Her Escape

Chapter 13

Look Away

"She was brave and strong and broken all at once." – Anna Funder

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"Oh my God, Chase!" I gasped.

"Good." From the corner of my eye, I saw him nod approvingly. "One more."

"No fucking way." I gritted, falling back against the floor – closing my eyes and refusing to move. Chase had taken the meaning of getting me into shape, to a whole new level. I was sore in places I didn't know possible, and I'm pretty sure I was walking around with a limp that made me look ridiculous.

"Oh come on." I heard him laugh from above me. I didn't need to open my eyes to know he was smirking down at me and trying to stifle his amusement. "I know you're tougher than that."

"I'm not." I deadpanned, keeping my eyes closed. My heart was beating uncontrollably against my ribcage, and my chest was heaving as if I were on the verge of a heart attack. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Chase was trying to kill me. He's had me doing sprints on the treadmill for half an hour, followed by a series of sit-ups, pushups and squats for the past week.

If his secret plan was to get me to quit, he was on the verge of winning. I'm not sure how much more my body could take before I just collapsed.

"Get up." I heard him say, annoyance seeping through his voice.

"I don't want to." I whined, finally cracking one eye open. Chase was standing above me with his arms crossed over his chest – his usual intimidating stance.

"Lexie." He glared down at me.

"Chase." I blinked up at him, raising my arms above my head and stretching.

"Get up." He extended his hand out, expectantly waiting for me to take it.

"Were you not taught how to say please?" I retorted, batting his hand away as I pushed myself up off the floor.

"Lexie," Chase inched closer towards me, smiling sweetly. "Please just fucking listen for once in your life."

That's certainly one way of saying please, I snorted. I was just about to open my mouth and reply when someone called out his name.

"Chase!"

Both of us turned our heads in the direction of the voice, and I had to blink twice. It wasn't just anyone who had called his name. A curvy blonde was casually leaning against the wall by the doorway, twirling a strand of hair between her fingertips as she waved at Chase.

Could this be any more cliché right now, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. She was wearing a pair of tight fitted jeans with a yellow crop top that showed off her toned abs, and her hair fell down in messy waves. Her lips were stained with a dark red lipstick and everything about her just screamed I'm here to get fucked.

"One of your admirers?" I cocked an eyebrow, shifting my gaze back towards Chase.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "We'll finish this later." He said, bending down to pick up his keys and water bottle off the floor before making his way towards the blonde.

"Asshole." I grumbled under my breath as I watched him place his hand on the small of her back and lead her out of the training room.

.........

After Chase's sudden disappearance, I had no choice but to get back to work. It was the end of the month, which meant I had to put in the supply orders for the following month. I had been putting it off because looking at the tiny numbers on the computer screen gave me a headache, but I couldn't put it off any longer. That, and I was secretly hoping Scarlett would volunteer to help since she was working a shift today.