Page 28 of Monster

9

Charlotte

Time started blurring together.I had no idea how long I’d been with this man or if anyone was looking for me or if my mother even knew something was wrong. Meals passed by in a blur and while Teo attempted to strike up conversations, I wasn’t in the mood for talking. Not when I was handcuffed once again to the metal bed frame of my bed in his damn basement.

There were a few things occurring to me, though.

Like, the small peek out at the ocean I got from when I first tried to escape. The landscape around his vacation home looked a lot like the landscape near the place I was supposed to be renting right now. And I vaguely remembered passing by it on our journey to this place.

So, what were the chances that I could get to it once I busted out?

The more I ventured deep into my thoughts, the more I tried to wiggle my wrist around. And while I tried to find a way to get out of my cuffs again, I didn’t realize the sweat I was working up. My skin started heating and sweating. I felt my skin flushing as I started to panic. I felt something warm dripping down my skin as I leaned away from the bed frame, trying to see how far this damn chain would let me step.

Then, I fell forward and my nose hit the ground.

“Fuck,” I groaned.

When I put both hands in front of me to push up, it finally dawned on me. I looked at my bleeding wrist and cursed myself before I looked back at the bed. The handcuffs were dangling there with skin and blood on them, but damn it, I was free.

I had somehow freed myself through sheer stubbornness.

I scrambled to my feet and bolted for the door. And I was shocked to find it unlocked. I guess this Teo guy really was as pompous as he looked. I mean, what idiot didn’t lock the damn door he had some handcuffed girl behind?

Either that, or he knew we’d never be found out here.

“The former. Think about the former,” I whispered to myself.

I crept up the stairs and didn’t stop to take in the view. Instead, I kept trucking. I walked all the way up the stairs and slid through another door, only to be met with a silent home. No one was walking around. No one was talking. I didn’t see any shadows looming nor did I smell any sort of perfume or cologne anywhere.

So, I took a chance.

I bolted my way toward the back patio doors and threw them open. I rushed out onto the patio and leaped down the stairs, planting my feet into the soft, endless white sand. I ran all the way out to the ocean shoreline and shielded the sun from my eyes. I saw land off in the distance, and I wondered how long it would take me to swim over to the opposite side.

Or, at the very least, swim along the road until Teo’s house was out of sight.

When I turned around, though, the expansiveness of this beautiful house robbed me of my very breath. I mean, the beautiful white outside with the crimson red shutters really did this place justice. And it seemed to sit back into a rocky hillside instead of trying to overtake it. As if the house wanted to blend in with the scenery instead of dominate it.

Then, the wind kicked up.

I drew in a deep breath and smelled something akin to grapes in the air. And when I continued looking around, I found my feet following the smell of those luscious grapes.

My mouth watered as I walked along the sand toward an embankment.

I climbed up the rocks all the way to the road, and when I stood on my own two feet on the hot asphalt, I saw the source of the smell. As far as my eye could see, vineyards stretched out. On one side of the road was the sea and the expansiveness of the world, and on the other side were acres and acres of grapes growing that would soon be plucked and turned into decadent Italian wines.

“I’m nowhere near the city,” I said breathlessly.

The more I looked out toward the horizon, the less I saw. There were no homes, or people driving around, or even someone out walking a dog or two. It was just me, standing in the middle of a road, with the ocean behind me and sprawling vineyards before me. I wanted to drop to my knees and cry. I wanted to call out to a God I stopped believing in a long time ago and ask Him what the hell I did to deserve such a fate.

But, instead of crying, I felt my gut steel itself.

Giving me the strength my mind lacked.

I’d faced much tougher opponents before. I mean, all I had to do was get something on Teo that I could hold over his head. If I got my hands on something valuable—something that could sway him—then I might be able to force his hand.

Or, I could trick him into making a mistake.

I turned to my left and gazed upon the house. There was a car out front, but other than that the entire place was deserted. And while I had no idea where the fuck Teo went, if I had that house all too myself it meant prime time exploring to find all of his juicy secrets. So, I did the dumbest thing alive.

---