After Shock- Ellie's Chance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Prologue

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  After Shock: Ellie’s Chance

  by

  Vikki McCombie

  After Shock: Ellie's Chance

  Copyright © 2019 by Vikki McCombie

  Cover design by Danielle Doolittle

  All rights reserved. This book, or any part of it, cannot be reproduced or distributed by any means without the express permission in writing from the author.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank Laurie White for working her magic as my editor for After Shock: Ellie’s Chance. Her expertise only made my book better. I also want to thank my awesome Beta Readers. Their spot-on feedback always makes my books so much better. Linda Levin, Donna Salzman, Cindy Emerson Baxter, Pam Elkins Henry, Karen Henderson, and Deborah McMillan Ledgerwood, thanks for your willingness to read my very rough draft! They actually read the chapters as I completed them.

  My heartfelt thanks go to readers everywhere, for your willingness to give me a chance by reading my books. Last, but by no means least, I want to thank my husband for putting up with me when I’m lost in my world of books.

  Thank you for reading After Shock: Ellie’s Chance. Reviews are the lifeblood for authors. If you enjoyed my story, I hope you will take a few minutes and write a review. Fellow readers will appreciate your words of wisdom.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to everyone impacted by 9/11. From the victims lost, to the first responders who gave their all, and to the families who lost loved ones that fateful day and in the after math. Our nation was forever changed by what happened on 9/11. I pray that all Americans NEVER forget.

  I also dedicate After Shock: Ellie’s Chance to the fine men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our country. Although our nation is under a great deal of stress today, and we clearly have a great many differing opinions, I have faith in every American to do what’s right for our nation.

  Most important of all, I give thanks to God. There are many people who, just like Ellie felt in the beginning, do not believe. If one person who reads this book gains a better understanding and love of God, then this book will be a huge success.

  Prologue

  New York City, New York

  September 10, 2001

  Ellie Branson trembled on the cool laminate bathroom floor. Her wrist cradled against her breasts, aching from Lucas’s brutal wrench a few moments earlier. She raised the sleeve of her top, and his fingerprints on her upper biceps where he’d gripped her arms were already showing bruises.

  Her boyfriend pounded on the door. “Come on, you bitch, open up. I’m not through talking to you, slut. I saw how you looked at that guy in the video store.” he slurred.

  Her heart pounded so hard she feared it would break one of her ribs.

  “I didn’t. You’re j-just imagining things. Leave me alone,” she cried, terror lacing her voice. “Just g-go to bed and sleep it o-off.”

  The old glass knob rattled as something hard slammed against the door, probably his foot, but thankfully the lock on the old, solid wood door held. She heard him grumble something under his breath, but she couldn’t make it out.

  Several minutes passed, and at last, she heard him stomp off in the direction of the bedroom. Ellie drew her knees up, wrapped her trembling arms around them, and hugged tight. She glanced at the wastepaper basket which held the stick with the pink plus sign. Tears flowed freely, and her breathing quickened. How she’d ended up pregnant was a mystery to her since she was on the pill.

  Resting her head on her knees, she silently wept as the full impact of what it would mean overtook her. She wasn’t sure how long she sat on the floor, but she prayed it was long enough for the drunken lout to pass out. Just as a precaution, she waited a while longer.

  Her mind turned to her dilemma. How would she manage a child? She worked as a receptionist at a law firm in Manhattan and barely made enough to survive in the city without having a baby to care for as well. Where would she go? She had no family other than her sister in Brooklyn, and they’d never been close. At least, not since they were children. Connie was five years older and had become a bitter woman after her divorce three years before. She started running with several women, going out drinking, and she’d even started smoking.

  Dwelling on that mess wouldn’t accomplish anything. She needed to get to her phone, but it was in her purse in the living room. Glancing at her watch, she noticed thirty minutes had passed, and she couldn’t hear any noise. Maybe the oaf had passed out. She could only pray that was the case.

  Looking around as she stood, it struck her…she needed to take the evidence of her pregnancy with her. Lucas must never know she was having his baby. She grabbed the box and the stick with the plus sign, then stuffed the items in the bag the kit had come in to carry out with her.

  Stiffening her spine, she rose and turned the knob, only cracking it open enough to see the door to the bedroom. It stood half-open, and a deep, reassuring snore echoed into the hall. She sagged against the wall as prickles of anxiety flooded her system.

  He’d passed out. Ellie slipped down the hall and crept into the living room. With shaking hands, she rummaged through her purse, dug out her cell phone, and punched in number two on speed dial.

  It rang several times. Please, please. Amy answer your phone. At last, she picked up. “Hey Ellie. Is that no-good boyfriend of yours drunk again?”

  “Amy,” she whispered. Ellie tried to keep the terror from her voice. “May I come over? I need a place to stay for a few days until I can make other arrangements. Lucas…he attacked me, and I…need to get out of here right away.”

  Her friend gasped. “That ass! Of course, you can stay here. Do you need me to come and get you? I can be there in twenty minutes.”

