Gently, I extricate myself from her and wrap my arms around myself. “It looks a lot worse than it is.”
“I can’t believe him.”
“Polly, this is not your fight.”
“He can’t treat you like this. Especially when it’s obvious he—” She stops short and takes a deep breath. “What can I do for you? Ask me anything and it’s yours.”
She’s probably asking me if I want a cup of tea or an ice pack; something doable, something reasonable to ask a fourteen-year-old. But ice packs won’t fix me. Tea won’t save me.
I have to get out of here.
“It’s a big ask,” I warn her.
Polly nods. “I said anything. Tell me.”
“I have to leave, Polly. I can’t stay here anymore. If I do…” I just about manage to suppress my sob, but I still get a curious glance from Lev. “I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t be asking you at all. I don’t want to put you in the middle but—”
She clutches my arm again. “I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
Polly nods fervently. “Yes.” She lowers her voice. “But we need to move fast—and Lev can’t know.”
“Okay. Yeah, of course. Whatever you think is best.”
“If you can convince Lev to go upstairs to the entertainment room, I think I can come up with a plan from there. I’ll meet you there.”
She doesn’t give me a lot of time to process before she disappears up the basement stairs, leaving the door wide open. I turn to Lev and approach him cautiously. “I’m so sorry about your gaming nook, Lev.”
He flinches when I get closer. “My Xbox…” he repeats.
“You have a nicer Xbox upstairs,” I remind him. “With a ton of better games. Cooler games, in fact. Maybe we can go up and check them out?”
Lev considers that for a moment. Then, finally, he nods, though it’s reluctant. I lead him up the staircase towards the ground floor. We almost cross paths with Svetlana, but she pretends she doesn’t see us as she ducks into an adjoining room.
Lev calms down considerably when we get to the entertainment room. I’m shaking so bad I can barely see straight, but I manage to start up a game for him.
I’m prepared to sit in the corner in the fetal position and wait for Polly. Lev, though, is having none of that.
“Please?” he begs. “You said you would play with me.”
Sighing, I grab a controller and pretend to be interested in the game. But the whole time, I keep watching the door, waiting for Polly to show up.
I’ve lost my second race in a row when she finally appears. She pushes the door open just enough to expose a sliver of her face and gestures for me to join her outside. Glancing nervously at Lev, I put my controller down.
“Lev, I need to use the bathroom. Can you give me a few minutes?”
He puts his controller down, too. “How many minutes?”
I twist in place helplessly. “Um… a few. I won’t be long.” I feel like an absolute villain lying to him, but who knows how long this window of opportunity will remain open? And I have to think about my baby. My hand twitches towards my stomach but I suppress the instinct and get to my feet. “You keep playing, okay? I won’t be long. Just keep playing. I’ll be right back. I’ll be back before you know it.”
I know I’m repeating myself, but the nerves are making me jabber way more than I need to.
Polly is waiting outside the entertainment room when I manage to slip away. “Everything okay?”
“I’ve disabled the cameras on the south side of the perimeter,” she explains with a calm precision way beyond her years. “And I arranged a diversion in the northeast corner. The moment I set it off, you’ll be free to escape over the south fence.”
“Set what off?”
She allows herself a small, mischievous grin. “I found some leftover fireworks from last New Year’s in the storeroom. Once I get you to the fence, I’ll go set them off. That sound will be your signal to move. Now, c’mon—less explaining, more escaping.”
I keep peeking over my shoulder, worried that we’re going to be discovered by one of the staff. Polly sees my anxiety. “Don’t worry,” she says. “The maids are all gossiping down in the kitchen.”
I suppress a snorted laugh. Don’t worry—that’ll be the freaking day. I’m gonna be worrying about Uri Bugrov for the rest of my natural life.
Soon, we get to the farthest corner of the south side of the house, which happens to be one of the living rooms that overlook the same lawn where I used to spy on Uri and Lev playing football. Polly has me duck so that security can’t see me through the large bay windows that dot the walls.
“I’m gonna leave you here, okay? Stay out of sight until you hear the signal.”
I grab her arm as she walks past me. “Polly, I can’t thank you enough.”
She gives me a heavy-hearted smile. “I love my brother, but he doesn’t get to imprison women in the basement. No matter the reason. Not on my watch.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
She blushes as she runs out the door. I duck down and wait for the fireworks to go off. The queasiness rears its ugly head again like the life inside of me is as scared as I am.
It’s okay, little one, I think, beaming my thoughts down toward my womb. I’m doing this for you. We’re going to be okay.
But the silence stretches on for what feels like an eternity. Every so often, I peek out the window. There are two burly security guards on either side of the lawn. They cross over at regular intervals, scanning back and forth as they do their rounds.
More seconds tick by and I start to wonder if something’s gone wrong. Did someone stop Polly? Is she okay? Have I gotten her into trouble already?
The door slides open and I’m sure it’s going to be her, coming back to tell me that she couldn’t make the fireworks go off and the whole plan is kaput. Except it’s not Polly. It’s—
“Lev?”
His eyes are wide and curious when they land on me. “What are you doing? Why are you sitting on the ground?”
All I can think is, I’m so screwed.
58
ALYSSA
“Lev, why don’t you go back to the game room?”
He shakes his head. “Not unless you come with me.” His hands are trembling and he’s got that pinched lip expression that usually means he’s in one of his stubborn moods. Which, obviously, is the last thing on earth I need right now.
“I can’t right now, Lev. I’ve got something I have to do.”
“What do you have to do?”
“It’s, er… complicated. Could you just go back to the game—”
“No!” he shouts aggressively. “No, no, no. You want to get rid of me!”
I spring up to my feet without thinking. “Hey, now, shhh, calm down, Lev. I don’t want to get rid of you. I just—”
BOOM. BANG. POP. BANG.
Lev slaps his hands over his ears, drops to his butt on the floor, and starts rocking everywhere. “No! No! No!”
“Lev,” I beg. “Lev, calm down! They’re just fireworks, honey. It’s okay.”