Over (13 page)

"Fine, let's not leave them alone tonight. Okay? We'll suffocate them until she goes back home, and then you'll see."

"Actually, you'll see," Zoey said.

Nerve

Macy sat at the kitchen table pretending to do her
community
studies. At least Chester was giving her a break from all the cleaning. It gave her a chance to think about her escape plan, which was essentially nothing at this point. She had fallen asleep as soon as she closed her eyes the night before.

"What's this?"

She looked up to see Chester standing where the dining room and hall met. He held up her—Heather's—bedding.

Macy tried to keep sarcasm out of her voice. "A bed spread."

"A bed spread?" Chester shouted.

Her heart sank. He was in a rage again.

Chester walked up to her, holding the covers close to her. "Just a bed spread?" His face was red and he had that scary look in his eyes again.

Macy nodded, her stomach twisting in knots. Was he going to lock her up because of some issue with the bedding, so they wouldn't worry about her trying to escape while he was gone?

"That's all you have? Really?"

"What do you want me to say?" Macy blinked back tears. She didn't want to be locked up somewhere. Had she been stupid to get her hopes up about getting away? She should have known he would have a plan other than keeping her in with Rebekah and an alarm system.

"Do you call this clean?"

"What?"

"Your covers, Heather. They're atrocious," Chester growled. He held them up to his face and gave her a disgusted look. "You were supposed to wash all the linens yesterday."

"I did."

"Did you? It doesn't smell like it to me. Does it to you?" He shoved them into her face. "Smell!"

Macy didn't have to. The stench hit her before the covers touched her face. They reeked of body odor. It smelled like an entire football team had rolled around on them after playing a game.

"Is that clean?"

She shook her head no. How had they gotten so gross? Macy had washed them. In fact, she remembered how fresh they had smelled the night before. Before going to sleep, she had even enjoyed the fresh, clean smell.

"That's right! They don't smell clean. Do you need a lesson in laundry?" he shouted. His spit landed on her face, but she knew better than to wipe it away. "How could you think these were clean? Tell me!"

"They were clean," Macy whispered.

"What did you say?"

"They
were
clean."

"You call this clean?"

She shook her head. "They didn't smell like that before."

"What are you trying to say?" He grabbed her shirt and pulled her out of the chair.

Macy looked away. "I don't know what happened, but when I washed them, they were clean. I smelled them last night, and they were fresh."

"Are you telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me. Tell me you screwed up."

"But I didn't. When they—"

"I
said
tell me the truth." He shoved her into the table, jamming her side into the corner.

Macy gasped in pain. "I am. It was clean. I smelled it myself."

Chester shoved her farther into the side of the table. "Then how did it get like this?"

"I don't know."

"Are you not bathing properly? Did you make them smell like this?"

"No. No." She shook her head while tears blurred her vision.

"What is it then? Do you need lessons on showering or laundry? Which is it?"

Macy looked away, not answering. She didn't need instruction on any of that.

"Don't ignore me." He squeezed her shirt tighter, causing the collar to choke her. "What do you need a lesson on?"

He let go of her shirt, causing her to fall. She hit her shoulder and head against the table as she slid down to the floor, gasping for air.

"What do I need to give you lessons on?"

"Laundry."

"So you admit that you didn't wash the linens correctly?"

Looking away, she nodded.

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes," she said as loud as she could muster.

Chester grabbed her arm and yanked her up. "Why couldn't you have just admitted that in the first place?" He shoved the covers against her face. "Make sure they don't smell like that again. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

He dragged her to the laundry room and her feet stumbled, trying to keep up. He threw the bedding into the front loader and slammed it shut. "The first thing you have to do is make sure what you're washing is in the washing machine. Is that too complicated?"

"No."

"Good. Don't mess it up again." He picked up the bottle of laundry detergent and read the instructions verbatim. "Shall I show you?"

Macy nodded.

He pulled off the lid with dramatic flair and brought the bottle inches from her. "Watch as I measure." He poured the liquid to the second line and then poured it to the machine. "This is the correct setting for linens." He spun the dial around. "Next we make sure everything else is on the proper setting." He pushed the rest of the buttons, explaining the importance of each one as he went along.

"Do you think you can replicate that in the future?"

"Yes."

"Or would you rather I write down instructions?"

"No."

"Good. Now, get back to your studies. It's important you understand everything contained within the books."

"Okay." She turned around and went back into the dining room, blinking back tears. She had cleaned all of the bedding the right way. There was no way she would have been able to sleep in her bed if they had smelled that foul the night before. Whatever had happened to them, it wasn't her fault. Not that it mattered, because she was the one who was getting in trouble for it.

Chester walked by her without a word and got a drink of water from the kitchen. After he put the glass in the dishwasher, he walked to the table and stared at Macy. "I'm going to take a shower. When I get out, we're going to have a little quiz about your reading. Understand?"

Macy nodded, afraid to speak. She knew if she said a word, she would dissolve into tears.

"Good." He walked away, and as he did, Macy got a whiff of body odor.

