51. Leo
She approaches me, clothes tucked into her chest. She was extremely quiet, so I hadn’t heard her coming. I’ve been standing here for only five minutes, keeping watch of the lobby. Edith is nowhere to be seen.
Typically, no one is in the lobby past bedtime hours except for the rare nights Edith is out here stealing sips from her flask. Tonight, she is tucked warmly into her bed, oblivious to what is happening.
“You ready?” I ask Veronica once she is standing before me.
She nods. “We need to hurry, though. The guard is waiting for me in my room.”
When Veronica reaches for the door handle, I grab her arm and stop her. “Why is he waiting in your room?”
She sighs. “I made an excuse to use the bathroom, and he wanted something in return. I told him to sit tight while I use the bathroom, and then I’d do whatever he wanted.” My brows furrow with anger as I look past her, which causes her head to snap in the direction she came. “Leo, we don’t have time to discuss this or to run off and fight the man.”
I look down at her. She’s right. If we are leaving, we need to do it now. She opens the door, slipping out of my grasp. I follow, both of us halting at the front door. She steps aside for me to enter the code.
I push the door open, my head poking out to make sure the coast is clear. When I believe it is, I open it fully and take her hand.
The air is warm tonight. It hits our skin as I lead us towards the driveway.
“Leo, we can’t go that way,” Veronica whispers and tugs at my arm. “We’d be out in the open, and if we continue to run on the road, someone could spot us.”
“Shit, you’re right.” I run my hand through my hair, internally panicking because this isn’t planned out.
I should have taken the time to come up with a plan myself, maybe waited a couple of days after I returned before we left. But then again, it would have given me time to talk myself out of running.
“I don’t know another way out.”
This was all so sudden. The decision I made while staring at my mother”s grave. As I begged for forgiveness. I hadn’t had time to scope out and escape routes.
“I do.” Her hand laces with mine as she pulls me towards the bench.
The one I sat on when Scarlet and I came out here. When I believed her to be a kind woman, the many nights I slipped from my bedroom to sit out in the dark of night after my mom told us she was sick. I’d breathe in the fresh air, clearing my mind and imagining a life where she didn’t get cancer.
We rush past the unoccupied bench, around the edge of the lake, and begin weaving in and out of the line of trees surrounding the lake”s edge. We remain quiet, even with our steps, and we don’t dare speak until we are deeper into the woods, out of earshot from the facility—the massive lake at our back and large trees surrounding us.
The moon hides behind the leaves hanging from the branches, making it hard to see where we are running.
Veronica runs fast ahead of me, dodging trees and jumping over fallen branches. If it weren’t for her, I would have tripped by now.
How long have we been running?
The burn flaring in my side informs me it has been a while. Then, we reach a clearing. It is an oddly shaped circle of dirt with patches of grass and tall trees spaced out around the perimeter of where we are standing.
The moon is on display in the sky with no clouds blanketing it. The light shining down acts as a spotlight. I slow my steps and bend over to catch my breath.
My chest burns as it rises and falls. Warm air seeps into my lungs but does nothing to relieve the heated sensation.
“Leo,” Veronica shouts in a whisper. “We need to keep running!”
With my hands on my knees, I nod and hold up a finger. I plead for her to give me just a minute longer. She looks like she hasn’t even been running. Besides the wind that whipped her curls in different directions, her face remains pale. Her breathing is steady.
Did she exercise in the asylum? I’ve never seen her do any activity. This woman is built differently.
“Come on.” Her desperate tone matches her eyes.
Soon, the desperation vanishes and turns into fear when we hear a screeching alarm go off in the distance. Both our heads snap toward the blaring sound.
There is no mistaking that it’s coming from the asylum. Shit. I stand up straight, my eyes finding Veronica staring into the distance.
Rushing over to her, I place my hands on her shoulder. “Vee, we need to run.”
Voices can be heard far in the distance—deep shouts and yelling. If I could focus my ears on them, I’m sure I’d hear our names being called, but I can’t hear anything besides the roaring panic rushing through my head. My heart is about to beat right out of my goddamn chest.
I shake her shoulders, causing her eyes to snap up to mine. “We need to go. Now.”
Her eyes search mine for a moment, and pity overtakes fear. “I’m so sorry, Leo.”
“What?” Confusion rolls over me. “Why are you apologizing?”
“You’ll only slow me down.” Her voice is calm despite the fear flushed along her face only moments ago.
I shake my head, not understanding, until it clicks. “You’re going to leave me here? After I agreed to run with you? After everything? Veronica, I’ll go to prison once they find me!”
Her jaw tightens. “Better you than me.”
Betrayal stakes my heart. “You can’t stop me from running after you.”
“Yes, I can.” Her eyes leave mine, trailing down between us and to her hand.
I follow the movement of her eyes, and when they land where she is staring, the moon shines just right on the metal object clasped in her grip.
“Where did you get a knife?” She wouldn’t hurt me.
“I still do kitchen duties.” That is all she answers with.
The shouts are nearing us. My head whips to the left, and I squint my eyes to see how close they are. I don’t see anyone, only hear them.
As I turn my attention back to the woman who wants to betray me, the woman I fell in love with and risked everything for, she drives the knife into my stomach.
A gasp falls from my lips: shock and pain.
That’s all I feel.
Instinctively, my hands reach for my stomach, where the knife is lodged in deep. I can’t remove it. I’d bleed to death. I’m panting.
Pain like I’ve never known splintering through my entire body, and when I drop to my knees, it’s like a jolt of lightning courses through me, sparking every nerve ending to life. With my eyes on the wound, Veronica’s foot comes into eyesight.
Her fingers gently hold my chin, lifting it for me to face her. Gone is the woman I love and who I thought loved me. The kind, caring person I thought she had turned out to be.
I fixed her. Didn’t I?
Now, her eyes are cold. No hint of remorse for what she just did, which is why what she says next takes me by surprise.
“I am sorry, Leo, but keeping you was never part of the plan.” Her lips press a light kiss on my forehead.
She drops my head, and it takes every ounce of strength left in my body not to crumble to the ground. She backs away from me, giving me one last look before spinning on her heel and rushing into the woods.
I grit my teeth, the pain of the knife, the feeling of it stuck in my body. I groan out in agony, screaming into the air, not caring if they hear me. Not only did she stab me, but she also ripped my already shattered heart into a million more pieces.
The voices in the woods are muffled, making me think that whoever was searching for us had turned another path. Then I see lights in the woods.
Flashlights shine through the trees, and I realize they didn’t go another way. I could barely hear them because I was losing consciousness.
Dr. Bennett emerges from the woods with other men. His face is blurry because of my fading vision. He frantically looks around for a trace of Veronica.
When his eyes meet mine, and he walks toward me, my vision goes completely black. My body falls to the ground with a thud, and the world goes silent.
No more shouting voices, no more unbearable pain.
I am consumed by utter darkness.