UNTIL LOVE SETS US APART ( JENLISA)

Chapter 14

Jennie POV

I looked at myself in the tainted bathroom mirror. Under my eyes, bags that had faded to purple told me that I wasn't getting enough rest - my lips were cracked and dry, and my skin was dusty and needed care. My hair, scraped back into a bun to keep it out of my way, was a mess. And yet, there was some thing in my eyes that I hadn't seen in a longtime. Resolve.

I drew myself up to my full height and smiled at myself in the mirror. It had been so long since I had smiled that I felt as though I was faking it, the muscles of my face tugging awkwardly to get it to stick. But I didn't have to convince myself. I just had to convince Kai, for long enough to get him out of here. And then I was going to make a break for it.

I had been here for almost a month. I had kept track of the days, hoping that the knowledge would keep me from going utterly out of my mind. Sometimes, it felt as though I was going to burst, my brain aching with the pain of knowing there was a whole life for me out there, a whole life that he insisted on keeping from me until I gave in to what he seemed to want from me.

Ever since the day I had dared speak back to him, that day he had sent pots and pans crashing around the kitchen to express his fury, things had only gotten worse. He hadn't laid a finger on me- I had warned him, told him that men who loved women did not harm them, and he seemed to have taken it to heart, thank god! But he had taken to damaging anything else in the apartment that he could get his hands on to scare me into submission. He had tipped the bed over, sent the mattress flying from the metal frame; he had slammed his fist into the hand mirror in the bathroom, sending shattered glass everywhere, including into his own knuckles. He had kicked a hole in the wall next to the door. With every day that passed, I knew my safety was growing less and less certain, that it would only be a matter of time before he snapped and turned his anger on me. And I had to use what little time I had to my advantage.

I was running out of time. I knew that he could only keep up the façade of himself being a decent man for a little longer before he broke and forced me to submit to his will. Hell, before I was rescued, I would already had given in, let him do what he wanted to me just to get it over with. He had trained me hard enough when I had worked for him to do as I was told with no exceptions, and certainly, no questions. But I had stepped out of his world, seen what was beyond it, that there was love and care and passion that grew organically instead of being exchanged for money per hour. And I wasn't going to walk away from that. Not yet.

My resolve grew strong as I lay in bed after one of his more violent outbursts, trying to avoid the spot in the bed frame where he had arched the metal such that it jabbed into my back as I tried to sleep. I had to get out of here. I had to try at least.

He rarely left the place, and whenever he did, he always came back very soon. Also, every time he went away, he would make sure to lock the doors tight behind him, so I had no hope of getting out. But his absence at least gave me the time I needed to check out the rest of the place. There were three windows - one in the living room, a tiny one in the bathroom, and one in the bedroom that he slept in, that led out onto a tiny balcony beyond.

We were high up in the building, so I could hardly leap down from there and onto the street. But recently I had spotted a small fire escape, one that looked as though it was on the brink of falling apart, a half-dozen feet from the balcony - it would be quite a jump, but I could make it if I tried. If I had the time to try. The window that led out onto the balcony was locked shut, where the rest of them were sealed tight with glue. It explained why the air felt like it was suffocating me in here, why sometimes I felt as though I was going to drown under the weight of it.

The lock was slim and flimsy, I knew that much. I headed out of the bathroom, where I had been noting the resolve in my eyes and promising myself that I was going to double my efforts and slipped into his bedroom. He was out for some food, and I didn't know how long I had before he made it back. This time he had taken much longer than usual. I tried to break the lock with my hands, but came out with nothing but welts on my palms for my efforts. I would need to find something stronger to snap it. I had no idea what I might use, and before I had a chance to look, Kai burst back into the house.