Page 48 of Echoes From Within
“That’s right, my beautiful wife,” Travis laughs, sitting us both up fully. “Let’s get your things and head home before it gets too late.”
I look at Travis and see the delightful glint in his eyes. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful. Maybe this man, and his multiple personalities, will be the ones to save me.
Just, maybe.
Chapter Seventeen
Sophia
If you had told me a week ago that I would arrive at UNITY on the back of a motorcycle I would have laughed in your face.
“You have until the time we leave here to decide if we’re going to be staying at your house or mine,” Travis says as I hand him the helmet.
“We’re not staying at our own places?” I ask, confused as to what this man is wanting.
“No, baby,” he tells me. “We will both be at one place or the other. I don’t really care where.”
“Sophia,” I hear Cady call. “I’ve been so worried. Why didn’t you call me?”
Glancing down at my wrist, I make sure the long sleeve covers the bandage before reaching out and hugging my friend.
“I just had some things I needed to work through,” I admit, pulling back.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, concern written all over her face.
“No,” I smile. “But they will be.”
“Because that sexy man standing behind you will make sure of it?” she asks, her lips quirked in a teasing grin.
“Damn right,” Travis mutters.
“How are things here?” I ask, ignoring that sexy man standing by me.
“They’re good,” she gestures for me to follow her. “For the past few nights, we’ve had an increase in the amount of people wanting beds at night. Most of them are young teens my age. I don’t really know the procedure for that. Do we call in social services when someone comes in alone and underage?”
“I’m so sorry, Cady,” I say, pulling her in for another hug. “I left you here to deal with all of this craziness on your own. Without proper training. Please, don’t hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Sophie,” she frowns. “I had it all under control. You’ve trained me plenty enough to handle this place without you for a few days. Besides, I kind of liked having all of these adults working for you do what I ordered.”
Laughing, I glance down at the report she pulled out.
“It’s sad, but I can understand the influx of homeless teens this time of year,” I tell her. “The schools have just let out for the summer and a lot of these kids have abusive homes that they can’t escape from during the day. We don’t call in social services for older teenagers unless they specifically ask for our help with such matters. But we always do if a young child comes in alone.”
“Gotcha,” she nods.
“However, what does strike me as odd is the amount of men and women from our Unity units that have left.”
“Is that not normal?” she asks. “I mean, they don’t stay here forever. Eventually, they all leave to try and get back to their lives once they’re safe.”
“Sometimes not even if they’re safe,” I add. “But, not this many people at once. When I left, we had to move people around just to make room for one more person. Now, there are multiple beds in both sections that are empty. Do you have the release forms that they sign when they leave?”
Cady moves to her computer and logs in.
“Yeah,” she says as she hunts for the files. “But only a handful even signed out. Most of them just left and never came back. I figured they just went back home.”
“It’s a possibility,” I admit. “That happens more often than not. Just not these numbers in such a short amount of time.”