Black Rose

Betray me.

Crying silent, pained tears.

If I hadn't heard what I just did, I would have stopped to comfort her. To ask what was going on.

But moments before I had found out she was just as much at fault for my predicament as Blake.

So I needed to escape.

As quickly and quietly as I could, I dashed past the semi open door, then froze, listening for a change in the room. I stared down at a small accent table in the hallway, holding up a glass lamp lighting up the hallway.

Thankfully, I heard nothing. Feeling relieved, I turned my attention to my next problem.

The door at the end of the corridor.

Taking a small breath, I readied my hand on the handle, and pushed it down slowly. Then, gently I pulled.

My heart dropped into my throat.

No matter how slowly I had pulled it, as I opened the door, its hinges let out a very obvious creak.

I froze.

A part of me hoped I would get lucky. That she was too focused on crying, or the movie, to hear it. Then–

"Ophelia?"

Her voice was tentative, confused. Raw with emotion. Something in me forced me to turn and look at her.

She frowned, looking down at my outfit. "Why are you wearing my coat?"

I stayed silent, hand still on the door handle, waiting for a moment to run.

She shook her head, holding a hand to her temple. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. You need to go back downstairs."

"Why?" I asked boldly.

She frowned. "Why? Because Blake will kill you if he finds you up here."

"But he won't, because he's not here. He won't be back until tomorrow." I said.

She frowned, then fear flooded her features. "You heard all that?"

I slowly nodded, biting my lip. She sighed and looked away. "God, I'm so sorry Ophelia. I can explain, just-"

"Don't," I said, cutting her off. "We can talk about it later, once we're out of here and safe."

She frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"

I hesitated, unsure if this was a terrible idea. But hey, only one way to find out. And if Blake was away, at least he would never know.

"Blake won't be back until tomorrow, right?" I said. Gwen nodded, so I continued. "That gives us a whole day to get away from this hell. We can finally escape."

She shook her head, looking worried. "Ophelia, you can't."

I paused, frowning. "Why not? You must know where his car keys are, and his car. We drive down to the main road and follow it until we can find help."

She let out a sigh. "Ophelia you're not listening to me. You can't. He'll kill you if you run away."

I felt frustration bubbling up within me, a ball of anxiety that consumed me. "Stop saying that! Stop saying you. We can do this, but we have to go now. We can get out of here."

I turned to go through the door, but she grabbed my arm. "Ophelia please, just calm down. Think this through. What are we going to do once we get out of here?"

I shake my head, desperately. "Go to the police, go home, get away from him. It doesn't matter we just need to go now."

She sighed. "Ophelia, you don't get it. This is my home. I can't escape this. This is my life."

"But it doesn't have to be!" I pleaded. "You can have a better life, away from him, where you don't have to constantly live in fear of him. Please."

She looked sad as she shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Ophelia."

Angry and frustrated, I wrenched my arm out of her grasp and backed away. "Fine then. If you aren't coming with me then I'll go on my own."

Just as I turned to run through the door, I heard Gwen let out a pained sigh behind me. "I'm sorry, but I can't let that happen."

Frowning, I paused, and went to turn back. "What-"

Smash!

Agony splintered out from the back of my skull and I cried out in pain. I saw yellow spots cloud my vision and suddenly the floor was coming closer, until I had completely slumped against it.

The last thing I saw before blacking out was Gwen standing over me, a crazed look in her eyes and the remnants of a lamp in her hands, a lamp that she'd used against me.

"I'm sorry."

Then everything went black.