My heart sped up. I had to go for it then or another chance might not come. I wanted to give him time to drift back off until he snored heavily, but I didn’t have the patience to lie there next to him any longer. I pulled the cover down slowly and lay still to see if he was going to move. When he didn’t, I eased my feet down onto the carpet and slipped to the floor quietly. I crawled slowly toward my phone, sobbing silently as I considered what could happen to me if I failed. Antonio shifted in the bed and my breath hitched in my throat. I clasped my hand over my mouth and shut my eyes tightly. When nothing happened a few seconds later, I moved toward the phone a little more.
It was now just an inch or two away from me and I realized that it could go off and wake Antonio, foiling my plan. This understanding made me move more quickly until it was in my hands. As soon as I touched it the tears flowed faster and felt like I had at least some hope of making it out.
It seemed like a mile separated me from the bedroom door. If I could only make it back into the hallway, I could run for help. With my mind made up that I had to do this, I stood to my feet and walked steadily, not wanting the floor to creak. Every step I took felt like it was going to be my last, but I had to push myself. With about two more feet to go, Antonio shifted again and my heart stopped. Just keep moving your feet. I shook off the fear and took the last few steps into the hallway, bolting toward the living room the second I crossed the threshold. I didn’t care about anything else. My purse? My keys? My boots? None of it. All I wanted was my freedom.
When I got to the front door, the sound of Antonio’s voice made my hands shake violently as I fidgeted with the deadbolt.
“Sam?” He called out sleepily. He knew that I wasn’t there in bed, so there wasn’t any reason to be quiet anymore. I clicked the locks and undid the chain noisily and made a run for it, gripping my phone tightly in my hand. I made it across the grass in no time and I turned back to find Antonio chasing behind me, quickly closing the gap between us. I couldn’t let him take me back there, so I pushed myself as hard as I could.
A trickle of blood streamed down my legs as I ran, but I ignored it and kept going. This was me fighting for my life and that was what kept me going. I wanted to see my mother and father again, Terrell, Deanna, Maisha…..and especially AJ. I saw a turn coming up and I hit it quickly and then cut across a playground. The sand beneath the swing set made me lose traction so I slowed down a bit and started crying again, fearing that he’d catch up to me now. Just past the playground was a school and then a thick patch of trees. That was my new goal; I set my sites on it and pressed for the mark.
I glanced behind me one last time and saw that Antonio was still too close for comfort. Fearing that the white stripes on my dress would give away my whereabouts once I was in the woods, I struggled to pull it over my head again and tossed it into the grass. Once in the trees I ran straight for the biggest one I could find and stood there with both of my hands over my mouth as I breathed erratically. I could hear sticks breaking and leaves rustling off to my left and I prayed that he wouldn’t find me. He called my name a few times and then everything went silent except for the sound of crickets in the distance. I continued to wait there for ten whole minutes after I thought he’d gone, just to be sure. When it finally settled in that I’d made it, I fell to my knees and hyperventilated, resting my head on the ground as I tried to catch my breath.
Everything he’d done to me was so fresh in my mind that it felt like it was still happening. I screamed out hysterically. Things like this were not supposed to happen to people. How could someone violate another person, leaving them to feel invaded and unsafe for the rest of their lives? But this felt like it was mostly my fault. I should’ve never gone to him in the first place.
I’d nearly forgotten that I had my phone while I lay there falling apart until it went off in my hand. It was AJ. I answerd with my hands shaking violently. I pulled the phone close to my face slowly and said to him through sobs and a hoarse unfamiliar voice, “I need your help.”
Chapter14
AJ