The Awakening (7 page)

“Gabriel is four.” Laura gripped her shaking hands.

“Do you have a home? Or are you living in your car?” His tone, although sympathetic, was all cop, and that scared the hell out of her.

Her overtired head was scrambling to come up with something so they could slip away. He must have sensed it, as he unclipped the radio attached to his jacket and said, “Dispatch, I need you to send another car out to the mall and call social services.”

That was all Laura needed to hear for her to frantically yank open the door and bump the deputy’s leg, but he grabbed her around the waist and laid her face down across the trunk.

“
Settle down, or I’m going to slap the cuffs on you!” he yelled at her.

Gabriel started crying inside the car.

“Please, let me up. I need to get my son.”

The deputy gripped her elbow and let her up. “Ma’am, you can open the door, and then you and your son are going to sit in the back of my car.”

Laura felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath her. Her eyes burned, and as she glanced up, the deputy blurred. The door opened, but she didn’t know if it was the deputy or her who had opened it. His hand remained on her shoulder. Gabriel reached for her and wrapped his tiny arms around her neck, his legs around her waist, and the deputy led them to his car, opening the back door.

“Wait inside here.” He shut the door. Even though the car was warm, Laura trembled.

She didn’t wait long, gripping Gabriel so hard he fussed and pushed away. “Sorry, baby…” He gazed up at her when she froze, watching as a second cop car pulled up, another brown vehicle behind it. Her door opened, and there stood the sheriff, a blond, solid guy watching her with a mix of concern and resignation.

A man dressed in a sloppy, heavy brown jacket and wool hat stepped out of the sedan. He was a little overweight, and he hadn’t shaved. He had heavy bags under his eyes and said, “Has anyone talked to her. What’s the story?”

The first deputy replied, “Found her sleeping with the kid in the car. Thought I’d wait for you.”

The sheriff shrugged. Laura didn’t know where to look or who to look at. The older guy in the jacket leaned down in the open door.

“Are you in trouble, honey?”

Laura tried to speak but couldn’t find her voice past the lump jammed in her throat, so she shook her head.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Laura.” She didn’t recognize her own voice, barely a whisper.

“I’m James. I’m a social worker with the county.”

Laura froze because she already suspected that was who he was. But hearing it made it real. She knew what this meant, and she also knew she was boxed in, as if she’d just been dumped down a hole with no way out.

“Look, I’ve done nothing wrong. We shouldn’t have parked here, and if you’ll let us go, we’ll move on. I was tired, so we stopped. I thought it would be okay.” She was so panicked she didn’t know what she was saying.

The men exchanged a look. The social worker spoke up. “Is this your child, and where are you living?”

“Gabriel is my son.” She didn’t want to tell him she was homeless. She wanted to lie so they could get away and hide, except he must have known, all of them, as the sheriff leaned in next.

“I’ve seen you around town. Did something happen. A boyfriend? A bad relationship?” the sheriff asked.

Laura swallowed. “No. I lost my job and couldn’t pay rent. I just got another one yesterday. I start today. I’ll…” Laura stopped. Her head ached and she found it so hard to breath … because at this point she didn’t know what she was going to do. And she wasn’t one of those women who’d ever been able to lie her way out of a situation.

The social worker frowned and shook his head. “We can’t let you stay out here. I’m going to have to take your son and put him in emergency care until you can get a home.”

“No … you’re not taking my son. Please just let me make a call,” she cried. “Please don’t take him. I have a job. I start today. I’m meeting her at the grocery store… Please just let me call her. I’ll see if she can help me, and I’ll find a place today.” She was begging, and Gabriel was shrieking, clutching her coat, his innocent eyes filled with a pool of tears.

