Laiken

I make myself go through the motions of preparing for a normal visit. My damp, freshly showered hair is woven in a braid that reaches beyond my hips. I don't know Dad's plan, but I expect it'll involve needing to move fast, so I've put on soft gray tights under a loose, green empire waist top.

Sneakers are a given. I prefer them anyways. Annie has forced me into a few pairs of heels over the years for the occasional private event they host. She likes me looking “pretty” for Silas's friends and coworkers. I endured those parties. I'm delighted I won't have to anymore.

On my way to the sunroom, I spot Annie crossing ahead in the hall. She's alone, and that prompts me to speak. “Dominic is back.”

Her purple pumps lock in place on the carpet. She's at the tip of the T that the floors create. I can't get to sunroom without passing her. “You say it like you knew before I did.”

I'm used to her barbed manners. Plus, I'm extra cocky with my freedom so near. “You didn't miss him at all, did you?”

There's a mystery injected in her smile. “Did you?”

Yes, I think. I come close to spilling it. “I need to go meet my dad, excuse me.” I get halfway around her. The dark sleeve of her sheath dress blocks me.

“You've been here a long time,” she whispers. Her molten amber eyes remind me of how Dominic's look now. “But you're still terrible at lying to me.”

Panic bolts into my throat. It creates beads of sweat. “What?”

“When you say excuse me, you should sound like you mean it.” She backs away, releasing me from her glare. The way she strolls off, I might as well not exist. That's how little she's thinking about me.

Holy fuck, I think, wiping at my neck. I'm all hot and nervous. For a second I was sure she knew my plans. But if she did, she wouldn't leave me alone. No one is that confident, not even Annie.

Summoning my strength, I half-run to the sunroom. The guard nods at me, his shirt stitched with the name Theo. I recognize him because I've committed everyone who enters this estate to memory.

Dad isn't here yet. That's normal.  Since his original visit years ago, I'm always early. It's easy for me because I live here. He has to drive all the way from some apartment complex where he lives with my family. They were moved there right after I left our cabin.

It had made me depressed at the time, thinking about our empty cabin. But that's all going to change after today. Setting myself on the wicker couch, I slump comfortably. I'm too happy to be anxious. This sunny room, with its fresh flowers, has brought me many blessings. It's a wonderful room.

I survey it, and I think, Goodbye.

****

THE SUN HAS MOVED BEHIND the clouds. Dad has never arrived later than dinnertime, and it's rapidly approaching.

Theo's walkie-talkie beeps sharply. He lifts it to his broad mouth. “Yeah?”

“Code orange,” a robotic voice buzzes.

Theo blinks. He clicks the device again. “What's that?”

I lean forward, listening in as my paranoia grows.

“Code orange, code—he's fucking run again, dick head!”

I inhale so violently it burns my nostrils. Again. That word removes all questions on whom code orange is about. Theo peeks at me, then he starts running down the hall. “On my way!” he hisses into the walkie-talkie.

I'm left there in the sunroom with nothing but my growing despair. Dad said he was coming for me. But he didn't. Maybe he tried, I think quickly. Did someone figure everything out, so he had to leave without me? That has to be it.

It makes sense. Too bad it doesn't heal my damaged heart.

Dad ran again.

He got free.

And I didn't.

There's a hard ball in my guts. It expands, causing great waves of nausea. I cross my arms around my middle, gritting my teeth. What if he took everyone else but me? I think of my mom, of Dean who's no longer a baby, and when my hair swings around and tickles my knee... I think of Kara.

What would she do? I close my eyes, certain she wouldn't sit here feeling sad for herself. Kara always shined like a star that burned those around her. I can burn, too, I think, looking at the hallway.

In the time that I've lived here, I've never tried to escape. Not once. I was sure that the magical time called “soon” was waiting in the wings. But I was wrong. No one is going to save me. It's time to do it myself.

On the balls of my sneakers, I inch out of the sunroom. There's no one in the hallway. Holding my breath, I creep closer to the front doors. Hot pressure throbs through my skull the closer I get to the exit.

Voices float my way; I pick out pieces:

“...all the cameras acting strange.”

“Heard it was a fire, or something, but...”

“Wait, who was supposed to be escorting him?”

