Into the unknown

Chapter 6.

My body swung in a slow back and forth motion as I lay outside on a swinging chair, or rather a swinging bed. This thing was longer, and a whole lot comfier, than my bed at home. The soft breeze drifted the chair through the air, meaning I could just lay back and enjoy the smooth and relaxing ride. Although it was a little cold, I was too full from the delectable breakfast, that I had indulged in less than an hour ago, to even attempt to move from my sprawled-out position. If anyone was to see me right now, they would seriously question my well-being. I looked like a mad woman, with my arms and legs springing out in opposite directions.

After Valentino left, I must have stayed sat at the dining table for about two hours, helping myself to tenth and eleventh helpings of food. For most of the time I was left alone, other than one or two heads pocking in when I was moaning over how delicious the food was. I must remember to apologise to them for the sight they saw and the things they heard. It had been an hour since I came outside and although it was getting quite chilly now, I could not and did not want to move. I felt at peace, for the first time, in a long time, I was at peace.

The sounds of the air whizzing around me and the birds chirping at each other made me feel a little at ease in a highly anxious situation, giving me some sense of normality. It was a realisation that no matter what happened to you, the world wouldn't stop just for you. Time still ticked on by and people still went about their daily lives. My problems were minute in comparison to everything else that was happening all over the world, but to me, in my little life, they were huge.

The luxury I was living in, at this moment in time, felt like something I had conjured up in my dreams. It was hard to believe that I was in, what could pass off as, a castle. The goose bumps that had formed all over my body reminded me that everything that was currently happening was real. It wasn't a dream – slash – nightmare. Somehow, this was my real life.

Deep down I was prettified. Not so much of Valentino, but of what Darren would do to me when I went back home. He would probably beat me until my whole body was black and blue, for not cleaning the house today, before murdering me and hiding my body out in the back garden where no one would ever find me.

In other words, I was well and truly fucked.

The thought of all the horrible things that awaited me when I got home stirred up a string of panic inside of me. I sat up on the bed, feeling my heart begin to beat faster than its normal pace, droplets of sweat began to form on my skin. It felt as though the swinging motion of the outdoor lounger had drastically increased, but I soon realised that it was my body that was shaking uncontrollably. The sounds of nature around me were washed out by what sounded like a frantic flowing river, aggressively hitting the earth that resided on either side of it. I felt as if I was on a boat, lost out in the middle of a destructive storm, with no rescue.

Every single pulse in my body was hitting hard against my sensitive skin, as though they were going to pierce holes through at any second. The rapid and inconsistent speed of my throbbing temples made me feel dizzy and encouraged the food I had recently eaten to make an appearance through the pathway that it was consumed. I tried to swallow, in an attempt to keep the food down and steady whatever it was that was happening to me, but my throat felt like it was made of sandpaper, causing a very unpleasant feeling every time I created some movement within it. Every inch of my body was against me and there seemed to be no way out.

My throat was closing in on me, becoming smaller and smaller with every breath, restricting the amount of air I could take in. It was as if someone had their hands on my neck and was squeezing the life out of me. I would much rather prefer dying like this than at the hands of Darren, though. As horrible as this experience was, I knew he would be much more cut throat and ruthless when it came to killing me. He would torture me till my very last breath, but this felt like it was going to end soon, at least I hoped it would.