AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did my brother do that to you?” Polly whispers to me. She’s still got her hand on my elbow, but rather than grounding me, it’s making me feel shaky.
Gently, I extricate myself from her and wrap my arms around myself. “It looks a lot worse than it is.”
“I can’t believe him.”
“Polly, this is not your fight.”
“He can’t treat you like this. Especially when it’s obvious he—” She stops short and takes a deep breath. “What can I do for you? Ask me anything and it’s yours.”
She’s probably asking me if I want a cup of tea or an ice pack; something doable, something reasonable to ask a fourteen-year-old. But ice packs won’t fix me. Tea won’t save me.
I have to get out of here.
“It’s a big ask,” I warn her.
Polly nods. “I said anything. Tell me.”
“I have to leave, Polly. I can’t stay here anymore. If I do…” I just about manage to suppress my sob, but I still get a curious glance from Lev. “I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t be asking you at all. I don’t want to put you in the middle but—”
She clutches my arm again. “I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
Polly nods fervently. “Yes.” She lowers her voice. “But we need to move fast—and Lev can’t know.”
“Okay. Yeah, of course. Whatever you think is best.”
“If you can convince Lev to go upstairs to the entertainment room, I think I can come up with a plan from there. I’ll meet you there.”
She doesn’t give me a lot of time to process before she disappears up the basement stairs, leaving the door wide open. I turn to Lev and approach him cautiously. “I’m so sorry about your gaming nook, Lev.”
He flinches when I get closer. “My Xbox…” he repeats.
“You have a nicer Xbox upstairs,” I remind him. “With a ton of better games. Cooler games, in fact. Maybe we can go up and check them out?”
Lev considers that for a moment. Then, finally, he nods, though it’s reluctant. I lead him up the staircase towards the ground floor. We almost cross paths with Svetlana, but she pretends she doesn’t see us as she ducks into an adjoining room.
Lev calms down considerably when we get to the entertainment room. I’m shaking so bad I can barely see straight, but I manage to start up a game for him.
I’m prepared to sit in the corner in the fetal position and wait for Polly. Lev, though, is having none of that.
“Please?” he begs. “You said you would play with me.”
Sighing, I grab a controller and pretend to be interested in the game. But the whole time, I keep watching the door, waiting for Polly to show up.
I’ve lost my second race in a row when she finally appears. She pushes the door open just enough to expose a sliver of her face and gestures for me to join her outside. Glancing nervously at Lev, I put my controller down.
“Lev, I need to use the bathroom. Can you give me a few minutes?”
He puts his controller down, too. “How many minutes?”
I twist in place helplessly. “Um… a few. I won’t be long.” I feel like an absolute villain lying to him, but who knows how long this window of opportunity will remain open? And I have to think about my baby. My hand twitches towards my stomach but I suppress the instinct and get to my feet. “You keep playing, okay? I won’t be long. Just keep playing. I’ll be right back. I’ll be back before you know it.”
I know I’m repeating myself, but the nerves are making me jabber way more than I need to.
Polly is waiting outside the entertainment room when I manage to slip away. “Everything okay?”
“I’ve disabled the cameras on the south side of the perimeter,” she explains with a calm precision way beyond her years. “And I arranged a diversion in the northeast corner. The moment I set it off, you’ll be free to escape over the south fence.”
