Submitting novel Chapter 41

How did I manage to forget? 

I turned around slowly and looked into a set of haunting eyes that clenched around my heart in the tightest grip that I have ever felt. One that ran a cold shiver down by whole body as I stood there frozen, staring at a Liza with tears brimming in her eyes. 

“L-Liza. I-I…” I took a step forward, with my hand reaching for her, but she turned a little sideways, showing her disapproval, which instantly stopped me in my tracks. Guilt heaved on my shoulders like a heavy boulder that didn’t want to budge at all as I slouched and looked down in shame. How could I forget?

“You are leaving.” The words came out so sad and slow out of her lips like a broken feather. I didn’t know what to tell her or rather do to make this wrong a right. 

All this time, I waited around to find Liza and escape with her. All the trouble I went through, the opportunities that I missed. All for her. And yet now that I was given then miraculous chance, the easiest so far, I didn’t even think of Liza once. I didn’t know that shame and guilt could crumble anyone in such a way as presently as it was. 

She placed a hand on her belly, the baby, and took a deep breath in. perhaps she was about to say something, but I beat her to it.

“Lizzie, you know how these people are. It’s not safe. We need to get out of here.” I tried to muster up as much of determination as I could in my voice, and expected her to turn a blind eye to my blunder mistake. If only she forgets and forgives my mistake, then we could escape from here together. 

“Why do you keep on being so disobedient? Why are you so selfish? Why can’t you just do what they ask of you?” Her voice was louder than I expected it to be. It scared me because if the other people in the house heard her, then they might wake up and all my plans of escape will go down the drain. Furthermore, the future that I would have here would become far less habitable. One that I didn’t plan on experiencing at all.

“Yeah, so fuck him, fuck them and fuck the whole world outside. It’s me and my baby now. And I can’t let the world take the baby away from me. Not even you and your attention seeking needs.” It hurt. Really, really bad. I didn’t know what to tell her. But what I felt most was guilt that pressed on me harder than ever. If only I was a little less engrossed in myself then perhaps things would have been different.

“B-but Lizzie, don’t you see? You are doing the same thing to yourself again. You are letting them do wrong things to you. Being captivated, kidnapped and trapped inside a house. They are denying us freedom. We can’t do what we want unless they want us to do something. A-and look at yourself. One of them already forced themselves on you.” Time was ticking and no matter how much I would like to ask for her forgiveness and plead at her feet, we needed to escape before those two men become aware about this whole situation. 

“Who told you so?”