Page 8 of Save Me

I walk into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes and turning on the shower. I wait for the water to warm up, but it never does. I step under the spray and swear under my breath as the sting of the frigid water covers my back, my body tense as I grimace at the sensation. I rinse myself off quickly, scrubbing my hair and body with my hands, before I turn off the water and step out of the shower. My teeth are chattering as I wrap a towel around myself quickly, hastily drying myself in an effort to warm up, but I can’t shake the cold that has seemingly settled in my bones.

I walk quickly from the bathroom back out into the bedroom, making my way towards the dresser, desperate to find something to wear that will keep me warm. I’m still shivering as I open the first drawer, surprised to find it empty. I open the next few drawers until I find one that has clothes in it, rifling through them until I find something that looks like it might fit. The sweater and track pants clearly belonged to someone much taller than me, but they’re warm and that’s all that I care about right now. I pause before I start to get changed, listening intently for any noise coming from outside the bedroom door. All I hear is the sound of the TV.

I get dressed quickly and am immediately grateful to whoever left these clothes here as, despite being slightly scratchy, they’re incredibly warm. I let out a sigh as some semblance of relief washes over me, the cold no longer at the forefront of my mind. I pull the drawstring on my pants until they sit snugly around my waist, tying a knot as I walk towards the bed. I try to compile everything I know about the situationso I can create an escape plan, but I quickly realize I don’t know much at all.

What if Jax doesn’t find me here?

I swear my heart will break in half at the idea of Jaxnottrying to rescue me, so I push the thought to the back of my mind, ignoring the pain as I get back to the task at hand. My foot taps against the floor as I sit on the edge of the bed, fiddling with my fingers as I try to find a logical way to get out of here.

I don’t know where I am.

I don’t know if Rhett even told Jax about this yet.

I freeze.

What if Rhett hasn’t told Jax where I am?

I swallow the bile that rises in my mouth, unable to face any reality where Jax is unaware of what has happened.

I try to think of my options given the lack of information that I have.

I could run away tonight. Surely it wouldn’t be too hard to lose anyone who tries to follow me; the dense forest that surrounds the shoreline provides the perfect cover to disappear into the night. Though seeing as I can barely find my way through the city I’ve lived in for years, my lack of navigation skills would surely get me lost. I wish I could be brave. I wish I could throw caution to the wind and try to escape anyways, not worrying about the finer details of the plan. But I can’t help but overanalyze everything going on, trying to determine what could be another threat, not wanting to be caught off guard like this ever again.

I could try to convince the guy watching me to help me leave.

I could wait for Jax to find me.

My chest feels heavy as my thoughts swirl wildly inside my head. None of these options feels right, none of them guarantees that I’ll leave here unscathed.

I look out the window at the dark clouds promising more rain is to come and wonder what Jax and Ryan would want me to do. Wonder what Ineedto do.

Fight. They would want me to fight. I need to fight.

I walk out of the bedroom slowly, the long pants now rolled so they’re above my ankle and the oversized sweatshirt sleeves now pushed up behind my elbows. I try to ignore the chill in my feet as I move into the living area. The guy from yesterday is no longer on the couch, instead he’s standing in the kitchen texting on his phone.

He looks up as I walk into the room, raising an eyebrow as he looks me up and down.

“Interesting outfit choice,” he says before going back to his texting.

“It’s freezing in here,” I say blandly as I wander towards the couch, looking out the windows one at a time. “Surely someone could bother to turn on the heat.”

He doesn’t respond but watches me walk to the window beside the front door—the door that I never saw him lock. I pretend to look out the window and when I steal a glance at him a few minutes later, he’s looking at his phone, unaware of what’s about to unfold. My heart is hammering so loudly in my chest that I swear he’ll hear it. I take a deep breath, steadying myself. I don’t take my eyes off him as I take a few steps closer to the door, tracking his every move as I slowly extend my hand, reaching for the handle that’s between me and my freedom.

I grasp onto the cold metal, turning it, and pulling on the door as quietly as I can.

The door groans loudly as it opens, and his eyes shoot up from his phone.

“Don’t—” he yells, but it’s too late.

I swing the door open wildly, throwing myself out onto the stairs before I can second-guess myself. I hear footstepsthudding behind me as I half run, half fall down the slippery wood steps. I wince as I jump off the last step, my bare feet making contact with sharp rocks and half-frozen ground, but I don’t look back, don’t hesitate as I run faster than I ever have, away from the lake and towards the tree line. I ignore his yells as I hurtle toward the dense forest—I don’t know how far behind he is but I know he must be close.

So much for him not doing anything if I tried to escape, I think as I muster all my energy and keep running.

I wince as branches scrape against my hands and face, twigs and rocks scratching the soles of my feet, but I can’t stop. I can’t let them win. I need to get out of here. By the time I finally let myself pause long enough to look behind me, my lungs are on fire and my heart feels like it’s close to failing. I don’t see any sign of the guy behind me, don’t hear any sounds except for my own ragged breathing. I lean against the tree closest to me, panting as I try to catch my breath, the taste of copper sharp on my tongue at my overexertion.

I look around, trying to figure out where I am, as I realize the main fault in my plan to run away as fast as I can is the fact that I didn’t take note of what direction I went in. I try to remember any shred of information that could be useful to me… Isn’t there a way to find direction based on the position of the sun? I look up but no light penetrates past the thick trees. I can still hear the water but I can’t quite tell which way it’s coming from. I choose a random direction and walk forward, every snap of a branch making me wince as it sounds so much louder than it should. I stop a few times to look behind me and make sure the sound of rustling leaves isn’t from anyone following me, but I don’t see anything but trees.

I walk until my feet are frozen and sore and my heart is hammering in my chest painfully. I’m desperate to find a main road that will take me to the closest town, preferably before itgets dark. I can’t tell how long I’ve actually been out here—the tree canopy is too thick to see the sky and shadows have lined the ground since I ran into the forest.

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