Chapter Three.

Chapter Three.

Esme Winters.

I looked up at the white ceiling in the spare room in my grandparents' house, I could remember staying in the very same room several times when I was little. It hadn't always been so complicated, my parents had once been in love and they had often gone out on dates which meant I stayed in this room while they were out for the night.

I rolled over on the single bed, tucking the covers under my chin as I looked around the lightly lit room. It hadn't changed much since I had last been in it.

The walls were still painted the same sky blue colour, the furniture was the same with the drawers to the left of the door and a chair in the corner that either my grandma or granddad used to sit at while reading to me when I was very young. The bed I lay on had been upgraded from a small child sized single to a double with white bedding. The room was familiar and filled with many memories from my childhood.

We had arrived a few hours ago. I hadn't fallen asleep in the car but I kept up the act as my granddad carried me out of the car and into the house where I had been safely tucked into bed and left alone. At first I had taken the chance to roll over and get comfortable, expecting sleep to take me soon, but it never came.

Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was his face. His green eyes filled with such hatred that even as I thought about them a shiver of fear ran up my spine. Hatred and anger had rolled off of him in waves as he had held me up by my throat against the wall. It was the first time that he had attempted to take my life and I was sure that if my mum hadn't gotten involved when she did that I would have ended up unconscious, or dead.

I could still see the smile on his face as he watched me struggle. The same smile had been on the faces of his friends that just stood by a watched, sipping their drinks as if they weren't watching me get strangled.

A tear escaped the corner of my eye and I reached up with a shaking hand and wiped it away. I had cried too many tears for him and he could no longer hurt me. He was no longer worth my tears and my pain. I was finally able to breathe and allow myself to relax slightly; although, something deep within me told me that he knew that his parents would somehow be involved in our escape and this would be the first place that he came looking for us.

A soft knock at my door had me rolling over so that I was facing the door as I waited for whoever had knocked to enter. The door handle twisted as it was opened to reveal my mum's head poking around the side of it to see if I was awake. She smiled softly as she stepped into the room and walked the short distance to where I lay on the bed. She sat down as I curled myself around her body while looking up at her bruised face.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me softly as she gently ran a finger through my knotted hair.

My mum looked tired but the sudden brightness of her once dull blue eyes told me that sleep wasn't what she was thinking about right now. Her shoulders were slouched and she had changed into a pair of jeans and a jumper that I didn't know she owned. She no longer looked like a professional business women but rather a normal mum, minus the bruises that is. Her hair was down and framing her face which seemed to glow despite the bruises.

She looked relaxed and finally at peace. She was finally able to be herself; the care-free woman that I had seen and remembered as child. She looked happy despite everything that had happened and I knew that she was relieved to have finally escaped from him. She was no longer a puppet that he controlled, she no longer had invisible strings attached to requiring her to do everything she was told.

"I'm fine." I told her wincing a little at the sound of my voice and the ache in my throat.

She passed me the glass of water that was resting on the bed stand and I propped myself up taking it gratefully. I brought the water to my chapped lips and greedily drank all of its contents. The cool water soothed my throat and dulled the ache making it more bearable.

"Have you slept at all?" She asked me quietly as she took the glass and returned it to its original place on the night stand.

"I'm not tired." I told her. I could even hear the lie in my own voice but I had tried to sleep.

All night I had tried to fall asleep but every time I thought I was close I would see his face and open my tired eyes to dispel the vision.

"Me neither," She told me with a small grin on her face.

I could feel my own grin slowly make its way to my face. I enjoyed the light conversation as typically we would be comforting each other. It was nice to have some sort of normality in my life even if it hadn't ever been a normal life for a girl of my age.

I hated to turn the conversation serious but I needed to know what was going to happen to us next. We couldn't stay here as I'm sure he would come here and he wouldn't be happy when he found us. I didn't like the thought of putting my grandparents in danger for allowing us to stay with them. They had always cared for me and my mum and looked out for us, it was now time that we repaid the favour by leaving and keeping them safe.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked her while I looked up at her face.

The glow never dulled nor did the brightness in her eyes as she replied. It was clear that she really had thought of everything. She knew exactly how we were going to leave, what we needed, what time. She had also prepared for what was going to happen after we had gotten away safely. A lot of time and effort had gone into our escape and I knew that she had been planning this for a while.

"My old car is still here with a full tank of petrol and our bags are already in the back. I'm sorry we can't stay longer with them but I know that he will come looking for us here and soon. It's not safe for us and it's certainly not safe for your grandparents. I promise though that once everything is settled and I know that we are safe we will contact them again. You will see them again." She looked regretful as she spoke about leaving my grandparents so soon.

"I understand." I told her with a small smile.

