Page 9 of Carter's #Undoing

“Was that key there the entire time?” I asked as he began uncuffing me.

“Yes.”

“And you let me sit here and beg you to release me when the key was within my reach? Why did you handcuff me in the first place?”

“Didn’t want you to hurt yourself or freak out when you woke up.”

I blinked slowly. “Right. I can see that worked out real well. The me not freaking out part.”

“Something tells me, that part is far from over,” he said. Hearing that last click to signify both my wrists were free was the best sound I’d ever heard. I hadn’t thought about my next move past this point. However, when he reached over to cut on that lamp on the table, I jumped off the couch and went straight to the front door. Once opened, I ran down the porch and into an unknown world since I had no clue where I was and didn’t have time to analyze the fact that I was clearly in the woods and not in a city.

I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life. Passing through enormous pine trees, branches crunching under my feet, I realized for the first time that I didn’t have on any shoes. I heard my dress tear as it caught on branches, but I didn’t slow my stride. Didn’t even know if Carter was behind me and didn’t care.

I hadn’t been able to tell from the window earlier if the sun was rising or setting since my time clock was a little off, but it was rising. Now that I was outside, I knew that from the way the sunlight was hitting the trees. In a different situation, I might have thought the scenery beautiful. Peaceful even.

And if I hadn’t been so hell-bent on leaving Carter and that creepy cabin, maybe the sane part of my brain would have realized it had been way too easy to escape just now.

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