Running

Emma~

I’ve been waiting for the last two hours to make sure that he’s definitely asleep or at least reasonably convinced that I am. If he has any intentions of sneaking into the room, the chair in front of the door should put a stop to that and I’d have done that if I was staying anyway.

The duvet and the sheets make a perfect ladder when using prison escape movies as my inspiration and without much effort on my part, I’m out of the window. It’s so strange to me to find that nobody is guarding the house but Orion is arrogant and probably thinks it wasn’t needed.

I never thought I’d be grateful for that part of his personality.

After a quick run across the open lawn, I’m in the woods with my frantically beating heart along for the ride. I usually form a connection to the forests I’m in and that makes finding my way around here a lot easier. My mother always joked that I was part Nymph as a child and without this idea to foolishly encourage me on, my plan would never work.

As I get closer to where I recall the guards stationed, it’s time for my nerves to steel themselves and fake the confidence I need to keep going.

I tiptoe through the fallen branches and countless pine needles. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that they were louder than usual, but my senses seem to be going into overdrive which will be useful to sense anything unexpected out there.

The guards are right where I expect them and it’s almost too easy to scoot past without notice. So much so that I can’t help but look behind me every so often, expecting another to jump out and take me back to Orion.

How could his people even sleep at night knowing their security is so weak?

I see the barbed wire of the fence ahead of me before I feel it, and when I tell you that crawling under that metal feels like freedom, you better believe I have to hold my tongue to stop the yell of victory from escaping. Thank goodness for easily shifted sand.

I’m no longer held here by a psychopathic ball and chain, I’m free. Yes, I’m wanted by a major crime boss and permanently etched onto his bad side but there are worse things to be, you know, like Orion’s wife.

I keep walking while reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone and call my brother. If I’m ever to place a bet on who would answer sooner, it would be him, but when I hold the power button to turn it on, nothing happens.

No! Could the battery be dead?

Usually, I charge it at night after getting ready for bed, but I couldn’t exactly do that in front of Orion now, could I? I’m an idiot. Owen kept offering to buy me a new phone as a gift for birthdays and Christmas, but I always insisted that my older model worked fine. It just had a little trouble holding a charge.

I just didn’t realize it had gotten this bad.

The screen remains blank and I can see the moon in the sky reflecting off it and into my eyes. Panic starts to sink in as I consider how the hell I’ll be able to warn them on the run with no money, no IDs, and no contact numbers saved in the back of my mind without this little device.

I never thought technology would be my downfall like this, especially in this day and age.

Come on, Emma, think!

I mean, there is always the option of asking to charge it somewhere, like at a rest stop or a diner? It’s a common enough wire, most places would have it on hand as standard I imagine, but that’s cutting it close.

Orion could notice that I’m gone any second now and then send people after my family with a single phone call, or if I do risk it by asking a business close by, they could know him and be looking out for a girl in distress.

So many variables are left unknown here and I wonder if it’s better to just cut my losses and go back?

Maybe I can sneak back in before he realizes I even left and then we can pretend that it never happened until I can chance it again. Or, if he’s already noticed, will he take my returning on my own as a good thing?

This moment feels so painful. I’ve gained my freedom but is it worth the risk to my family now that I can no longer warn them? I know I could never live with myself if something were to happen, but crossing that barrier felt so good in knowing I’d never had to go back.

I hate that I have to go back because I have to, don’t I?

With a heavy, defeated sigh, I turn back the way I came and follow the suffocating feeling of knowing that my freedom will fade more the closer I get to his home.

I’m so caught up in feeling sorry for myself and worrying for my family that I don’t even notice the electric fence until I’m already walking into it.