CHAPTER THIRTY
“WHAT DO WE do?” I asked and my body went numb with fear.
Jackson looked at the door, at me, and the door again. He jumped out of bed and ran his hands over his hair. He clenched his jaw. “Stay here. H-he probably won’t go downstairs right away.”
“Probably.” I knelt on the bed, twisting the sheets in my hands. I sharply inhaled, but the breath got caught in my chest. I gasped again.
“Adeline, stay calm. It’s gonna be okay. It has to be,” he added. He took a breath, stepped forward, and put his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll come get you when I can. Just, uh, be quiet.”
Jackson left the room, closing the door behind him. I held my breath and waited. I heard Jackson walk down the hall, the old floorboards creaking under him.
I scrambled off the bed when I realized that Zane would immediately see me if he opened the door. I tiptoed across the room and stood in the threshold of the bathroom. My hands trembled. I was terrified of what Zane would do to me if he found me in Jackson’s room, but I was even more afraid of what he would do to Jackson. I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my eyes, trying to will myself not to panic.
I thought about Jackson, remembering the way his lips felt against mine. I wanted to feel it again. I was scared we would never get the chance. I let out a breath and opened my eyes, having avoided hyperventilating.
Voices floated up the stairs. I strained to hear what was being said, but the words were too muffled. Then they stopped talking. I put a hand on the doorframe and leaned out of the bathroom. Someone walked up the stairs, the click of hard-soled shoes echoing throughout the house. I stepped into the shadowy bathroom. Jackson was barefoot. It was Zane who was walking down the hall.
I jumped into the shower, hiding behind the curtain. There was nothing I could use as a weapon. I heard a soft click as the bedroom door opened. I put my hands over my mouth to silence my ragged breath.
“Addie?” Jackson whispered.
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed.
“Where are you?” he quietly asked.
I carefully stepped out of the tub. “I was hiding in the bathroom.”
“Oh,” he said as I emerged into the bedroom. He turned around, looking down the hall. “You have to hurry. Zane is changing. Go, now!”
I dashed to the door. Jackson put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me forward. He went first to make sure Zane was still in his room. With a racing heart, I ran through the hall. My bare feet slapped against the polished wood when I skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs. I internally winced but didn’t look back, knowing that Jackson was right behind me.
We frantically ran down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. I had to stop and unlock the basement door before I could throw it open and hurry down into the dungeon. When my feet hit the cold cement floor, I felt a small sense of relief.
“I’ve never been glad to be down here,” I panted.
“Me neither,” Jackson agreed. “That was close. Too close.”
I nodded. “Yeah.” We walked over to the closet and I opened the door. Dread pulled down on me. I didn’t want to go back inside.
“You won’t be in there for much longer,” Jackson told me. I wanted to believe him but we both knew there was no way for him to really know that. He stepped close to me, gently slipping his fingers through mine. “I have to pick up the girls now.”
I just nodded again, holding his gaze. I tightened my hold on his hand. I hated being alone in the basement, and I hated it even more when I had to go back into the closet. It was tempting to just sit on the cot and see if Zane would notice, but there was no way I’d risk Jackson like that.
“I don’t want you to leave,” I whispered.
He stepped closer so that our foreheads touched. “I don’t want to leave either. Not without you.”
Jackson’s eyes met mine one last time before he turned around and hurried up the stairs. The locks clicked into place. I stood in the dim light, looking at the spot where Jackson had stood. A shiver ran through me, bringing my headache back. I blinked and walked into the closet not a moment too soon, pulling it shut behind me.
I sat on the floor as Zane came down the stairs. Oh, shit. I was wearing Jackson’s clothes. Would Zane even notice? I shook my head. He might not … if he didn’t notice that the door wasn’t actually locked first.
I pushed my foot against the door to keep it from swinging open and held my breath. The key slid into the lock. Please, please, just turn normally. My heart pounded against my chest. I pressed sweaty palms onto my thighs. There was a small click and Zane pushed open the door. I moved my foot back and blinked up at him.
“Son of a bitch. You’re still alive.” He shook his head. “Why do I have such bad luck?”
And then he turned and left. Oh my God. He didn’t notice anything. I let out a sigh and stood, just then realizing that I was shaking. I paced around the basement for a while and settled on my cot. I pulled the blankets over me and tried to relax. A smile subconsciously settled on my face when I thought of Jackson. I wanted so badly to be back upstairs with him.
I rolled over. We could be somewhere, anywhere but here. Together.
I had just fallen asleep when Lily and Rochelle clomped down the stairs. I sat up, blinking when they turned on the bright lights. Phoebe trailed behind them. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
I looked at Rochelle. She gave me a tight smile and turned around, sitting at the card table to remove her hot pink heels. Lily went to the vanity and started removing the obnoxious amount of makeup she had on. I got up and followed Phoebe, who staggered her way to her bed.
“Phoebe?” I said quietly and sat next to her.
“Hi Addie,” she replied flatly.
“Are you okay?”
She gave me a weak smile. “Very tired.” She coughed and pulled back the quilt. I put my hand on her cheek. “You better now,” she said quietly.
“Almost.” I moved my face close to her ear. “Jackson took care of me.”
Confusion muddled her face for a second. “Oh, yes. He alive.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “He is.”
“You see him?”
“He took care of me,” I repeated. “He brought me up into his room and nursed me back to health.”
“You have sex?” she asked a little louder than a whisper. I winced and hoped no one else heard.
“No, of course not.”
“Right,” she sighed. “We talk later, okay? I sleep now.”
“Okay. Night, Phoebe.”
She heavily flopped onto her cot and was asleep in minutes. I stuck my feet under my own blankets and lay down, listening to Rochelle talk to Lily.
“How are you feeling?” Lily asked, eyeing me in the mirror.
“Better,” I said honestly. “I just slept the whole time.”
“Good. You looked awful.” Her eyes flicked to Rochelle, who was still busy unclipping her hair extensions. “Jackson’s alive,” she said quietly.
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. “I know.”
Lily whirled around. “How do you know?”
Shit. Was I not supposed to know? “He brought me food,” I said quickly.
“Oh,” Lily said and shook her head. “I forgot he does that. I thought I could like see spirits or something. I was so sure he was dead.”
“Me too. He really did get shot.”
Lily’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really?”
I nodded. Lily scrunched her face and looked down. I knew she was internally battling the truth versus whatever the hell she had been brainwashed with.
“He wouldn’t have gotten shot if he did what he was told,” she said and sounded just like Rochelle.
I didn’t want to argue. I knew there was no point. I just nodded and rolled over on the lumpy mattress, wondering how many years of therapy it would take to fix Lily and Rochelle.
I pulled the quilt over my head and listened to Rochelle talk to Lily. Lily told Rochelle that she was tired of working so much. Rochelle abruptly changed the subject and told Lily that her clients loved her. She was a lot more obvious than Zane in her attempt to manipulate, but she was getting good. About an hour later, Rochelle finally shut up.
My headache was feeling more and more like a migraine again. I needed to sleep it off. I forced my eyes shut and focused on taking slow, steady breaths while thinking about Jackson until I drifted to sleep.