A Fresh Start

Micah immediately ran for a window.

“Don’t,” Amos warned. “If they see you, they’ll shoot.”

“Why did you lead them here!?” Micah yelled.

“I didn’t. They’ve been here for a long time.”

Cherise ran a hand through her purple hair, trying to think.

“Can we call the police?” she asked but he shook his head.

“They’ll either shoot or disappear.”

“Then what the hell can we do?” Micah demanded.

“You can let me use your phone to call my superior,” Amos answered in a monotonous voice.

Cherise sighed and passed it over to him. He paused at the background picture of her and Micah before opening the keypad. Micah stood by the door as if unsure what to do. Cherise went over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I’m scared,” she whispered as Amos spoke to whoever was on the other end of the phone.

“I know,” he whispered back. “As soon as this is over, I’m taking you to Hawaii.”

She giggled and Amos hung up.

“My superior will be here in three hours,” he announced, giving Cherise her phone back. “May I use your shower? I am aware I smell.”

Cherise just nodded and watched as he walked over wearily. His whole body language gave off how exhausted he was. As soon as the bathroom door closed, Cherise sobbed into Micah’s chest.

-

Cherise had composed herself by the time Amos came out of the shower. He was back in his clothes but he looked refreshed. Some of his wounds had reopened as he was patching them up. Cherise, unsure, started cooking. It was the only thing she could think of to do. Amos just sat at the table, watching her. Micah, for his part, was watching Amos closely.

“You look a lot like your mother,” Amos said quietly. Cherise nearly dropped her spoon. “How is she?”

“She’s wonderful,” Cherise said, not looking at him but focusing instead on the meat she was browning. “Jean got married. Had a kid.”

“That’s great. How have you been? Is everything Micah said true?”

“Yes,” she said darkly. She cleared her throat. “But I’m better now. Mics, I need some help lifting this skillet,” she added and he hurried over to help. “I have a job I love and a man I love just as much, if not more.”

Micah smiled and kissed her forehead. Amos smiled, too.

“That’s all I ever wanted for you.” He bit his lower lip. “Did your mother remarry?”

“No.”

He took the hint that she didn’t want to talk anymore and they all fell into silence. Micah helped her finish cooking. At first, she didn’t know what she was making but it turned out to be a sloppy joe recipe she enjoyed. Before she could serve it, though, someone knocked rhythmically on her door. All three looked up but it was Amos who answered.

A man in a dark suit slipped in.

“They know I’m here,” the man said to Amos. “We have to leave soon. Bridges is sending someone now to cover for us.”

“But-” Cherise began.

Amos sighed and took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Cherise, but I have to go. If I stay, not only will you be in danger from the group searching for me, but you’ll also be in danger from me.” He sighed again. “It’s no secret that I’m poison. I don’t regret marrying your mother or bringing the three of you into this world. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve put you through. Tell no one of this. If anyone ever asks, tell them I died. That includes Olivia,” he added and, just like that, he was gone.

He was gone from Cherise’s life all over again.

-

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Please, babe. Just eat a little bit. If you don’t, you’ll make yourself sick again.”

It was an hour after Amos left. They had been assured that they were safe but Cherise didn’t feel any optimism at all. She felt like a little girl again, walking downstairs to see her mother crying over a letter. Only, this time, she was the one crying.

“I’ll just eat a little bit,” she consented and ate a few bites of a sloppy joe.

Micah rested his head on her shoulder while she ate, rubbing her back comfortingly. Lira lay at her feet, whining quietly.

“Are you going to have a seizure?” he whispered and she just nodded, already feeling it coming on. “Okay, sweetheart. Don’t be afraid.”

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” she asked, lying down on the floor.

He smiled, his eyes full of love. “I’ll always be here.”

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

--

“Have you found Dad yet?” Olivia asked.

“I’m sorry, Olivia, but they found Dad’s body in the river,” Cherise said in a flat voice.

Olivia began to cry. “Do they know the cause of death?”

“He had a bullet wound through the head but there’s no way of knowing who did it. He had been dead for too long.”

“They didn’t do an autopsy? Why not?”

“It said in his will he didn’t want one. A lawyer will be meeting with us in a couple weeks separately to go over his estate.”

“Oh, Cherise! I’m so sorry!”

“Me, too,” she whispered. “I have to go. Good bye, Olivia.”

Before Olivia could reply, she hung up. She put her head in her hands and exhaled slowly. Micah had called Harold to let him know they’d be late because Cherise had a seizure.

“He doesn’t want us to come in at all,” Micah told her.

“I have to go,” she sighed, standing up and running a comb through her hair.

“Why?”

“Because if I don’t, I’ll think myself to death,” she answered and he put his arm around her waist as they went to the car.

Cherise was exhausted and not just from her seizure. She was exhausted from everything; all the drama in her life. She just wanted a normal life, a normal family. In that moment, she wanted to be anyone but Cherise Allen.