novelxo Fear The Reapers: Chapter 27
I waited for what felt like an eternity for Cyrus’ breathing to become rhythmic. Only then was I able to relax a fraction. But the question in the back of my mind remained, could I actually do this?
I needed to take the opportunity while I had it. He was my captor, and that access card was my way out. The longer I stayed, the less I’d mourn everything I lost. My freedom. My future. Alex. Alex needed me.
Inching out from underneath his heavy arm, I carefully slipped out from under the silk sheets. The moment my bare skin left his warm embrace, goosebumps littered across my skin. The chill seeped deep into my bones, but I refused to back down from the plan. It was now or never.
Wrapping my arms across my chest with a shiver, my eyes tried to peer across the dark room and assess the distance to the card hidden just underneath the arm chair. It looked to be about seven steps there and another four steps to the door. Eleven steps. Just eleven steps, Stevie, you can do this.
Tiptoeing as lightly as I could, I made my way towards my freedom.
On step one, my knee cracked, and I winced.
On step two, I picked up my dress and slipped it back on, thankful that he didn’t rip it off.
On step three, the hardwood creaked and my entire body froze.
I glanced back at Cyrus and prayed like hell that he hadn’t heard it. The room was silent and the soft snore that he’d had moments ago vanished. Had he woken up? Had he seen me? I was on the verge of panic when his soft snoring picked up again, making the tightness in my chest ease.
Releasing a shaky breath, I carefully took steps four, five, and six as fast as I could. It was like ripping off a bandaid. The quicker I moved, the quicker I could get the hell out of there.
On step seven, I bent over to grab the access card from underneath the chair and recognized the soft scent of citrus hitting my nose. My eyes locked on the obvious culprit, Cyrus’ jacket. The scent was nothing compared to what Cyrus smelled like up close, but that didn’t stop my body from reacting to it.
My already pounding heart began thundering in my chest as panic poured into my bloodstream. “We can’t leave him,” my stupid body seemed to scream, “he keeps us safe.” My treacherous body wasn’t thinking clearly. All she wanted to do was crawl back under his arms and bask in Cyrus’ comforting scent.
God, why did he have to smell so good?
And say all the right things.
And make me feel less alone.
Tears welled in my eyes as I gnawed on my bottom lip. I knew there would be no going back after this. If I walked out of there, Cyrus would never forgive me. He had let me in. He had told me about his life and I had a feeling that wasn’t something he talked about with just anyone.
Could I betray him like this?
Could I betray all of them?
I was still upset at Atlas, but aside from hurting my ego, he hadn’t intentionally hurt me, had he? He was a good friend to me before all of this. Was it his fault that I interpreted what we had as something more? He hadn’t told me about his life, but it wasn’t like I had been very forthcoming with mine either. And Ezra. Maybe he didn’t understand boundaries, but when he held me the other night, he chased away my nightmares. Even Tristan seemed to warm up to me. When he thought I was in trouble, he stood up for me. They’ve all been really good to me… haven’t they?
“Stevie?” A voice laden with sleep called out in the darkness.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Cyrus was awake.
“Just going to the restroom,” I whispered, trying to breathe through the heart attack he had nearly given me, “be back in a sec.”
No, you won’t, you fucking liar.
“Okay, beautiful.” He mumbled, crashing mussed-up head back against the silk pillow.
After closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and tip-toed down the hall. I made a quick pit-stop at the bathroom, making sure to keep the faucet running and to lock the bathroom from the inside. I figured that could distract Cyrus for at least a few minutes, and I needed all the help I could get.
Once I cleared the second floor and descended the stairs, I stopped caring about being quiet and focused all of my attention on getting out of there. But there was one fatal flaw in my plan for escape. The entire first floor would was shrouded in darkness. It was a moonless night and even with the floor to ceiling windows, my eyes couldn’t make out a thing. There was no way in hell I could chance switching on the light, who knew if Cyrus was even still in my room and the light would be a blaring sign that something was up.
I stumbled through the foyer, trying to feel my way along the walls. If I could just find the front door, I’d make it out without no one none the wiser.
“Princess, you okay in there?” Cyrus called out, knocking on the bathroom door.
Fuck. I couldn’t answer him, and it wouldn’t be long before he’d be trying to rip the door off its hinges.
My movements became more frantic as I struggled to orientate myself in the darkness. I tried to listen for what Cyrus was doing, but all I could hear was the sound of my heart thundering in my chest as my hands roamed the walls.
“Stevie,” his thunderous voice called out, “trust me, you don’t want to fucking do this.”
That was the problem. These men kept asking me to trust them and my idiotic-self actually wanted to. But why should I trust them? What did they do to earn my trust? Not a damn thing. I may have fucked myself by coming here, but I wasn’t about to fuck myself even more by staying.
The moment my hands grazed the innocuous black access panel, my heart leaped in my chest. Freedom. I slapped Cyrus’ access card against the panel and closed my eyes, waiting for the beep to signify I had made it.
When I scanned the card, something happened that I didn’t expect. Just as the sound went off and the access light turned green, the lights turned on and my body froze at the site of Cyrus flicking the light switch.
He was on the top of the stairs, too far for him to reach me in time. He and I both knew that the moment he tried to run for me, I’d bolt out of the front door and lock him in behind me. I had his access card, and I’d bet that he didn’t have a spare one hiding in his black boxer briefs.
Cyrus said nothing as we stared each other down, but I knew exactly what his eyes were saying. I could feel them piercing into me, begging me not to take that last step. And a big part of me wanted to listen. I could live this life with them. I could forget about my old life and enjoy all the things that they were offering, but the one thing I could never leave behind was Alex. She needed me, and it didn’t matter what my body wanted. Family was more important than anything.
