Page 46 of Fear the Reapers
“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?
