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He’s not at all what I imagined. Rough around the edges, that one I figured. But there’s a lot more to him than I thought. He was sweet to Lilah, which was my first surprise. He’s important here, that much is obvious. There’s a lot to uncover about Aziel, and in another lifetime, I would take the time to peel back each layer. But I don’t have another second to waste in my life.
It’s time to go.
I walk towards the door and place my hand on the cool knob, hoping for the life of me that this door doesn’t creak as it opens. These guys might not be bad guys, but I’m not willing to take that chance. Not with Lilah.
Pulling the door open, I nearly jump a foot in the air when I see a young guy leaning against the wall in front of me. He was looking down at his phone but shoots his eyes up to mine when I open the door.
“Oh, hey. Do you need something?” He pockets his phone and looks me over, wincing when he sees how dirty and beat up I look.
“Um, no. I’m just going to go…” I try to walk past him, but he stands up straight and suddenly looks a foot taller. The kind look on his face drops and a poker face takes its place.
“Sorry, no can do. Do you want me to go get Aziel?”
I take a step back in fear. “I’m sorry.” I want to choke on my nerves and fall to my knees in fear, but I plant my feet on the ground and stay standing. For Lilah.“I need to leave.” I hope my voice comes out as strong and stern as I wanted it to. When in reality, I think it sounded like a question.
He sighs as he takes his phone out of his pocket, slamming his thumbs into the screen as he types something out. The thought that he’s typing something to Aziel makes my chest quake. There’s something about him that intrigues me. But he terrifies me, too. There’s something untamed about him that I’m scared to uncover.
I never want to be on his bad side.
“Sorry, Ma’am. You’re to stay in your room.” He says, sounding already bored of the conversation.
I stare him down, anger and frustration building beneath my ribcage.I want to scream.Instead,I tuck those feelings away, turn around and walk back into Aziel’s room. Slamming the door shut, I finally release the tears that have been building up since I heard the first gun shot at the compound.
There’s no escape. I’m trapped. Again.
“What’re we doing, Mommy?” She gets anxious when she sees we’re back where we started.
I sniffle and wipe my eyes, accepting defeat. We’re not going anywhere tonight. And honestly, I’m too tired at this point to fight.
“Looks like we’re going to have a sleepover tonight. When’s the last time we were able to do that, huh?” I can’t remember the last time I could sleep by Lilah. I think it was about one year ago, when Ms. Maria let me stay with Lilah in her room when she had a high fever. Besides that, I haven’t been able to hold my daughter as she slept in…years.
“A sleepover?” That perks her up a little, even with her half-shut, drowsy eyes.
“Yeah. Would that be fun?”
“Mhmm.”
“Do you know what would be even more fun?” I whisper in her ear.
“What?” She whispers back.
“Let’s have a bubble bath first. Want to have a bubble bath?” I can’t imagine falling asleep with my body as dirty as it is. I’m full of dust and dirt, and Lilah doesn’t look much better.
“A bubble bath? Can we Mommy? Please?”
“Sure.”
I walk us to the bathroom, pouring an oversized dollop of shampoo in the tub as I turn the faucet. It squeaks and groans as I turn the knob. The water shoots out after a second, like the bathtub hasn’t been used in a while. I undress Lilah as the tub fills. The room immediately heats up and smells like man. The shampoo is clearly not for a woman, and it smells what I now realize is Aziel. I smelt a hint of him earlier, faded and mixed in with smoke and the anger that I realize swirls around him at all times. He’s intoxicating and seems untouchable, even when he’s within reach.
What are you talking about?
I shake my head as I get in the bath with Lilah, washing her off as I chastise myself for foolishly thinking about a man who I probably won’t see after tomorrow. I plan to get out of here, no matter what it takes. I’ll give him all the information he wants, but after that, I plan to get out of here with Lilah and never look back.
I keep Lilah’s back towards me as I wash myself. The last thing she needs is to see the multiple lashes and bruises on my body from Santiago’s latest beating.
I pull the rubber plug and watch as the water tornados down the drain in a swirl of red and brown.
“Now where the hell are the towels?” I mumble to myself.
