30

 

Lara was tossed down the steps in the early morning hours.

“Maven.” As little arms wound around her neck, she woke up.

No one wanted to talk despite Maven’s best efforts to get them to open up. She had no idea if Reuben really planned to follow through on his threat to kill them when he got back from work. “Moses. Sweetie.”

He patted her cheeks. “I love you, baby.”

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t lose it now. “I love you, too, sweetie. I missed you so much.”

“Missed you.”

“Why do you call him Moses?” Lara asked.

“We didn’t know his name so I gave him that one. It seemed like a suitable name for him.”

“I like it,” Lara whispered. She sat beyond the first gate.

Even in the dimness of the basement, Maven could see the bruises on her arms and her swollen face.

Reuben hadn’t even bothered to put her in the cage. He knew she wouldn’t leave without her son.

Maven had to convince her otherwise. “We can’t sit here and wait for him to come back. Lara, you’ve got to go get help.”

Lara shook her head, crawling closer to the cage to her son. “It wouldn’t do any good. Even if I got out of the basement, I wouldn’t be able to get to the other part of the house. I’d just be stuck in the parlor. That’s what Reuben calls his room. There’s no windows and no door out except the one way.”

“Are you sure?” Maven asked.

“I am. I tried before Joshua was born. He left me up there one time, but I couldn’t get out.” Her voice was sad. “That’s when he shot Melissa. He’d been filming me the whole time.”

“It’s impossible to get out,” Tricia said.

Maven countered with a favorite Bible verse. “’With God, all things are possible.’”

“Well then, God needs to show us the way out. We’ve tried and tried to break the basement door down. It won’t budge.” Tricia’s voice was bitter.

“We have to find another way out. Lara, you need to turn on the lights so we can see.”

“I can’t do that. Reuben would get very angry if I did that. If he shuts off the lights, we have to wait until he turns them back on. It’s the rule whether we’re chained or not.”

Moses’s arms tightened around Maven’s neck. She didn’t want to scare him, but there was no way to avoid it. “Didn’t you hear what he said last night? We might not have another chance.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going to make him angry. I have to keep Joshua safe. That’s all that matters to me.” Lara crawled over.

Joshua slipped off Maven’s lap and ran to his mother. They touched fingers through the chain link.

“Yeah, if we’re all good, he might forget what he said. And everything will be OK,” Denise said.

Tricia shook her head. “I don’t think so. He was really angry. It’s been a while since I saw him that mad.”

Maven moved closer to Lara. “Lara, don’t do it for us. Do it for Joshua. He deserves a normal life and the only way that will happen is if we get out of here.”

Lara stared at her and then nodded. “You’re right. We can’t just sit here and wait for him to come back to…” Her gaze landed on Joshua. “Well, you know what.” Lara pulled the string on the light. The dark basement brightened.

“Oh, Lara.” Maven’s heart broke. It had been her fault he’d beaten her.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Lara walked back towards them, but suddenly she stopped. “Look, I dropped the key when he grabbed me by the hair. He must’ve forgotten about it.”

God was intervening.

“With God, all things are possible,” Maven said.

“It must be God. Reuben’s never done that before.” Denise’s voice was full of wonder. She looked at Maven. “He must love you.”

“He loves you, too, Denise. All of you.”

Lara had access to the key to freedom.