Page 32 of Escape

All it once, it slammed into me. The reality of how much that day had affected my whole life. How it had affected Kel’s life. After we graduated, Ariana could’ve come clean. Before I married that sick fuck of a man, she could have told me it was all a mistake. But she stayed quiet, watching me waste my life away. I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. I hung my head and let them fall.

Maybe I should have let the bitch hang.

“Her decisions decided your whole life.” Kel’s voice was soft. Comforting. “But what if you had a do-over?”

I sniffled, wiping the tears and snot from my nose. “What do you mean?”

“Come to where it all began and choose again.”

Chapter 25

Kel

I slammed the phone closed and held it to my chest. Everything was finally out. Jasmine knew the reason we’d been split apart and now she had one more choice to make.

I tried to calm my nerves as I watched her through a small window behind a closed classroom door, but I couldn’t help but worry. She could leave all of this behind if she really wanted to. She didn’t owe me anything. She didn’t owe me her feelings or her heart, but at least she had the truth.

Leaving the front door of the school open the entire time was a decision I’d gone back and forth on for weeks. Up until the second she pulled up in front of the school, I hadn’t decided.

There was this deep, primal urge in me to trap and claim what was mine. Give her no way out so she couldn’t escape me again. But my love for her overshadowed it all. Surrounding the primal need to claim her was the primal need to serve her. Every instinct I had led to me providing her happiness. Comfort. Love. I wanted to be her good little pet and be on the receiving end of all her praises.

I knew it probably had something to do with my deep-rooted mommy issues, but I also didn’t really give a fuck. I had no desire to fix it because I didn’t think it needed fixing. Jasmine was my sun and I’d gladly orbit around her for the rest of my living days. Maybe even after my last breath, which I could only hope was in her arms.

When Jasmine disappeared around the corner, I settled at one of the desks in the classroom to don my accessory. I pulled out a small mirror and a black silk bag. Carefully, I looped the leather, studded collar around my neck, making sure it was tight enough to feel my airways being cut off as she pulled on it.

I smiled at myself, satisfied with the look, but it still didn’t calm my beating heart. Any moment now, I would find out if I’d be left alone forever or if Jasmine would finally choose me. Even if she didn’t, she’d never get rid of me. I’d always be there, waiting for her in the dark.

Chapter 26

Jasmine

The line went dead before I could ask what Kel meant, so I took my best guess and headed back to where our story and this night first began. I stood in front of the algebra classroom and read yet another note taped to the door.

The door has always been open. Leave it all behind or find out what could have been.

I ripped the paper off the wall to study the words. The top half flopped down, weighed down by something on the back. A little paper football with my name written on the front, little stars as the dot in the I and J, was taped to the back. I peeled it off, twirling it around in my fingers.

Was she telling me there was a way out this whole time?

I couldn't choose without knowing both possibilities, so I made my way to the front entrance. The door opened easily, and my mouth dropped open as the cool, evening air bit at my skin.

I stepped outside. The streetlights illuminated the empty streets. There was nobody around. No cars. No people. Just me, the crumbling building behind me and a choice. Stepping down the stairs, my mind went blank. It didn’t feel real until my feet hit the sidewalk.

That’s when I was taken over by the overwhelming need to run. Still clutching the folded note, I sprinted down the street, stopping at the corner just under a streetlamp. I folded over, catching my breath, irritated that I couldn’t run for very long. But it wasn’t just my lungs that stopped me. It was my heart. The farther away I ran, the heavier it became. The weight of unfinished business was summoning me back to the demon’s den.

Tires screeching in front of me startled me backwards, the note flew from my hands as I tried to right myself.

In front of me, a black SUV with dark, tinted windows stopped. I stared into the impenetrable glass as it rolled down, revealing a driver and passenger, both with ski masks covering their faces. I froze, waiting for them to jump out and drag me into the trunk.

The passenger lifted her mask halfway up her face, revealing plump, pierced lips and a blinding white smile set against rich, deep brown skin. Long, green locs fell over her shoulders and she leaned out the window.

“You alright, ma’am?” She asked, a smirk gracing her lips.

All I could do was nod.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t going to grab you and stuff you in the trunk or anything,” she chuckled. “It's already pretty full back there.”

My eyes flashed to the back of the vehicle, my mind spinning with what it could be full of. What if it was Ar-