I stick enough of my face around the corner to see the front room. There are more guards gathered there than I've ever seen in one place. I count them, my heart racing. That's every single guard on the estate. They're here, trying to figure out where my dad is. And they're angry, their faces crimson as they shout blame at each other. Someone is in big trouble—this is a huge fuck up.

If they're all here, no one is watching the grounds. Backing up, I scurry quietly towards the kitchens. There are voices here, too, but less of them. I can see most of the wide room from where I flatten myself in the hall. Two woman are whispering by a stove, huddling.

“Laiken?”

Startled by Emma, I spin. She's got her arms full of tablecloths.

“If you're not busy,” she says, moving closer, “Help me with these.”

I think my eyes might fall from my head. She pauses, considering me with her eyebrows scrunched. She can tell something is wrong. Her hands adjust on the clothes like she's about to drop them and snatch at me.

I bolt.

“Laiken!” she screams. Ignoring her, I sprint through the kitchen. The two maids gape as I blast by them. It takes me three seconds to reach the French doors and yank them open, but it feels like eternity.

Then I'm outside.

October has turned the evening crisp. I'm glad for it; my whole body is scalding. It grows hotter as I run over the grass, guided by the lights along the property. I don't have much of a plan, just a drive to do something.

Remember, the guards are distracted inside! No one is watching the gates! I slip on the greenery under my sneakers. It's brighter where the long driveway is. Through the painted glass front doors I hear the men's voices rising.

There are no stars above, but when I pass Dominic's blue car, I swear it sparkles. Then the headlights blast me, leaving me blind. I throw my arms up and wince. “Laiken!” It's Dominic—he was in the front seat, ready to drive somewhere.

I freeze like a deer. It's brief, but I know it costs me. Dominic is out of the car already. In the evening his eyes are black pools. No light reaches them. He's fucking fast, long limbs powered by raw muscle. I can't escape.

Then I think about Kara...

And I try anyway.

“Laiken, stop!” His voice is commanding. It grapples with some primal part of me that wants to do as he says. It's confusing, because I never listen to anyone. My cells think Dominic is different. I scream at my body that it's wrong, to listen to me, and keep running.

He tries to snatch my arm as I cut over the driveway towards the gates. Amazingly, he misses. Spurred on by hope I dig for every ounce of energy I have. I'm the fastest person on this estate.

Or I was until Dominic came back.

Thick fingers catch my long braid just as I reach the curved gates at the end of the driveway. “Ah!” I cry, ignoring the pain, gripping the metal poles as I work to shake him off. Dominic holds my hair tight. My promise to my sister to never cut my hair becomes a liability.

Kara.

Red blooms in my vision. “Let me go!” I scream, thrashing in spite of the pain. He releases me, but the joy is brief—both palms clamp down on my shoulders. He spins me in a single motion; it's easy for him.

“Hold still,” he growls.

“No!” My forearms twinge from how fiercely I pull away. He doesn't relent. When he shoves my spine against the fence, the cool metal helps clear my head. He looms over me like a bad dream. Everything in his expression is blurred by shadow. “Dominic, let go of me,” I beg. “It's my only chance to escape. Please.”

In the distance I hear shouts. More guards are coming.

“Please,” I say again.

He's quiet, barely breathing. Our bodies are pushed together. The fence is hard, but somehow, he's harder. Is he thinking it over? My joy grows anew; it's fragile but it's there. Dominic knows me. Once upon a time, he even saved me.

I know he'll help me. He has to.

I'm vibrating with adrenaline. On edge, I easily hear how he pulls in a ragged breath. It forces me to realize how his chest is touching mine. I've never had a man so close to me, especially not someone like him.

His eyes narrow. His grip goes slack, teasing me with a hint of freedom. He snatches my wrists and chokes the circulation away. “Why would you think I'd help you escape?”

The despair I experienced before returns. I scowl, standing on tiptoe and bringing our faces closer. “Because you're my friend!”

His attention darts to my lips. I don't know if he thinks I'm going to spit on him or kiss him, and I don't know which I'd rather do. “Whatever you think you know about me? You're wrong.” The guards reach us, flashlights making spotlights on the grass. They blind me, but not before I stare into his eyes one more time. They're pure ice.

Whatever happened to the sweet boy from my past is a mystery. But Dominic is right.

I don't know him.

I wonder if I ever did.