by Cleo Fox
A snort left her. "We may appear close, but I'm positive she hates me and would never offer something like that. Plus, I'm not sure if she'll continue, but she's fucking Jason, so that makes it a hell no from me." She shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm entertaining that idea. I can't run away and stay here in this city." Her voice sounded so small as if she'd already given up.
Zeke huffed with a roll of his eyes. "Why not? What is she going to do?"
Chanel shook her head. "I can't do it. It's either run out of her reach or stay in that house. I already tried to run, and look what it got me. A black eye and memory loss." Her hand trembled. "I'll never be free," she whispered so low I almost missed it.
The terrified energy coming off her sent goosebumps up my skin. What did her mother do to her?
She stood. "I should go. Thank you for letting me know what happened the last time you saw me." Leaving her phone behind she went toward the door.
I grabbed her hand before she could leave. "You forgot your phone."
Zeke tilted back in his chair. "You're not going to set up tutoring?"
Chanel gazed at her phone in my hand, it was hard to make out her eyes, but it didn't look like she was blinking. "No. I won't be needing that anymore." Leaving the phone hanging in my hand, she pulled out of my grasp and turned, opening the door. My gaze went to her feet, still bare, she left her shoes, too.
Ice entered my bones. The way she was acting reminded me of Seung, my big brother before he...
I jumped to my feet and looked at the others. Sai and Rhett stood as well, the latter grabbing her shoes and bag. The three of us went after her, making sure she didn't try to run out into traffic or anything else that might've went through her mind. She walked between the rows of shelves, fingers ghosting over the spines.
Instead of heading for the exit, she veered left toward the children section where a short table and chairs stood, surrounded by bean bags and quiet toys. She sat down at the small table, knees coming up to her chest in the tiny chair; her dress rode up her legs. If she parted them, we'd get an eyeful. I kept my gaze on her face.
Chanel stared at the table. "My dad taught me how to read here. Every weekend, this was where we would sit. We'd get out of the house. Even though he had work, he took the weekends off, just so we could read for hours on end." Her gaze went around to the small shelves that circled the area. "I'm pretty sure we read every book these shelves had to offer."
A tear slid down her cheek from under the frames, I resisted the urge to brush it away. "The news said that the heir to the Othello Tech Industries died from sudden cardiac arrest." She snorted. "Do you want to know how he actually died?"
I looked at the others. Her mannerism scared the shit out of me. I'd only ever seen someone look and sound that broken once and he was no longer around. Rhett and Sai held matching frowns as they stared at her. Zeke kept his face impassive, arms folded over his chest.
"He hung himself from the beams in his office. I found him. I tried so hard to get him down, but I wasn't tall enough to cut the rope and hold him up. That morning he'd told me he'd finalized plans for him and me to move to Paris. Another branch of Othello would open there. I'd spent weeks brushing up on basic French I knew, forcing myself to learn faster so I could be fluent when I started school there."
More hairs stood as the goosebumps multiplied all over my body. She found her dad? I couldn't imagine being the first one to find Seung. His death ripped me to shreds. I don't think I'd be able to keep going if I'd found him.
Her gaze went to the window next to the play area. "For the longest time, I didn't understand. How could he go from having plans to run as far from her as we could, to killing himself? I was angry, he left me with her. But now I get it. He realized there was no escape. No matter where we went, she'd be right behind. Of course, she'd never give up her control. So, he took the only route she couldn't follow."
Zeke snorted. "So, you're going to off yourself now?"
I punched Zeke in the shoulder. "What the fuck man?"
A cold laugh left her. "Your bluntness is refreshing, Zeke, I'll give you that. This summer I'm expected to marry Jason, the following winter I'll be expected to be pregnant. Neither of them will let me entertain the idea of college. I have no say in any of it. I don't even know if I want kids, and I certainly don't want any with him. I used to think I would be able to run away before any of it, college or not, but last night proved that wrong."
