Page 86 of Octane

Daniel knows exactly what he’s doing.

“It occurred to me yesterday, when I noticed you taking out some of youraggressionthrough the camera, that you may be going a little stir crazy, being cooped up in here.”

My eyes widen slightly as I listen intently to him.

“So, as long as you can clean this up quickly and without an attitude or outburst, I thought I would order us takeout, and we can walk together to pick it up.”

I am so excited I could cry. But I won’t. I haven’t cried since the day Carissa left. I think I’ve cried all the tears I had in me.

“Okay,” I nod, placing my coffee on the end table.

I stand and look at the mess around me. Taking a deep breath, I try to figure out where to start. It’s not really like I can put all of this into trash bags. Most of it is too heavy or jagged.

I almost regret my actions as I begin to feel overwhelmed.

Almost.

“I’m going to go get dressed,” I tell him.

Changing out of my pajamas and into some old clothing, I set out to remove the mess from the living and dining rooms. The trash chute is behind a door at the end of the hallway, so Daniel is able to have his eye on me from the doorway as he keeps the door propped open for me.

Getting out of the unit and stretching my legs invigorates me. I don’t care that I’m hauling junk. I would shovel shit right now if it meant I could be outside. It takes me a little over two hours, but I get all of the large pieces of wood and glass out of the condo.

After that, Daniel calls someone from the maintenance department and asks if they have a Shop Vac we can borrow. I’m surprised when they say yes; we’re used to them coming to fix the sink if it’s leaking or if something with the lighting is bad, but borrowing a Shop Vac seems like an odd request to fill.

However, I didn’t question it. For starters, it’s much more efficient than a household vacuum. Second, I was able to get every shard of glass and splinter of wood out of the carpet in no time. By noon, I was in the shower getting clean so Daniel and I could go for a walk.

Daniel ordered from a deli just two blocks away. Nothing too far, as I’m sure this walk was more of a test than an accommodation. But I wasn’t going to complain. I didn’t want to waste my time spent outside sulking. However, now that I’m getting to feel the sun on my skin and breathe fresh air again, it makes me want to see if Daniel is in any kind of mood to make another compromise.

“Daniel?” I ask.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering,” I swallow nervously, “would you consider allowing me to go for a walk once a day?”

He looks at me like I slapped him.

“Hear me out, please?”

Surprisingly, he lets me continue. “I know what’s at stake if I mess up, and you know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my family’s safety.”

I don’t say more in case he wants to say something, but he’s just staring at me.

“You could limit me to a certain radius from the condo. I just, Daniel, you were right, I’m going crazy not being able to leave. You can even track my location, if it will make you feel better.”

Still, he doesn’t answer. I don’t know what other assurances I can give him to let him know that he can trust me.

“I’ll think about it,” he finally grumbles.

I take it as a small victory, because he could have shut me down immediately, but he didn’t. I hope he really will think about it. Even more, I hope he says yes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

SAWYER

It took Daniel two days to let me know his answer. He considered my suggestions and limited me to three blocks in each direction.

Also, I have to wear a bracelet with a tracker in it at all times, and I can only be out for one hour. I asked him for the alarm code, but he said he will set a timer to turn it off at eleven o’clock and back on again at noon. I don’t care about any of that, however, I just want to be outside.

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