The Neighbor

Chapter 25

Elodie's POV

Fuck. 

"Wyatt, I-" 

Deflect the situation. That's what I needed to do.

"We need to get going." 

His words were short. I could see the hurt on Wyatt's face. 

"Miss. Jones can make her own decisions." 

My eyes widened as my head snapped back to Malcom who placed his hands on his hips. Wyatt chuckled dryly and turned his attention back to me.

"You're right she can, now let's go Elodie. We need to go back to the hotel before anybody sees you out." 

Wyatt motioned for me to go to the car and Malcom reached out grabbing my wrist before I could take a step.

"You don't have to go with him, I can drive you back. The choice is yours." 

I turned towards him. Malcom's eyes were soft as the rain turned into a drizzle around us.

"Elodie I am not going to do this again. Get in the car." 

I turned back towards Wyatt who held his hand out towards me.

"Wyatt let her make her own choice." 

I turned back to Malcom and then back at Wyatt. How did I keep getting myself into these situations? I stood frozen as Wyatt sighed.

"Malcom I think you've done enough for one night. I'll be calling your boss tomorrow to inform him of this little event tonight, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take you off the case." 

I turned to Wyatt as my mouth dropped in disbelief. Had he really just said that?

"Oh is that right? What are you going to do? Take Elodie back to the hotel room and keep her locked up forever? She's been trapped in that hotel for months! Anyone with a brain can see how it's affecting her. She's human! She's not this delicate flower that you have to keep hidden from the world. You've taken her from one hostage situation to another!" 

Wyatt took a step forward as I saw him angrily clenching his fists. 

"I'm keeping her SAFE! Not strutting her around like she's a prize you've won!" 

I put my hands out and yelled.

"ENOUGH!" 

I looked at them both as I had tears in my eyes. My mind was fuzzy as I took a step back. I kicked off my heels and took off down the parking lot in a dead run. I didn't know where I was going, but it was far away from them. 

"Elodie!" 

They both were calling my name but I didn't care. My feet were moving and I didn't want to stop. I ran across the busy road. I came to another intersection and clicked the crosswalk button as the sign changed. I ran across the road as I could hear the waves of the ocean growing louder. I was free. My heart was racing as my feet carried me onward.

"Elodie!" 

I kept going until I came to a metal railing. The ocean was thrashing against the wall as I grabbed ahold of the railing, my lungs gasping for air from running. I swung my leg over the wet railing as I sat down. My adrenaline was pumping as I rested my head on the upper metal bar supporting myself. My feet dangled over the edge as I looked up at the sky. The rain picked up again and was pouring down as my breathing became uneven. I hadn't run that fast in forever. I felt free, for the first time in months. I had run, no security, no Arden, no Wyatt, nobody. Just the rain and I.

I heard footsteps and turned my head, Gary standing in front of me hunched over with his hands resting on his knees for support. 

"You are fucking fast for someone whose only 5 foot tall,"