Reduced to Ruin

Chapter 18

I sat straight up in bed and gasped. "Sophia! Allie!"

Sophia and Allie. Alexandria and Sarah too. The B.F.O. Was I going to tell the police everything? I could hardly reconcile reporting the men, but uncovering the B.F.O.? Saving the victims I had met. And possibly so many others. Could I be brave enough? Or dumb enough? The pit in my stomach told me the truth—I'd be risking my life if I told. But they deserved it.

It was 11:42, and James should be asleep soon, if not already. I blocked the B.F.O. out of my mind and popped out of bed with a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and guilt. A terrible combination. I doubted my ability to pull this off. If I didn't succeed, I dreaded the consequences, for both my father and me.

My dad. Dead. I ran to the toilet just in time before I hurled. Surprisingly it brought me some relief to somehow purge any doubt I had. Leaving was the right decision.

I rummaged through the kitchen to find some food to take with me. It might be a long night or even into the next day before I found another person who could help me. So, I took some crackers, cheese sticks, and bread and put them into a plastic grocery bag.

I then tried to figure out what to wear. Being indoors twenty-four-seven really disconnected me from the reality of life outside of these walls. But I knew we were in Kansas, not Southern California, and it was going to be bloody cold. I had better be prepared for the worst.

I put on my warmest clothes—two pairs of jeans, two pairs of socks, and dressy boots my abductor bought me to wear with my jeans. They weren't winter boots, but they would have to do.

By the time I was done with the preparations and had mustered up the courage, it was past one in the morning. I was shaking with adrenaline. Looking at the pinhole width, I decided to try the tweezers first. I was ecstatic when the first pin pushed up with little effort. I couldn't believe it, and my whole body tingled with excitement. When I pulled the pin out, I clasped my hands over my mouth, suppressing a squeal. The second and third pins came out almost as easily.

I stared at the door in wonderment, as if I had accomplished something miraculous. Or, maybe I thought the door was going to fall off on its own. But, of course, it didn't.

I wished I had paid more attention to my dad when he did household repairs. Then maybe I would know what to expect next. I slowly pulled the hinge off of the frame while my left foot pushed off the wall, and the door came right off with a small thud, smashing my hand.

Shit, I thought. Please, please, don't wake James up! Thank God the floor was carpeted.

I sat down on the ground for five minutes listening for any rustling downstairs. I heard nothing but my heart thumping out of my chest. On with the plan. I slowly pulled the door back perpendicular to the wall, which was a lot harder than I expected. But finally the deadbolt slipped out from the wall. It was amazing.

I did it. I actually did it. It was working, just like Flowers in the Attic. Now I had to make sure not to be caught like the kids in the book did.

I turned off the one light I had on inside the apartment and let my eyes adjust to the darkness before I went any farther.

Once I inched through the doorway, I tilted the door back to its position as best as I could to bluff James. If I was lucky, it would fool him for a bit—until he came upstairs.

I inched one step at a time on my butt. My ears were ringing, and my heart was thumping through my chest. I couldn't concentrate on outside noises. The door at the bottom of the stairs was swung completely open.