Zia and I looked at each other with confused expressions. I gestured at Zia to wait till I returned. I closed the door quietly behind me and tiptoed downstairs. I stopped in my tracks as I heard muffled voices.
"Just do it, Chris. You know it's for the greater good," the other man softened his voice.
I tried to see the other man. He's pierced in so many places it's hard to count. He had a strong, muscular build with a chiseled face and cold, hard eyes. Somewhat like Dad. Except for his eyes.
Dad hesitated for a moment before he said, "Fine. I'll do it. But don't you dare hurt her or I'll-"
I leaned over the railing to get a clearer look at the man. My hand hit the photo frame hanging on the wall which instantly sent a million shards of glass flying in all directions. Both pairs of eyes turned towards me. I quickly recovered from the shock and broke into a run. I was panting as I reached the door to my room. I quickly got in and slammed the door immediately.
Zia ran up to me with a worried look in her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when I interrupted her.
"Stop. I don't have time to explain everything. Just tie your shoelaces quickly and follow me. We have to get outta here right now!" I said as I grabbed my backpack and picked up anything my hand could find. I put my phone into my pocket and picked up my spare house keys, my jacket, 100 dollar bills, few band-aids, a matchbox, a couple of knives from my knife set and an empty glass bottle for self-defense.
"Why do we have to leave? What happe-?"
"There's no time to answer your questions. Let's get going."
"But there is no way out of your room. You do know that, right?" I heard the anxiety in her voice.
"I know. But we gotta get away from here. And fast."
"Do you have a rope around here somewhere?"
"You're insane. You know that?" I handed her a wire. "This is the closest thing I have to a rope. I know it can't carry our weight but..let's try our luck."
"This should work just fine," she said, breaking the glass window with my guitar as I winced.
"I'm sparing you this time because I don't have the time nor the patience to scream at you," I grumbled. "I can't believe I'm actually doing something this crazy."
Zia tied the wire to one of my bed's legs. I just hoped it was long enough for us to reach the ground safely. "You go first. I am right behind you." I said.
Zia grabbed the wire and placed her foot on the window pane as she speedily but carefully climbed down stopping after every step to find a place to keep her foot on and adjust her grip. As soon as I saw her reach the ground, I tossed our bags down to her and adjusted my foot on the window pane. My heart was pounding loudly against my chest. I've never been so daring. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
I heard the loud knocking on my door. Even louder than before. Terrified, I tried to jump down quickly. Big mistake. I shouldn't have done that. I felt a searing pain in my left leg as I landed with a loud thump. The muscles of my leg were burning with pain and I felt too weak to rise. The scent of sweat made me feel sick.
I heard the door open and saw Dad along with a dark figure trying to fire bullets at us. Not me, but Zia. Thankfully, Zia narrowly escaped the bullet. I turned back to look at Dad. I felt a surge of emotions in me. A part of me felt angry, betrayed but the other part felt bad for leaving him.
He was my dad, after all. I continued staring at him till he caught my gaze, "I'm sorry Jadelyn. Dad loves you," he mouthed.
"God, Jadelyn! Now is not the time. I know what you want to do. But not now!" yelled Zia. I had one last look at my dad before I left. He had a sad look in his eyes. Filled with tears. It was like he didn't want me to go. He's probably forced to do all of this.
"I'm sorry, Dad," I whispered.
"LOOK OUT!" bellowed Dad. I turned around. We were surrounded.
***