Nothing Is as It Seems

I didn’t see anyone else until the next day. I was so relieved when Johnny stepped into my room with a plate of food. He held it out and I quickly grabbed it from him then backed away as far as I could. He chuckled and walked across to the bookshelf. He slid a finger across the titles of several books before turning to look at me. I focused on my food so I didn’t have to look at him.

“I hear Zacky told you what all this was about,” he said, turning to face me. I simply nodded without looking at him.

“it's a shame, really.” He walked over to me, reaching out to caress my face. “a beautiful girl like yourself shouldn't be facing this.”

I didn't know what to say or do so I just settled for backing away from him again. He followed, leaning in close to whisper in my ear.

“I can help you,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

“I can get you out of here. You don't have to die like this.”

How could I trust him? He stood by while Zacky did all of this to me. Hell, he probably helped. But if I didn't accept his help, I was doing nothing, simply sitting here and waiting for death.

“Okay,” I said finally earning a smile from Johnny.

“I'll be back for you tonight.”

He left the room and I suddenly lost my appetite. My stomach rolled and I barely made it to the toilet in time. After I emptied the contents of my stomach, I sat back on the cool tile floor. I was terrified. I had a feeling that if Zacky caught us trying to escape he would drop the nice act completely.

When I finally found the strength to pull myself off the floor, I decided to find anything that could be useful as a weapon. My eyes traveled across the room to the table where my barely touched plate set, the fork still lying on top. I grabbed it and slipped it into my pocket. I also pocketed tweezers from the bathroom, and that was the best I could do.

After that, there wasn't much left to do but wait. I had no way of knowing the time. There were no clocks and no window to let me see if it was dark yet. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the doorknob turn and Johnny stepped inside.

“Ready to get out of here?” he asked as he extended his hand out to me. I took a deep breath, hoping I wasn't getting myself into a worse situation.

“Definitely.” I grabbed his hand and he led me out into the hallway, sealing the door behind us. I held my breath as we hurried through the house, worried that Zacky would be waiting just around the next corner.

I was so relieved when we made outside.

“We’re not out of the woods yet. No pun intended,” Johnny said as he led me deeper into the trees. After what must have been two miles of walking, we reached a small black car well hidden on the side of a highway.

“Our getaway car,” Johnny stated as he pulled open the passenger side door and gestured for me to get in.

Within a few minutes we were off. I wondered what was going to happen next. I couldn't exactly go back home, that would be the first place Zacky would look. Was I supposed to spend the rest of my life on the run?

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew it was light out and we were pulling into the driveway of a small brick house. It sat far enough of the road that if you weren't looking for it specifically, you'd miss it.

“This is an abandoned house, we should be safe here,” Johnny said, smiling a little as I yawned and stretched my arms up above my head.

“Why did you help me escape?” I asked as we climbed the front steps and made our way inside.

“I'm sick and tired of Zack getting everything he wants. I wanted to show him that he can't control everything no matter how big he thinks he is.” Bitterness and loathing dripped from his words and I shivered slightly. I didn't know how I felt about being used to prove a point.

“I'll make dinner, I came ahead of time and stocked the kitchen.”

“I think I'll go take a shower,” I said and he nodded.

“Make yourself at home.”

I looked forward to washing all the filth off my body. I was sweaty and dirty from the walk through the woods. When I returned downstairs twenty minutes later, Johnny was just setting a pot of spaghetti on the table. He grabbed two plates from the shelf and offered me one. I took it and put a big serving of spaghetti on it. We were just getting settled in at the table when there was a knock at the door.

I froze. This was supposed to be an abandoned house! Who would know we were were here? I had a sick feeling in my gut as Johnny headed for the door. I just knew Zacky Vengeance was about to step inside and drag me back to my death.