Taking What's His

Chapter Eighteen

"Freedom at last!" I declared, almost feeling so emotional to the point where tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. I quickly slammed my bedroom door shut and locked it, before running over to my bed and pulling out a small suitcase from under it. A sigh of relief escaped me, and I allowed myself a small break as I sat down on my bed and began to plan my escape route.

'They both watch me like a hawk; it'll be impossible to escape when both of them are nearby. I'll have to wait until one of them leaves and sticks me with the other, and then I'll have to find a way to incapacitate them. Is that even possible? I'm pretty sure putting sleep medication in food or drink wouldn't work, and I'm not about to use brutal force... But if it came to that, I'd rather have to take out Ashton than Ruby.'

'I should probably leave a note telling them I need a break and that I'm just taking a mini vacation so they don't worry. And then from there I'll take my car and drive to California, but I'll have to avoid the woods. Maybe I should take a rental?'

I thought about it for the remainder of my hour, and continued to ponder it even when on the hour dot Ashton came busting into my room. He regarded me for a time before walking over and flicking my forehead, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Come on, we show start dinner already. You need to eat." he said, motioning me to get up.

I rubbed my forehead and frowned at him, asking, "Isn't it Ruby's turn to cook tonight?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but she needed to go out to feed. She should be back in about an hour."

Ruby was gone. I stared at the back of Ashton's head as he moved down the stairs in front of me, the wheels in my brain turning. This would be the ideal time to escape, but how...?

I slowly followed him down to the kitchen, watching as he began pulling out food from the fridge. "How about fish and fried rice? That orange kind you like. Can you get the skillet out?" he said, motioning with his foot to the lower cabinets.

I moved slowly in that direction, opening the cabinet and began rummaging through it for the pan. I pulled it out and stared down blankly at it at first, but then an idea struck me. Not a very pretty one, but if it worked, I'd be out.

Switching the pan to my dominate hand, I closed the cupboard and moved over to where Ashton was digging through the freezer for the fish. Nervously I stood behind him, the pan in ready position.

"Hey, where's the fish? Didn't you buy some?" he asked, not turning around.

"Uh, y-yeah, its in the back." I answered quickly before closing my eyes and swinging the skillet as hard as I could. It connected with the back of his head with a sickening thump, and the force of it had me stumbling back. I watched fearful with wide eyes as he continued to stand, but finally, he wavered and fell to the floor.

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I silently thanked God for two years of softball practice.

I stared down at Ashton's unconscious form, biting down on my lower lip and wincing as I dropped the heavy skillet on the back of his skull for good measure, just in case.

"Sorry. Really, really sorry." I muttered, as I shut the freezer door.

Not wasting any time, I sprinted up to my room and collected my stuff, scribbling a quick note I posted to my door before grabbing my keys and high tailing it out of there.

With suitcase shoved in the passenger seat, I jumped in and started the car, revving the engine before screeching out of the driveway.

I didn't let up on my speed until I was out of town, but still kept checking the forest that flew past my window as I drove.