Be Quiet and Obey

Chapter 13 - You belong to me

Rex downed yet another drink, his sixth in a row if Evie was counting correctly, before standing up and slapping his hands across his eyes.

"No peeking," Evie scolded, as Rex made a rather obvious crack in between his fingers to peer through.

"I think you should turn around," she suggested.

"Why?" He teased. "Don't you trust me?"

"No, I don't."

He shrugged and turned around, knocking his leg on a chair in the process.

"Are you drunk?" She asked.

"How dare you, I'll have you know I'm a saint!" He answered in an exaggerated tone before laughing.

She cautiously moved to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, removing the key she had discovered days earlier.

He started patting his jeans, most likely looking for his cigarettes. "Well, maybe I'm a little drunk," he admitted. "Let's see you down two bottles of bourbon and stay standing."

She watched him sway and couldn't help the feeling of hope bubbling to the surface. "Give me five minutes to hide before you try and find me."

"What do you mean try?" Rex teased. "I will find you."

His tone sent chills down her spine.

She headed for the stairs and quietly and quickly ascended them. She momentarily considered looking for a way out but knew it would be pointless.

The past few days she had scouted the house whilst cleaning. Both doors had multiple locks requiring different keys and the glass from each window was so thick it was likely bulletproof. She had even tried throwing a chair through one of them. Of course, if Branton checked the footage, it would look as though she had swung the chair a little too carelessly trying to move it. At least that's what she hoped.

She headed straight for Branton's room. He had refused to let her step foot in there, even to clean.

She removed the key from her pocket and suppressed a laugh of relief as it fit the lock.

She hurried inside and locked the door behind her. Knowing Rex she doubted he'd wait for a whole five minutes so she needed to be quick.

The sound of footsteps immediately proved her suspicion.

Branton's room was exactly how she imagined it to be. Clean, neat and boring. Just like him.

With the moon as her only source of light, she tip-toed towards the window. Upon passing the bed, she noticed a framed photograph on the bedside table. Picking it up she saw a young Branton, maybe 10 years old, and a man. The man had similar features to Branton so she assumed it was his Dad, or at least someone related to him.

Both were smiling but something seemed off about the man. His smile was charming, just like Branton's, but it was also cold.

The sound of the door handle turning caused her to drop the photograph.

"You sneaky little bitch," Rex growled from the other side of the door, jiggling the handle.

She spun towards the window and with shaking hands, started fiddling with the lock. To her utter disbelief, the lock clicked open.

For a fraction of a second, she stood there completely shocked, her heart beating out of her chest.

The sound of Rex's foot colliding with the door snapped her back to reality.

She poked her head out the window and felt the wind caress her face for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Another loud kick caused a crack as the door splintered.

Branton's room was on the second floor so it was a fair distance from the ground. She nervously judged the distance between the window and a branch from a large tree.

The sound of another loud crack propelled her forward and she leapt for the branch.

The bark scraped her stomach as she pulled herself up. She turned around just in time to see Rex's furious glare as he watched her from the window.

He watched her as she frantically crawled along the branch and started to climb down the tree.

"Evie."

His tone stopped her cold in her tracks. It was the first time Rex had ever called her by her name.

She looked up and locked eyes with her captor and what she saw made her blood run cold. She had never seen him as mad as he appeared now.

"You belong to me," he emphasised each word carefully, his rage threatening to boil over.

Tears stung her eyes at the fear that overwhelmed her. She knew that if she disobeyed him now there would be no turning back. If he caught her, he would kill her.

She jumped from the tree, landing with a thud. Without looking back, she turned and pumped her legs as fast as they would carry her.

...

Loud panting filled her ears as she sprinted away from the house. Her dry throat burned and her legs ached, but she didn't dare stop.

Dozens of tall trees passed by in a blur. She couldn't see any other houses but she told herself that if she kept running she was bound to find someone.

In her panicked state, she could picture Rex gaining on her. She pushed on, maintaining her speed. Even if he was fast, he was also drunk.

With her headstart she could outrun him, she needed to.

Twigs crunched under her feet as she ran, but she didn't care about making noise.

She dared to look back and was relieved when he was nowhere to be seen. She had pushed herself so hard that she feared she might pass out from exhaustion.

Leaning against a tree, she rested her hand over her heart and took deep breaths, her eyes never leaving the path she had run from the house. After no more than a few seconds, she kept running.

As she scanned the area while she ran, her heart sank, there was nothing but trees surrounding her. It seemed as though Branton's house was truly in the middle of nowhere.

The sudden sight of a light in the distance almost had her crying out in relief. She veered off to the left which lead her to a dirt track. Resting her hands on her knees she fought to catch her breath.

She bolted upright the second she realised that the track was a driveway that lead to a house, the source of the light.

She nearly tripped over her own feet as she sprinted towards the house. Pushing the gate open, she stumbled up the stairs and slid to the ground as she pounded her fist against the door.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed, it had been so long since she had cried. She continued pounding her fist against the door as she gasped for air, the sobbing bordering on hysterical.

She heard the sound of locks clicking open and a concerned voice greeting her.

"Oh my god! Miss, are you ok?"