He fell asleep. I watched with wide eyes as his chest moved slightly up and down. I felt the slight breeze of his breath fall upon my head and felt the rhythm of his heart slow under my ear that lay on his chest.
It was go time.
I was unshackled. The door was unlocked. He was asleep and had been for at least 30 minutes.
I slowly moved inch by inch off of him and toward the edge of the bed. It was a tedious time consuming task, but I couldn't wake him. I needed him asleep for as long as possible to work on all of those locks , so that I could make my escape.
My body was taut with tension as I lumbered my way down, first my big toe making contact with the floor, followed by the rest of my toes, then the arch of my foot until finally my heel meet with the cool wood.
I closed my eyes and breathed out.
I slithered the rest of my body forward and off the bed until I stood still as a garden statue looking back at Liam.
Step one, getting out of the bed complete. I had made a checklist in my head to keep myself focused, so that I could follow through on my plan without error. I mentally checked off this feat and moved on to the next, exiting the bedroom.
His chest still rose and fell as it had moments before. His eyes remained closed. He was still asleep.
I padded silently across the floor, each step I took turning back to check if Liam was still asleep.
When I finally got to the door, I released the breath I had been holding quietly out my nose.
My hand grasped the cool metal brass doorknob and turned it slower than the seasons change, but I couldn't afford for it to make an utterance of noise.
Finally, when I had rotated the ball handle as far as it would let me I pulled open the door every so slightly, taking my time so that the hinges wouldn't squeak against one another. The whole time, I stared back over my shoulders at Liam. Still no movement.
I released the handle and ventured out into the dimly lit hallway.
I perked my ears to listen, but all was quiet.
Step two, exiting the room complete.
I tip toed along the runner quiet as a mouse.
The stairs were finally coming into sight. My chest swelled with hope, but that was quickly deflated when I heard the squeak of a door.
It had to be one of the dolls. I had left the bedroom open, so it couldn't be him.
I quickened my pace, but the floorboard beneath me squeaked, causing me to stop all movement.
"Going somewhere," a snide voice called out from behind me. Abby. Of all the dolls to run into, she was the one I feared the most would ruin my plan.
I turned to face her and saw her callous smirk plastered on her still done up face.
"I'm just getting a glass of water from the kitchen," I lied taking another step forward.
"No you're not," she said and gripped onto my hair pulling me back towards her. Before I could register it I gasped and voiced my pain, much louder than I I would've liked.
Still holding my hair, she pulled me so that my face could meet hers.
"Everything was great until you came along," she seethed hatred brewing in her blue eyes. "You've ruined everything," she all but shouted.
My panicked eyes raced towards my bedroom waiting for Liam to come lumbering out of it.
"Then let me leave," I begged. "I don't want him. I never did. He's all yours, just help me escape."
She clicked her tongue at me and shook her head whilst she did it.
"No, no, no darling, he will see the trouble that you are and will change his mind about you, you'll see," she said all while grinning down devilishly at me.
"Liam, sweetheart, come quick," she shouted at the top of her lungs causing my eyes to nearly bug out of my head. "Evelyn is trying to escape," and with that she released my hair and pushed me forward where I stumbled to the ground.
I sat up in time to see Abby slam her own head against the door molding and stumble back for affect.
"Liam come quick, I can't stop her," she said as she stared up at me with a psychotic smile.
As I pulled myself up, Liam's footsteps thundered out of his room and he threw himself out of the doorway of my bedroom.
I bolted at full speed toward the staircase.
"Evelyn," he roared behind me as tears of fear and panic exploded into my eyes, nearly clouding my vision.
I felt the back of my nightgown get gripped onto by Liam. I reached out to the table that sat against the wall across from the stair and grabbed a stone statue angel off it and swung it behind me.
I felt as it made contact with something and the grip of my dress be released.
I didn't dare look back as I took the stairs two at a time down. I was at the middle of the staircase when I felt a firm push to my back causing me to roll and fall down the rest of them until I landed at the base of the staircase.
My head ached from the hair impact it made with the first step, but I pushed myself up and began to work my way through the locks one by one as my heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest.
I knew it was inevitable that someone would come to stop me as I heard the footsteps racing down the staircase.
My fingers fumbled with the lock before they were torn from it by the force of someone grabbing a fistful of my hair before sending my face hard into the glass.
I cried out in pain as my face made contact with it. The grip on my hair tightened more and slammed my face into it three more times before throwing me to the floor with so much force that it knocked the breath from my lungs.
Liam stood above me. Blood was dripping down the length of his face from a gash on his temple. He stood above me with fists clenched so tightly they were colored a stark white. His face was twisted and contorted into one of pure rage as he bent down over me and gripped the sides of my head before slamming it onto the wooden floor.
"Liar," he shouted before slamming my head again.
"You manipulative bitch," he roared as he slammed it again, sending my brain bouncing along inside my head like a basketball on a court.
He released my head and kicked me in the ribs with so much force that I instantly was left aching.
"Whore," he screamed and then climbed on top of me before punching me in my face causing spots of white to dance in a black background.
He kept screaming and calling me names as he pummeled my face. I felt blood begin to seep out of my mouth. My eyes began to loose all focus on what was going on and my body became consumed with pain until I heard someone start to shout.
"Stop, Liam, stop, you'll kill her," Hannah screeched pulling him from me, which only got her sent flying backwards against the staircase. Another punch made contact with the side of my skull.
"Don't make the same mistake twice," she yelled. "Liam, please, stop," she yelled, evidence of crying clear in her words.
I felt the pressure of his body move off of my own and he disappeared from my vision.
I looked up with my left eye, my right had become too swollen to see anything, but I saw Hannah descend the stairs she had lain plastered against and hurriedly come to my immobilized form.
"Oh Evie," she cried over me as she smoothed back blood soaked hair from my face.
Above her, I could see Laurel and Abby looking down from the top of the staircase at me. Laurel's face was blank, white as snow, but Abby stood with hands on her hips smirking down at me.
"Leave her be Hannah, the bitch got what she deserved," Abby called down.
Hannah looked back at her ready to say something but Liam shouted, "Enough," sending the entire room into complete and utter silence other than me wheezing, unable to get a decent breath.
"Everyone to their rooms, now," Liam shouted sending Laurel scurrying off, Abby sauntering away, but Hannah sat beside me.
"Hannah," he stated crossly.
"I won't let you kill her," she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.
"Leave now," he demanded, "or the same fault will befall you, sister or not," he ordered his voice thick with anger.
Hannah didn't move.
It was a standoff.
"Hannah, this is your last warning," he roared.
"No, I won't be your pawn anymore," she cried.
"Fine, be that way," he retorted seizing her arms and yanking them off me.
"No, Liam, stop," she yelled as he drug her away down the hallway to the basement.
I heard a door open, something fall, and the slam shut before his footsteps fell once more on the floorboards. He rounded the corner back to me and bent down over my battered body.
"No, what will I do with you," he crooned as he picked up my body and carried me back up the stairs.
Did anyone think she would actually be able to escape?
What do you think Liam will do to Hannah? Do you think she'll try to help Evie escape now or will she never try again?
What did you think of this chapter?
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