“Yeah.” He pulls me with him through the door.
“What about your knife?” I ask in a haze. It’s silly that I even think of it, but I know how much it meant to him. It was what he used to hold power over me.
“Not important.”
I’m surprised it comes so easily to him. A month ago, he would have been pissed off if he’d lost it.
“I have you now,” he says. “And you’re safe. That’s far more important than anything else in the world right now.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, although I do feel some unwanted warmth flowing in my chest.
We rush through the door and suddenly we’re outside. The breeze and fresh air hit me and I feel free. Alive. Adrenaline rushes through my veins. I can’t run far enough, can’t jump high enough, can’t scream loud enough. This world needs to know that I’m here, that I’m free, that I won’t let myself be ruled by my past, and that I’m coming for them.
Sebastian throws off the doctor’s coat, letting it blow away with the wind. He leads me down a fire escape and onto the street. There, we call a cab and jump into the first one that stops.
I’m out of breath and tired, forcing my eyes to stay open by gazing out the window. We briefly stop at a shop to buy some proper clothes for me to wear before getting back into the cab. Sebastian doesn’t seem to want to waste any time, although I wonder where he’s taking me. If we’re running from them, I even wonder if there’s anywhere we can hide.
“Where are we going now?”
“Not home,” Sebastian says, gazing out the window as the car starts to drive. “That’s the first place they’ll look.”
I swallow. It must be hard. He just lost access to everything he has. He can’t go home. They’ll probably freeze his money. Someone will come hunting for us. It’s like we’re jumping into a canyon without a safety net.
And he did it all for me.
He risked his job, his livelihood, and even his very own life to save me. To bring me peace.
Granted, he was part of the cause behind my trauma and struggle. But he rescued me. Ultimately, he chose for the good side. That has to mean something.
“I’m sorry about your house,” I say. “You probably won’t be able to go back there ever again. I hope your files are safely stored somewhere else.”
He snorts. “I’m lucky that I thought to save them on a different server. They’re my only means to put an end to this now. Although I have no clue on how to move forward now.” He looks at me and smiles. “I have to admit, I’m a bit lost in terms of solutions right now, but at least I got you out. I have you back. That’s all I need.”
He scoots closer and puts his arm around my shoulder. Pulling me closer, my head rests on his chest. “I’m sorry you had to endure such hardship. I will make it right with you. I want to see you smile again, and I’ll stop at nothing to make you happy. Telling the truth is the first step, but you will not like what I have to tell you.”
He gives me a featherlike kiss to the temple. “God, I couldn’t stand one more minute of not having you for myself and away from them. My precious little fairy is mine and I won’t share her with anyone.”
“And yet you did. In the hospital. I know they were there, I could see them.”
“I know. For that, I’m sorry. I’ll make sure they are punished thoroughly one day.”
“One day …” I nod, staring at my trembling hands.
“One day could come very soon,” he says, looking down at me. “I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.”
“What about you? Who will punish you for all the things you’ve done?”
He frowns, biting his lip for a second. “I will leave that up to you.”
“You used me. You debased me. I didn’t know it was you back there until you whispered in my ear. I was terrified.” My hands are shaking now. “How could you do that to me? How could you agree to that?”
“I know, there is no excuse, but you have to know they would not tell me where you were. You were at a different hospital and they would only take me there themselves, so they could keep an eye on me. Hubert even wanted to participate as they suggested I’d continue my assignment.”
“And your assignment … it was always me, wasn’t it?”
“Yes …” He sighs. “The books have to be reenacted, and my scenes were that I had to fuck you until you hated me. Until you grew insane from it.”
“That’s sick …”
“Yes, it is. Hubert picked the book for me. He always had a penchant for driving people mad. He liked seeing me suffer. Never trusted me. For the right reasons, of course, but I would’ve loved to see it differently.”