Lesser Evil

6| The Princess

Shaz's need for my picture kept gnawing at my insides for almost all of the night. I didn't sleep until the space between the metal door and the ground turned light as the sun rose outside.

"Princess." The voice was soft and the touch on my face was featherlight. I don't remember having such gentle wakeup calls.

I opened my eyes, rubbing at them harshly. "What..."

"Hello." I jumped back, startled at the voice. My heart raced in fear before I calmed down at the sight of Shaz. Calmed down. Why did I calm down at the sight of him when he was currently the most dangerous man in my life?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, tugging my jacket tighter around me. It felt like an extra layer of protection between him and I, though I was slowly starting to feel like I didn't need much protection against him. He hadn't done anything to harm me except kidnap me. I must have hit my head somewhere if I was talking about kidnapping so lightly.

He shrugged. I also noticed how his hood was down once again and his hair was wet this time, but messy all the same. He... smelled good, too. Only a little, kind of smelled good. "Figured I should repay you somehow for dumping unnecessary details on you yesterday about my shitty day." His curse violated my ears. He cursed too much, but then again it was probably the least bad thing he had done.

I arched an eyebrow, looking at him curiously. I had actually asked for those details but I don't say that to him. "Repay, how?"

My eyes widened when his hand latched onto my ankle, pulling my leg to him. Then, he pulled out a small key from behind him and inserted it into the keyhole of the iron ring, twisting it to unlock it and remove it. The skin beneath was painted an angry red. I looked down at it just as his thumb grazed the skin. It sent shivers up my spine.

He got up and stretched out a hand. "Come on." I eyed his hand but didn't take it as I got up myself, stumbling immediately. He caught me but I moved away almost instantly.

"It's okay to take help." He said.

"Not from your captor." I bit back, walking past him. I'm sure it didn't look as sassy as I wanted it to with my wobbly legs.

I realized I could run. He never locked the door when he was inside with me, and he was standing far behind me. I could run and never look back...

"I see your brain whirring, princess. You and I both know that your attempt at escaping will turn out as badly as it did last time." Even though I hated to admit it, he was right. He was too big to not be able to catch me the second I stepped a foot outside.

But, I could get away when he wasn't around. Just because he was being somewhat friendly didn't mean that I didn't want to get away from him and this place. I remembered how he said come on. "Where are we going?"

He didn't answer, instead wrapped his hand around mine as he led us to the door. I didn't try to wretch my hand out of his hold, it wouldn't lead me anywhere.

The bright daylight hurt my eyes bad enough that I had to close them and then turn away as well to face the dark basement. It called out to me to run back inside and hide again, never face the world again. Shaz gave me my time to adjust to the outside world before he guided us inside a house. His house, no doubt.

His house was a mess. It was a small space that looked like it couldn't accommodate more than two people, three at best. But what gathered my attention weren't the creaky floors or the dirty dishes in the sink or the tattered rug on the ground. It were the packets of a white substance, the syringes, and the glass vials.

Drugs.

I glanced at Shaz to find him already staring back. "You do drugs." It was almost scary how unaffected I sounded, but I shouldn't be affected by anything that concerns him.

He nodded. "It's an addiction." God, I hoped with everything in me that I never had to encounter him when he was high.

"Why have you brought me here?" I asked, using it as a distraction from the drugs laid open like that.

"I figured you would want to wash up. The bathroom is down the hall, you'll find a towel inside." He nodded in the direction.

"Why—why are you being nice?" I just couldn't understand that. There was no reason for him to be nice to me.

He quickly grew irritated and dropped my hand. "Do you want to or not? We can return back to the basement if that's what you prefer because, seemingly, you do."

I instantly shook my head. "No, I'll just go." Anything other than that basement. It was too dark, too lonely. This was better, even if he was around. "I don't have a change of clothes."

"Come with me." It was clear he didn't trust me enough to leave me alone, I didn't blame him for it either as I silently followed him to what I assumed was his room. It was bland and boring and messy just like the rest of the house. He could definitely use a woman's touch around here, not that that woman would be me, of course.

He pulled out a black hoodie and black trousers. I took them from him and held the pieces out in front of him. "I think these will be too big for me." I said, my skepticism clear in my voice.

He leaned against the closed wardrobe door, arms folding in front of him casually. My eyes seemed to have lingered on that action for linger than necessary. "I don't exactly keep women's clothing around here. But these should be find, a little baggy, but fine." I suppose they'd be okay. For undergarments... I'll have to make do with what I was wearing.

Shaz took me to the washroom and backed away. I was almost certain he wouldn't leave me alone even to shower with how close he had stuck by. But I was given an opportunity and I wasn't going to let it slip. "Thank you." I mumbled. The words came out involuntarily and shocked both of us. He didn't exactly deserve any form if gratitude from me unless he was willing to release me.

"Go ahead, I'll be waiting out here." A warning that he would be out here so I was not to try anything. I don't exactly think such warnings deterred captives like me who were high with hopes of escaping.

The bathroom was a cute little space with ivory tiles and the commonalities. What caught my attention was the rather large window up on the wall. It looked big enough to let through a person, more specifically me.

I decided to ignore the window and the magnetic pull it had on me as I stripped out of my dirty clothes and stepped under the shower, thankful for the hot water.

I wouldn't try to escape. It would be of no use.

With each minute into the shower, the window's voice calling out to me became harder to resist. I dried off and slipped into the clothes Shaz had given me and made a few adjustments until I was standing in front of the window and staring at it, contemplating.

I would not run away. I told myself once again and turned to the door in the opposite direction, and took a few steps toward it.

Escape. The window yelled.

With a groan, I flipped over the plastic bucket that was in the bathroom and set it below the window before stepping onto it, not stopping longer enough to overthink my choices.

The window wasn't too high up, just enough for me to slip out of without any complications if I was careful enough. It set a rush of adrenaline through me as I slid it open, keeping a close eye on the door behind me like I expected it to burst open despite being locked.

Excitement. Fear. Thrill. They all swirled inside of me as I looked down.

And I jumped out the window.