I did understand why she was making us leave so soon; it wasn't just for our safety but for the safety of our grandparents. They may have been his parents but I knew that wouldn't stop him from hurting them in the same way that he had hurt both me and my mum. He was ruthless, cruel and evil with a heart made of stone. It was sad but true as nothing could stop him from getting what he wanted. I had often heard him in his office or when he had work friends over boasting about how he had gotten what he wanted by fighting dirty.

"We will be free one day," she told me as she leaned over so that she could kiss my forehead. "Go have a shower and get cleaned up before coming down for breakfast. There's a change of clothes at the end of your bed and don't worry about bringing the ones you're wearing with you, just leave them in a pile. We will be leaving after breakfast."

She left the room leaving me on my own as I slowly pulled myself into a seating position and removed the covers. Flinging my legs over the side, I got up and made my way towards the bathroom off of the room. I took my time finding the right shower temperature before stepping in and washing my body. I scrubbed until my skin was red and tender; as if I was washing away him and his touch from my body.

I picked up the white towel resting on the sink and wrapped it tightly around my body and then wiped away the condensation from the mirror above the sink.

I stared at my upper half taking in the multiple bruises that marked my skin. A fading bruise covered my right shoulder; it was a horrible green colour that stood out against my creamy complexion. My left upper arm had four purple bruises from where he had grabbed me roughly causing a bruise to blossom from each individual finger. Although those bruises had all been painful and looked bad they weren't nearly the worst I had endured.

A band of purple and blue went around my neck from where his hand had been wrapped tightly around it. I could still feel the pressure from his grip as I gently ran my finger tips over the sensitive skin wincing as I felt a spark of pain. My cheek was bruised just like I had expected from where he had slapped me with such force that I had been sent flying to the floor.

I shook my head as I hurriedly brushed my teeth without once looking at my reflection again. I kept my eyes down as I walked out of the bathroom and over to the change of clothes that were laid at the end of the bed. I quickly pulled on the fresh underwear and jeans before pulling the red jumper over my head. I towel dried my hair before finally making my way towards the door.

This would most likely be the last time I spent a night in this room as I looked around the sky blue walls taking in everything before closing the door behind me. As I made my way down stairs I could already smell the pancakes that I knew my grandma would be making for me.

As I expected everyone sat around the small table already enjoying their breakfast. I sat down on the only empty chair and a fresh plate of pancakes was placed in front of me. Dousing them in warmed maple syrup, I grinned at my grandma who smiled back as I cut the pancakes and began eating the sugary goodness.

It was nice to finally sit down around a table and feel like a family for once. My mum laughed and smiled as she spoke with my grandparents that were both laughing and smiling as well. The atmosphere was light and relaxed as we finished our breakfast. I could see that my grandparents were trying to hide how upset they were and I knew that it was because after we had finished we would be leaving once again.

I knew that I had taken almost twice as long as it would normally take me to eat a few pancakes. I had purposely taken my time to eat savouring the company as much as my grandma's cooking. I knew it wouldn't stop us from leaving but it would mean that we could all spend some more time together.

As we stood on the front porch with my grandparents facing us, frowns were on both of their faces while they looked at me and mum. We had both helped tidy up after breakfast both of us wanting to waste a little more time before the inevitable time came to say goodbye.

I could already feel tears blurring my vision and I desperately blinked them away. A sniffle caught the attention of my granddad who smiled sadly before opening his arms wide for me. I launched myself into his warm embrace and breathed in his scent so that I could remember everything about him. He gently ran his fingers through my now dry hair while whispering comforting words in my ear promising that we would see each other again soon. He kissed my forehead before gently handing me over to my grandma.

I wrapped my arms around her slight frame as I cried into her shoulder. She said nothing as she gently patted my back and kissed the top of my head every now and then. I could hear my mum saying good bye to my granddad next to me.

It was finally beginning to sink in that this was our goodbye. I had no idea how long it would be before we would see each other again but I hoped that we would see each other soon, in a couple of days, week, months or years; I just hoped that I would see them again.

"Come on Esme," my mums voice pulled me away from the embrace and I smiled sadly at my grandma despite my tears.

"I promise we will see each other again," my grandma smiled through her own tears before kissing my forehead and releasing me completely.

"Bye," I whispered as I turned quickly and walked to the silver car parked a few feet away. I could see our suitcases in the back as I climbed into the passenger seat and waited for my mum to say her final good byes.

I wiped away the salty tears that stained my cheeks as my mum quietly opened the door and climbed in, put on her seatbelt and turned on the engine. A smile illuminated her face as the car came to life and the lights on the dashboard lit up.

"Ready?" She asked as she manoeuvred the car slowly down the driveway.