“Sheriff.” The social worker stood up, and the sheriff leaned in. A hand gripped her arm, pulling her up. Another hand grabbed her shoulder while one of them took Gabriel from her arms. She heard Gabriel screaming as he reached frantically for her, but the social worker hurried away with him while the sheriff held on to her, his arm around her waist. She must have kicked him—she flung her arms, and the next she knew, she was face down on the trunk of the car, metal cuffs pinching her wrists. She couldn’t breathe. Her nose was plugged, and her tears fell as she heard the car drive away, her child crying for her.

The deputy was talking, and the sheriff was, too. “Calm down. I’m going to take these off.” One of them unfastened the handcuffs and let her up. She didn’t know who was talking. She couldn’t see. Her vision was blurred, and she felt emotionally zapped, as if her skin had been peeled back, leaving her nerves raw and exposed as her heart snapped in two. “You can get him back. Just get a job. Get a decent roof over your head and enough money so you can feed your kid, and then contact Child Services. You’ll get a hearing, and then you can apply to get him back.”

“Why’d you take him? I’m his mother. Why?” she screamed, over and over.

“We take protection of a minor seriously, ma’am. You need to stop and think about your child. He’s going to get fed; he’ll have a warm bed to sleep in tonight.” Before the sheriff left, he handed her the social worker’s card. “He said to give you this. You can call him, and you need to move your car. Do you have gas in it?”

She nodded. That was all she could do, she was shaking so hard. She strode to the driver’s door and yanked it open, sagging onto the seat as if she were an old woman. This time, the deputy touched her shoulder as he held her door.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Are you okay to drive?”

Laura was not going to look at him. At this moment, she hated him as she had hated no one before, and she said, in a voice void of any emotion, “I’m fine.” Pulling the door closed, she started her car. It backfired and slowly revved, as if deciding whether it would sputter and die or keep going. She knew they watched and waited until she drove through the parking lot to the exit, where she paused, not sure which way to go. Then, she flicked on her signal light and turned right.

Chapter Twelve

Diana checked her cell phone again—it was after nine. She was parked in front of the grocery store, and for the last ten minutes she’d waited on the sidewalk, walking in circles. Now, she leaned against Jed’s truck, thankful the rain had tapered off. She looked up and down the street for Laura but saw no one. The young girl from the store waved from the storefront window and then frowned. Diana waved back. The girl gestured at her, and Diana realized she was obviously wondering why she was standing outside the store as if she were a teenager, loitering.

Diana checked her cell phone. It was almost 9:25, and still no Laura. She considered herself a good judge of character and couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the girl had stood her up. It just didn’t fit. Jed was waiting for them at home with Danny, who’d nursed just before she left. She hadn’t pumped any milk to leave for him, so regardless of whether she wanted to or not, she couldn’t wait much longer. She called Jed, and he answered on the second ring.

“Yeah.” Diana wanted to smile at her husband, who refused to get newer phones with call display. He never knew who was calling, but Jed could be quite prickly, and he said he just couldn’t get people who screened their calls. It made no sense. If the phone rang, he would answer it.

“Jed, she’s not here,” she said, not knowing what to do but fearing she’d have to leave.

He sighed on the other end. “Diana, honey, you got a heart of gold, but you can’t help everyone. She obviously don’t want help. Not everyone is made like you, honey.”

“I know, but it still doesn’t feel right. I understand that desperation … and what I saw in her yesterday…” Diana stopped as she glimpsed a thin woman wearing a dark coat and wool cap limping toward the store.

“Diana, are you there?” Jed uttered on the other end of the phone.

She pressed the cell phone to her ear, distracted. “Jed, I got to go. I think I see her, but she’s alone.”

“Diana, you call me right back and let me know you’re on your way home.”

“I will. I love you.” She hung up, knowing Jed would be in her SUV in five minutes unless she called back. He would drive faster than he should into town to rescue her, even if she wasn’t in trouble. It was truly comforting to know that one person always had her back without question.

Diana tucked her phone in her pocket and hopped up on the sidewalk, walking to the girl who approached. “Laura?” She moved cautiously when she saw her pale face and her eyes, filled with nothingness that Diana had seen before—had lived before.

