22-2

I nod and my tears build when I lock gazes with Aria. I try to reassure her with my eyes that everything will be fine before I walk backwards towards the bedroom. Liam rolls his eyes in annoyance before getting her to sit on the couch. I watch him smash the house phone as well as mine and I turn trying to think of what to do. I quickly open my laptop and thankfully I had left it on sleep mode. But before I can even do anything Liam barges in with Aria. His eyes fill with rage and he throws her on the bed which makes me glare at him. He lunges and pushes me up against the wall with the gun digging painfully into my temple. "I told you not to try anything Charlie. What part of that don't you understand?!" He sneers before kneeing me in the stomach. "We're leaving! Now!" I gasp as he punches my cheek which makes me fall to the floor. He chuckles darkly before smashing the laptop to pieces. I get up shakily and follow him out to the door. He checks that we have our passports and legal documents. Aria's stormy grey eyes are blurry with tears and I feel guilt wreaking havoc within over the distress she's in. My only hope is that my grandmother or Theo come over and realize that something happened. I then remember the call from Carmen and pray that she alerts someone when I don't call her back. "Walk outside and get in your car. Act normal or you'll regret it." He grunts as he opens the door before staring at Aria. "Understood? I'll kill your mum if you do anything." I hold her hand tightly as she nods fearfully. We make our way outside before he tells us to keep our heads down and pretend to talk to each other. As we're doing so I quickly look in the direction of my neighbor's camera and shake my head while mouthing "help." It faces the street and gets the front of my house in the footage so I know they'll see me when they watch it. We get inside and he tells me to drive. Aria sits in the back with our things and I glance at her as I put on my seatbelt. He takes his gun out and positions it towards her, ready to shoot if I try anything which makes me cry feeling nothing but helplessness. I drive off with trembling hands praying hard that we get out of this. It's quiet and tense between us with the occasional whimpers from Aria. I feel like the worst mother for failing to protect her. My gaze flickers to Liam's hands as he takes out a necklace from his pocket while keeping the gun aimed at Aria. There's two dog tags on the silver chain but slightly larger. He seems to press down with his thumb over one and the sides unclip and fall into his lap, revealing a razor. He looks up at me just as the traffic light turns green and smirks. "Obviously, I'll have to ditch the gun and knife inside the airport before security but they won't suspect this." "T-The scans –" "It's designed not to show the razor inside." He shrugs half-heartedly before quickly putting the necklace on while watching me. "Where are we going?" I ask meekly as I try to focus on driving. "Me and you are going back to the UK." He starts but my hopes are crushed when he continues. "We're taking a flight to Venezuela first though." My head snaps to him in panic and confusion before I concentrate on the road again. "Why Venezuela?!" "I have some plans for little Aria." He chuckles humorlessly as he glances back at her. Immediately my mind starts to race with thoughts of someone else taking her or leaving her behind. Aria's soft sobs make my heart break and the back of my eyes burn. I meet her gaze in the rear-view mirror and try to silently reassure her that nothing like that will happen. Of course, because of the situation and Liam's threats my poor baby believes it all. "You can't do that –" "You don't call the shots here remember?" He rolls his eyes in annoyance which makes me glare at him. "If I don't have Aria you won't have me." "And what would you do exactly?!" He snorts in a mocking tone. "Take her from me and you'll find out." I reply and notice him narrow his eyes at me. I inhale deeply and try to stay calm as we reach the airport. Liam quickly hides his gun inside his jacket and the knife in a holster on his leg. We get out and I grab my bags before quickly taking Aria's hand. Liam grabs mine tightly and I wince in discomfort as we walk up to the entrance. But Aria trips right outside and I cry out as I help her up before inspecting her bleeding knee. "Miss? There's bathrooms inside to your right. You can clean her up in there." The security guard walks closer and smiles. I nod mutely and glance at Liam to see him thanking the guard. His eyes are cold and dead though which scares me. His hand rests on the small of my back and he pushes me inside. We find the bathrooms right away and I bite my lip when I realize he can't come in. "I'll be waiting outside. Any longer than three minutes and I'm coming in." He murmurs gruffly and I nod. I take Aria inside and quickly clean her up. To my utter frustration there's no windows that I can open and get us out. But thankfully another woman walks in seconds later and I stop her with a whisper. "Can you help us please? The man outside is forcefully taking us out of the country and has weapons on him. Can you please alert security?" Her eyes widen in panic and she nods eagerly. "Oh my god, of course! I'll go straight to them! What are your names?" "Charlotte and Aria Davidson. The man outside is Liam Wri –" The door opens and Liam quickly rushes inside. His eyes flare with anger as he hits the back of her head hard with the end of his gun. Before the woman can even turn fully she's unconscious. My jaw drops and I stare wide eyed at her before backing up against the wall. "Liam –" "What the fuck did I tell you?!" He seethes and his face turns red from rage. I cry out when he grabs Aria and holds the knife against her throat. Her eyes widen and she freezes while looking at me in despair. "Do you want her to die that badly huh?! Because I could just slit her throat, dump her in one of these cubicles and leave with you! I don't have to take her Charlie!" "I-I'm sorry – please let her go! I w-won't try anything else! I-I'll get on the plane!" I cry hoarsely as I all but beg him. He stares at me in silent fury before shoving Aria at me. I hug her tightly as I sob and he goes to the door to peek. "Stop crying and wash your face. Let's go." I do as he says and take Aria's hand. He disposes of his gun and dagger before threatening to slit Aria's throat with the razor if I try anything else. We leave the bathroom looking and acting completely normal. Liam takes us through check in before we head to security which goes smoothly. Throughout it all he keeps a close eye on us and I give up as soon as the gates open to board. The sinking realization has settled in that nobody can help and we're getting on that plane. Eventually we leave Texas behind along with our hopes.