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Six

It was nearly the end of the week, which marked eleven days of being kidnapped by Rogue Slade. The knowledge that I would never see the sunlight or my family for a while had settled inside me. Finally coming into terms with that didn't help me in any way that I thought it would. I haven't seen Rogue ever since our encounter in the theater room, which had freaked me out. I was glad he had gone on his business trip. I couldn't have possibly bear to be in his presence after that.

Miriam made sure I was comfortable in the house while making sure that I wasn't comfortable. I spent the rest of the days in my room, scared to run into Rogue. Not going to lie, if he had aimed to scare me, he had successfully done so. I couldn't even walk out of my room. It was embarrassing, but when I thought he might have done it so I couldn't think about escaping or snooping around in the house while he was on his business trip, it made me think about what a smart move that was. Because I had done exactly what he expected me to do.

That made me mad.

Still, I wanted to do something about it. I may have lost two days, but my body had been fired up. Rogue was coming back from his trip today, and I had to make sure he remembered this day as the day he would taste defeat because I was going to get out.

I wasn't sure how many staff he had, but I could care less about them. There was only one person I needed to look out for. Miriam. She was a tough cookie, blindly loyal to Rogue. With her out of my way, there was a huge possibility that I could walk out of here. That excited me. I didn't show it to her. When she brought me lunch, I made sure to make her believe that I was still going to be glued to my bed. Satisfied with what she had seen, she left me alone.

Rogue's house was a maze, but thankfully, I knew which route to take. A few days ago, I saw a balcony that was in the same hallway as the laundry room. I knew the laundry room also led down to the staff's quarters and the kitchen. I knew all of that because I listened and paid attention. Observation was one of the key ingredients of learning. You learn when you observe. You observe, and you learn.

I snuck out of my room and went downstairs, peeking into the kitchen. Rogue's staff, I realized, had weird schedules. Fortunately for me, they were all off at this time of the day. Miriam would be the only one working. And she was, standing by the sink as she washed the dishes, humming and swaying. I couldn't even feel bad about what I was going to do next. She had it coming.

When Miriam turned, I quickly backed away, flattening myself on the wall. My heart was pounding excessively. I wasn't a violent person, but when the need arose, it was necessary to choose violence in order to protect yourself. I tried not to make any sound when I walked away from the kitchen entrance and walked into the living room. Looking around the beautiful decor, my eyes caught a large vase, and it wasn't heavy enough that I couldn't lift it with my arms.

My plan was simple and easy. Sneak up behind Miriam and smash the vase over her head. It would knock her out, and I would steal the key to the laundry room.

I tiptoed back to my position, poking my head into the kitchen. Her back was turned to me, so I quickly backed away to take a deep breath. My hands started to tremble. I didn't want to think about what I was doing, but I couldn't stay here when I was innocent. If I got out and together with the police, we would find Hanna. I would prove to Rogue that I had nothing to do with it. I told myself that was going to happen, that to end this nightmare, I needed to give myself the courage to bash the vase on Miriam's head. She would most likely suffer a concussion, but I was sure she wasn't going to die.

After what seemed like an hour, my body fired up with enough courage that I needed. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, Miriam had her earphones in so she couldn't hear me come in. My nerve settled.