A Duet of the Soul

Chapter 28: Slipping Away

*Maria's POV*

Justin fell asleep singing to me, his body lounged heavily over the top of me. His warm body with the blanket on top of us ignited my own body to start sweating from the influx of heat. My heart was pounding as my mind raced over the various informative bits he had hurled at me over the last ten minutes.

There was no longer a single doubt in my mind that he truly did believe he loved me. I would be a liar if I didn't admit that it broke my heart to hold him while he sobbed on my shoulder. He obviously didn't believe anything I told him today, and when I think it over, that doesn't surprise me. I knew I hadn't been very good to him this week, playing with his emotions back and forth.

But could I be blamed for that? I was, after all, a captive in his house. It's not normal to fall in love with the guy who kidnapped you, either. Though, no matter how much I remind myself that it doesn't seem to get through to my heart. There's been a lot going on this week, and I have had a lot on my plate. It's not my job to care about his emotions. Besides, how was I supposed to know he was being genuine with his feelings and not just trying to trick me into staying?

He began mumbling in his sleep, but I couldn't make out any actual words just noises. His eyebrows furrowed, and his arms started to tremble. I wrapped my arms around him and started to rub circles on his back. Justin pressed his face into the side of my neck and squeezed me tightly. His breathing returned to normal and his arms stopped shaking.

I sighed. What a mess I've gotten myself in.

This damn fool wasn't off the hook for handcuffing me to the bed earlier this afternoon, but my anger was drastically lessened by his sorry state. I couldn't believe how much this man had grown on me over the past week that I'd be willing to sit and comfort him after he had been such an asshole earlier.

What was I going to do now? He clearly didn't believe me when I told him I had feelings for him. If he didn't believe me about that, then he surely wouldn't believe me when I told him I wouldn't try to run away again. I suppose it didn't really matter. When would I have another chance to run away anyways?

Wait a minute.

My eyes bulged out as I frantically glanced from him to the open door and back to him once again. This dumbass really just got himself wasted, untied me, and left the door wide open for me to waltz right out of. 

Holy shit.

I bet his truck key is inside the pocket of his pants. If I could find the key, then I could book it out of here and be miles away before he woke up from his drunken state. Hell, with the way he is today, I might be able to get halfway to Canada before he realized I was gone.

Slowly, I peeled his arms from around me and eased his head gently onto his pillow. I slipped off the bed, holding my breath until I had scooped up my clothes and stepped into the hallway. Pulling the door closed behind me, I quickly threw on my jeans and t-shirt then tiptoed down the hallway. As I made my way down the stairs, I found Justin's jeans crumpled up inside out on the landing of the stairwell.

That dumbass must've fallen over while taking them off on his way up. That would certainly explain the loud thud I heard shortly before he came back into the room. I swiftly snagged the jeans and searched the pockets. Holding the key up in my hand like a priceless treasure, I quickly scaled the final steps down to the front door.

I clutched it tightly in my hand as I scurried down the hall and retrieved my sneakers from the backdoor in the kitchen. They had been kicked off after our walk on Friday night, and I had yet to put them away. I sent a silent thank you up to whoever might be listening while I fastened them tightly on my feet. There was no way I was going to let an untied pair of shoes be my downfall. Even if Justin woke up now, I knew I could outrun him while he was inebriated.