Safety Net

22| no more obstacles.

The days flew by and Saija was enjoying her time reconnecting with her family. Word spread around town about her being back and many people called to welcome her home even though none of them ever helped her parents look for her. They just wanted to be seen.

"Hey Meacco! So glad you're home." A girl that Saija had never seen before a day in her life approached her. This city was quickly getting old and she was tired of people coming up to her. Some were genuine and most weren't. She wished that she could pack up her whole family and bring them to Atlanta in her suitcase.

"Thanks." She gave the girl a half smile. Saija watched as the girl's eyes traveled to Meechie who was standing beside her, putting their items on the conveyer belt. She started to say something but Meechie beat her to the punch.

"Bye." He dismissed the girl making her scoff and walk away. Meechie was tired of it as well. He had only been in this place for a couple of days and he could tell the people were weird and he didn't like the vibe at all. He too was ready to leave but to get to New York. Meechie was ready to get Seth out of the picture.

"I'm so tired of them." Saija shook her head as she looked over everything in the cart to make sure she got everything her mom asked for. She was always on board for a Target run but the people were spoiling it for her. Meechie nodded his head in agreement. "Oh I forgot the milk!" She quickly stepped out of line and tried to remember where the dairy aisle was located. Once she found the big refrigerators, she reached in to grab the gallon of 2% milk.

The store was mostly empty since it was closing in the next thirty minutes. Saija looked around her, feeling slightly paranoid. She didn't see anyone so she closed the glass door and when she turned around her heart sank and she was unable to move.

"It's been a long time." The familiarity in the voice was something she wished she could get rid of. Completely wash her ears and brain from it. "I missed you Meme." Seth's voice grumbled as he caressed the side of her face.

"Get away from me." Saija felt herself turn back into 19 year old Meacco. She didn't even know what to do right now. She was in the presence of the man she'd been running from and terrified wouldn't be the word to describe how she felt right now.

She looked around to see if anyone was around to help her. If Meechie was there. But there was no one. Seth roughly grabbed her chin to make her look him in eyes. "If I can't have you no fucking body can."

Saija jolted up out of her sleep and ran to the bathroom feeling the wave of nausea come over her. The nightmare was so graphic, it made her sick to her stomach. Over the years she had similar nightmares but something about this one was different. Saija figured it was her being back in Allentown that triggered it.

She was now, more than ever, ready to leave. "You good?" Meechie asked her as he kneeled down next to her as she sat in front of the toilet in their hotel room's bathroom.

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream." She got up to brush her teeth. Saija didn't want to confide in Meechie because she already felt bad that she had asked him to kill Seth. It sounded crazy as hell to her and she would be devastated if he went to jail because of her. Even though he previously told her everything would be okay and nothing would happen, she couldn't help but to think of the worst case scenario.

But on the other hand, she did appreciate the lengths he would go to to make her feel safe and protected. It was one of the things she loved about him. And she did want Seth dead. Not just for the foul things he did to her, to ensure that he wouldn't do it to somebody else.

Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, Meechie kissed her forehead and went back to sleep. Saija knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so she stayed up until it was time for them to go back to her parents' house to say goodbye.