her. “Now, I’m going to stay on the line with you until help arrives. But you said you’re in your bedroom, right? Is the door shut and locked?”
Cera’s eyes flew to knob as the sound of someone walking up the wooden steps from downstairs reached her ears. “It’s closed, but it’s not locked. I-I can hear him coming up the stairs.”
“Can you lock the door without alerting him?”
“I-I don’t think so. The floor creaks.” An unfortunate side effect from living in an old house.
“Okay, here’s what I want you to do. You need to quietly wake up your sister and find some place to hide within the room. Somewhere you won’t have to make a lot of noise to get to. Can you do that?”
Cera shook her head, her face threatening to crumble beneath the sheets as she did her best not to fall apart. She couldn’t. Not with Callie asleep inches away.
“Cera? Are you still with me?”
Alice’s calming voice gave her the strength she needed to pull herself together. “I-I’m here.”
There was a small sigh of relief before Cera heard, “The officers are only a few blocks away now, but you need to get your sister to a safe place and hide.”
Safe place. Safe place. Safe place…
She scanned the dark room, realizing she had two options. Closet or under the bed. The closet would require both she and Callie to walk across the noisy floor. Under the bed could still be a potential problem, but the risk of being heard was less.
Decision made, Cera threw the covers off her head and reached for her sister. With a firm shake, she whispered, “Callie, wake up.” It took a few more nerve-wracking tries, but eventually, the young girl’s lashes began to flutter.
At the first inkling of consciousness, Callie released a soft moan. “Wha…what is it?”
Staring down into a set of squinted eyes, Cera placed a gentle hand over her sister’s mouth and shook her head. “He’s here.”
She watched and waited, knowing those were the only words that needed to be said. And she was right.
Fear widened Callie’s pretty eyes as Cera pulled the covers all the way off them both. Not wanting to waste time, she then silently slid from the mattress first before guiding Callie onto the floor and beneath the bed’s metal frame.
With the phone securely held between her shoulder and ear, Cera dropped belly-flat onto the wooden floorboards and slid into what she prayed would be their safe haven.
“What about Mom?” Callie whispered a little too loudly.
Cera put her index finger to her lips to let her sister know she had to be quiet. God, she’d never felt so torn.
She wanted to grab Calli and get to their mom. More than anything, Cera wanted to run down the hall screaming for her mom and Richard to wake up.
To warn them danger was coming.
Maybe they are awake. Maybe they’re hiding, too.
Even as the thought passed through her terrified mind, she knew that wasn’t the case. If either of them was awake, if her mom or Richard, either one, knew what was happening, they already would’ve come to protect them.
The desire to do the same for them was unbelievably powerful. But the urge to keep Callie safe was even stronger.
From the day Callie was born, Cera had felt an almost maternal part of her come alive inside her. Even now—especially now—she felt it was her job to be strong for her little sister. To protect her from any danger or harm that may come their way.
So she made the decision to stay.