The Key to My Hart

Chapter 12

I sat in the dark bathroom with my legs drawn up to my chest. Trying but failing to stifle the tears running down my face. I had lost the chess match. I knew I would, but I had not anticipated the severe beating I received by one of the "trainers." My ribs hurt. My head hurt. Everything hurt.

Why couldn't I have just lived a normal life? Why couldn't my real parents have been there for me?

The door creaked open. I flinched at the figure standing in the open doorway, but my muscles relaxed when Thomas's familiar voice reached my ears.

"Are you okay, Atalia?" Worry and dread lingered in his whisper. "I should have let you win. I'm so sorry."

"No." My voice cracked as I strained to speak. "It would have just been you to take the beating instead of me. I would have felt worse."

Thomas sank to the floor beside me. He gently scooped my hand into his. We sat there in silence, the only sound was my labored breathing.

"I think fath... that man... knows your punishment was taken too far. He said we would get a weeks break. I guess he knows you need time to heal." Thomas hung his head.

I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. It was the first time we had shown any real affection for one another. He was my life line. I would have broken long before now if Thomas hadn't been here to lean on.

"What would you like to do for our break?" I croaked out.

"Would saying play chess be too soon?" The joke was weak, we both knew it, but I forced a laugh and weakly punched his shoulder.

"Yes." I wheezed. "How about you teach me that trick you know?"

His brows drew down in confusion for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Oh, you mean the one where I escape being tied up?"

"Yes, that one." I slouched down.

"Okay. Just as soon as you're healed enough." Thomas gently placed an arm around me and kissed the top of my head. "I love you."

I woke up from my nap, my dream but a foggy memory. Maybe an hour or so had passed, but I knew I had needed the sleep if I was going to figure a way to get us out of this mess alive.

Dust billowed in the air as I rose from the bed. I coughed and sneezed as I waved my hands around my face. It was time to explore that hole in the floor I found earlier. I dusted myself off and set out down the stairs to the second floor, thankful I had the flashlight now that it was getting dark and sun wasn't filtering through the house and into the cracks of the walls. It was late in the evening, everyone should be eating dinner right about now.

I tread carefully once I reached the second floor, listening intently for the creak that had let me know where the boards were loose the last time I walked through here. It didn't take me as long to find the hole as I thought it would. I placed the flashlight between my teeth and used my nails to pry the boards up again. I shone the light into the hole, and raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

It was a closet full of linens: towels, blankets, sheets. There even seemed to be toilet paper at the very bottom. The shelves were actually designed in a way that looked like a ladder to use to climb down into the closet. I shrugged my shoulders. What the hell? Might as well figure out where it leads. I eased myself into the hole, and judging by the space around me, Rowan would be able to fit too. Good thing he wasn't as large as Azrael and Ryder.

I carefully climbed down the shelves until I was left with just enough room to stand in front of the door leading out. Knowing my luck, there would be a group of people on the other side. I pressed my ear to the door and caught myself holding my breath in order to hear better. Silence.