Free C I N: "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." (The C I N Series) by Christina Leigh Pritchard Page B

Alex’s fit off as hunger. Who knows, maybe he was hungry.
    “I’ll ask the kitchen staff to push your order,” the waitress said, backing away from the table slowly.
    “That’s a very wise idea.”
    “So, Lisa I thought we could leave for home today. I figured since you have your permit you could drive until it gets dark. I would have some time to rest up from my drive here and we could stay in some cheap hotel for the night.”
    “Sounds good to me,” I hooted, raising my fist in the air.
    Alex narrowed his eyes at Amber. “Why would you want to take her with you? Do you have a place to live? Aren’t you still sick?”
    “Leaving my daughter here isn’t going to help make me better.”
    “I’m afraid she is your problem .” Alex crossed his arms and leaned them on the table. “Isn’t that right, Amber? It’s hard to look at her now that she’s older and resembles him so much?”
    “Lisa.” My mom stood, banging her knees under the table. “Let’s get out of here. This kid is scaring me. I’m sorry I left you with these freaks.”
    I obeyed, pushing my chair away from the table. Ally grabbed my shirt and jerked me backwards. “What’s happening?” Her eyes watered. “Alex, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”
    “Nothing, don’t worry Ally. Amber isn’t taking Lisa anywhere.”
    My heart stopped. I wasn’t leaving? What was he talking about? Was this another one of his games? Amber grabbed my arm and tugged. She led me out the front door.
    “Get in the car, Lisa. Those kids are crazy. That boy is going to kill someone one day. He’s like the next Ted Bundy or something.”
    She started the car. I looked in the side mirror. Alex and Ally raced out of Denny’s and stood on the sidewalk. Ally was shouting at Alex, begging him for something. He just stared at our car.
    My mom put the car in drive and pressed her foot to the gas pedal. We hit the highway and took a deep breath. My mom blasted the radio and began singing. It was an old song by Cyndi Lauper, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun .  
    We merged into traffic. I finally relaxed. They didn’t have super speed. I laughed at this. What did I think Alex and Ally were?
    “We’re almost out of Lynn,” my mom squealed.
    “Almost free—”
    I grabbed the dash and my mom clutched the steering wheel.
    She hit her brakes and the car spun in a circle.
    A bolt of lightning hit the roadway splitting the ‘Lynn, Massachusetts’ sign into two pieces.
    Hurry on home.
    The voice, it was back. It had to be Alex. It just had to be! I looked behind us for any sign of him. He was not there.
    What about Ally? No. No Ally.
    I reached over and grabbed my mother’s hand. We looked at the sky. It was clear; not a rain cloud in sight. Where had the lightning come from?
    “Start the car,” I demanded, “I want to get out of here.”
    My mom turned the ignition but the car stalled. She tried again.
    Nothing.
    What was wrong with the stupid car? Did it overheat?
    Finally, the engine purred and my mom inched forward. She went around another car that had skidded to a stop as well.
    Amber hit the breaks.
    The road had a big hole in the center of it. There wasn’t any way out, at least not this way. “Find another exit.” I bit my fingernails.
    “Did Millie tell you something?” Amber asked, backing out of the debris.  
    What was she talking about?
    “About the night you were conceived?” Amber glanced at me. “Alex knew about it and I don’t remember telling Millie anything about it; ever .”
    “What are you talking about?” My hands trembled.
    “Good, its better that you never know.”
    “Know what?” I screeched. “Stop the car!”
    My mom hit the brakes. We were half on the sidewalk, trying to get out of the mess of vehicles backed up because of the lightning strike.
    “Really, Lisa, it’s not a big deal,” She wouldn’t look at me. “It’s something that only concerns me.”
    “Mother.”
    “Lisa.”
    “If you don’t tell me,