Halfway Hidden by Carrie Elks

wouldn’t you?” The tremors in her voice vibrated through the air. “You owe him money.” No matter how many times he told her she wasn’t going back, she still needed to hear it some more. She was like a dog biting at stitches, opening up old wounds, making them bleed.
    He stared at her for a moment, his mouth slightly open as if he was going to continue shouting. Then he took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair.
    “I’m not taking you back there.” He sounded angry, like she’d really pissed him off.
    “What do you think he’ll do to you? He’ll be fucking apoplectic if you don’t take me back.”
    “You ask a lot of questions.” He tipped his head to the side and looked at her.
    She bit her lip, wondering where this was going. “Well, I’m still waiting for the answers.”
    “Maybe I don’t have them.”
    She reached out to touch his arm. “I need to know I can trust you. Tell me why you’re not taking me back.”
    Murphy stared at her, his torso taut with muscle, the belt on his jeans hanging loose. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.  “I don’t work for wife-abusers.” The pain in his eyes made Rachel’s eyes sting.
    “But your debt …”
    “I’ll work it out.” He pulled his sweater on over his bare chest, allowing Rachel to keep his t-shirt. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”
    “Where will we go?” Rachel glanced down at the carpet, her eyes following the brown patterned swirls that crossed the beige.
    He ignored her question. “Go get your clothes on and pack a few things. Keep it light, and make it fast. I need to make a couple of calls.”
    She watched him leave the room, hearing his feet thud against the stairs as he descended. He was a man in a hurry, ready to get the hell out of Dodge and back on the road to God knew where. Rachel crossed the room, stopping to look at herself in the mirror, somehow liking the pink-skinned woman who was staring back. She’d come so far in the past year and wondered if she was ready to leave this place and put her faith in somebody else.
    For the first time, she thought maybe she was.
    Getting down on her knees, she pulled a bag from under her bed and started to fill it with panties and bras, tops and jeans, and whatever cosmetics she could get her hands on. She was a little giddy, like a child on Christmas Eve.
    She kept his t-shirt on, liking the way it smelled like him, and pulled on her jeans and sneakers. For some reason she felt the need to make the bed, pulling the wrinkled sheets taut across the mattress, smoothing the garish coverlet over the top. She knew by the time Buddy got here she’d be gone, and she didn’t want to cause him any extra work. It was the least she could do.
    When she walked out of her bedroom, Rachel could hear Murphy talking into the phone.
    “Yeah, I told you I had her. We got delayed by a snowstorm is all. It’s gonna take a day to drive back, so we’ll get there sometime early tomorrow.”
    Her legs started to shake. Oh God, was he talking to David?
    Then he looked up and caught her eye, winking at her.
    “I don’t know. I’ve gagged her.” He was still answering questions. Rachel couldn’t help but feel sick at the thought of her husband on the other end of the line. Any connection between David and her, no matter how tenuous, was too much to contemplate.
    “I’ll have to drag her over. I’ve tied her up good.” Murphy looked like he was enjoying this a little too much. He beckoned her over with his hand, and she reluctantly walked down the stairs. Each step felt like it was too far.
    As soon as she was close, he reached out and pulled her against him. He put his hand over the mouthpiece, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You think you can talk to him?”
    She shook her head rapidly, the fear clutching at her gut as she tried not to think about David. To hear his voice would make her want to scream. Murphy’s eyes softened as they caught her gaze, acknowledging