hey guys just incase you didn't see the link down in my sig or the sign that i moved on Random -- i
finally got my new website up and running YAY!!
of course i'm still learning how to use all the features it comes with but at some point its gonna have a chat room possibly - how cool is that!!?? (yes im a dork)
anyway
http://overactive-imagination.net
[/shamelessplug]
Chapter 28
For two days following the implementation of her lock down, Sydney moped. She rarely moved from her bed and hardly ate anything at all. She was half-sulking and half-wallowing in self-pity. After two days, her funk passed and determination took over. She had to get out; the only question was how. For a fleeting moment, she thought about setting a small fire and then running for it, but figured that was a rather drastic and destructive solution to her problem, not to mention she didn’t really wish to be charged with arson.
There had to be some way to get out of her house without setting off the alarm and thus alerting her father to her absence. Getting out of the house was the first problem. Actually getting away from her house and to Michael’s was quite another, but she’d deal with that later. Short of breaking down a wall, the only exit points to her house were doors and windows. All the doors were out because she knew those were connected to the alarm, as were all the windows on the first floor. However, on the second floor, not all the windows were attached to the alarm.
She recalled that when her father was purchasing the alarm system for their house, he and the man installing the system had argued over arming the one tiny window in their spare bedroom. The window faced the west side of their house and her father argued that there was no use spending the extra money to run the wires to that window, because there was no way to access it from the outside. It wasn’t near any extra roofing that a potential burglar could climb up on. The only way to access the house through that window would have been to bring a large ladder, tall enough to reach all the way up to the second story and even then, the would-be intruder would actually have to fit through the tiny window.
Thus, her escape route was found. The only problem was that jumping out of a two story window onto the driveway below would most likely result in at least one (though most likely more than one) very unpleasant fractured bone. For almost an entire day she pondered this problem and any potential solutions before it finally hit her. A few summers earlier when she had been getting rid of old belongings stored in their attic she knew they’d never use again (and most likely didn’t know existed), she found a fire ladder and was curious as to why it was up there. The ladder, made of rope and wooden planks, was designed to be stored under the bed of a second floor room. Then, in case of a fire and no other escape route, a person could safely climb down to the ground without risking broken bones.
Quickly, Sydney raced to the attic and began tearing through old musty boxes before finally finding what she was searching for. She dusted off the box with an old rag before carrying it down to her room, where she could examine it. After doing a quick calculation using the length of the ladder stated on the box and her estimate of how far down it was from the second story window to the ground, she found that the ladder wouldn’t quite reach, but it would get her close enough so that if she jumped off of it, she wouldn’t break anything.
Now that the first part of her plan was secured, she needed a way to get to Michael’s. Her car was out, since her keys were gone and she estimated that walking would have taken her at least a day (since she obviously couldn’t walk along the highway, which was the quickest route), which made that option out of the question as well. For the remainder of that day, she paced around her room and sulked until a solution hit her.
She recalled that only a few blocks from her house was a bus stop. She could walk there within half an hour and then take the bus to someplace relatively close to Michael’s house, or even to the bus station, where surely there would be a pay phone available to call Michael. That would work well, but unfortunately, by the time her plan was complete, it was nearly five o’clock and her father would be arriving home at any minute. Her escape would have to wait until the following morning.
~*~
Friday morning, the day of her planned escape, Sydney paced in her room until she heard her father leave. Then, she waited another half hour, to make sure he wasn’t going to return home after forgetting something, until her plan was put into action. She went into the empty bedroom and opened the tiny window, which was more difficult that she had anticipated. Because the window was never used, it was very stiff and difficult to pry open. Finally, she managed to open it enough to slip out and then she went to retrieve the ladder.
After opening the ladder box, Sydney found that, much to her dismay, the ladder wasn’t quite as sturdy as she would have hoped. She had no choice though; it was her only means of escape. After latching the ladder onto the windowsill, per the box instructions, Sydney tossed it out the window and cringed slightly as it clanked loudly against the siding out the house.
Once she made sure the ladder was secure (or as secure as it was going to be) she raced back to her room and made sure she had everything she’d need: the keys to Michael’s house, money and the necklace Michael had given her. Once it was all securely in her bag, she looped the bag around her neck and one of her arms so that it wouldn’t be in her way when she was climbing out of her house. With her head hanging out the window, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, cursing her father for being so horrible, laughing at herself for being in such a ridiculous situation and praying that the ladder was strong enough to hold her.
She pulled her head back inside and swung one of her legs out the window and made sure it was firmly on one of the wooden plank rungs before putting the other leg out and standing there for a moment with her stomach resting against the window sill, making sure that the ladder was really stable enough to hold her. Then, she began to descend.
