A RUN FOR LIFE

CHAPTER 5

MANHATTAN CITY (OLIVIA'S GRANNY'S HOUSE)

THREE DAYS LATER

As evening descended upon Manhattan City, Olivia and her Granny, Miss. Green shared a quiet moment at a table, sipping warm tea. The weight of stress and depression still lingered on Olivia, casting a pallor over her like a frail, wounded bird. Complicating matters, she hadn't spoken to her mother since their encounter at Granny's.

"Why, Granny?" Olivia inquired, realizing her Granny was not touching her tea but studying her with concern.

"Hmm," Granny sighed, reaching for Olivia's hand and beginning a careful examination.

"What's troubling you now? let go off me, please."

"When was the last time you... I mean, did it?" Granny asked, delicately broaching a sensitive topic.

Olivia's mother beemed with anticipation, waiting to have a mouth in it.

"What?" Olivia questioned.

"You're pregnant, girl!"

Silence hung in the air for minutes. Olivia's mother, Ashley, sat in astonishment. Hoping this situation could bridge the gap with her daughter, she anxiously waited for Olivia to finish crying.

"Is it true?" Ashley finally asked.

"Who do you think is responsible for this? " she questioned, then regretted her inquiry. "Err, is it...?"

"Who do you think would get me pregnant, Mum? Do you also believe I cheated? I don't even know what's going on. I recently fell down the stairs and had an ectopic," Olivia cried, desperate for understanding.

"Now is not the time for such questions, my girl. What will you do about it?" Granny intervened.

"What should I do?"

"It's up to you. Think for yourself, and that will be the best."

Amidst anxious anticipation, Olivia placed her forehead on the table, pondering her next steps.

Her mother and Granny awaited her decision regarding the unexpected pregnancy.

"I will keep the child and raise it myself," she declared, locking eyes with her mother. "I'll be a good mother."

"You dare not talk to me like that! I am your mother!"

"Where is my father?! "

"Even if he were dead, would you care?!"

"That was not what I wanted, this marriage has been a ... "

"He warned you, I warmed you and everyone did. Yet you choose him over us. Don't pretend you care."

Voices of Ashley and Olivia banged the room for sometime, with any of them ready to give up.

Olivia's mother was stony hearted. She wasn't the kind of woman who would let nonsense by pass her. But, Miss. Green who sat quietly watching the two quarrel kept mute, her hand locked under her chin.

"You know what? I hate you, mother!"

Finally, Olivia gave in, angrily knocking her cup over as she retreated to her room, locking the door behind her.

Filled with terror, malice, and pain, Olivia's mother wouldn't let her daughter manipulate her, despite the mistakes. The truth about her husband's departure remained her closely guarded secret. Not even her only daughter and only parent would have a peek into that part of her life.

Miss. Green, usually seeking peace, found herself unhappy. With a cigarette in one hand and a walking stick in the other, she stepped outside.

She looked at the starry sky and tears began to run down her face, streaming through her wrinkles as she grind her teeth. She had quite a horrible face whenever she cried so she hardly did cry.

In front of her door stood her late ill husband's swinging chair, a reminder of his sudden death.

One Sunday, when she had left for church and had left her husband alone because he was sick and wouldn't be able to walk or didn't wanted to be bothered. She came back to meet him dead in his chair,

*You've been the best wife, Green.* A note in his hand said.

She had lived with the man for 20 years, after he fell ill of stroke after his retirement from the army.

She sat the same chair, and lighted her cigar. She took in a deep breath, and with a deep relaxation, puffed the smoke out. Reflecting on her elegant wooden and glass house, she could see Olivia's shadow lingering in her room.

With the help of her white curtains and the white luminous light, she could identify her.

she prayed for Olivia's peace while observing her silhouette through the curtains.

"I wish her peace," she murmured as the sound of a car interrupted her thoughts.

A car parked in front, and a tall, muscular man approached. Alarmed, Miss. Green confronted him.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house at this hour?"

"Shhh," the man hushed, revealing a gun. "I'm not here for you. McCarthy sent me to kill Olivia."

"Why would he do that?" the old woman asked, shocked.

"Run, Olivia! Run!"

In a desperate attempt to protect her family, the old woman grabbed the intruder, willing to sacrifice herself. Olivia rushed to open the door, but the key slipped, fell between the loose woods, and dropped to the ground.

Granny's cries echoed as Olivia's mother pounded on her door. The intruder, hesitating to harm the old woman, fired, missing due to Granny's interference.

Fortunately, Olivia's mother recalled where the spare keys were kept, freeing Olivia just in time. The old woman, exhausted, couldn't hold the intruder any longer.

He kicked her and entered the house, only to find Olivia and her mother gone. They had escaped through the back window. Ashley, shielding her daughter, fled from the impending danger.

"Mum, what about Granny?" Olivia cried, trying to break free from her mother's grip.

"All I care about is you. She might be dead by now," Ashley explained, but Olivia remained unconvinced. "Did you hear her scream? Didn't you hear that gunshots? Our time is limited; let's get out of here."

Though aware of the danger McCarthy posed, Olivia hadn't seen the face of the man sent to kill her or would expect to be kill by him. They rushed to the maintenance room, acting as a garage, took Miss. Green's car, and sped away.

****

"Hello, Veronica," the man called. "She escaped."

"Williams, find her and finish this!"

The call ended, and Williams, determined, dropped his phone on the dashboard, pursuing Olivia with the intent to fulfil the deadly order.