I closed my eyes as I opened the door. I felt like a coward, but I just couldn’t face seeing the disappointment in his eyes.
After slipping out of the front door, I slammed it shut and stuffed all thoughts of Cyrus and my unexpected feelings for him into a tiny box deep in the back of my consciousness. I still hadn’t made it out, but I knew there was no going back after this. Cyrus would have to scramble to find a spare access card, so that would at least buy me a few minutes, but time was precious, and I had to get a move on if I wanted to get back to Alex.
Stepping out into their front entryway, I bolted towards the familiar pathway I took when I arrived. I stopped just before the water, the sensor triggered, and I waited as long as I could for the slate slabs to rise above the surface. Time wasn’t on my side. If I waited too long, I knew Cyrus would catch me.
As soon as I could make out the dark grey shapes of the steps just under the surface of the water, I ran for it. Feeling the water icy splash up my legs and the slippery slabs glide against my bare feet, I bolted, knowing I was so close to freedom I could almost taste it. Then the unthinkable happened.
I slipped.
◆◆◆
Water rushed into my mouth as the icy water shocked my body into action. My hands flailed and thrashed underwater, trying to grasp for the help that wasn’t there. I could feel myself sinking, but no matter how hard I kicked or wiggled, my body would only sink deeper.
After a few moments of struggling under its bottomless depths, my vision blacked out. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the lack of light below the surface or if my eyes were too weak to stay open. My lungs burned and as my last spurts of energy dissipated, I gave up the fight.
I couldn’t believe I was going to die this way. I’d always assumed it would be at the hands of someone else, but never by my own stupid decisions and never like this.
Water exploded around me as millions of air bubbles rocked my body back and forth. I felt the water rush by me as powerful arms latched around my lifeless body and began pulling me back up. The moment we broke the surface, the arms pushed my soaked body towards the edge of the concrete and I clawed out of the water with everything I had.
I laid on the pavement and searched for my savior as I pulled in deep, ragged breaths. I watched as Cyrus’ lifted himself out of the water and stood tall on the other side of the moat.
“Thank you.” I rasped, still trying to catch my breath.
He said nothing in response, just stared at me with his penetrating emerald eyes. Cyrus had purposely given me an out by leaving me on the other side of the moat. He and I both knew that if I made a run for it now, there would be no way he could catch up. But he had just saved my life. Could I just leave him again and just pretend that what he did meant nothing?
“Just go.” He said, deciding for me. “If you don’t want to be here, leave.”
I felt my heart fracture as I laid there and watched him leave. Once the front door shut and the lights downstairs turned off, I knew that the damage I caused would leave lasting marks on the both of us.
I couldn’t bear to face the mess I made any longer, so I picked myself up off the floor and I ran. I ran as fast as my body would allow me. I ran towards my freedom. I ran away from my fears. I ran until the strange pain in my chest became too much to bear and my lungs screamed for a reprieve.
Stopping to catch my breath, I peered into the distance and saw the colossal iron gate a few yards away. The dark moonless night was a blessing. It meant that while I couldn’t see very much in the darkness, neither could the guards that surrounded the property. Cyrus stopped chasing me. But that didn’t mean he’d call off the guards if they found me.
My first instinct was to gun it for the gate. It seemed as if my body was in flight or fight mode and she desperately wanted to get the hell out of there. But I knew the only way I’d ever get out is if the guards didn’t suspect there was a problem.
I crept towards the gate on silent feet. Every creak or shuffle in the night had my heart threatening to explode in my chest, but I was too close to stop now. Once I reached the giant metal structure, I climbed. The climb up was seamless. The detailed ironwork of the main gate gave my hands and feet ample places to latch on to and the adrenaline coursing through my veins gave me the strength I needed. Every step I took was a step closer to what I wanted, yet the dull ache in my chest persisted.
On the descent, thoughts of Cyrus crept into my mind.
He caught me. He had me in his arms. Why did he let me go?
Too distracted for my own good, my foot slipped on one of the slick iron bars and I fell, crashing to the ground and landing hard on my hands and knees. I stood up with a wince and accessed my injuries. The gravel had dug into my knees and palms, but I’d survive.
As I readjusted my still drenched dress and got my bearings, two bright lights shone out of the darkness and focused themselves directly on my back. Fuck. I thought, cursing my arrogance. The guards must have been watching my pathetic attempt at escaping the entire time.
“Can you cut the lights?” I yelled, trying to shield my eyes from the blinding light as I turned to face them.
Within seconds, they cut lights, and darkness surrounded me again. As my eyes struggled to adjust, I peered into the darkness and could just make out the silhouette of a man approaching.
Squeezing my palms at my sides, I paced back and forth and tried to rack my brain for what to do next. I never planned on getting caught by the guards, then again, I never planned on making it as far as I did.
His silent approach was my first sign that something was wrong. He should have been scrambling to come grab me and doing a lot of screaming at me, but the only sound I heard was the quiet thud of his boots crunching against the asphalt.
He carried a flashlight and aimed it directly at my face. I squinted into the light, trying my best to shield my eyes from the obnoxious rent-a-cop fucking up my retinas.
“Jesus. You caught me okay?” I screamed. “Enough with the fucking light.”
As soon as the light cut out, a heavy hand squeezed my throat, instantly cutting off my airflow. Everything happened so fast, I had no time to react. One minute I was complaining about the fucking flashlight and the next, my lungs were burning and my vision was blurring.