First Chapter of Roadkill by Cheryl Bradshaw
CHAPTER 1
Juliette Granger glanced in the car’s rearview mirror one more time. It had become a knee-jerk reaction she couldn’t stop repeating, even though no matter how many times she looked, there was nothing to indicate she was being followed. She’d been driving the desert stretch between Las Vegas and St. George, Utah, for the last hour. Her fellow motorists were sparse at best. Even so, she was nauseated and unsettled—unable to shake the feeling he would catch up to her somehow once he realized she was gone.
For now, Juliette took comfort in her biggest ally—time. She’d slipped out of the house an hour and a half earlier when her husband Seth began snoring. Taking every precaution not to rouse him, she’d inched her hand beneath her side of the bed, retrieving a bag she’d hidden earlier in the day. Dangling the bag’s straps between a few of her fingers, she’d glanced over at him before standing, horrified when she noticed he had rolled over. One of his eyes had slid open. He appeared to be looking at her.
For a moment, she’d just stood there. Frozen. Not moving. Not breathing. Watching his chest rise and fall. She thought he’d seen her, but then something unexpected happened—he rolled back over, and the snoring resumed.
For the past two weeks, Juliette had planned her escape. New place. New people. Somewhere safe. Somewhere no one would think to look. And most of all, somewhere he wouldn’t find her.
Her cell phone buzzed from its place on the passenger seat. The sudden break in silence jolted Juliette back into the present moment, sending a shockwave through her system, like needles prickling her skin. She took one hand off the steering wheel and reached for the phone, but hesitated before flipping it over to see who was calling.
What if it’s him?
It couldn’t be, could it?
It’s much too soon.
She glanced at the name of the caller on the phone’s screen, exhaling a sigh of relief before bringing it to her ear. “Hey, sis.”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Everything’s fine so far.”
“Did you make it out all right?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Are you driving?”
“I am.”
“Good. Where are you now?”
Juliette glanced at a billboard advertising a prime-rib special at one of the casinos nearby. “I’m just getting into Mesquite.”
“Mmm … kay. You shouldn’t be too much longer then. I’ll let you go so you can concentrate on driving.”
Juliette gripped the steering wheel so hard she imagined it breaking in half. “You still there?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m … worried I’ve made the wrong decision. I’m scared.”
“I know you are. Did you have a chance to talk to Seth before you left?”
“I tried having a conversation with him at dinner, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the guts to do it. I just can’t right now. My stomach is in knots. My throat’s dry. I can’t breathe. I’ve thought about stopping at a gas station for a few minutes. I need something fizzy—a soda or something to settle my stomach.”
“Why don’t you get off the freeway and get one then?”
She wanted to, but she couldn’t risk it. She had to keep going.
“I’m … I’ll be fine. Once Seth wakes up, once he realizes I’m gone, he’ll come looking for me.”
“I hate to say this, but he deserves an explanation, Juliette. You can’t just leave him hanging.”
“I know. I left a note. It’s not how I intended for it to go, but it’s better than nothing, right? It’s better than no explanation at all.”
“What did the note say?”
“I kept it brief and to the point. I told him I was sorry I left. I said I couldn’t be married anymore, and I asked him not to come looking for me.” Juliette sighed. “Part of me feels like I shouldn’t have involved you in what’s happening with us. My marriage is my problem. Not yours.”
“It’s not your problem. It’s our problem. You’re my baby sister. I just wish you had told me you two were having problems sooner. I knew you were unhappy, but I didn’t know just how much.”
“I wanted to tell you. I thought about it whenever we talked on the phone lately, and I should have. I’m sorry.”
It was true. If she could, she’d start at the beginning, tell Raine everything, except she couldn’t confide in her about the way she’d lived her life lately. Raine would get involved, lecturing her about how she needed to ‘do the right thing.’ Even stopping to see her was a bad idea, but Juliette needed one last goodbye.
“Don’t be sorry,” Raine said. “I should be the one apologizing to you. I’ve been so caught up in my own life, I haven’t been there for you lately. You’re a lot stronger than you think. You’ll get through this.”
She wasn’t so sure.
“I feel like everything’s a haze. My life’s a mess. I’ve made so many mistakes. You have no—”
Idea.
She stopped herself before saying it, knowing it would lead to Raine asking questions she wouldn’t answer.
“It’s going to be all right,” Raine said. “Trust me. How’s Nora doing?”
Juliette glanced back at her two-year-old daughter bundled inside a blanket in her car seat. “She’s sleeping. She has her unicorn —the one you gave her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said we were going on a trip. She asked where, and I said it was a surprise. She hopped out of bed, grabbed her blanket and her unicorn, and ran to the front door.”
Raine laughed. “Good. I can’t wait to see you both.”
“Raine?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. See you soon, okay?”
A knot, tight and round, throbbed inside Juliette’s throat. She choked out, “Yeah, see you soon,” and hung up.