She stood. "So my choices are a Stepford wife and baby maker, or the clock tower." A small smile pulled at her lips. "The bitch can't cover it up then. That'll piss her off." She moved to go toward the exit.
My mind froze, we needed to stop her, we couldn't let her go through with where her mind was headed.
Rhett stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "You don't need to do this. There are always other options, you just haven't realized them yet."
Sai stepped closer, taking her other hand, so she would have a harder time trying to bolt from us. "Let us help you."
More tears lined her cheeks and my heart pounded in my chest. She laughed. "Help me? How? My mother has made sure this city, this state runs for her. I'm sure she knows all your parents in some fashion. So unless one of you are secretly the President of the United States, none of you have any power."
Zeke sighed. "She can't be that powerful. You're delusional."
Chanel stayed silent and tried to pull out of their grasps, but they wouldn't let up. She sighed. "Why do you care what happens to me? You're supposed to hate me, not save me."
I stepped closer. "I don't hate you. I barely know you, and what I do know about you, I think isn't true. Let us try. You said your mother is out of town on a trip. She can't do anything if she's hundreds of miles away, right? Let's take this one day at a time. The four of us are the top students in the school. I'm sure if we all put our heads together, we'll be able to figure something out."
She shook her head. "There's always someone watching, probably right now based off those texts. I'm sure she knows all my secrets."
I shrugged. "At least let us try to help before you do anything. You can't give up before you've tried everything. What if you're wrong? If you end it now, you'll never get to see if there was another option. Paris can still be an option if that's what you want."
The tears dripped off her chin, she heaved a sigh. "Until graduation then. That was the original plan at least."
I swallowed hard. We needed to save her before graduation.
Sai and Rhett continued to hold onto my hands, as if I'd sprint from them in the next second and head straight for the clock tower, on the other side of town. I didn't even have my key to unlock my car, it was in my bag. My gaze went to Rhett's free hand. He held my bag and shoes. If I didn't feel so numb, the action might've made me blush at his consideration.
I knew deep down, there was nothing they could do to help. If I ran away from her house, then who knows what she would do, but I doubted it would be anything nice. Another part of me wondered if they could actually help me, and that small part won out for the time being.
Sai stepped even closer. "Why don't we head back to your house. You can pack a bag, and we'll figure out a place for you to stay while your mother is in D.C., okay?"
But what about Roberta and Monica? If I wasn't there for my blood sugar they'd report to my mother I wasn't there and she'd come back to give out one of her punishments. I shook my head. "The housekeepers will tell on me. There's a schedule I need to follow. They report everything to her."
Bon frowned. "We'll figure that out if it becomes a problem, maybe we can get them to sympathize with you."
I wanted to sigh, it'd never worked in the past, but I would humor them. There was always the clock tower if things got worse, or they couldn't win against her. "It's worth a shot."
Sai smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, he tossed it to Bon. "You can drive my car and follow us to her house." He looked back at me. "If it's okay with
you, I'll drive your car; I don't think you should be driving right now. You can tell me where to go."
Zeke sighed. "Why does he get to drive your car?"
Sai rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder at the punk. "Because he'll treat my baby with respect and not speed." His gaze returned to mine.
I nodded. I didn't think I should be driving either, a fuzziness sat on the edge of everything, leaving it to phase in and out like a dream. They let go of their death grips on my hand.
Rhett handed Sai my bag and me my heels. I took them and stared at them. I hated heels, with a passion, but sneakers for anything besides running disgusted my mother, and she'd never let me get anything besides designer heels.
As if from the other end of a tunnel, Zeke's voice met my ears. "Are you going to put them on, so we can get out of here?"
I turned toward the door. "Then c'mon. I hate these things, they threaten to snap my ankles." I led them out to the parking lot. My bare feet touched the cold concrete, rough against my toes. I went toward my car but circled the front to the passenger side. Sai approached it with my small backpack in his hand. The car beeped as he placed his hand on the door handle.
