Fifty Shades After

Chapter 31: Home Sweet Escala

I punch in the code and the gates slowly creek open. I'm burning with an unknown rage as I start running. Damn it! This is exactly what I didn't want! I speed down the sidewalk. The farther I am, the better I'll feel, I lie to myself. Confrontation was not on my agenda, but there's no turning back. As I subtly pick up my pace, I replay the scene and find millions of ways it could've gone better. I see Mom's face. She was completely broken hearted. I've made my mother cry for the last time. Jesus, what's wrong with me? I shake the guilt away. She should've seen it coming. Both of them. Sickos.

I trot down the steep Avenue, where kids younger than me are playing kickball and chasing each other without a care in the world. I envy them. Because that was my life not two months ago. I still remember my original plan for this summer- sleep all day.

What the hell are you complaining for, Theodore? This is all because of you. This complex and chaotic domino effect started all because you kicked Kurt's ass. You took your phone to Seattle. You went on a search for good ol Daddy. You. It was all you. You brought this on yourself.

I run faster.

Before I know it, I'm in Downtown Seattle. It's a busy Wednesday afternoon with secretaries fetching their boss's lunch, groups of women hording colorful shopping bags, tourists, families, friends, and then there's me panting. Sweat trickles down my brow and occasionally falls into my eye, stinging like Hell. I slow down as the sidewalks dense.

I regain my breath as I walk the crowded streets and remove my headphones for precaution when I cross the road. I'm pulled back to the first time I walked through this city. With Mom. God, Mom. Deep down I wish I'd never said that. Yet, I'm somehow glad she heard. I'm torn between two emotions. They're playing tug of war with me, ripping me apart as they do. I blame them despite feeling guilty. I love them yet I dislike them so much right now. Jesus.

I check the top of my hand for the address.

Son of a bitch.

It's a damn blue smear.

For the past I-don't-know-how-long, I've been cleaning my sweat off my forehead with the address at hand. That's exactly what I needed. To get lost. I look around the street while I pull my phone. I'll check google maps, maybe I'm not that far from home. I take a seat on a bus stop as I wait for the GPS to kick in, and I feel the familiar sense of eyes burning through me.

I slowly turn to my left, where two girls, maybe twenty year olds, are whispering and gazing. They see me look and they smile with a blush creeping through their faces. "Can I help you?" I hiss and their smiles disappear. I'm not in the mood for this.

The bus arrives and they quickly scramble in, releasing disapprovingly huffing sound effects. I roll my eyes.

The GPS is on, and I zoom in on the street I'm located in. 1920 4th Street Avenue. Wait a second. On the map, a title right beside the street catches my eye. That word seems familiar. "Escala?" I read out loud. I turn to see a massive building behind me, with exactly that title. God, where have I heard that name before?

I stay seated until I recap a few weeks back. I know I've heard of Escala, I just don't know who or why. Was it Mom? James, maybe, or Dad?

Wait.

"Sophie has a small fortune from her modeling career...Her father didn't want me to gift her an apartment, so I sold it to her instead... In a building called Escala."

Oh.

Right.

My stomach churns and I stand to go on my way.

Maybe Flynn isn't too far.

I turn to Escala, then back.

I can ask for directions.