Their Mate, My Saviors

Timing

---POV Ayame---

I guess I should say momentary lapses of judgement are totally normal for me. I shouldn’t be okay with this fact, but I’m also going to have to ignore it...for now. The constant back and forth. Forcing myself to make excuses for him.... It was almost as if my mind was excusing him from all the turmoil he put me through. I stared at the tile until I heard a knock at the door. “Miss, how are you doing in there?”

I gasped and turned my head towards the sound. “Who are you?” I asked hoarsely.

“I am one of Mr. Kingsley's security personnel, miss. He was asking about you….” He continued. “My name is Jared.” He called, clearing his throat.

“Oh…I’m fine. I’m…I’m about to get into the shower, please give me some privacy.” I asked, eerily calm.

“Of course, miss.” Jared said, before I heard his feet carry him away from the door and close it behind him. He was in the room? Was he hoping that giving me his name would ease my concern right now? He just appeared out of no where. I shivered, thankful that I locked the bathroom door. He might have come in if I hadn’t. If he has access to this suite then, how many times has he come in here to confirm my whereabouts to that man before I woke up? How...how did I not notice that he was in the room before he started talking? The door to the master suite is a large, foreboding, and overly decorated double door with silver handles. I remember because I would stare at it for hours when I was told to wait for my punishments. It wasn't quiet when it opened and it left an impression when slammed shut.

Either way, enough lounging around. I winced, pulled myself up again, and walked to the shower. The water sputtered to life and I quickly retracted my hand to make sure it didn’t burn my wounds. I waited until I saw the steam before I dropped my clean clothes on the side of the tub and proceeded with the arduous journey of cleaning myself and the injuries I so desperately tired to hide from the sting of water clashing against them. Until now.

The minute the water hit my skin I bit down on my tongue hard. I do not want Richard’s security guard bursting in here. He will know something is wrong when he sees my clothes. I shook as I cleaned my skin slowly and felt each welt burn under the soap.

Once I finally made it out, I found a towel and dried my body gingerly, placing my clothes over my body slowly and methodically. I felt my undershirt press into my skin and begged myself not to scream again. I can do this. One layer at a time. Once I finally had my clothes on, I did my best to cover the obvious bruises and gave up on my black eye. I stared at myself in the mirror, caked with some concealer I found in one of the drawers. It was lighter than my skin tone, but it will have to work for now. I forced myself to tie up my hair around itself and get it out of my face. I don't own any more hair ties, but my hair is so long now since he didn't allow me to cut it. It’s a lot of work to deal with and it gets in the way. Tying it in a knot is the least of my problems.

I finally walked out of the bathroom and slowly put on my socks I had left behind in the bedroom. I sat on the floor in front of the crisp leather couch and stared at the TV. I grabbed the remote from the marbled glass coffee table and turned the sleek black screen on to whatever Richard was watching last. I need to look like I’m just enjoying the day. I cannot tip Jared off.

I discreetly looked around the room, praying that I had been forgotten and someone wasn't watching over me. Maybe that Jared guy was only going to check in once today. Fingers crossed. I just needed to find something to get me to a train station. After an hour with no changes, I decided to just walk around. Every step was killing me, but I needed to work faster. It’s already 4:00pm. Maybe if I force myself to get used to the throbbing pain in my ankle, it won't slow me down later. I'm not too sure if that would be possible, but I can make this a mind-over-matter situation and call it good.

I continued to look around, searching for something that might be of use to me, and make sure everything stayed in its place so no one would notice. When I almost lost all hope, I found my old wallet resting under his shoe closet in a box with some of my old stuff in it. “Found it!” I gasped before hearing another knock on the door.

“Miss, I’m here to do another check in.” I closed the closet and locked it.

He opened the suite door and walked in. I saw his shadow under the closet door and felt my breathing hitch when I remembered Richard finding me in here last month while I was hiding from him. That earned me a sprained ankle. “I’m fine. I wanted to clean the closet while he was gone. I thought it would be a good surprise!” I said, forcing myself to sound excited.

