tightly.
âYes.â
âYouâre Briannaâs father and you donât even care about her.â
âI donât want to be her father,â Justin said. âShe was a freakinâ accident. We screwed around and we screwed up. Sheâs only here âcause the condom broke. Iâm not her father, Evie, and youâre not her mother. Not for real. Her real mother and father are back there in that house probably going crazy worrying about her.â
I finally managed to twist out of his grasp. I could see the red imprint of his fingers on my wrist.
âWeâre her family,â I said. âWeâre the only family she needs.â Briannawas crying. I put my hand on her head. âYouâre scaring her, Justin.â
âGive it up, Evie,â Justin said. He pulled his hand through his hair again. âWeâre not a family. She has one but weâre not it. You think youâre gonna be a fashion designer in Montreal? Right. Youâll end up working at the dollar store. You saw that house. Those people can give her stuff that you canât.â
âYou mean like a big house and fancy clothes? That stuff doesnât matter. Nobody can love Brianna like I do.â I straightened her little hat and she twisted her head away from me.
âShe doesnât even like you, Evie,â Justin said quietly.
âShe just doesnât remember me. But she will,â I said. âShe spent nine whole months inside me. She knows me. Sheâll remember.â
âYou just donât get it. Itâs not happening.â Justin wiped his hand down the side of his face. âWeâd be lucky to even get close to Montreal. You think thecops arenât going to catch up with us? You kidnapped a baby, Evie. She isnât yours anymore.â
âYou know, youâre acting like you donât even love your own kid,â I said.
âI donât,â Justin said. âBut the Hansens do. We have to take her back. Maybe theyâll let you come and visit and stuff. You know, like at Christmas and her birthday.â
âI donât want to visit a couple of times a year,â I shouted. âI want to be with her all the time. And after this do you really think theyâd let me anywhere near her? Iâm not going back.â
âIâm not doing this,â Justin said. âItâs over, Evie.â He snapped the side of my head with his thumb and finger. âGet that through your head.â Then he turned and stalked away.
My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I made myself take some deep breaths in and out, but they were all jerky. I got back into the truck and bent over Brianna. Sheâd stopped crying.Her face was flushed. âDonât worry,â I told her. âNobodyâs taking you away from me. Not Justin. Not the police. Not anybody.â
I looked around the service station lot. Then I saw Justin inside the building. He was talking on the phone.
No.
Chapter Eleven
It felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Tears filled my eyes and rolled down my face. I swiped them away with the edge of my hand. There was no time. âItâll be okay,â I whispered to the baby.
I felt around on the floor of the truck and shoved everything into the backpackâthe bottle of water, the rest of the juice, my purse, everything. Then I unfastened the seat belt that was holdingthe car seat in place. I looked over at the convenience store again. Justin was still on the phone. My heart felt like it had jumped up into my throat, but I knew what I had to do.
I reached up and turned off the little dome light in case Justin looked this way. I opened the truck door, slid down off the seat and hiked my pack onto my back. Then I grabbed the car seat and, staying low to the ground, scurried across the parking lot and let the darkness swallow us.
There wasnât any traffic on the road, but I stayed way
Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life, Blues