Runaway - Chapter 11
Sunday
The door opened and I held my breath. I’d left the light on this time, hoping that when Miller came I’d be able to sneak a glance at him.
But all I saw was his arm reach in and hit the lights. And then he ducked into my room without me being able to see him again.
“Miller, please. I just want to see you. You’re the only other human I’m allowed to see besides Evil Nurse.”
“Trust me, I look like a monster.”
“Evil Nurse isn’t so pretty either.”
He laughed at my nickname for the nurse and sat down on the edge of my bed. “Here.” He shoved a bowl in my general direction and I almost dropped it.
“I’m not hungry.”
“But I brought your favorite. Mint chocolate chip.”
He brought me ice cream? It was the truth that I wasn’t hungry. But he’d brought me ice cream. It would have been rude to not eat a little. I lifted up the spoon and took a huge bite. Mmm. “So freaking good.”
He didn’t respond, but I could tell he was smiling.
“Wait. Why do you get ice cream and all I get is oatmeal and applesauce?” I took another bite. And another. Suddenly I was starving. Exclusively for ice cream apparently.
“Because Mr. Pruitt isn’t concerned about my diet.”
“Ugh. My dad and his stupid rules.” I’d skimmed through that part of the contract with his strict clean eating rules.
You only live once. And what was living without ice cream?
And who put consent for organ donations and foods not allowed in the house in the same contract?
My father was insane. We didn’t need to talk about that though.
We both already knew it. Besides, I had something I was dying to talk to him about. “So I was thinking…”
“If this is about your escape plan, I told you. I can’t.”
“But just hear me out. People get new identities on TV shows all the time. How hard could it really be to change our names and hide from my dad? Besides, Evil Nurse is pretty tiny. I think I could take her. And you have a room somewhere in this place too, right? Where is it? And are you locked in too?”
“I’m not a flight risk, so no, I’m not locked in. And I’m down the hall, last door on the right.”
“Great. So I’ll take down Evil Nurse and then come get you. I’m assuming you’re not in a windowless hellhole? So we can climb out your window…”
“I can’t.”
“But if we…”
He climbed off the bed.
“Miller, wait! I’m sorry. Please don’t leave…”
But instead of leaving he switched on the lights.
Oh my God. It felt like all the air left my lungs.
He was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
There wasn’t much of his skin showing. But his face and neck…
He wasn’t just covered in bruises. His right eye was swollen shut.
And there was a huge bandage on the other side of his face, covering what must have been a pretty deep cut.
There were exposed stitches underneath his swollen eye.
And just so many bruises. I put my hand up to my mouth.
“This isn’t even the worst of it. I’d take my shirt off and show you, but my shoulder is busted up pretty badly. Evil Nurse has to help me get dressed. It hurts to even move. I can’t scale a building right now. I can barely walk.”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else I could say. He looked like that because of me. Because of my father. And he’d willingly agreed to it to keep me safe.
“You have nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was my fault. All of this is my fault.”
“It’s not, Brooklyn. I got myself in this mess all on my own.”
I looked down at my lap. “Right,” I said. Our situation certainly was a mess. I was so happy he was here with me. But surely he wished he was anywhere else.
“Hey. Look at me.”
I slowly lifted my head.
“I wasn’t saying being here with you was a mess. That’s not what I meant. I chose to be here. I just meant foolishly taking a job with Mr. Pruitt in the first place. I’m happy that I’m here with you. I meant what I said yesterday.”
He couldn’t possibly mean that. How could he be happy stuck with me in this prison? I looked back up at him and he was smiling. He looked so sincere. “You really believe it’s a new beginning?”
He nodded.
It was hard to believe in a new beginning when my heart was back in NYC with Matt.
But…he couldn’t help me escape right now.
Or maybe ever. We’d have to be positive Mr. Pruitt would never find him again.
Or else…the unthinkable would happen. I couldn’t even imagine being the reason that Miller stopped breathing.
I climbed off my bed and walked over to him. I needed to see what else my father had done to him. Because it was all my fault. I grabbed the hem of his shirt.
“Brooklyn, don’t.” He caught my hand.
“You said you’re not supposed to touch me. That doesn’t mean I can’t touch you.” I had not meant for that to sound so suggestive. But I knew how it came out when his Adam’s apple slowly rose and fell as he stared down at me.
I was frozen in place with him staring at me like that. If I’d thought my words were suggestive…his eyes on me were just as suggestive.
“Okay.” I wasn’t exactly sure what I was saying okay to. Okay I won’t touch you? Okay I’m going to? Okay that was awkward yet somehow not awkward at all?
We continued to just stare at each other.
I needed to break the tension. “Maybe we can discuss this all again when you can dress yourself?”
He smiled and then winced.
“I’m so sorry.” And without trying to second guess myself, I did what I wanted to do.
I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek where there miraculously weren’t any stitches or bruises.
“Thank you for not leaving me all alone, Miller. Thank you for coming with me. I owe you everything.” I hugged him, trying hard not to put too much pressure anywhere on his body.
I couldn’t believe the last few nights he’d held me in his arms as I fell asleep.
That must have been incredibly painful for him.
“I’m just doing my job,” he said.
“We both know that isn’t true. Pretending to die and take care of a member of the family was definitely not in your hiring agreement.”
“It certainly was in the contract I signed. Mr. Pruitt’s contracts are very thorough.”
“Well, either way, bringing said member of the family ice cream wasn’t in it.” I took a step back from him before I did something awkward and kissed his cheek again.
“And it’s melting. Come on, back to bed with you.” He hit the lights.
I was happy he turned them off again because looking at him made me want to cry.
And not just because of the damage to his face.
But because I could see that his feelings for me hadn’t changed.
He still looked at me the same way he did when I crawled in his bed back at my dad’s apartment.
Before I chose Matt. Before Matt chose me back.
My ring was gone, but that didn’t make me feel any less engaged.
And when Miller looked at me like that? Like he wanted me to touch him? I was worried that maybe a little piece of me wanted that too.