The man chuckled. “Okay, Miss.” He said before walking out again and closing the door. I glanced at the clock next to his wall of watches. It was two hours since his last check in. I think this will be a reoccurring thing. I sighed in relief when his steps started to fade, and I turned back to the gold mine I had found. Everything he took from me the day I signed that stupid contract was staring me in the face.

I pulled out my cable-knitted bag. I threw my wallet in there that still had $200 in cash for my books that quarter, my passport…just in case I can make it that far someday, and my cell phone. I don’t know if it still works, but I hesitated before I put it in my bag. Finally, I decided against it and placed it back where I found it.

If I need to contact someone, I’m sure I could find a kind person who would lend me their phone. It’s not like I would have someone to contact anyway. If I did, none of this would have gotten this bad. I wouldn’t have felt like I needed to fight this alone. I would have run away months ago. I found a couple of hair ties and pulled my hair out of the haphazard knot I'd tied my hair in earlier. It was barely holding the thick black locks in place. I hastily put my hair into a braid cascading down one side of my petite frame and made sure the shorter hair framing my face covered my black eye.

I carefully placed the box back where I found it and took a deep breath. I’m not going to look back. No more. I put on my converse that were still in the box. Thankfully, he was a keepsake kind of person or I’d be wearing stilettoes out of here. I walked back to the couch and found a blanket, covering my legs, feet, and my packed bag, knowing the guard would come back in an hour or so. I need to time this right, but I’m not sure how many were watching the house. This guy could only be looking out for me. There could be others looking out for the estate.

I glanced out to the patio, then back to the TV, making sure I wasn’t being too obvious. However, my heart almost stopped when I saw two men overlap each other in front of our patio door.

I was right.

Every ten minutes, a guard would pass by our room. Then there would be a thirty-minute break every two hours and another pair of people came around. In between those two hours, Jared would come in to see how I was doing. He even brought me some food the last time he was here.

Unfortunately, I have to time this right and I have to wait just a little longer. I glanced at the clock, and I could swear I heard it ticking even though it was a silent digital model. Finally, it was the half hour I was waiting for. The half hour until 10:00pm.

The one time, all three men disappeared.

If I remember correctly, there is a bus that comes at 10:05pm to the single stop at the end of his neighborhood. The last bus. I would take it out of here when I used to live in the dorms. It picks up the staff of these giant mansions and buses them back home. It’s time to run.

I rushed to my feet, tightly holding the faded bag over my shoulder, and pushed the patio door open. I closed it gently behind me and sprinted to the gate. I didn’t care about my pain anymore. I had one focus and I was finally able to put it in motion. I pushed myself out the side entrance and ran down the hill, careful to dodge out of the way when I saw any headlights flashing.

I was sweating at this point, and I guess I can say this is one good thing Richard has done for me. I am required to run four times a week. He forces me to go into the gym room and I even have to scan a card to access the room in his house. He checks the access logs every week. If he finds any discrepancies, I would be punished severely. I hated it, but now I’m thankful for it. My endurance is golden.

Once I made it down the hill, I gasped for air and wished I had brought some food for the trip, but I was too scared to go to the kitchen and rustle up any suspicion. I walked over to the bus stop and caught my breath before I stepped into my white chariot, for all intense and purposes, and gave the driver the extra five-dollar bill I found in my phone case. I guess it really was for emergencies. “This will take me to the train station, correct?” I asked.

He looked at my appearance and furrowed his brow before nodding. “Five stops from here, miss. Dollar each.” He said skeptically.

“Okay perfect. I fell asleep on the last bus and ended up in this strange neighborhood. Thanks for the confirmation.” I lied smoothly. I guess I learned from the best. My master.

He sighed in relief and nodded before giving me a grin and grabbing the cash. I’m sure he thought I stole something. I walked to the back of the bus and sat in the corner, counting the stops until I reached my next leg ‘till freedom.