Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I don't know if it's my imagination or just some form of misplaced hope, but I swear I can feel her eyes on me when I sit on the edge of the bed.
I don't look in that direction. I don't want her to think that she's doing something wrong.
"I was wondering," she whispers, her face hidden in the shadows. "Maybe I can go for a walk later."
"The clubhouse stays pretty busy all day," I warn her, wanting her to know what she'd be getting herself into.
"Not during the day," she says quickly, and I'm certain this is the longest conversation we've had.
"I'll make it happen," I tell her before going into the bathroom for a shower.
The warm water makes me want to go climb back into bed, but it's her request that makes me realize that can't happen. I have to stick with the routine. Her getting better and losing the fear that keeps her locked away in my closet is the goal. Wanting to keep her all to myself is a little fucked up and can't happen.
She shouldn't have to trade one captor for another.
***
It's well after midnight when I get a text from Max.
"Max just let me know that we're in the clear."
"In the clear?" she questions.
She got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while I was out of the room for dinner earlier to prepare for her excursion from the closet.
"Everyone has settled in for the night. It's unlikely we'll run into anyone on our walk."
She scrunches her nose up.
"Did you want to go alone?" I ask, reading her reaction as an issue with me including myself.
"No," she rushes to say as if she wanted me to go all along. "How does he know everyone has gone to bed?"
"There are cameras, and motion sensors in the clubhouse and around the property."
She looks disgusted, and it makes me wonder if she had plans on running from here. I open my mouth to tell her that we’ll take her anywhere she wants to go. I feel the need to explain that she isn't a prisoner, but for some reason, I don't say anything. I figure giving her the option would make her want to choose anything but staying here, and it feels more than a little deceptive to stay quiet.
Yet, I don't make the offer. I simply wait at the bedroom door leading into the hallway until she comes out of the closet. There have been a handful of times that she has gotten up and gone to the bathroom with me still in the room, but she makes sure to lock the bathroom door every single time. She only does it when I'm distracted, so I stay in front of her as we leave the room.
I want her to have the opportunity to get back to the room without having to go past me if she feels like this is too much too soon and she changes her mind.
"Can we go outside?" she asks, her voice a low whisper. "Or is that not allowed?"
"You're allowed to do whatever you want," I assure her, pointing to the back door. "Let’s go this way unless you want to walk around the parking lot."
She shakes her head. "I just want fresh air."
I try not to read too much into her words, but I can't help but wonder if she feels smothered in my room.
"Wow," she whispers. "It's even prettier at night."
"You've seen it in the daylight?" I ask, confused.
"From the window," she says, pointing back to the clubhouse. "Is it okay if we just sit?"
"Of course," I tell her, waiting for her to take a seat on one of the loungers before occupying the one beside her.
I stand when she shivers, not saying a word as I leave the pool deck and go to grab a blanket from inside the cabinet in the pool house.
I offer it to her still folded up rather than spreading it out and covering her with it. Doing so feels like it would be invasive and a little too personal.
"That right there is Kincaid and Em's house," I say, pointing down the sidewalk. "Over there is Shadow and Misty's house. That one belongs to Kid and Khloe, and you can't see it from here, but all the way back is Snatch and Itchy's place. A lot of Cerberus also live across the street. It's like a whole little village."
She looks around, the lights from the pool glinting off her face. The sidewalks are lined with lights, but the glow from them isn't distracting from the beauty of the property. They're more to keep people from tripping or running across the occasional snake in the dark, although it's too cold this time of year for an encounter with one.
"Compound," she says. "That's what the women at the shelter referred to it as," she says, her eyes still roaming.