  “If you don’t mind, that’d be great. Listen, I’m going to grab a few things while he’s still out cold, and I’ll meet you out front. See you soon. Bye.” She flipped her phone closed, ending the call.

  Inhaling a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she went to the living room closet and pulled her suitcase from the shelf, bringing several books with it. The noise was deafening—at least to her ears. Please, please don’t let him wake up.

  She went to the bedroom and peeked inside. Lucas lay sprawled across the bed on his stomach and loud snores still filled the room. Relief swept through her, leaving her shaken. No telling what he’d do if he awoke and saw her.

  Ellie tiptoed to the dresser and grabbed a fistful of undergarments and stuffed them in her bag. At least she’d folded the laundry when she’d returned home, so she had plenty clean.

  She’d need some things to wear to work over the next few days, so she silently moved to the closet and slipped three knit dresses off their hangers and placed them with her quickly-growing pile of clothes. Fortunately, Lucas snored on, oblivious to her movement.

/>   With that done, she returned to the bathroom, packed her toiletries in her cosmetic bag, then grabbed her hair dryer and headed to the living room. There, she placed her photo album and a few framed pictures in her suitcase, then shut it. She glanced around the room, looking for anything else she couldn’t live without. Tears pricked her eyes when they landed on her grandmother’s antique sewing box.

  Even though she didn’t have enough arms for it, she couldn’t leave it behind. Somehow, she managed to grab it, along with her purse and luggage, then struggled out the front door. After she made it to the elevator, she pushed the button, and the doors opened immediately. Whew. At least her luck held so far.

  The elevator made its slow descent. She breathed easier as it went from one floor to the next, taking her ever closer to the 1st floor. At last, the doors opened, and she stepped into the lobby. The doorman rushed to her. “Hey, Ms. Branson. Let me help you.” He grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase. “Are you taking a trip?”

  Although far from feeling it, she plastered a smile on her face and hoped the doorman couldn’t see how forced it was. “Thanks. I’m taking off the rest of the week and heading to the shore.”

  “Do you need me to hail a cab for you?” the burly man offered.

  “No,” she assured him. “A friend is picking me up. Thanks anyway.”

  “All right. Hope you have a good trip.” The kind, middle-aged man helped her outside, and she waved to him as he went back inside, leaving her standing on the sidewalk, her belongings in a pile around her.

  Glancing to her left, she saw her friend’s dark blue Chevy Cavalier pull to a stop. Ellie opened the door. “Thanks, Amy.” After she placed her luggage and her grandmother’s sewing basket on the back seat, she slid into the passenger seat next to her friend. “Thanks for getting here so fast. Lucas is still out cold. I really appreciate you coming to my rescue.”

  Her friend’s eyes popped wide open as she pointed to Ellie’s wrist. “Did he do that? Where else did he hurt you?”

  Ellie took a shuddering breath. “Besides my wrist, just my arms, when he grabbed me and shook me so hard I still have a headache.”

  Amy looked at her, her blue eyes piercing. “Well, I hate to say I told you so, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the jerk went too far. Let’s get to my apartment, and we can discuss what you should do next.”

  They drove the fifteen minutes to Amy’s place without talking. Ellie was still too shaken up over Lucas’s attack to say anything, and her friend seemed to sense she needed time to internalize what had happened. While her boyfriend had started lots of fights since they’d moved in together, he’d never touched her before. Now verbal abuse, he’d dished that out every day whether drunk or sober.

  Ellie had started dating Lucas last Christmas, and everything had gone fine until after they’d started living together in the spring. He’d started demanding she tell him where she was every minute, calling her countless times a day. At first she’d believed him when he told her he’d worry if he didn’t know, but it soon became apparent it was his need for control.

  Amy pulled into her parking space. Her friend had inherited her car from her mother who’d died last year, and she’d searched until she found a place with a garage. That was no small feat in the city, and it wasn’t cheap either. Of course, as a paralegal, Amy made more money than she did.

  Ellie’s parents had died in a car crash last fall, and she’d had to drop out of college at the end of her first semester. Now at nineteen, she worked at a job she hated, but at least it came with good benefits and enough money to scrape by. She pushed those dismal thoughts away as she climbed from Amy’s car, not needing anything else to cause her further distress.

  They took the elevator to her friend’s twelfth floor apartment, and once they made it inside, Ellie dropped on the sofa, exhausted. She could no longer keep the tears at bay. Amy sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right. Cry it all out.”

  After several minutes of giving in, Ellie pulled it together, and the tears stopped flowing. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the table, she dabbed at her eyes. “It’s worse than being homeless.” A few more tears fell as the impact of her situation hit her again. “When I arrived home today, I took one of those home pregnancy tests…the stick…it showed a plus sign. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  Amy let out a string of expletives. Having grown up with her much older brother, her friend’s language became colorful at times, to say the least. “Woo, girlfriend. How’d that happen. Weren’t you on the pill?”

