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Chapter Eight
Branson
It isn’t until I get to the top of the basement steps that I freeze with realization. Not of what just happened, but what that really means. Jane isn’t here. Bud is dead.
I stumble a few more steps to the table, taking a hard seat as I place my head in my hands. My mind races, the adrenaline coursing through me.
Am I…. free?
A stab of fear strikes my heart as I consider all this could mean. Leaving. Going outside. Fuck. I haven’t been off this property in almost twenty fucking years. I did what I could to plan when Teddy and Jane were gone, but it all seems hopelessly inadequate now. Panic rises, but I shove it down in my chest, standing with enough force that the chair tips back behind me.
I need to think.
My mind is such a blur from the past year, I hardly believe this is real. But I need to focus.
“You can’t leave,” Teddy’s voice says from behind me, and it’s only then I realize I’m standing at the front door. I frown, unable to remember how I got here. Despite the fear, I reach my hand out to the doorknob with a shaking hand.
“You can’t leave!” Teddy says again, this time rushing up beside me with wide eyes. With a growl, I turn on her, my hand wrapping around her arm. Green eyes widen at me, but she doesn’t pull back.
“You think you’re going to fucking stop me?” I grit out, squeezing tighter before pushing back as I let go. My hand wraps around the door and I internally curse at how it shakes.
“What about your collar?” she says quickly. “I don’t have the key, Jane does. People will notice it. You have nothing, no clothes, no money. You have no clue what it's like out there.”
I pause, my hand dropping. “I’ll figure it out.”
I hear the click of her stepping closer.
“Let me help you,” she says, her voice barely over a whisper, “Jane isn’t back for a few days. We’ll leave together, like we always wanted.”
I can’t move, my entire body feels suspended by her words, ones I’ve been waiting to hear since I was sixteen. I remember the first time we tried to escape, how she freaked out when we were going through the house, this young girl I wanted so desperately to save.
“Branson, I don’t think we can do this alone! I’m not ready yet. Nooooo!”
The beating I earned for that was legendary, the end result: the collars and chains that still scar my skin. And I learned then she didn’t want to be saved.
As much as I want to walk out this door right fucking now, I know she’s right. I can’t deny I’m terrified and unprepared for this.
Jane isn’t back for a while yet. I have a bit of time to prepare.
But that doesn’t mean I’ll forgive her. Amelia. Mia. Teddy. The best and worst thing that's ever happened to me. I open my eyes, taking a deep breath before turning to see her wide green eyes staring back at me.
“I won’t leave yet,” I tell her, my voice low, “but I won’t leave with you either.”
I see her lip quiver slightly, though she raises her head as I walk past and feel a small burst of pride at turning her down. I really do need time to get my head on right. But first, time to get clean. My body itches with weeks of grime I can’t wait to wash away.
I start to make my way to the stairs, to the drain in the basement that has been my shower facility for years before a slow smile spreads across my face. Turning, I make my way down to Jane’s room, frowning when I notice the door is locked.
“She’d be pissed if she knew you were in there,” Teddy’s voice says from behind me. I whip around to see her standing in the hall. My eyes narrow at her.
“Why are you following me? I’m taking a real fucking shower. Fuck off,” I tell her before rattling the door handle one more time. I turn to head down to the kitchen to see if I can find something to open it with, but Teddy stops me.
“You know, I could pick that lock for you,” she says in a saccharine voice. “But it’ll cost you.”
My teeth clench together. “Fuck you and your games,” I practically spit at her.
“Alright, but you’ll not get that door open without me. And let me tell you, Jane really does have the best tub.”
Sighing, I bring a hand up to my temples. Somehow this reminds me of when we were children and she would tease me. Before things changed and the teasing turned to torture, that is.