Laura gazed at her, unseeing, her eyes red rimmed and glossy. She opened her mouth, and her lips trembled.

“Laura, where is your son? Where is Gabriel?” Diana felt bone-chilling fear beating like wings up her spine when the girl’s big, startled eyes gazed out to her as if she were a lifeline.

The girl sagged, and Diana grabbed her shoulders, but she couldn’t hold her up, so she sat her gently on the ground. Diana’s phone rang in her pocket, and she knew it was her husband before she even answered.

“Jed.” She stood up and touched her head, looking at the girl on the ground at her feet as if she’d just lost everything.

“Diana, what the hell is going on?” He was worried, and it always came across as irritation.

“I don’t know, Jed. But something’s happened. Her son’s gone. She’s sitting on the ground here.” Diana knelt down and touched the girl’s shoulder.

“I’m on my way. Stay put.” He hung up, and she knew he’d be there in no time with her baby boy.

She glanced up to see people watching—gawking was more like it. But no one came out to help. Diana urged the girl up, taking her elbow and moving her toward the truck. It took effort, and when she opened the passenger door she leaned Laura against the truck.

“Can you sit in the truck? Come on, Laura, up.”

Laura climbed in, but she still hadn’t spoken. At least now she was out of view. The last thing Diana needed was to be the latest gossip, both her and Laura. She touched Laura’s hand. It was pink and very cold. The girl was trembling.

“They took Gabriel. I shouldn’t have stopped there,” she whispered. “I tried to tell them I have work, but they still took him.”

Diana felt the ground sway as if she were the butt of a cruel joke. But the joke apparently was on Laura. “What are you talking about? Who took Gabriel?”

Laura gazed up. Her eyes were dimmed, and the tiny spark that shimmered yesterday had disappeared. “A deputy called a social worker and took him away from me. I don’t know what to do.”

Diana gaped and then turned her head when her husband pulled in and parked. He jumped out of the driver’s seat; Danny was in his car seat in the back. In two strides, Jed was beside Diana, and he glanced at Laura, who appeared like an orphaned child.

“What’s going on?”

Laura shrunk back, and Diana didn’t miss the fear. “Laura, this is my husband, Jed.” She darted a startled gaze at him and then back to Diana. Diana held her hand and squeezed gently. “Jed, Laura said a deputy and a social worker took her little boy.”

Laura gazed up at Jed, squinting as a hint of color dotted her cheeks. She quickly dropped her gaze, and that was when it dawned on Diana, his resemblance to Andy.

“Laura, Jed is Andy’s cousin, but they’re not the same person. Jed, remember I told you last night that Laura used to work for Caroline, who fired her a few days ago?” She was trying to ease at least one worry from Laura. It just wasn’t right to have the weight of the world on one’s shoulders, and this girl had it all.

Jed exchanged a glance with Diana. “Laura, Caroline is a miserable person, and I’m sorry. I can only imagine how badly you were treated, but it sounds like you have a bigger problem: your son. So why did they take him?”

Laura’s lips trembled, and when she glanced up sheepishly, she spoke softly. “We were sleeping in my car at the mall. The deputy who tapped on my window called the sheriff, and a social worker came. They said that when I have a job and a home, I can get him back.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled business card. She handed it to Diana.

Diana read the name of Hank Walker, a social worker. She glanced at Jed, who leaned over her shoulder, reading.

“Laura, I’m going to call this social worker. We’re going to get your son back.” She glanced briefly at Jed, and he nodded.

Laura frowned. “And how would you go about doing that?”

“I’m a lawyer, but first we need to find out what happened.” It was then that Danny started whimpering in the backseat.

“Diana, take the SUV, and take Laura home with you.” Jed touched her shoulder.

Diana opened the back door. “Oh, baby, you lost your soother. Here it is.” She put it in his mouth. “He’s getting restless.”

Jed helped Laura into the passenger seat of the SUV and hurried around to Diana before she slid in.