Justin sighed once more as he tried to make his clothes fit inside his suitcase, the same suitcase with in which he had carried the pieces of his heart in the difficult times of the past. This time it was different. This time the abyss he felt in his chest was so enormous that it could make him breathless at any moment.

He forced himself to hold back his crying and take enough breaths to calm down. He hadn't been able to even glance at his little boy for three days. The girl was quite serious about her restrictions. At this point he didn't know if he still loved her or was beginning to turn all those feelings he cherished so much into hatred and resentment.

The blond walked into his room. Jason's cries could be heard down the hallway. He felt his heart squeeze once again.

"I know this doesn't help much, but he needs you. He really does. You don't have to leave. You know she can be stubborn, but her anger won't last more than a week. Just don't give up yet."

The brunette stopped packing and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can't, Ryan. I can't force her to give in anymore. Even she can't control the wall she put up, and if I keep trying to break it down, I'll hurt Jason in the process."

"She's hurting him with her insistence on reinforcing it," he snorted. "You know I adore her, but I can't keep siding with her. Her actions are hurting him too. He hasn't stopped crying since she took him from your arms. She should pay attention to those signs, but she prefers to ignore them."

"Ry, please. I know it's hard to be on her side in this situation, but, if no one is with her, then she'll be alone again. You said yourself that the 6 months after I left were hell. I don't want her to be in that hole again, she doesn't deserve it."

"Neither do you."

A tear rolled from his eye. It was impossible to hold back that scorching cry any longer. The blond went over to him and hugged him. It was too much pain to keep locked away.

Anne clenched her jaw. She couldn't afford to cry, not anymore. She knew what Jason needed, but she couldn't give in after what she'd been through. She sighed. The boy was right: if everyone left her side, she would be alone once again, but at least she would have her little boy with her.

She turned around. She didn't want to witness that scene any longer. She had things to focus on.

She returned to her room, where the baby was waiting for her in his crib with tear-filled eyes and a red nose. She felt a twitch inside her. She walked over to him, took him in her arms and wiped his face before she finished swaddling him.

She had decided to drop him off and pick him up from daycare personally to avoid any more undesirable situations in her life. Her work schedules would be a little crazy, but she would make things work.

She placed her son's diaper bag on one of her shoulders and her purse on the other. The little boy was curled up on her chest sobbing every few seconds. She placed a kiss on his head and left her room. Just as she came down the stairs, she bumped into the brunette, who was dragging a suitcase into the living room. She cut off eye contact and walked towards the entrance not stopping until she was outside the house.

Her insides felt guilt for everything the boy was going through, but she tried to repeat to herself that it was all a product of the choices he had made, nothing more.

She shook her head as she walked towards the daycare. She felt uneasy, as if she had a bad feeling over something. It was probably just her subconscious tormenting her. She quickened her pace as she looked around for anything suspicious. The streets were empty, except for 3 people walking the opposite way she was going. She sighed thinking she was going crazy.

The little boy squirmed in her arms and she whispered comforting words to reassure him. She felt a shiver and, next thing she knew, someone was holding a piece of cloth with a rather pungent smell in her face. She held onto the baby as tightly as she could until she lost consciousness.

***

A small headache made her aware that she was coming back to consciousness. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus on her surroundings. A bulb with yellowish light greeted her.

She tried to move and felt her body complaining. She didn't know how many hours she had been in that position, but knowing she had hands and foots tied made all the memories come rushing back and her alarm went off.

"Jason? Jason! Where's my son!"

She was alone, except for the boxes stacked to the side. The door in front of her was closed and there was no windows.

She started fidgeting trying to remove the ropes from her wrists, but the task seemed impossible. She couldn't give up so quickly, her son was in any corner of that place and she needed to find him.

The door opened causing a cold sweat to run down her spine. She saw the man in front of her and rage began to bubble up inside her.

"What the hell do you want now!"

The man laughed. "Is that the way to greet your father?"

Anne felt that same smell that brought back so many bad memories creep into her nostrils. She felt disgust. "Where is my son?"

"You know, I often question myself about the way your mother and I raised you. She used to say we needed to make you strong and independent, but we never drew the line at cursing and the way you talk to us."

"You're crazy, give me my son or I swear...!"

"Again with the bad manners," he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "We should have been tougher on you."

"What do you want? Say it once and for all. Why did you bring me here?"

"Can't I show you my place of work and talk about how I've been doing over the years?"

"You kidnapped me," she said warily. "And you took my son," her eyes began to fill with tears as she remembered her little boy. He was the most precious thing she had and she hadn't been able to protect him from her psycho father.

"Do you really think I could hurt him? I would be able to hurt him less than that murderer!"

The girl's eyes widened. The memory of her mother and him arguing clouded her vision for a few seconds, bringing her back to the moment when the hurricane of her life was not yet raging furiously over her.

***

The little girl tiptoed down the stairs trying not to make any noise. Her parents might see her and it would not go well for her.

She sat on the steps at the bottom and pressed her ear to the wall. She heard angry whispers in the kitchen.

"John, please, you must stop this. It won't do us any good to continue doing business with those men. Listen to Pattie and Jeremy before it's too late."

"We can go a long way with this, Rose, don't you see? These men only want temporary business, they wouldn't risk involving us that way in their affairs."

"Think of Anne."

"I am thinking of her. About us. About the future we can have."

"If you go through with this, we'll leave."

"Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm being serious. I will not expose my daughter to your lack of judgment."

"Do you really think I could hurt her? I could hurt her less than those murderers!"

"And yet it is you who is leaving her at their mercy."

***

Tears streamed down the girl's face. She listened to the man speak, but did not understand a word he was saying. It was as if she was locked in an insulating bubble where she could only listen to her mind and that constant thought that kept repeating itself like a mantra.

Justin was telling the truth.