I twisted my body quickly so that I could look out the back window. I saw my grandparents wrapped in each other arms as they waved goodbye with sad smiles on their faces. I could tell that they were both crying and I raised my hand and waved until I couldn't see them anymore. My heart ached as we left them behind but I knew that it was for the best. It was the right thing to do no matter how upsetting it was.

I turned back around in my seat so that I was facing the front and said with a sigh, "I'm ready."

"Everything's going to work out for the best Mae," My mum said smiling at me.

"I know mum," I told her as I smiled back at her while gently patting the hand that rested on the gear shift, "I know."

I relaxed back into my seat as I folded my hands in my lap. I brought my legs up until my feet rested on the glove compartment in front of me. I shuffled down in my seat and got comfortable. It didn't take long before my eye lids started to drop and I was finally taken by the darkness that I had craved, but wouldn't come the night before.

My mum had been driving for hours while I drifted in and out of sleep. We stopped a few times only for food, petrol and the bathroom when it was needed or when my mum needed a break. I knew that she was determined to get as far away from him as she could before we had to stop somewhere and stay for the night.

I had slept most of the day but I was still tired and exhausted. I sat up in my seat and looked out of the window. The radio was playing softly in the background which was all that could be heard as I stared at the forest that surrounded us on either side. I had no idea where we were and I only hoped that my mum did as I looked down at the map in my lap.

"Where are we?" I asked her. My eyes scanned the map looking for a name or road that looked similar to the one we were on.

"I'm not sure," she bit her bottom lip, "keep looking at the map, we will find out soon enough."

I nodded my head as I continued to look at the map in front of me. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for as I had no idea where we were and there were many lines of all the different roads and the names of places written in small print that I had to squint my eyes to read.

A loud pop could be heard before an unmistakable thump sound as my mum continued to drive along the road. I frowned as I held on my seat belt tightly as the thumping sound could still be heard. "What was that?"

"I'm pulling over," My mum told me as she slowed the car down and pulled it over on the side of the road.

I watched as she climbed out of the car before I followed after her. The sun was slowly setting causing the sky to turn a pinkish colour while a light breeze blew my hair in front of my face. It was surprisingly nice weather for an autumn evening. I walked around the car, looking at it up and down searching for the cause. I found the source towards the back of the car; the tire was popped and flat, the material sagging onto the road.

"Mum, we've got a flat tire," I called out to her over the top of the car as she came running around the side.

"Just our luck, we're lost and now we've got a flat tire," She groaned as she rested herself against the car.

I walked up behind her and gently patted her back. I could feel myself begin to panic but I wasn't about to show it. My mum had done enough and she didn't need me panicking and making the situation worse. I continued to gently rub her back as I looked around.

We were surrounded by greenery; huge trees on either side of the road created a massive shadow over us and the car.

A twig snapping had my head whipping around in the direction of the sound. I saw branches from a low tree begin to move. I continued to stare as I narrowed my eyes staring at the same spot as a low growl reverberated through the silence.

My mum instantly stood up straight and spun around, wrapping her arms tightly around me. Holding me against her, she backed up against the car. I could feel her heart racing against my back while her breaths came out in pants from fear. I felt my own heart beat react to hers as I stared wide eyed at the spot.

A scream escaped my mouth, causing intense pain to erupt in my throat but I didn't care as a large wolf appeared through the trees. It was the biggest wolf I had ever seen. I had always thought of wolves as the same size of an average dog but this was huge; its head higher than my own. I tried to force me and my mum further back but the car blocked any movement.

It continued to walk forward, muscles rippled on its powerful legs with every step it took closer to us. Its big brown eyes zeroed in on me and I began to shake in fear, my mum arms tightening around me. I could feel her tug on me as she tried to put me behind her back but I refused to move. The wolf would have to kill me before I allowed it to get anywhere near my mum.

A growl slipped through its muzzle and I squeaked at the sound. I wanted to close my eyes or run away but I was frozen in fear and I knew that my mum was in the same state of shock as me.

I watched as it suddenly stopped its eyes continuing to stare into mine as if it was looking directly into my soul. I couldn't look away from its brown eyes despite the fear that seemed to consume my entire being. The wolf growled and then the sound of bones breaking and snapping filled the air. I felt my eyes widen even more as the wolf began to shake and slowly change until a human was crouching down in its place. His tanned back was on display and then he stood up; a very tall naked man in front of us.

"Mine," He growled as more wolves began to step out from the trees behind him as he took a few steps forward.

My shocked and exhausted body slowly sank to the floor as my knees gave way from underneath me; the ground began to come closer as I made no effort to stop myself. Before I could feel the impact of the road, a pair of warm, muscular arms caught me, but any reaction was halted as I fainted into blackness.