The Attic

Chapter 22: Defiance

A/N: Late for the 1k votes, I know. I was planning to update on Valentines Day, but I got caught up with my partner and spaced it until today. Thanks for all the support you've all given me for this story. I never thought I'd get this far

It would be stupid to piss Thomas off before I got to eat. The bitter soap taste lingering in my mouth is enough incentive to behave until I get the chance to rid of it.

Lunch passes too fast. The entire time I'm thinking about how immediately afterward I'll be back to fighting everyone. Once everyone has left, Thomas fills up the sink with hot water as he waits for me to collect all the dishes. I stand, but that's all I move.

After the sink is nearly full of water, he turns to me. "What the hell are you doing?"

I gather up my nerves, trying not to let my voice shake. "I'm done with this. I refuse to be your or Adam's slave any longer."

My legs shake as I prepare myself for his response, but he just laughs.

"Aww, that's cute, kid. How do you think you're going to accomplish that?"

"I'm not staying here."

"Well, there are only two ways you're leaving. One, when I return you. Two, in a body bag."

Despite his threat, I hold my ground. "You don't scare me. Adam said you can't kill me. No matter what happens, I won't give up on trying to walk out that front door."

"Well, that's simple enough," he chides. "I'll just have to make it so you can't walk anywhere."

It only takes him a step to reach me and twist my arm behind my back. I twist and thrash to free myself, but he still manages to push me to the sink. He pushes his hips against mine, pinning me to the counter. With his free hand, he grabs and twists at my hair.

"Usually, this is the part where you would cry and beg for my forgiveness, but I'm too excited to see how far you can go before I break you in."

"I'm not a new pair of shoes that need to be broken in."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid. Better hold your breath."

As soon as I can close my mouth, he pushes my head down, bending me over the sink. The steaming water irritates my skin, but I hold in a gasp so I don't drown myself. I buck back against him once my mind catches up, but I can't catch him off guard. When I realize I don't have the leverage, I reach up to pry his hand from my hair.

No matter how hard I tug, his grip stays locked on. I prepare myself mentally to control my breathing, but my head is pulled back up out of the water.

Three breaths, then I'm back under.

He goes through several different rounds, each time increasing how long I'm under water and decreasing how long I get to breathe. When I come up sputtering and near tears, he drops me on the ground. Jenna walks out the front door with Thomas's parents as I try to catch my breath, locking the door behind them.

"We have three hours, just you and me. What should we do?" He towers over me as I kneel and shakily breathe. "How about a game of cat and mouse? You run and I chase. I'll even give you a head start of thirty seconds."

The moment he starts counting, I'm on my feet. I dash quickly through the house, testing every door and window I come across. There has to be at least one left unlocked that leads outside. The second floor is more likely to have something open because they rarely let me up there, so I take the stairs two at a time. The bathroom window is locked. Both windows in Thomas's room are locked, and nothing I see in his closet hints at a secret exit. Same for his parents' room.