Escape | Updated Weekly

18

I had waited in the kitchen for a little while. I wasn't sure where else to go. Luke never came back downstairs and I didn't dare go see Alice, not until Mac came back to say that she was okay.

In the end I decided to preoccupy myself by exploring more of their amazingly grand home. Mac never gave me the full tour the last time that I was here and it had been so long that I had forgotten how beautiful it actually is. I found a very small library, it was literally my heaven. From floor to ceiling it was filled with books, including an entire shelf dedicated to books that Alice had written herself, and ones that she personally had published.

My curiosity grew even wider. She had never mentioned that she'd actually been a writer before, so I picked one of her books at random and skimmed some of the pages. I decided there and then that from now on, she was my inspiration. The more I read and scanned her books the more I knew. I wanted to be her when I grew up.

I left the library and headed for the hallway, checking to see if Mac had come yet or not. He was still talking to Alice. I could hear the slight murmur of their voices. Then I noticed the door. The one that's on the left as you come through the front door. It was still closed. Which isn't really unusual, lots of people close their doors in their homes. But If there was one thing I had noticed here, every door was open, apart from this one. Even now whilst Mac and Alice were having a private discussion, the door was open.

I turned to walk away, telling myself that I couldn't possibly do it, but something stopped me. I didn't know why, I just knew that I really wanted to know what was behind it. I listened out again. It didn't sound like Mac would be done anytime soon.

Fuck it.

I quietly opened the door and crept inside, closing it behind me.

I was disappointed. It was just an office. It had a standard desk with a computer and more bookshelves, only these ones weren't stacked with Alice's books. I wondered why on earth this door was shut off.

Then I noticed that there were dying plants in here. I walked over to one to inspect it closer. The whole thing had gone brown, the soil dried up. Leaves scattering on the surface around it. No one had been watering them, despite the rest of the house being covered with other beautiful plants that had been very well tended to.

I realized why this room was probably closed off and why no one ever went in it. It was because the only person who was ever allowed in here, no longer lived there anymore.

I confirmed that by seeing a plaque mounted to the wall:

James Phillips - Employee of the year!

March 2019

I decided I needed to get out of this room ASAP. Given the way that Mac felt about his father, I knew he wouldn't want me in his office either.

As I came out of the office I could hear Alice laughing. I felt a sudden relief knowing that she sounded like she was okay. I hovered by the door and could hear them talking.

"Tell me about Eve," Alice said.

My ears perked up once I had heard my name, I felt less bad for eavesdropping when I was the one that they were talking about. I could hear Mac sigh before he answered.

"There's nothing to say"

"I know that's a lie. I saw the way you was looking at her that day and you can't deny it"

"Mum-"

"That's right. I am your Mum and I know things"

Mac laughed, another few seconds of silence before he said.

"I er... I don't know what to do"

"Why?"

I strained my ear, wanting to hear clearly what he was gonna say next. 

Didn't know what to do about what?

"I... I think I'm falling for her"

"You say that like it's a bad thing" continued Alice, giving me no time to process what was going on.

"Maybe it is"

"You can't compare yourselves to me and your Dad. Don't ever let that man hold you back"

My heart sank a little, I had thought that things were going well with us, but that was probably just the day dream of a new romance. I didn't think anyone could ever be sad at the thought of falling for someone, but I guess for someone like Mac he had never seen a happy relationship. He probably thought they all turned out like his parents.

I had been lost in thought so much that I didn't even hear Mac come out of the living room, he made me jump when he spoke. "Hey". I stood up straighter trying to look as if I hadn't been listening in on his conversation. "Are you okay?" he looked concerned as he closed the distance between us, wrapping me up in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I lied, praying he would believe it. He continued to stare at me, like he was trying to decipher my brain. Lucky for me, I'm good at hiding my facial expressions. "Is your Mum okay?" he nodded and smiled. The situation here must have been better than he'd feared.

"Do you wanna stay here tonight?" I was surprised at the request. We were supposed to be a secret, but staying at his own home felt more like 'serious relationship' stuff. He quickly explained "I wanna keep an eye on her for the night, I don't want you to leave" I smiled, foolishly falling into the trap of his words again. He may have been on the fence about falling for me, I on the other hand, was falling harder than ever.

He said a quick goodnight to his mum and led me upstairs to his room. It hadn't changed since I was last here. Within minutes we were once again in bed, I lay on his chest in the dark listening to his steady heart beat.

His conversation with Alice still played on my mind. "Mac?" I whispered. "Yeah?". I hesitated for a second, but it quickly went away. I lifted my head to look at him.

"What's actually going on with your parents?" It was a risky question, any mention of his parents he usually closed off from me, but now it seemed different.

He took a deep breath.

"They were childhood sweethearts, literally meant for each other, but then successful careers, a marriage and four kids later it all fell apart. It seems like the things that are supposed to equal a happy life are actually the ones to undo it all"

That explained a lot as to why he'd never bothered in relationships, and maybe why he was scared of them.

"Mum found out Dad was having an affair" continued Mac.

"She was too in love with him to tell him to leave though so, she just kept letting him come back. He knew he'd get away with it so he carried on cheating on her. Until I found out"

He trailed of, but I didn't want him to stop. It was the first time he had properly opened up to me since knowing him. "what happened?" I asked trying to encourage him to carry on. He met my eyes, I could tell he was worried to say whatever happened next, but he still continued to talk.

"I confronted him. Told him to leave and never come back, it was hurting Mum too much and she was never gonna heal from it until he left. He refused and said I had no right to kick him out. I lost it with him, we ended up in a fight. A bad one. The police were called and I was arrested for harassment"

Chloe was actually right. He did beat up his Dad. I'm guessing she didn't know he'd been arrested for it.

"He actually pressed charges against you?"

"No. He had me arrested, I was in a cell for the night but then the next day he bailed me out. I think he thought he was doing me a favour and I'd let him stay, but I told him I wanted nothing to do with him"

I laid back down on his chest, pulling him in tight, trying my best to comfort him. Chloe may have heard about him beating up his Dad but she clearly never got the full story. Obviously it wasn't the right thing for him to do, and he wasn't proud of his actions either. Even I could see that he was just trying to protect his Mum.