Anger burned within her. He had to have rubbed her clean covers all over himself, making them stink. Then he turned around and yelled at her, making her feel like she had done something wrong. All along, he had known that it wasn't her fault.

He had to have been trying to break her down to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere while he was away.

Unfortunately for him, his plan had backfired. Macy now wanted to get back home even more than before. Determination ran through her. She would find a way of escape before Chester dragged her back to another community.

The sounds of the shower starting startled Macy. Was this her opportunity? Sure, he wasn't miles away, but he was in the shower. Macy would have the advantage. She was fully clothed and he wasn't. Surely he wouldn't run after in the nude. Or would he?

She got up and looked down the hall. The door was closed and she could hear him banging things around in the shower. Her heart pounded nearly out of her chest. This was it. It had to be. She was
done
dealing with his abuse.

Barely able to walk straight, she went to the line of shoes by the door and put hers on. They weren't the best running shoes, but they were better than nothing.

Macy looked down the hall again, this time shaking violently. She could barely see straight and her fingers and feet felt cold.

The shower was still going, but probably not for much longer. If she waited too long, she'd lose her chance. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the knob of the front door. It was now or never.

She swallowed, her dry throat not allowing any movement. Her hand clung to the knob as she turned it. Macy pulled the door toward her. The alarm screamed and wailed, notifying everyone within a several block range of what she had done.

Her feet moved into motion before she had time to think. She pushed the screen door open and she was out in the sun. The air was chilly, but the sun itself felt good. When had the last time been when she was able to go outside?

Macy made her way across the yard and went left down the street. The alarm still screamed, and Chester was bound to be after her in a matter of moments. All he would have to do was get out of the shower and throw on some pants.

There was no way he could be surprised that she would escape after how he had just treated her. It was almost as though he was testing her.

She kept looking back, expecting to see him. It was only a matter of time. She turned down another street.

"Heather!" called someone from a yard.

Macy turned and saw a girl about her age waving.

"Stop, Heather! What are you doing home? When did you…?"

The voice trailed away as Macy picked up her pace. With that fool yelling Heather's name, Chester would know what direction she went. She looked for another street to go down, but came to a dead end.

She couldn't turn around. She would either have to hide or go through someone's yard to get to the street behind. She could still hear the sound of the house alarm wailing. If Chester had that hooked up, the police would be coming soon. That could be good or bad.

If they found her first, she could tell them that Chester had kidnapped her. Then maybe they would take her home. Although if they went to the house and talked with him or Rebekah first, they would probably say she had tried to run away. What if they forced her to go back? What if they wouldn't listen to her like they hadn't listened to Heather?

She ran through the yard in front of her and went around to the side of the house. There was a gate, but no latch. She reached around, scratching her arm on the fence. She found the latch and unhooked it.

A dog barked and ran past her for the street. There was no time to feel bad about the dog escaping. She ran into the yard and looked for a way over the fence. She saw a plastic climbing toy. It was just high enough, so she pushed it up to the fence and climbed on top. Then she grabbed the top of the fence and climbed up. She looked into another back yard.

Voices could be heard not far away from the street behind her. She should have closed the gate; everyone would know she ran into that yard. She braced herself for the jump, knowing that her leg was still weak. If she landed wrong she could reinjure it, but there was no time to worry.

She jumped, preparing to land on her good leg and then roll. Macy landed on a patch of grass and somehow managed to avoid hitting her bad leg. She rolled a few times and then jumped up and ran for the next gate. Her knee stung a little, most likely because she hadn't been outside to run or even walk much. The only 'exercise' she had gotten in a long time was housework.

Ignoring the pain, she got the gate open and made sure to close it. She wasn't going to leave a blatant path for Chester to follow.

Sirens blared in the distance over the sound of Chester's house alarm. Macy needed to get to them before Chester did. Otherwise, he would tell them that she was Heather and had run away. She could explain that she'd been kidnapped, but the police might not believe her. Chester had pictures that looked just like her all over his house.

Macy ran to the edge of the house. She hid and also looked up and down the street. At least this road wasn't a dead end. She could go down the opposite way and get away from Chester and the sirens and alarm.

There wasn't anyone out on the street. Macy took a deep breath and made a run for it. She went down the street as fast as she could, keeping an eye out for another place to turn so that she could hopefully get out of the neighborhood. Once out, she would decide her next step.

The road curved up ahead, going toward Chester's house. Macy wanted to go the other way, but that meant going through more yards and she would rather take her chances with the open road. It might curve again or even cross another one, giving her a way out.

Perhaps going back to Chester's house wasn't such a bad idea. If the police weren't talking to him yet, she could tell them that he was a madman who had kidnapped her from her family.

Macy took a couple steps, but then heard yelling from behind her, and the sirens were getting louder and closer. They were going to be headed for Chester's house. He would undoubtedly tell them she was Heather and she was running away. He would probably even have some crazy story, making her sound dangerous.

She gasped for air. Why wasn't there a cross street? The road was probably going to loop around and leave her face to face with Chester.

"There you are!"

Macy looked over to see Chester heading her way.

Determined