Flesh and Blood: Chapter Nine
You Always Have a Choice
Note: This is the last chapter of this novella that makes up the first act of this series. Flesh and Blood will be on hiatus for the next few weeks while I get more new chapters in the can. But those of you who voted for it to continue can rest assured that it will, and that it will remain free (those who voted for it not to continue can manage your subscriptions and deselect Flesh and Blood so you'll no longer receive new chapters).
In the meantime, I'll be posting something from my back catalogue on Mondays. If there's a particular novella of mine you've been wanting to read, you can reply to this e-mail or click through to leave a comment and cast your vote.
And now on with the story!
When Mae Bishop finally did in her abusive husband and dumped his body in the river, she thought her troubles were behind her. When his ghost shows up and leads her away from the police and straight into the lair of a serial killer, she realizes trouble never left. And when a mysterious angelic being recruits her for purposes yet unknown, Mae knows she and trouble are in it for the long haul.
You're reading Flesh and Blood. This is Chapter Nine.
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The peroxide stung like hell. Mae sat on the toilet lid, eyes and jaw clamped tight, her foot bouncing in an attempt to distract from the pain. At least it gave her a temporary reprieve from thinking about all the other ways her body hurt.
She opened her eyes and gazed somewhat longingly at the long, red locks that now filled the trash can. She'd been a redhead all her life. It was ingrained in her identity. But her identity was wanted in two states and by at least one federal agency, so it had to go.
She held the card Ziggy had given her in her good hand, squeezing it tightly. You always have a choice, they’d said. Mae could toss the card and continue with her original plan of driving up to Canada. If the feds managed to track her to this room, maybe it would throw them off her scent.
But then what would she do once she got there? Her money would run out quickly, and then what? How would she even get across the border? She didn't have a passport, and getting one would probably use up all her money.
Besides, she still had a long way to go to get there. It had been one thing when she was just local news back in Oklahoma. But now her face had been plastered all over the national news. Changing her hair would only do so much to reduce the risk of being recognized.
She looked at the card again, read the address, repeated it to herself. It would be easy to get lost in a place like Chicago. People in big cities tended to be so caught up in their own lives that they barely gave strangers a second glance--unlike small towns, where new faces drew lots of attention.
Ziggy had said she'd have room and board. And protection. From the law, at any rate.
Did Mae really have a choice?
Not to mention the matter of her eternal soul. And her daughter.
Mae swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat, squeezing her eyes shut against the pricking sensation behind them.
A daughter. And Mae could see her someday. Hold her. Talk to her. Be with her for eternity.
If, that was, Ziggy was telling the truth. And something told Mae that Ziggy shouldn't be entirely trusted--if Ziggy even existed, and this wasn't all part of some post-traumatic psychosis.
But if it wasn't, and the angel, or whatever it was, had spoken the truth... Mae couldn't afford to chance it.
The timer beeped on the cheap Timex she'd picked up at the drugstore across the street, along with the bleach and an arsenal of painkillers. Mae got up and stuck her head in the sink. She breathed a long sigh of relief as the cold water took away the sting and soothed her aching scalp. Once all the bleach was rinsed away, she reached blindly for the towel she'd left on the counter. She wrapped it around her head and then went to work with the heavy-duty foundation and concealer she'd bought. They did a decent job of hiding her bruises, as long as nobody got too close.
When she finished, she took off the towel and examined the results. Short, white-blonde spikes stuck up in every direction. Very Annie Lennox, especially with the cheekbones made sharper by her weight loss. Mae barely recognized herself. That realization filled her with sadness, but wasn't that the whole point? A bald patch revealed a large scab on one side of her head, so she supposed she'd be wearing hats and scarves for a while until it healed and the hair grew back. At least, she hoped it would grow back. But that was all right. Those things would help hide her.
She discarded what was left of the bleach kit in the trash can along with her hair, and then removed the bag and tied it shut. She carried it out to her room and set it by the front door, and tucked Ziggy's card safely in a pocket inside the suitcase before getting dressed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Mae turned around in the middle of buttoning up her jeans. Wade occupied the chair tucked into one corner of the room. He sat hunched over, his knees spread wide and propping up his elbows, his gaze fixed on the floor.
"Tell you what?"
He squeezed his eyes shut. "About the baby."
Mae put a hand on her hip and fixed him with a cold stare. "You were listening in? Is this my life now? You hanging around all invisible and eavesdropping on all my conversations?"
He shook his head. "Believe what you want. I was just watching your back." He lifted his head and met her gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Why do you think?"
He looked up at the ceiling, away from her accusing glare. "It might've gone differently if I'd known. I might've been more gentle. I might've straightened up--"
"Do you really believe that?"
He closed his eyes a moment, and then looked back down at his hands. For the briefest of moments, Mae was torn between feeling pity or satisfaction at the pained look on his face, but any shred of pity was quickly washed away when she remembered that his suffering was a pittance compared to everything he'd put her through.
At least he seemed to realize this. With a sigh, he stood up and changed the subject. "What did you do to your hair?"
Mae turned back to her suitcase, turning her back on him as she pulled out a clean shirt. "What I needed to do."
"For what it's worth, I kinda like it."
She didn't respond, only buttoned up her flannel in silence. It wasn't worth much, and she suspected he knew that already.
"So are we going to Chicago?"
That got her to turn back around. "We?"
"I go where you go, darlin'. Those are the rules. I don't make 'em."
She sighed and reached for a plain, black ball cap lying on the bed--another drugstore purchase, the only one she'd been able to find without any gaudy bling or a memorable logo. She pulled it gently over her newly shortened hair and then bent to pull on her shoes.
"Not like I've got anyplace else to go."
"Well, then. I guess I'll see you there."
When she looked up, he was gone.
She pulled on her jacket, making a mental note as she did that she should stop and pick up something warmer before she got to Chicago. She patted the pockets for a set of car keys before remembering that she didn't have any. She hoped she could hot wire the Caddy without Wade's guidance.
It only took her four tries. With the engine idling, Mae put on her sunglasses and then dug the address card out of her pocket. She tucked it into the closed mouth of the pullout ash tray on the dashboard, where it could serve as a tiny beacon to remind her where she was going.
As she pulled the big car onto the highway, she gave in to the temptation to feel hopeful about this new journey, that she wasn't crazy, that all of this was real, and that somehow it would all turn out all right.
It was easy, as long as she didn't let herself think about the things she'd be asked to do once she arrived.
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See ya in Chi town ❤️👻