Page 57 of Shared

I grabbed a screwdriver on the way up.

Now, I hadn’t even made a birdhouse in the past. But I had replaced a lot of batteries, so I did know how to handle a screwdriver, thank you very much, and that was all I needed to un-board my window.

I took my time, because everyone was very, very busy. I wanted to be quiet.

The bedroom they’d placed me in was only on the second floor, which wasn’t an impossible climb if I really thought about it. Again, I had time. Miles was in the kitchen or cleaning something, and the men were in the basement. As far as they were concerned, I was just watching TV.

I pried a board off the window—actually, layers of boards. Five boards; it took an hour. I was proud as I pulled myself up on the ledge and looked down and out the window, opening the pane towards me and exposing myself to sunlight for the first time in quite a while.

Vitamin D? Ah, it felt good.

There was a trellis out there. It was totally doable.

Okay, it was kind of scary because it was one of those ivy trellises, the type spiders love, but other than that, this was doable.

I glanced back at the door, half expecting it to burst open any minute now. My heart pounded in my chest as adrenaline starting to kick in. A bead of sweat rolled down my spine, and my palms felt clammy. I took a deep breath.

This was it, my chance to escape, and I needed to take advantage of it.

I opened the window quietly, the cool air brushing against my face. Taking another deep breath, I tried my best to steady my nerves.

I had to do this. I needed to do this.

Climbing out, I felt the uneven texture of the framework under my fingers. With one last look at the room, I began my descent. I gripped the vine-covered trellis tightly, my hands slightly trembling as I climbed downward. The rough vines scraped against my skin, but I ignored the discomfort, focusing solely on getting down safely. The air was cool against my face, a stark contrast to the warmth of the room I’d left behind.

Climbing down wasn’t as hard as I had anticipated. It was definitely pricklier than I’d hoped, and I was getting thorns in my hands, but the trellis held my weight, and I found a rhythm in moving downward. My heart pounded in my chest, and I glanced back up at the mansion, half-expecting someone to be watching me from the windows, but there was no sign of anyone.

Finally, I reached the end of the trellis. I was only a few feet off the ground now. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and hopped down, landing with a soft thud on the manicured grass of the gardens. I crouched for a moment, listening for any signs of pursuit, but all I could hear was the distant sound of awakening diurnal creatures and the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze.

I quickly got to my feet and started to run, my shoes barely making a sound on the soft ground. The gardens were expansive, a labyrinth of hedges and flowering plants, but I didn’t have time to admire them. I had one goal in mind—to get to Zach’s apartment.

Bringing my phone would be stupid, I realized. They could easily follow my phone; they didn’t even let me make unsupervised phone calls. There was no way they wouldn’t be able to locate it. Miles was extremely tech-savvy, and he was on their side.

I finally reached the front of the property, ordered an Uber, then left my phone in a rosebush.

The Uber wasn’t going to my brother’s. It was going far past. I would just get out before the end of the trip. No fuss, no muss.

I waited impatiently for it to arrive, feeling nervous. It was not lost on me that the men would have taken my actions so far as defiance, and that probably wasn’t good for me.

Finally, a car pulled up to the curb. I hopped in. As we drove away, I looked back at the mansion and took a deep breath. I was free, at least for now.

An hour and a half later, the outrageously expensive Uber finally pulled up outside Zach’s apartment. I thanked the driver and stepped out into the cool air. As I walked up to the house, I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for the conversation that lay ahead.

I didn’t bother to knock. I walked in like I owned the place, but my confident stride faltered when I saw Zach. He looked even more worse for wear than usual, his eyes tired and his hair disheveled. A pang of guilt hit me. I should have been coming here the entire time.

I should have left the mansion earlier. What was I thinking? How could I have just been binging TV when my brother looked this bad?

Before I could say anything, Ryan walked into the room. His expression was a mix of relief and annoyance. “Zazie, where have you been? We were wondering if you fell off the planet.”

I opened my mouth to reply but then closed it, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you guys,” I finally said, my voice softer than I intended. “I mean, I called.”

“You called, but those were barely calls, Zazie. It’s so unlike you,” Ryan scolded, putting his hand on his hips and not pulling back on his obvious disappointment with me.

“Sorry, I couldn’t get away. I’m here now. And I have a lot to talk about.” I sat down at the foot of my brother’s bed. His feet were so cold, even through the blankets, that I yelped before trying to warm them up with my fingers.

“What do you have to talk about?” Zach asked me, sitting up in bed. He had his matching PJ set on. He was the cutest man ever born.

I took a deep breath. “Zach… I’m ready to talk about mom and dad.”

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