It took her almost fifteen minutes because the ladder was so shaky and unstable she kept stopping and clinging onto it (plus the fact that she was afraid of heights wasn’t really helping the situation). Finally, she reached the end of the ladder, but noticed it fell slightly short of where she had hoped it would. She took a few deep breaths and jumped off, where she crumpled down on the driveway below.
She sat there for a moment, looking up to the high window from which she had just come. Then she stood and winced slightly, noticing pain in her ankle. “Great,” she muttered as she began to walk towards the sidewalk, limping slightly on her ankle.
Just as she suspected, it took twenty minutes to walk to the bus stop, but luckily, she arrived only a minute before a bus arrived. She got on it, not even knowing or caring where it was going, and paid the fare before taking a seat towards the back of the bus. Much to her luck, she found a bus route schedule that someone had left behind and began scanning through it. She discovered that she didn’t have to switch busses at all. The one she was on would take her to a stop that was fairly close to Michael’s house. It would still take her a half hour to walk, but she didn’t need to bother him by calling him and pulling him away from his clients, especially when she could get to him on her own.
Very shortly after getting off the bus at the stop nearest to Michael’s house, Sydney regretted her decision to walk, for her ankle seemed to be getting worse with every step. After ten minutes, she stopped, took off her shoe and looked at it. It didn’t appear bruised or swollen in anyway, but it still hurt. She slipped her shoe back on and pressed on, telling herself that in only ten minutes more, she’d be free forever and would be ready to start her life with Michael.
After another fifteen minutes (it took her longer because she had to rest her ankle) she arrived at Michael’s and suddenly, all her pain disappeared as she practically ran down his driveway. It took her a few minutes to actually unlock the door to his office because her hands were trembling so badly she could barely hold the keys, but once she was inside she immediately began calling out his name, thinking that he was in his office. To her sadness, she saw that he wasn’t in his office, but it only took him a moment to come running out of the main house and wrap her up in his arms. “Syd, thank god,” he sighed into her shoulder.
“Michael,” she choked. Suddenly, all the emotions of the previous four days without him flooded out as she sobbed into his shoulder. She clung to him tightly and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, refusing to let go.
It was almost ten minutes before she loosened her death grip on him. He pulled back from her and ran his fingers all across her face, brushing some of her tears away before kissing her fully. “Oh look,” he laughed when they broke.
Sydney looked down at her feet towards where Michael’s eyes were pointing and saw Rose, meowing and rubbing up against her leg. “She missed you,” Michael told her softly before picking Rose up and giving her to Sydney.
Sydney held her tightly and scratched one of her ears until she purred. “I missed her too,” Sydney sighed.
“Syd, are you okay?” Michael asked her seriously. “I’ve been so, so worried about you. I tried calling you a zillion times.”
“I’m sure, but my dad took my phone!” she groaned in frustration. She used her one free hand to brush away a few more tears before continuing. “He locked me in the house Michael. He changed the alarm code and wouldn’t let me leave. I had to climb out a second story window!”
“Oh my god!” he laughed slightly, though he still sounded concerned.
“Why are you laughing?!” she asked in horror.
“I’m sorry, I’m just imagining you dangling from a window and it’s really funny,” he said while fighting to keep a straight face. She looked unamused. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. Very serious now because I missed you so, so, so, so much,” he sighed and with each ‘so’ he kissed her lips softly.
“I missed you too,” she sniffed. They were silent a moment as Sydney continued to stroke Rose. Then she looked up at him with a very serious expression. “Michael,” she began. “I heard what you said when you came to my house… I was standing on the stairs and I heard you… I… I want to marry you… I mean, if you really want to marry me,” she added timidly as she downcast her eyes.
An immense grin spread across Michael’s face. “Of course… I mean, I was going to do it right with a huge romantic thing but,” he paused and got down onto one knee in front of her. Sydney locked eyes with him as a few tears fell down her cheeks and she clutched Rose so tightly, she was nearly choking her. “But I can’t wait another second. Syd, I love you so much… so, so much that I can’t imagine my life without you. Will you marry me?”
Sydney let Rose jump to the floor before answering with a quiet, yet firm, “Yes.” Michael launched himself off the floor and gathered Sydney up in his arms while kissing her repeatedly.
“Come, come with me,” he grabbed her hand after a few minutes of celebratory kisses.
“Where are we going?” she laughed while struggling to keep up with his quick pace on her injured ankle.
“Upstairs to get your ring,” he smiled over his shoulder.
“Ring?!” she laughed.
“Yeah, I bought it last week,” he told her. Once in his bedroom, Sydney waited patiently beside the bed as he rummaged through his sock drawer. After a minute, he pulled out the ring box with a grin. He walked over to her, opened it and then slid it on her finger. “Perfect,” he sighed as he admired it.
“You’re perfect,” she whispered before kissing him and pulling him towards the bed.