Opening the door, I got in. It felt strange not to be on the driver side, I'd never been a passenger in my car. Sai said something to Bon before he got into the car and eased the seat back further from the wheel. He peered over at me. "How do you drive so close to the dashboard?"
A small smile pulled at my lips. "I have short legs? The heels give the illusion that I'm much taller than I am."
He pressed the button to start it and pulled out. "Just let me know where to turn and when to change lanes."
I nodded. "Go right here and then a left at the light." Only the light ding of the signal indicator filled the car. The radio stayed off, I didn't typically drive with music, it made me think of my dad too much and get lost in thought.
He followed my directions. "Everything will be fine. We'll find a way to help you."
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that it was all in my head about how evil she was and that I could get away. But the revelation of the prior forty-eight hours taught me that it wasn't. I didn't want to die. I just knew that was the only way I would ever be free from her, from Jason, from the nightmares that kept me up at night. I'd let them try though, at least then they'll know they tried to help.
"Thank you." I rolled down the window and let my hand drift a bit on the wind. "Why though? Why do you even want to attempt to help me? I'm the last person that deserves any kind of help from you or the others."
His fingers flexed on the wheel, we continue to go straight. Headed through a neighborhood that progressively got richer the farther back we went. Sai shook his head. "I don't think your the last person to deserve it. I've seen a different side of you in the last few days. I can see in your eyes when you're being honest, and you haven't lied about anything you told us. You need help to get out of a bad situation, and we're here to offer help. You can't do it alone."
"It's surprising to me how much you trust me. I wouldn't with someone who my reputation." I gazed at the passing houses.
"Rhett told us what you did for him today in the courtyard. He didn't think his laptop could handle being dropped on the concrete. You didn't have to do that, but you did. What's frap code for?"
I lifted my eyebrow, so they'd figured that out? "Sex of some kind. We go somewhere, he gets his rocks off, and then we pick up a frap."
"That you can't drink, why?"
"Turn right at this stop sign. It's complicated and I don't feel like explaining it right now."
He stopped and turned. The small road headed straight for my house and the gate that guarded the driveway. I blinked at it. "Bon still has my phone. It has the app that will open the gate automatically for us."
He pulls out his phone from the back pocket of his jeans.
"Tell him to go into the Lock'dOn app and enter the number 223."
Sai's fingers flew over the screen and he sent it. A moment later the gate opened, allowing us to go through and for Bon to follow us. He drove up the almost mile-long driveway. "I think this is the nicest house I've ever seen, and I thought the houses in my neighborhood were big." He pulled the car to a stop in the roundabout.
I snorted. "Yeah, my mother has quite the taste, doesn't she?"
His cinnamon eyes stared back at me, they were such a light brown, but not quite hazel either.
"We'll go in, see if your maid is around, and then you can pack a bag and take anything you don't want to leave behind, just in case. You never know what we might figure out."
I stared at the house, the other night still felt like a nightmare, and that it didn't happen, but I had the black eye to prove something did go down. Nothing in me wanted to go inside, but there were things I wanted.
Opening the door, I stepped out onto the cobblestone barefoot. I wasn't going to bother with my heels. "Let's get this over with." I headed for the front door, the others following behind me. It gave me a little bit of confidence to know they were with me, and that hopefully, nothing as crazy as Saturday could happen again. At least, I hoped to every deity to ever be thought of, for that to be true.
I hesitated for a second and inched the door open. Peering into the dark entrance, I glanced around. "Roberta?"
Silence greeted me, she usually gave some kind of sound when I called for her after school. I stepped into my house, making sure they followed close behind. All I could do was picture a serial killer just behind the door, ready to slam it closed and separate us.
"Roberta, are you here?" I edged a few steps toward the kitchen, but couldn't make out any sounds of her being in the house. A chill ran up my spine, the silence in the house reminded me of the day I found my dad.
