Living in the Shadows

I placed my last tee shirt into the already overstuffed suitcase sitting at the foot of my bed. My father was downstairs packing as well. We were being sent to live somewhere else and change our names. Ayla sat on my bed, twirling her strawberry locks with her fingers.

“So you’re going to leave for good?” She was staring blankly at the floor.

“Yeah, I have to Ayla, if those guys ever escape...” I paused, thinking about what Zack had said while he was being dragged away.

”I’ll kill you, fucking bitch. I swear to God!” He screamed. “I’ll kill you!”

He looked at me, his green eyes getting even brighter. I stayed on the floor, while the police took all the men from the basement and brought them out to the cars.

“Come on young lady, we have some questions for you.” One officer said, reaching out his hand to me.

“I’m never going to be able to forget the burning hatred in Vengeance’s face.” I didn’t want to think about it, but his face was etched into my memory for all eternity.

“You were gone for so long, and now you’re leaving me forever. Are you sure we can never speak again?” Ayla questioned, gripping my arm.

“I’m sure Ayla. I’m just as hurt as you are I’m sure, but I have to comply with these rules if I want to survive. I’m sorry.”

Ayla burst into tears, falling to the floor at my feet. Ayla and I had been friends since childhood. This was like leaving behind a sister. I was leaving my town, and friends behind. This was going to be hard on everyone. I even had to leave behind Matt.

He wasn’t awake when I visited him, but I saved his life in more ways than one.

”He’s going to need a blood transfusion.” The doctor explained to me, looking down at the ground solemnly. “He’s type O positive, so it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to find someone who can donate.”

Luckily enough, I had the blood to give to him, and I would have given my life for that man. I owed it to him. I didn’t want to leave him, but it was easier now knowing that we were both going to be able to live happier lives, away from these men. He wasn’t going to go to prison, and I wasn’t dead, so we were going to be okay.

“Come on Belle!” My father yelled from downstairs.

“Coming! Ayla, we have to go.” I said, knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy for her to accept.

“Please take me with you. I’ll change my name too!” She exclaimed, grinning at me through tears.

I smiled sadly at her. “I wish I could. Goodbye Ayla. It’s best that we just go now.”

I ripped my arm from hers, picked up my suitcase, and ran away as fast as possible. I didn’t want to leave her behind like that, but if I didn’t, it would be too hard for me to leave her behind. Both my father and I hopped into the car and the police escort sped away. I watched Ayla fall to her knees on the sidewalk reaching out to us. My heart went out to her. It felt like she’d ripped it out of my chest. My tears started now.

Our new home was in Huntington Beach, California. As nice as it sounded, it was nothing to me. We received cards from the escort giving us our new names.

“You will get the other legal documents in the mail.” He assured us.

“Okay, thank you.”

“Walter and Francis Smith.” I read aloud.

My father chuckled and ran his hand across his face. “Nice.” He murmured.

We walked into our new house, which was beautiful. It looked right out onto the beach. On the couch sat some wigs and a pair of thick-rimmed eyeglasses. My father put on the brown wig that made him resemble Donald Trumph. Mine was orange, kind of like Ayla’s. It was longer than my own hair, but I still was instructed to put on a bald cap before putting on the wig, as was my father. As much as I thought the glasses were supposed to be for him, they were actually for me, as the papers on the couch instructed.

“Look on the bright side Francis, you can enroll in college now.” Dad said with a genuine smile on his face.

I shrugged. “I guess it’s true.”

Even though we were leaving behind our old lives, something told me that everything was going to be okay now.