Chapter 5 Different Identity

I stayed in Tabby's room for the next few days. It was located on the second floor of the restaurant, the one owned by Tabby's elder son.

The day she took me in, she made sure that I finished the noodle soup she gave me before she rushed me up the stairs towards the room she was staying in, warning me not to leave.

I listened to her, choosing to stay hidden from the eyes of the workers and the customers.

Tabby, the sweet old lady, didn't want her son to see me either. She made sure to lock the door whenever she left, only coming back once in a while to give me a bowl of noodle soup and snacks she claimed to be good for pregnancy, like fruits and veggies.

I slept most of the time, too afraid to even look outside the window in case someone passing by might catch sight of me and report to Victor.

Victor?

My heart clenched at the thought of the man I ran away from.

I tried to sleep most of the day, but he was there in my dreams, or should I say, my nightmares?

He would sometimes just stand in front of me, looking at me with indifference. And other times, he would try to reach out to me. I would wake up right before he could touch me. And each time, I would be covered with sweat.

The few days I had to stay in that room felt like weeks, and when Tabby finally said it was time for us to leave, I was more than ready to do so.

Tabby chose the dead of night to make our escape, saying that she didn't want her son to see me since he was a very nosey man, and he would do anything in his power to know who I was and why I was hiding in his restaurant.

Tabby said a neighbor she trusted was going to give us a drive. I was a bit worried at first, wondering if that neighbor of hers could keep the secret of another passenger in his car, but Tabby reassured me that her neighbor is trustworthy and that he would keep our secret.

The second the clock hit midnight, Tabby slowly stood up.

"Come. We must leave now. Edward is waiting for us outside," she commented, and I quickly pushed myself to my feet before following her out of the room I had familiarized myself with for the last few days.

She led me down the stairs and out through the back door leading into the alley, following it out to the front, where a small van was waiting for us.

Tabby moved fast for her age, pulling the door open and gesturing to me to get in the back. Once I hopped in, she closed the door and hopped into the front seat next to Edward.

No words were shared in the car as we pulled away from the restaurant.

I kept my eyes out the back window of the van, taking in the city I was born and raised in, the city I was about to leave behind.

I pressed my hand on my lower abdomen, internally promising my child a safe and a better life, even if it meant I was leaving everything I ever knew behind.

Victor seemed to pop in my head with each street we passed, memories of our silent and loveless life entering my head.

Tears filled my eyes when we drove past a bookstore I used to visit often before I was forced into this dangerous life. The carefree lifestyle I had was ripped right out of my hands, and I silently wept for what could have been.

I wondered what my life would have been like if I had never married.

Would I have finished college and graduated to become a social worker, or would I have just decided to follow my dreams and open my own bookstore cafe?

Would I have met someone who loved me for me, or would I have led the same loveless life as this one?

Would every one of my friends stick by me, or would they have stabbed me in the back as they had already done?

Would Victor come into my life from a different angle, or would I have never met him at all?

All the questions only managed to break me even more. They were answers I would never get.

I had no friends, no family, no true marriage. All I had was the life growing in side of me and the sweet old lady who appeared in my life like an angel.

The drive was long, and when we arrived at Tabby's house, the sun had already started to rise.

"Thank you, neighbor." Tabby called out as she opened the door and carefully hopped out.

"Don't mention it, Tabb. I'm more than happy to help," Edward replied, looking at Tabby, and then back at me.

Tabby opened the door for me and nodded towards her house.

"Hop out." She ordered before she turned around to her house.

I got out of the car and looked towards Edward.

"Thank you for the ride," I commented, making him smile.

"Of course. And if you need anything else, just come to the house down two doors. That's my place, Miss Blue," he replied.

Blue. Right. That was my name now, my new identity.

I nodded my head before I shut the door and turned around to follow after Tabby.

Tabby was already in her house, leaving her front door open for me.

The second I stepped in, she started giving me instructions.

"My café is a few minutes' walk from here. I open at seven thirty every day, except for Sunday. I don't open on Sundays." She mumbled the last bit as she sat down on the rocking chair next to the window.

She started to gently rock herself back and forth.

"I have empty rooms upstairs. Those ungrateful kids of mine left them empty, so choose whichever one you like, but not the first door to your right. That one is mine. You'll work at the Café as long as you can, and I will pay you, feed you, and keep a roof over your head. Don't bring any trouble to me, and you can stay here for however long you like," she added.

I slowly walked towards her.

"Why are you doing all of this for me?" I asked.

Tabby looked up at me.

"You remind me of my younger years when I was both free and trapped all at the same time." She trailed off as her eyes moved to the picture frame on the shelf across from her, one that homes a picture of a young man and woman smiling at each other.

"You must be tired. Go to sleep. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready," she ordered before she settled her eyes on the window next to her.

I turned away and walked towards the stairs, climbing up as if I was on autopilot, still unable to swallow the reality I was living.

I avoided the first room to the right like Tabby told me to and chose the one right next to it, a room painted blue with a small bed in the corner and a small shelf full of books across from it.

Perfect.

I sat at the edge of the bed for a few minutes, staring down at my blue dress and borrowed pink flip-flops. I blinked and expected to find myself back in Victor's hallow house, awaiting for his presence like I always do, wallowing in boredom and pity for myself.

It never happened.

I was still in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar house, in an unfamiliar town, wearing the identity of an unfamiliar woman.

It made me wonder.

How long was I going to stay here?

How long will I last?

How long would it take Victor to find me?