Not taking any more time to see if she was there, I headed for the stairs and they followed me to my room. Veering for my closet, I grabbed a large suitcase and a smaller one for the things I couldn't leave behind.
I needed to dress like my facade. I would still go to school, at least for the next couple of days. I didn't need Jason telling my mother I suddenly gave up on my appearance. She'd come back early and I didn't want that.
Zeke snorted. "This is exactly how I figured your room would be."
Pulling the suitcases over to my bed, I rolled my eyes at him. "Been picturing my bedroom, huh? All this pink isn't from me, my mother designed it. I fucking hate pink."
I pulled them over to my bed and opened them. I stopped in the action. I'd filled up a suitcase the other night, the same one in my hands, and yet, it stood empty. Who put away the stuff? The hairs at the back of my neck prickled.
Rhett stepped over to me. "What is it? Do you need help packing?"
I peered over at him. "This is the suitcase I packed the other night, it was full, and now it's empty and I didn't notice anything out of place in my closet."
He looked at the others, and they all glanced around the room as if some shadowed figure would step out from somewhere and jump us.
I forced myself to go back to my closet and grab underwear, bras, dresses that matched the one I wore in various fall colors; I started buying turtle neck anything in bulk after Jason discovered his fetish. Along with a couple of scarves, blouses, and skirts and some sleepwear.
Taking the armload to the suitcase, I rolled the items up with paired efficiency, they were here and I felt confident enough to pack right, so I could get the most out of the luggage. I didn't even allow myself a second to blush at the fact they were seeing my underwear. Hell, they'd seen more of it than Jason had, he never took off my clothes if he could help it, and if my pants needed to come off, he chose just to have a blow job. If I wore pants too many days in a row he got so mad.
Finishing the clothes quickly, they all fit into the suitcase well. Going back to the closet, I grabbed several pairs of heels and boots.
Rhett held out his hands. "I can put those in for you, so you can get anything else you need."
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br /> I went to my bathroom and grabbed extra of what I needed. Rhett put the heels in the shoe slots and rolled the longer boots into one of the corners. At last, I grabbed makeup wipes, my eyelash glue, and my hair straightener and placed them on top. It closed for me with no issue and I smiled at how well I fit it all together so my other suitcase could hold the items I wasn't willing to give up.
I glanced at them to make sure none of them were annoyed. Only Beauf, typical. I felt even with the folding, I made good time.
I hurried to the white bookshelf that held the glass music box my dad gave me when I turned five, and the three photo albums I kept from our road trips, and time with my grandparents. All four things turned out to be heavier than I thought.
Sai came over to me, taking the glass music box into his hands. "Here, let me help."
My cheeks flushed, if he happened to open it up, or even peeked through the glass, he'd find his letter to me and the envelope it came in. "Thank you."
I put the albums in first, lining the bottom with them. As I turned to take the music box from Sai, I caught him staring through the clear lid to his letter resting on top of some other keepsakes. My heartbeat picked up, there was a chance he wouldn't even remember writing it. But the look in his eyes said otherwise.
Clearing my throat, I held my hands out for the box, his gaze went to mine and he blinked, a look of recognition in his eyes. "You kept it?"
The heat in my cheeks grew to scorch them. "Yes. And just so you know, Jason made me say those things to you. I'm sorry."
Sai's Adam's apple bobbed. "Don't worry about it, it's in the past."
I placed the box in the suitcase and grabbed one of my pillows to place on top of it and closed it. "Done, we can get out of here."
Bon lifted an eyebrow. "That's all you want to grab keepsake wise?"
I shrugged. "It's the stuff I'd grab in the event of a house fire." a small frown pulled at my lips. "There is one other thing I don't want to leave behind, but I'll have to get storage for it, and there's no way I can take it out of here myself. I don't want to leave it though, it's the first thing my mother would destroy to get back at me."