  Ellie dropped her head against the back of the couch. “Yeah, and I haven’t missed taking any of them either. I guess I fall into that less than one percent, huh?”

  Her friend’s brows drew together. “I recently read an article in a magazine, and it said that if a woman takes antibiotics, it can weaken the effect of the pill. Didn’t you have a bladder infection six weeks ago?”

  She hit her forehead. That explains it. “I never thought about that. Oh, well, how I ended up preggers isn’t really important. Just that I’m now going to have a kid in seven and a half months.”

  Amy gave her a sympathetic smile. “You’re welcome to sleep on my couch until you figure it out.”

  “You’re the best.” Oh, no, he has my bank card. A queasy feeling formed in the pit of her stomach and prickles of anxiety raced through her. “I need to be at the bank first thing in the morning. I gave Lucas a debit card, and he could wipe me out. Can you cover for me in the morning?” She and Amy both worked on the ninety-fourth floor of the north tower in the World Trade Center.

  “As long as you get there by nine you should be okay,” she assured her. “Mr. Hall doesn’t usually arrive until then. You know that.”

  And he usually comes in oblivious to everyone around him. That’s in my favor. “Well, in case he gets in early, tell him I’m in the bathroom or something.”

  “Okay.” Amy yawned and glanced at her watch. “It’s already after midnight. Let me get you sheets for the pull out.”

  The next morning, Ellie jerked awake, and her eyes darted around. Thank goodness. She was at Amy’s, safe from her maniac of an ex-boyfriend. What was she going to do? How would she manage on her own?

  She tightened her jaw. While she might be scared, she would do whatever it took for her baby. She’d scrub floors if she had to. The blinders were off, and she’d never allow another man to control her life again.

  She pushed against the couch and pain shot through her wrist. Raising it to take a good look, she saw the bruising was way worse, and it was swollen. At least it was her left, and she was right-handed. She should still be able to work.

  A door opened, and Amy called out, “I’ve finished taking my shower, so the bathroom’s free. I hung a fresh towel and wash cloth on the rack for you.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll be quick. I want to be at the bank when the doors open.”

  In twenty minutes, she was dressed and ready to walk out the door. Amy handed her a spare key to her apartment as they left the building. “Call me if you can’t make it in by nine. Maybe you should call in sick?”

  As they walked the twenty blocks to the towers, Ellie told her, “I can’t imagine I won’t make it, but if it looks like I’ll be later than nine, I’ll call and take the occurrence. Thanks again for letting me crash on your couch. Once I have my money, I’ll check the papers this afternoon for a room to rent. At least until I decide what I want to do.”

  “No worries. While it’s not comfortable, you’re welcome to sleep on my couch as long as you need.” At last, they arrived at Ellie’s bank. Amy hugged her. “Hang in there. Remember you’re a strong, independent woman, and you will survive. Love ya, El. See ya in an hour.”

  Fortunately, the bank wasn’t crowded, so she emptied both her checking and savings accounts. The teller gave her forty-five hundred in cash. She hated to carry that much money around with her, but it woul
d only be for a few hours. At lunch, she’d open a new account at another bank.

  After she exited the building, she turned toward the World Trade Center, and to her shock and horror, she watched as a large plane hit the south tower. Taking off at a run, she tried to make her way to the building, but thousands of people were running toward her, away from the chaos. After struggling for several blocks, she ducked into a coffee shop just as a newscaster on the TV reported that another plane had hit the north tower as well.

  Ellie sat transfixed as images of bellowing smoke poured from both buildings onto the TV screen. A stone dropped into the pit of her stomach when she heard that anyone above the ninety-third floor in the north tower was trapped. While she’d never believed in any kind of supreme being, she hoped karma would intervene and Amy would make it out alive.

  For the next two hours, she sat transfixed on the TV, along with dozens of others in the coffee shop, watching as first one tower fell and then the other. Gasping in horror, everyone watched as the Pentagon was hit by a third plane, and a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The newscasters urged everyone to stay off the streets.

  After watching in horror for who knows how long, she walked the fifteen blocks to Amy’s apartment in a daze. Unable to stop herself, she turned on the TV and continued to watch, frozen as the events unfolded. The subways stopped running; air flights were cancelled. The world remained paralyzed as each horrific image flashed on the screen.

  Throughout the afternoon, she continued to try Amy’s cell phone, but each call went straight to voice mail. At eight o’clock, she grew desperate, fearing her dearest friend on earth had perished in the disaster. Frantic, she called several other co-workers, but no one answered.

  Tears ran down her face.

  A gaping hole opened in her heart.

  She’d also tried to call her sister to let her know she was alive, but Connie never picked up, and evidently, she’d forgotten to turn on her answering machine. Her sister hated technology and refused to get a cell phone. She didn’t even own a computer, so Ellie couldn’t send her an email. By the time she thought to call the diner where Connie worked, she’d already left for the day, probably out carousing with her friends.