The Girl Who Can't Say No

A Possible Escape ♔

I knew. I knew I shouldn't have just obeyed him like that. But at the time, it felt like I had no other choice.

I tentatively dialed my mother's phone number and hoped she would pick up as I brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Mom," I said, relief instantly flooding my chest. It was nice to hear her voice in all this madness.

"Avery?! Is that you?"

"Yes, mom, I'm sorry but I ended up staying a lot longer at Emily's house and when I realized the time, it was already so late and I just woke up right now and..."

"Avery, it's okay honey, we can talk more later, just come home."

I grimaced, "I-I don't think I can go back home right this moment either."

"What? Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine mom, something just came up, nothing dangerous or anything, it's just something I have to do right now."

There was a pause and I feared for the moment that came next.

I could hear her let out a final sigh before she spoke, "Alright honey, as long as you're safe. Come back home soon."

"Thank you mom," I smiled, utterly grateful, "bye mom, see you soon."

"Bye honey, stay safe."

"I will mom."

We both hung up at the same time and loosely, I handed the phone back to Connor.

Guilt gnawed at my sides and I couldn't shake the feeling off my heart. And for a second, I just wanted to cry and scream at Connor all at once to leave me alone. But knowing myself, I know it'll never happen. Not even in a million years.

There was a suffocating silence after and I asked tiredly, "What do you want Connor?"

"Let's get you cleaned up," he said after a beat.

He somewhat roughly snatched my right hand and pulled me to the door with his other hand unlocking it. His grip visibly tightened when he led me through the hallway outside.

It hurt my wrist when he did that but I made no comment, only silently walking behind him.

We made an abrupt turn at the corner and then he continued to drag me forward to a room at the edge of the hall. There were no other rooms in sight.

He practically pushed me to the front of the wooden door and I warily took notice of the scratches and the scrapes of the door before I glimpsed back at him.

He made a 'go on, what are you waiting for' gesture with an eyebrow raised.

Instantly, I was aware of the pounding of my heart and I couldn't shake the tension I've created within myself.

Calm down, Avery, I told myself, it's probably a bathroom and nothing more.

It's not a torture room.

It's not a torture room.

It's not even remotely close to any type of torture room.

It's not. It's not. It's not.

Indeed, as I shakily twisted the doorknob, it gave way to a remarkable and incredibly tidy and clean bathroom complete with even a bathtub; though it was only a simple bathroom, nothing luxurious.

I didn't realize I had breathed out a sigh of relief until after I've done it.

The bathroom was a bit on the small side, but I could work with that. It was certainly better than nothing. Though it was a bit odd how there was such a nice bathroom in the middle of the nightclub, but it wasn't as if I had ever been to one before.

I even took note of the tiny window above the bathtub and in that moment, I figured everything would be okay. I just need to relax.

"You have ten minutes and then I'm coming in," he said nonchalantly as I was on the verge of stepping inside and locking the door behind me.

I turned around in surprise but hid my brief shock before I replied, "Okay."

I walked inside and forced myself to act naturally as I slowly locked the door.

The time limit he gave me wasn't enough time, but it was the perfect amount of time to dress in the plain white tee and gray sweatpants that were just a smudge too big that was on the counter, freshen my appearance, and then break out of here. There was definitely not enough time to shower so I decided to not push my luck and just focus on getting outside.

It was purely luck that I was just tall enough to reach the window, but no matter how much I tried forcing it open, it stayed firmly shut. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought someone took the time to glue it down.

I let hope get the best of me and quickly, I searched through all the cabinets in the bathroom, searching for anything sharp when my eyes landed on a pair of scissors in the bottom drawer. I couldn't believe my luck.

I shoved the blade of the scissors through the slit on the bottom of the window and worked my way to making the crack at the bottom even bigger so I would be able to use my fingers and pull it all the way to freedom.

The thought of the blade breaking terrified me but the thought of Connor catching me was even more terrifying.

After several minutes - or seconds -, the window surprisingly gave out and an inner voice inside me couldn't help but let out a jump of glee.

I placed the scissors where I found them and I pulled with all my strength until finally, there was enough room for me to climb through to the other side after finding a bathroom stool to use as my leverage.

"You have a minute left!" Connor called out from beyond the locked door.

Nervously, I forced myself through the tiny opening and a few seconds later, I landed on a granite ground.

I was pretty sure I banged my head against the wall as I clumsily jumped out but I was too much in a panic to worry about it. Especially since I knew Connor would most likely realize that I wasn't going to open the door for him and would then proceed to breaking the door apart. A minute never lasted long and I knew that.

Faintly, I heard a dim knocking that probably came from the bathroom door but I ignored it and I desperately and hurriedly ran onto the sidewalk.

Only to find out the building I left behind me wasn't the same one I went in yesterday.

A/N: I'm tempted to add 'go figure' but that wouldn't really match the tone of this story. 😂