Her Escape

Chapter 20

Superhero

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." – Leonardo Cohen

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Lexie P.O.V

I stormed past him into the hallway and to the kitchen. My eyes burned with frustration and I could feel myself slowly starting to close control.

Chase had merely touched the surface when he got me to confess about Ben. He had no idea what he was really asking me. Letting him in – busting the locks and tearing the chains off the vault full of secrets – it would be like reliving it all. And I wasn't ready to do that – not yet anyway.

I was barely holding on as it was.

As I reached inside the fridge for a bottle of water, I heard the shuffling of feet behind me. Of course it was wishful thinking he was going to leave me alone so easily.

"Are you okay?" The concern in his voice made me whirl around to face him. 

The look on Chase's face – the way he was looking at me with sympathy – made me want to dump the water bottle on his head. I hated the way he was looking at me, like I was some... victim.

The self-loathing I'd built up over the years began to slowly creep in and my own destructive thoughts attacked what little self-esteem I'd managed to build in the last eight months. "I'm fine." I forced an edge in my voice as I went to step around him.

Why the fuck did he care so much?

Chase grabbed my arm from behind and I immediately pulled out of his hold. He held up his hands in surrender, running his gaze across my face. "You're not fine." He dropped his hands, taking a cautious step closer.

I may not be fine mentally, but I'd managed to survive all these years. 

"Yes I am." I tried to calm my galloping heart. I can't tell if I was having so much trouble getting enough oxygen to my lungs because of the adrenaline rushing through my veins, or the fact that I could literally feel his breath on my face. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating and made it impossible to think clearly – the woody aromatic fragrance with hints of sandlewood.

"You'd make the worst partner in crime." Chase scoffed, shaking his head to the side.

An involuntary smile tugged at my lips. But before I could reply, my phone buzzed on the counter. Setting the water bottle down, I picked it up and stared at the screen.

Unknown.

My pulse rang in my ears and I could feel my hands begin to shake.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Shaking my head, my eyes remained glued to the small screen. My heart jumped into my throat at the realization that it was probably him.

As if reading my mind, Chase asks, "Is it him?"

No, it's Satan himself calling me back home to hell.

"Lexie –" Chase repeated, this time more firm. "Is it him?"

"I –" I couldn't bring myself to form complete sentences. "I... I don't know."

I was convinced that leaving would solve my problems and that I'd finally be able to be free. But geographical distance doesn't mean shit when the poison is imbedded so deep within that it's become part of who we are. 

Chase let out a string of curse words before extending his palm out. "Give me your phone," He all but practically yanked the thing out of my hands.