Page 36 of Love Bleeds Red
I wish I was as brave at Cat, as strong. Whatever she’s doing out there with Erik, it’s for us. The planning and stealing and acting, it’s all been to get us out, to find Jasmine. She’s out there letting him do unspeakable things to her while I sit here cowering in fear. Do I even deserve to be saved?
Cat slips back through the door minutes later, her pants sagging low, and her brow glistening with sweat. I straighten my body, looking her over for injuries, and wait for her to say something. When she doesn’t, I ask, “Are you okay?”
She ignores my question and hurries to her spot under the mattress. “We’re doing this tonight, B. You need to get ready.”
I push up on my hands to stand. “What did he tell you?”
“Yuri and the others are leaving soon. Erik said they’ll be gone for two hours—just two hours. I don’t know where they’re going, just that Erik will be here alone with us. He—he told me all the things he’s going to do to me, now that he can take his time.”
Her voice shakes in a way I’ve never heard before. She’s frantic as she rips through the clothes in our small closet, finding a long-sleeve shirt from the pile on the floor. She pulls it over her head.
“Shit,” I say. “What did he say? Did he hurt you?”
“No. But I won’t let him try.” The words tumble out in a rush of breath. “This might be our only chance to run.”
“We need to tell Lydia and Elise. We can’t leave them here.”
She tosses a clean pair of underwear at me. “Layer these on.”
I hold them, crumbled, in my hand. “You keep getting ready. I’ll go tell them.”
I can see her wanting to argue with me, her emotions are always plain as day on her face, but she waves me off. When I turn for the door, she grabs my wrist, digging her fingers in hard. “Don’t let them see you. And B? Two hours. That’s all we have once they leave. Hurry.”
Two hours.
The words echo in my head as I move toward our bedroom door, keeping my bare feet silent against the worn carpet. My hand hovers over the doorknob. I know it’ll squeak when I open it. What if someone’s out there?
I press my ear to the wood first, straining to hear anything but my own racing pulse. Muffled voices drift up from downstairs, but they sound distant. Relaxed, even. A burst of laughter makes me flinch.
I use the backdrop of their conversation to turn the doorknob and ease the door open inch by agonizing inch, waiting for the hinges to whine. Cat watches me, a wrinkled shirt clutched to her chest. It squeals, but less aggressively, maybe from how slow I opened it. I’ll take that as a small win.
The hallway stretches before me. There’s maybe twelve feet to Lydia and Elise’s door, but it might as well be a mile.
Every step feels like walking on cracked ice. Like I’m seconds away from the end. I don’t know how I’m staying upright.
The floorboard under my left foot groans slightly and I freeze, counting my heartbeats.
One.
Two.
Three.
Nothing.I force myself to breathe and keep moving.
Halfway there, someone slams a door below and I pause, flattening myself against the wall, my whole body trembling. Heavy footsteps cross what sounds like the kitchen, followed by the scrape of a chair.
Just someone moving around. Probably Erik. It’s fine.
Two hours.I need to keep going.
Lydia and Elise’s door is identical to ours with the same peeling white paint, the same old brass doorknob. I press my ear against it and listen to their murmuring voices. Good. They’re both awake.
I tap so softly, I’m not sure they’ll even hear me. Tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap.
Their voices stop.
“It’s Bailey,” I whisper, my lips practically touching the wood.
