Fallen

Chapter Forty Three

By the time I made my way back into the house, the place was empty. I tried to keep calm as I climbed the stairs and locked myself in the bathroom. My shaky hands pulled the zip lock bag out of my pocket and opened the clasp. The bottle of Temazepam inside was half empty and sticky in places. I read the label and, just like Blaine had said last night, no more than 15ml of the medication would be needed to help someone fall into a deep sleep. Inside the bag was also a small oral syringe. I held it just inside the sleeve of my cardigan to see if it would be noticeable when a loud banging on the door made me jump out of my skin.

"Anna, my friends are leaving. Come say goodbye."

"Sure," I called back. "Just...give me a second."

With trembling hands, I shoved the bottle and syringe back into the bag and zipped it up. There was no way I could risk having the bottle on my person with Jackson constantly invading my personal space. I started looking around the room for a hiding place when Jackson knocked on the door again.

"Coming!" I shouted, glancing at the metal bin and hastily lifting the lid. It was about half empty with used tissues and sanitary towel wrappers. I pulled most of it out in a rush and dropped the bottle at the bottom slowly so it didn't make a sound.

"What are you doing in there?" Jackson asked.

"Just using the loo," I replied, reaching up and pulling the handle to flush the toilet. This gave me a few extra seconds to cover the bottle back up in the bin, shut the lid and run the tap to wash my hands.

With a false smile, I opened the door and let Jackson lead me down the stairs where Nia, Brooke, Corrin and Brody were stood. I was extremely aware of how fast my heart was beating.

"Well, it was good to see you again, Jacks," Nia said, shaking Jackson's hand. "I hope you enjoy your trip away."

Jackson grinned. "Oh, we will."

A hand touched the small of my back. I froze. "I've enjoyed getting to know you, Anna," Brody murmured in my ear. For a second, I swore he was breathing in to smell me until Jackson turned around and it all stopped. Jackson's eyes narrowed in our direction, but Brooke pulled him into a hug and, over his shoulder, gave her boyfriend an angry look.

Once Jackson pulled away, he swiftly turned to Brody. "You know what to do. Don't let me down."

Brody shook his head. "I won't, boss."

Jackson held me tight as we waved his friends off, watching them drive through the open gate and away from the house. I watched him lock the door and put the key into his back pocket.

"Let's finish packing," he said. "Then we can have an evening to ourselves, hmm?"

Full of dread, I followed him back up the stairs and into the room to finish the job I'd started earlier. As I folded up one of Jackson's shirts, I subtly watched him put the front door key in his bedside cabinet and lock the drawer up. This was a habit he'd had since I started living here so he was in control of who came in and out of the house, and the key for the cabinet was put in his back pocket.

*****

With our suitcases all packed at the bottom of the stairs, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. With the few minutes I had to myself, I found the zip lock bag and took out the bottle of Temazepam and the syringe. It didn't take long to fill the syringe with exactly 15ml of the medication. Jackson was a strong guy, but this would surely be enough to encourage him into a deep sleep tonight.

Carefully, I put the bottle back into the bin and slipped the syringe up my cardigan sleeve. Taking a look at myself in the mirror above the sink, I could barely recognise the eyes staring back at me. If someone told me six months ago that I'd have lost everyone I cared about and had to risk my life to free myself of such a toxic relationship, I think I would have laughed. This was my reality though, and I had to roll with it until I could fly away from here.