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My eyes moved to the folding table again. I squinted, and a huge smile spread across my face. Tools. It was covered in them, and though I couldn’t make out exactly what was on there, maybe there was a screwdriver?
Oh goddess, please let there be a screwdriver. Or something I can use to get myself out of here.
Demie was the first to notice my presence as I climbed down the stairs. He turned his head away from the TV and towards me, giving me a friendly smile. “Hey Skye. You’re up.”
I paused in my tracks, gawking at Demie. “Hey,” I finally forced out. I wasn’t sure what to say—his friendliness had caught me completely off guard.
There was a loud metal clang as Liam rested his bar above the bench. He sat up and glared at me, huffing as he wiped a towel across his wet forehead. “Need something, faerie? You still have a couple hours till lunch time.” He tossed the towel on the floor, his icy gaze never leaving mine.
Demie frowned at Liam. “She’s ok to be downstairs. Ansel didn’t say anything about not letting her out of her room.”
Liam’s turned his attention to Demie, looking annoyed. While they were momentarily distracted, I quickly tip-toed past Demie, past the folding table, and towards the kitchenette.
“I was just seeing if you guys had any coffee. I really can’t start my day without caffeine—”
Liam was there in a flash, standing in the kitchen, blocking my path. He put his hands on his hips, leveling his gaze. “No coffee,” he said. “You’ll just have to learn to do without for now.”
I took a big step backwards, my eyes locked on him, holding his gaze. “What? No coffee? How do you guys function?”
The corner of Liam’s mouth twitched into the slightest smile. He looked almost smug. “Your body doesn’t actually need caffeine. If you get plenty of rest and eat enough protein—”
“Ignore him, Skye,” Demie said, turning his attention back to the TV. “Once he gets started, it’s impossible to get him to stop.”
Liam jerked his head towards Demie and opened his mouth. But the sound of the folding table crashing to the ground interrupted him.
“Ow!” I screamed, louder than I needed to, grabbing my lower back where I had run into the table. I whirled around to see the damage, smiling to myself when I saw that I had successfully knocked over the table, scattering metal tools all over the floor. “Sorry. I am so clumsy, let me help clean this up.” Liam yelled at me to stop as I knelt on the floor, picking up tools.Where is it? Where is it?
“I said don’t touch them!” I felt Liam’s grip on my shoulder and stood to face him, dropping all the tools I had gathered in my hand on the floor in front of him, aiming for his feet. He jumped back just in time.
“Sorry,” I said, looking sheepish. I hid my right hand behind my back, the screwdriver held firmly in my grip. “Like I said, clumsy.” I gave him an innocent smile as I tucked the screwdriver into the waistband of Ansel’s borrowed briefs, still knotted at the side, making sure my shirt covered the hilt. “Want me to help clean up?”
Liam was so angry, his pointed ears had turned cherry red. “Go to your room,” he seethed. I nodded quickly, fast walking away from the scene before Liam’s head exploded.
Once I reached the room, I closed the door. I rushed to the bed, shoving the screwdriver under the mattress. I jumped on the bed, landing on my back. I did it. My plan actually worked. I smiled at the ceiling as adrenaline pounded through my veins, unable to hold back my grin.
Phase one complete.
Chapter seven
Ispenttherestof the day bored out of my mind. I wanted to start on the window, especially now that I had a screwdriver, but I had to be careful. I didn’t want Liam or Demie to realize their worktable was missing one tool and come upstairs to find me using it. Plus, I needed to learn their comings and goings—if they meant to check on me regularly, or if they planned to leave me to my own devices. It would be the latter, I realized, after the only time Liam bothered me was when he brought my lunch tray. I could tell he was still sour from this morning because when I tried to engage in conversation with him; he replied in low grunts, dropping the tray on top of the dresser with a loud thud.
I wonder if I can request Demie to bring my food?He seemed sweet and innocent in an easy-to-manipulate sort of way.
Liam brought dinner a couple hours later. I didn’t try engaging with him that time. I stared at the window after my meal, itching to get started. I had already ransacked Ansel’s dresser—half wanting to find something that may help quicken my escape and half out of curiosity—and when nothing interesting showed up, besides the fact he had a good taste, I had officially run out of things to do.
I started practicing my boxercise routine right in the middle of the bedroom like an insane person. I couldn’t handle sitting still any longer.
Jab. Upper cut. Jab,I thought as I swung my fist in the air, moving my feet to the tempo of the imaginary Latin music in the back of my mind. The same playlist my teacher always played—I practically had it memorized at this point. It was Tuesday night, I remembered, and I had never missed a class since starting a few months ago. My teacher said she would be teaching us a new routine tonight—
I punched into the air with all my might, forcing the thought out of my mind before it could finish. I couldn’t think of that right now. It was too painful. Too painful to think about all things I was missing. Class. Work. My parents.Carter.
I let my arms fall to my waist, my chest burning with exertion. I stared hard at the window as I caught my breath. Liam didn’t specify what time Ansel would be coming back, if he was coming back at all, so maybe I didn’t need to wait until tomorrow to start after all.
The sound of heavy boots on a metal landing grabbed my attention. Steps too heavy to belong to an elf. I snapped my head in the direction of the door, my heartbeat kickstarting into the triple digits. I lunged to the bed (I didn’t want to give Ansel any reason to be suspicious of me) as he opened the door and stepped inside; his other hand clutching his abdomen.
Our eyes met for a brief moment, sizing each other up. Something electric danced over my skin that I couldn’t quite identify. Fear? Excitement?
“You’re back,” I said flatly, desperate to break the tension.
