Baby Just Say Yes

"Ray, what's wrong?" Brian asked as she hung up the phone. She just looked at him blankly, then got out of the bed and began pulling on her clothes.

"He...he's out, Bri." She said frantically.

"What's wrong? Are you guys okay?" Papa Gates asked from the door to Brian's room, Suzie right beside him. "I heard yelling."

"Her dad's out, Dad." She told him. "He called her."

"I have to get to my mom's house." She said, refusing to call it home anymore. "He threatened to kill my mom if I don't go--"

"Rayleigh, you're not going to sacrifice yourself." Suzie said sharply, picking up a phone from the wall in the hallway.

"I...I don't have any choice."

"Yes you do...Yes, hello, there's an emergency at the Coslov residence...yes, where Richard Coslov's wife lives...he's threatened to kill her, he's got her....yes, I understand...Yes, Rayleigh is here...okay, hang on..." Suzie said into the phone, obviously talking to a police officer. "Ray, he wants to talk to you."

"H-Hello?" Rayleigh asked into the phone shakily.

"Rayleigh? Listen to me, you cannot, absolutely cannot go back there. Do you understand me?" The police officer asked her very abruptly.

"No! I can't! He'll kill my--"

"If he's serious, Rayleigh, he'll try to kill her anyway. Listen to me!" The police officer said. "We've got a lot of cops heading over there as we speak, alright? She'll be okay. Just trust me."

"How can I trust you? You were supposed to keep him locked up!" Rayleigh spat as she pulled on her shoes, intent on not listening to the police or Suzie and Papa Gates.

"There's nothing we can do if he makes bail. But when we get him back in custody, there is no chance any judge will let him out on bail again. He has violated the terms of his bail, and he will be locked up for a very long time. Do you understand?"

"No!" Rayleigh insisted, hanging up the phone. As she tried to walk through the door, Brian's arms wrapped around her.

"You can't go." He whispered sadly. "Please, Ray. You can't."

"I have to, Brian." She whispered. Just then, there was a slam on the front door. Suzie and Papa Gates pushed Rayleigh and Brian back into the bedroom, and locked his door behind them.

"You kids jump out the window and run. Do you understand?" Suzie asked quietly.

"What? No! What about you?" Rayleigh argued. Papa Gates shook his head.

"Don't you worry about us. Brian, where'd you hide that gun I gave you a couple of years ago?" He asked his son. Brian walked to his closet and pulled a gun out of the bottom drawer, and handed it to his father.

"Run, now!" Suzie whispered urgently. Rayleigh looked conflicted, but Brian picked her up and put her in the windowsill, and she knew she wouldn't win this argument. She silently jumped from the window, and waited for Brian to join her. He landed beside her a few seconds later, and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go." He whispered, taking off towards a small gathering of woods behind the house. She followed, but mostly because she knew she didn't really have much choice at this point, and they ran for about ten minutes until they reached a place that was familiar to her.

"This is--" She started. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But right now we don't have a choice." He told her, understanding her fears. This was a place that was forbidden to them, not by law, but by themselves. This was the last place she'd seen Brian before he'd stopped talking to her. He grabbed her hand again and they walked into a small cave that was just big enough for the two of them.

"What do we do now? Your parents are in danger because of me. My mom's probably dead. And we have no place left to hide." Rayleigh spoke miserably. Brian pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

"We'll get through this, Ray." He told her.