Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Get me out of here, damn it. Open this door!”
“Right away,” Leif says. “Give me just a minute, sir, to find the right key.”
I look around hesitantly. If there’s anybody else in any of these rooms, surely they can hear him.
Or perhaps not. I would imagine most of these rooms are soundproofed.
Bitch locked me in.
Savannah.
He’ll pay for calling her a bitch.
But if he is talking about Savannah, that mean she’s escaped.
Thank God.
Whoever is behind that door finally stops pounding on it, obviously thinking we’re going to find someone to let him out.
We only have about five minutes before he starts pounding again.
“We need to hurry,” Leif whispers softly.
I nod.
4
SAVANNAH
My heart thumps wildly, and I try to bring back a memory of a happier time. Something to get me through this.
And I think of it.
A time with my mother—before I knew who our family really was.
Late spring. Mama always said it was her favorite time of the year. I liked the fall, when the leaves changed colors and then fell to the ground. When the breeze got cooler and I wore a scarf around my neck to stay warm.
But for Mama, it was spring.
One time, because we were the only girls in the family, we went on a picnic. Mama took me to a meadow, where flowers were just beginning to bloom and the grass was a lush green. A tiny stream flowed through the meadow and the waters were so clear I could actually see my reflection in it, kind of like a mirror, except it was blurry and changed a lot because the waters were moving.
It was a warm enough day that Mama let me take off my shoes, and I walked in the soft grass and looked up at the sun. It wasn’t a hot summer day, just a warm day. The sun felt like it was giving me kisses on my face. The warm spring breeze made the trees rustle.
Mama spread out a checkered picnic blanket, and inside the basket were sandwiches, fruit, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
We had a maid and a cook, and Cook usually made our food, but Mama made all of this herself. I watched her prepare it this morning. Even the cookies.
I breathed in, and I could smell the outdoors. The wildflowers, the grass, all mingling with the chocolate chip cookies, which smelled best of all.
Mama filled a plate for me. A peanut butter sandwich on sourdough bread, which was my favorite. Apple and orange slices, and because it was a special occasion, she gave me potato chips as well. Mama didn’t allow much junk food in the house, but every so often we could have things like potato chips and pretzels and popcorn.
Then we sat together on the picnic blanket, and once I had eaten everything she gave me, I got a chocolate chip cookie.
Mama patted me on the shoulder. “Look, Savannah. It’s a butterfly.”
Sure enough, a butterfly had landed on her checkered picnic blanket. It was an interesting butterfly—black with some purple and blue spots on it.
“Life is full of beautiful moments like this, sweetheart,” Mama said. “Whenever you’re feeling down, remember this day, this meadow, and how much your mama loves you.”
“But Mama,” I said, “I don’t ever feel down. Only when I’m sick or something.”
She smiled at me and pulled me onto her lap. “I know that, Savannah. You’re such a special little girl. You’ll find out that sometimes, when you grow up, life isn’t always quite so happy. So remember this day.”
Funny. I haven’t thought about that in a long time. Not since I found out Michael had died.
But I think of it now.
Perhaps a sweeter memory would be a newer one—one involving how much I love Falcon—but I can’t go there.
If I think of him, I’ll never be able to get through the rest of my life as Miles McAllister’s wife.
I’m going to have to erase all images of Falcon, all feelings of the love I have for him.
In my troubled moments—and I know there will be many—I’ll go back to my mama in the meadow and our special picnic just for the girls.
That is all I’ll have to uplift my spirit.
I close my eyes, bury my head again, and—
A gasp escapes my throat as I hear something.
The movement of the doorknob.
Miles has found me.
And now I’m going to be punished.
I rise, determined to accept my fate with strength and fortitude.
I will stand tall and proud, and I’ll—
The door opens.
I gasp again.
The light in the hallway shines not on Miles McAllister, but on Falcon Bellamy.
The tightness in my chest loosens, and a wave of immense relief washes over me.
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, and fear drains away from my body. My legs still tremble, but this time not in fear.
I run into his arms.