Burning the Bridge--Part 2

Week 5

Out of the loop is an understatment for my situation at that point. Elizabeth had asked me to meet her at the base of the hill outside of town. I waited by my car in the freezing weather as I watched her walk towards me.

"What's up?" I asked her, as we hugged.

"Something's wrong," She said, matter of factly.

"Well no doubt," I said. "The gas station went up in a ball of flame yesterday, and it seems that Shawn doesn't care about his child-"

"That's what we need to talk about," She said grimly. "Something's wrong over there, it's the children. I know it."

"What do you know?" I demanded. "I live there, I think I know better than you do."

"Daniel, you're trying, I'll give you that. But you can't give into their demands. They're using you, why can't you see it?"

"I'm not seeing any such thing," I told her. "And I think I'd notice if anything was going on!"

"Daniel, haven't you figured it out yet?"

"There's nothing to figure out."

"What do you think they do everynight when you drive them into the city?"

"I think they're visiting friends," I conjectured.

She scoffed at me. "Daniel, every second you waste, you're burning a bridge, and it's a bridge you can't rebuild. I don't know why God would throw you into such a screwed up situation, but you're there for a reason. Do something!"

"I can't do anything if I have no idea what you're talking about. Start making sense."

She didn't. She turned and walked away, with only these parting words. "Remeber the children, Daniel."

I took the highway back to town and pulled into the complex. A police car sat outside, the officer in the car was watching our apartment. I walked into the apartment and closed the door behind me, Elizabeth's words still echoing through my mind.

Daniel, every second you waste, you're burning a bridge, and it's a bridge you can't rebuild.

What could it have meant? What could any of this mean? Was Elizabeth right? Was I too naive to see that something was going on here? Could I possibly be that stupid? It wasn't long after I entered the apartment that there came a knock on the door. I answered. There were two police officers and an old woman.

"Hi," She said, as she told me her name. "I'm from social services, is there anyone else home?"

"No," I said. "Just me."

"Well," She said. "I'm here because there was a report made to our office about some abuse that might be occuring in this house."

"Abuse?"

"Yes, it seems that there may be child abuse, as well as drug abuse."

"That's impossible," I argued. "They love their children, they'd never hit them."

"Just the same," The old woman said. "We'd like to have a look around."

"Suit yourself," I said firmly. "You won't find anything."

They commenced their search and not five minutes later, I heard one of the officers call from the back room. "I found something!" My heart raced. What could they have possibly found? There was nothing in this house! The CPS landy walked past me and went into the back bedroom. I heard her whisper. "We'll hold him here and wait for the others to come back."

But by the time they came back to the front room, I was long gone. I sped off to Joanna's mother's house where I knew they all were. I practically dragged Shawn out of the house.

"What's going on?!" I demanded of him. "Elizabeth's gone crazy, thinks you're abusing your children and doing drugs, is there any truth to that?"

"No!" He said, looking genuinely disturbed. "We'd never hurt our children."

You see it in movies, read about it in books, but when it really happens, it's different. They'd been falsely accused, the law closing in on them for no reason. We were fugitives. I detailed for him the visit by social services.

"What do we do?" I asked him.

"We disappear."

...

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