Escaping the Void

Chapter Seven

I carry my bags into the room and drop them on the floor. I close the door and collapse onto the bed, exhausted. It hasn't even been that long since I've been here, but I'm already starting to feel comfortable. The bedspread feels so soft and silky as I run my hands up and down the surface of it.  I sit up and pull my hoodie off of me, exposing my tank top. I toss it down to the floor and run my fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp as I go. I breathe out, and for the first time in a very long time, I feel safe. I like that feeling. 

I don't bother unpacking any of my things. I'm not going to be here long, so there's no need to. I dig into my pocket and pull out my phone. I text Mariah telling her that I made it out alright, strangely feeling as if I was in a catastrophic incident, and they didn't know whether I was dead or alive. I look at the time after the message goes through. It's 9:13 AM. Still got a whole fourteen hours and forty-four minutes to go before the day is over. A whole nine hours before Trevor gets off of work. Nine hours before he sees that I'm gone. Nine hours before he sees the note and the ring. Nine hours. 

"Who the fuck cares?" I say to myself out loud,  knowing damn well that I do. I care. In a way, I would love to see the look on his face when he finds out his punching bag has disappeared. But then another part of my doesn't want to see the pain on his face because it would only fill my eyes with tears.

I cover my face with my hands and groan into my palms. I hate how weak I am. Trevor has beat me down  for three years, and here I am feeling sorry because his little feelings are going to be hurt when he gets home. He's the reason for my scars. He's to blame for my bruises. He's to accuse for what I'm doing now. Everything he has done has led up to this. And because of it all, I will be stronger. I've been through the fire, and what the fire does not burn, it hardens. 

I've got to accept the fact that Trevor is from now on no longer a part of my life. He is irrelevant to me and anything concerning me. I'm moving on, and I intend to leave him far behind me.

The thought of a Trevor-free life makes me feel warm inside, and I can't help but smile. And with that, I doze right off to sleep thinking about my promising future to come. 

I'm woken up by knocking on the door. I yawn as I sit up, stretching my arms outwards. "Come in," I say.

Carter pushes the door ajar and pops his head in. "Hey, just came to check up on you," he says.

"Oh, well, I was just sleeping."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," Carter says as he trenches his eyebrows together.

"It's okay. I need to wake up, anyway. The bed is really comfy, though," I assure him.

"That's good. I just want to say that I just ordered a pizza. You can have come when it comes if you want."

"You ordered a pizza this early?"

"I didn't think two o'clock was too early for a pizza."

"Two o'clock?" I snatch my phone up and look at the time. And sure enough, it's two o'clock. "I really lost track of time," I say as I run my fingers through my hair, sighing. He chuckles.

"Yeah, I guess you did. For five hours," he says. He stares at me with this warm smile, and I feel my inner thighs get hot. I cross my legs to keep the yearning from growing any stronger. 

"Pizza does sound good, though," I manage to say, forcing a smile through my frustration. "What kind did you order?"

"Your most favorite in the world."

"Really? You remembered?"

"How could I ever forget that you're deeply in love with spinach pizza?" he says scrunching his nose up. "Out of all pizzas, you chose the one with the most disgusting vegetables on it to like the most."