[ WP ] The person you love most in the world must hunt you . You have committed a heinous crime to save them a fate they can never know . And so you must run .

I sit in the café sipping my hot chocolate calmly. My entire body aches from running for so long. I look to the window keeping alert. I would have to leave soon and head to the train station; Charlie was the smartest cop that I knew and in all likelihood he was already on my trail. I throw out the cup and grab my backpack ready to go. I look at the train time schedule once I get to the station and deliberate my destination. The secret to being on the run was never having a set plan. If I didn ’ t know where I was going, neither would anyone else. I decide to head upstate towards the countryside; although farming communities were often tightly knit, there were fewer cops and they seemed to be less suspicious than those in the city. I sit on the train and read a magazine. I sense someone sit next to me but I ’ m too tired to care. I imagine a cozy queen sized bed with tons of pillows that I have to just myself and yawn. 
 
 The person next to me chuckles and exclaims, “ Crime is tiring, huh? ” 
 
 I look up worriedly to see Charlie sitting next to me. He snaps a set of handcuffs one on my wrist and one on the seat. I look around fearfully and he laughs. 
 
 “ There is no one here. I ’ m not even on duty. We ’ ll get off at the first stop and I ’ ll call in some back up, ” he says in an amused tone. 
 
 I roll my eyes, “ Please Charlie, you have to let me go, ” I plead. 
 
 He looks at me disgusted, “ You are a murderer, you deserve to be punished, ” he says. 
 
 I shake my head frustrated; I couldn ’ t tell him the truth because he would never believe it. I imagine my “ victim ’ s ” face. She has short black hair and rosy cheeks, I ’ m sure she was happy wherever she was. She was only nineteen when she murdered Charlie. After his death, I received a small button in the mail which said, “ Press to go back in time ”. I pressed it and when she was born, I stole her from the hospital and I left her at a random police station in South Carolina. I figured that she would be put in the foster care system and adopted. I hoped she ’ d have a better chance with new parents and at the very least I figured that dropping her off so far away would protect Charlie. I couldn ’ t tell anyone or she would be tracked down and returned to her parents doomed to make the same mistakes. Everyone assumed I murdered the baby because she was still missing after all this time and while it sucked, the first time losing Charlie was painful enough; I wasn ’ t going to let it happen again. 
 
 I look at Charlie and then close my eyes; I was tired of running. 
 
 “ Why did you do it? ” he asks quietly. 
 
 I laugh and answer, “ She ’ s not dead. She ’ s just adopted. ” 
 
 He was never going to believe a word out of my mouth. The News had painted me as a maniacal baby killer and my story wasn ’ t exactly the most rational. 
 
 “ Where is she? ” he asks picking up my backpack and beginning to go through it. I blush wondering what he ’ ll pull out. 
 
 I shake my head, “ It doesn ’ t matter, ” I reply as he pulls out my scrapbook. 
 
 ‘ Well this was going to be interesting ’ I think as he begins to flip through the pages. 
 
 He wears a puzzled face and says, “ You look very nice in these wedding pictures, what happened to your husband? ” 
 
 I smile; of course Charlie would see a picture of himself and think it was someone else. 
 
 “ He died, ” I say quietly looking at Charlie ’ s young inquisitive face focused on my scrapbook. 
 
 He closes the book and puts it back in my bag, “ I ’ m sorry for your loss. Hopefully you ’ ll be able to plead insanity or land in an institution where you can get proper help to cope. ” 
 
 I begin to feel tears in my eyes and look at the handcuff, “ Can I go to the bathroom? ” I ask. 
 
 Charlie shakes his head and replies, “ Nope. ” 
 
 He was a good cop and wasn ’ t easily fooled. Escaping in the bathroom would be a disgrace for him; I don ’ t think he ’ d ever forgive himself for that mistake. I wipe my eyes with my free hand and he hands me a tissue. Even when dealing with what he believed was a murderer, he was never cruel. I begin to hyperventilate with worry and he looks at me concerned. 
 
 “ Take a deep breath and just relax. Everything is going to be okay, ” he says softly. 
 
 Charlie had anxiety too and sympathized with anyone who suffered through it as well. I cough and try to distract myself by thinking of good memories. 
 
 “ Can I tie up my hair? ” I ask quietly as my tears act as glue between my hair and my face. He looks at me suspiciously and sighs before tying up my hair himself. 
 
 I chuckle, “ You must hate me, ” I say. 
 
 He shakes his head and replies, “ You ’ re just sick. You ’ re not evil. ” 
 
 He unlocks the handcuff and grabs my arm tightly. He escorts me off the train and we head to the front of the station. He calls for back up on his cell phone and they arrive within fifteen minutes. A rookie officer puts me in real handcuffs and reads me my rights before leading me to his squad car. I get the feeling that he is very new to the squad from how loose the handcuffs are. 
 
 I lean against the car tiredly and I hear, “ Officer Wilds! ” 
 
 The rookie looks at me curiously and tells me to wait before running over to the older officer. I look around and see that Charlie is being interviewed by two other officers and a lieutenant talking to the rookie. I walk to the front of the car and slip out of the extremely loose handcuffs. I grab my backpack and slip away into an alley way with a smile. I was still tired but at least I wouldn ’ t be sleeping in a cell. 

