The first escape
1256 Words
Chapter Four: The First Escape
By the time we got home, I was done pretending.
Not angry.
Not emotional.
Just… tired.
The kind of tired that settles deep in your bones and refuses to leave.
Mathew didn’t say a word after the school incident.
Not to me.
Not even to Noah.
He simply walked ahead of us, already on his phone, already somewhere else.
Like nothing had happened.
Like nothing ever did.
---
Dinner was quiet.
Noah barely touched his food.
I tried—God, I tried—to keep things normal.
“How was your lesson today?” I asked softly.
“It was okay,” he replied without looking up.
“What did you learn?”
He shrugged.
“Math.”
That was it.
Short answers.
Careful tone.
And something else…
Distance.
Again.
My chest tightened, but I didn’t push.
Pushing never worked.
Not in this house.
---
Later that night, after Noah had gone to bed, I sat alone in the living room.
The lights were dim.
The silence louder than usual.
I stared at my phone for a long time.
Then finally picked it up.
Morgan.
“Ma?” she answered almost immediately.
“I’m going out,” I said.
There was a brief pause.
“At this hour?”
“Yes.”
“Should I—”
“Just stay with Noah,” I cut in gently. “I won’t be long.”
Another pause.
“Alright, ma.”
---
I didn’t think about it too much after that.
If I did… I might not leave.
---
The night air hit differently.
Cool.
Alive.
Free.
For the first time in a long while… I breathed without feeling watched.
Without feeling controlled.
I got into my car and drove.
No destination.
Just movement.
Just distance.
---
I didn’t realize where I was heading until I pulled up.
A bar.
Not too loud.
Not too quiet.
Just enough to disappear in.
I sat there for a moment, my hands still on the steering wheel.
This wasn’t me.
Or maybe… it used to be.
Before everything changed.
Before I became someone I didn’t recognize anymore.
I stepped out.
---
Inside, the atmosphere wrapped around me instantly.
Low music.
Soft lights.
Muted conversations.
People living their lives like nothing was breaking around them.
I almost envied that.
I took a seat at the bar.
“Whiskey,” I said.
The bartender nodded.
No questions.
No judgment.
Just a glass placed in front of me moments later.
I stared at it.
Then took a sip.
The burn hit immediately.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
But somehow… grounding.
---
I didn’t know how long I sat there.
Minutes.
Maybe longer.
Time didn’t feel important.
Nothing did.
Not the marriage.
Not the company.
Not the war waiting for me.
For once—
I just wanted quiet.
---
“Rough day?”
The voice came from my left.
Calm.
Light.
Unfamiliar.
I didn’t turn immediately.
“I’m fine,” I said.
A soft chuckle followed.
“People who are fine don’t drink like that on their first glass.”
That made me glance at him.
And for a second—
I paused.
Young.
Definitely younger than me.
Early twenties, maybe.
But it wasn’t just that.
It was the way he carried himself.
Relaxed.
Confident.
Like the world hadn’t hardened him yet.
“Do you always analyze strangers?” I asked.
“Only the interesting ones,” he replied.
I raised a brow slightly.
“And I’m interesting?”
He smiled.
“Very.”
I looked away, taking another sip of my drink.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough,” he said. “You walked in like you were trying to outrun something.”
That hit closer than it should have.
I didn’t respond.
---
“Let me guess,” he continued. “Work stress? Or someone broke your heart?”
I let out a small breath.
“Something like that.”
He nodded, like that was enough.
“I’m Felix, by the way.”
I hesitated.
Then—
“Elena.”
“Nice to meet you, Elena.”
---
There was a brief silence.
But it wasn’t awkward.
Just… easy.
Strangely easy.
“You don’t look like you belong here,” he said after a while.
I almost laughed.
“And where do I belong?”
“Somewhere quieter,” he said. “Somewhere you don’t have to think too much.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“That place doesn’t exist.”
He smiled again.
“Then maybe you just haven’t found it yet.”
---
I studied him for a moment.
There was something about him.
Not forceful.
Not intrusive.
Just… present.
Different from every man I had dealt with in years.
“So what about you?” I asked. “What brings you here?”
He shrugged lightly.
“I like watching people.”
“That sounds questionable.”
“It’s not,” he said quickly, laughing. “It just helps me understand things.”
“Like what?”
“Like why someone who looks like they have everything… still ends up here.”
I held his gaze.
“And what have you concluded?”
He leaned slightly closer.
“That whatever you’re dealing with… it’s heavy.”
A pause.
“But you’re stronger than you think.”
---
Something in my chest shifted.
Small.
Unexpected.
Dangerous.
I looked away quickly.
“You don’t know me well enough to say that.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe I’m just good at reading people.”
---
Silence again.
But this time—
I didn’t mind it.
For the first time in what felt like forever…
I didn’t feel tense.
Didn’t feel watched.
Didn’t feel judged.
---
“I should go,” I said eventually.
“Already?” he asked.
“Yes.”
I reached for my bag.
“Can I see you again?” he asked.
The question came simply.
No pressure.
No expectations.
Just… honest.
I hesitated.
This was a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
Everything about my life right now was complicated enough.
I didn’t need more.
I didn’t need him.
But then—
A thought crossed my mind.
Just one.
When was the last time I felt… normal?
---
I looked back at him.
“You didn’t even ask if I’m married.”
He smiled slightly.
“Would it change my answer?”
I held his gaze.
“No.”
“Then I don’t need to ask.”
---
That should have been my sign to walk away.
It should have been enough.
But it wasn’t.
---
“Maybe,” I said slowly. “Another time.”
His smile widened slightly.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
---
I walked out of the bar with a strange feeling in my chest.
Light.
Confusing.
Unfamiliar.
---
As I got into my car, I glanced back once.
He was still there.
Watching.
Not in a possessive way.
Not in a controlling way.
Just… there.
---
And somehow—
That made it harder to ignore.
---
I drove home quietly.
But my mind wasn’t.
For the first time in days…
It wasn’t filled with Mathew.
Or the company.
Or the fight ahead.
---
It was filled with something else.
Something I didn’t expect.
Something I wasn’t ready for.
---
And deep down—
I knew this wasn’t just a random encounter.
It was the beginning of something.
Something that could either save me…
Or destroy everything I had left.
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