21

Olivia shook a spray paint bottle as they stood at the back of their rental car. Elliot looked at the supplies his wife had bought when they separated for the day. He swallowed hard and glanced down the block where Olivia had lived for years.

"Okay, take this," Olivia whispered, her hand shaking as she held the spray paint out.

"What is this for?"

"Hugo has cameras everywhere. I have a laser that will knock them out, but this is for extra coverage. I'll knock them out, you'll spray them. Then we will get into the house and grab my girls."

"How long have you been planning this?" Elliot asked.

"We can talk about this later because we need to move right now," Olivia replied, shutting the trunk and grabbing her bag. Elliot sighed deeply, but grabbed his bag and followed his wife down the sidewalk.

Just as she said, Olivia was able to knock out the cameras that sent out an angry beep when they stopped working. After Elliot covered the lenses, they walked to the front door. Olivia looked at the pin pad to unlock the front door. She was having a hard time remembering what the code was, but she knew it was easy to remember for the sake of Hugo's mother and the girls. 

"Do you know the code?" Elliot whispered.

"Yes... It's his birthday," Olivia sighed. After typing in the code, Olivia saw the green light and quickly opened the front door. Her breathing hitched as she listened closely to any sounds in the house. 

She heard as ice was made in the freezer and the sound of Maci's sound machine. Olivia took a few light steps in and looked into the living room where Hugo's mother had fallen asleep in the recliner. She had the TV remote in hand and a handful of empty beer bottles on the table beside her.

"Liv," Elliot whispered into her ear.

"He isn't here... Barbara is a deep sleeper. Just move quick," Olivia whispered back.

Elliot followed his wife down the hall to where Maci and Rory shared a bedroom. Olivia checked her old bedroom quickly before crossing the hall and opening the light pink door. She fought off tears when she spotted her daughters sleeping in their beds for the first time in over a year.

"Rory," Olivia whispered, kneeling beside her eldest's bed and caressing her messy brown hair. Rory yawned quietly and stretched her arms before slowly opening her eyes.

"Gramma?"

"No, baby... It's Mama," Olivia whispered. 

Rory's eyes went wide as she reached to turn on her lamp. Olivia gently pushed her hand down as Elliot stood awkwardly by the door.

"No, baby. Keep the lights off... I'm here to take you to a safe place... Can you get your shoes on and be quiet about it?"

"Mama, you're dead," Rory whispered.

"No, baby, I'm not. I will tell you everything once we get somewhere safe. Can you do this for me?" Olivia whispered.

"Yes, ma'am," Rory whispered. Olivia placed a light kiss on Rory's forehead before helping her climb out of bed. Rory ran to her closest and grabbed her shoes as Olivia moved to her husband.

"Maci can be carried. I'll grab a pair of her shoes, but she cannot be without that teddy she's holding. Can you carry her?" Olivia whispered.

"Will she freak out?"

"No, she won't. She sleeps like Barbara does most of the time," Olivia replied.

It took five minutes to sneak into the house, grab the girls, and leave again. Olivia picked up Rory once they were on the sidewalk and ran with her to the car. Elliot was close behind with a sleeping Maci.

"Mama, what's happening? Who's that?" Rory asked, as Olivia climbed into the driver's seat and turned the vehicle on.

"Rory, your daddy is a terrible man. He tried to kill me, so people from the government took me so I could be safe. You and Maci were supposed to come with me the first time, but Daddy found out and wouldn't let me take you. This man is Elliot, and he is my husband..." Olivia trailed off as she quickly shifted into drive and pushed on the gas. 

Rory stared at her hands as Olivia and Elliot sat silently in the front seat. Olivia kept glancing back at her daughters, but it was hard to focus on them when also driving a getaway vehicle. Olivia came to a stop sign and stopped hesitantly as someone drove from the other side. She made eye contact with the driver and felt ill the moment she looked into the eyes of her ex-husband as their daughters sat in the back seat.

///

The drive back to Georgia was the longest drive of Olivia's life. She knew Hugo recognized her, but she didn't know if the shock of seeing her would mess with him and allow for their getaway to be clean. Elliot refused to look at his wife as he rode in the passenger seat and only moved when they came to a gas station and Olivia talked to Maci about what was happening and helped her daughters to the bathroom.

"What's going to happen now?" Elliot asked as Olivia shut the back door to the rental car. Maci and Rory had snacks and milk, so they'd be fine for a while.

"We are going back to Valdosta to catch a flight to ATL. Then we will fly to JFK," Olivia replied.

"What if your 'husband' knows we took the girls?" Elliot huffed.

"El, you are my husband-"

"Really? Because I don't remember you mentioning a divorce," Elliot spat. Olivia swallowed hard as tears burned her eyes.

"My agent permitted me to marry you, so everything is fine. It's not like some weird polygamy thing happening... Everything will be fine," Olivia replied.

"If I get shot at by your monster of an ex, I don't know if we will last," Elliot snapped. Olivia didn't respond as she walked around the back of the vehicle and climbed into the driver's seat. Elliot finished pumping gas before joining her in the car.

"Where are we going, Mama?" Maci asked, her arms wrapped tightly around her teddy bear.

"Our new home, pumpkin."