Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

As I open my eyes I see Lucas. He’s sitting on the ground next to the wall asleep. It takes me a couple seconds to realize I’m back in my room. How long have I been in here? How long has he been here?  All I remember is I was in that concealed room with Bryan. He was attacking me because I didn’t tell him what I remembered, I think. There was a lot of water too. That’s all I remember. Plus, I have a pounding headache right now. I’ll try to regroup my thoughts later.

I slowly sit up and run my hands through my hair. I swing my legs off of the bed and get up. As soon as I stand up I hear a soft knock on the door. I look over at Lucas to see if it woke him up, but it didn’t. I tip toe over to the door and quickly unlock it, then slightly open it. It’s Jayden.

“I’m supposed come check on you to see if you have awakened yet.” He smiles. “Obviously you have, but I won’t tell them that.”

I shake my head. “Wait, why won’t you tell them?”

“There’s no telling what they’ll do at this point, Natalie.” He whispers.

“I know.” I nod. I look down at his hand to see a white paper bag. “What’s in your hand?”

“Snacks,” he grins. “Originally, they were for Lucas, but there’s enough for you too.”

I stare at him for a second. Why would he bring snacks for Lucas? It’s not like they’re starving us. Then it dons on me. Oh my God… “H--how long have I been asleep?” I ask.

“This would be day five.” He says as he opens the door wider and steps in.

I stand there, stunned. I’ve been out for that long? Has Lucas been here the whole time? Looking at Lucas asleep right now is helping me begin to remember more and more about what happened in that room. I don’t know why, but it is. I remember Bryan said something about being in a unit because of me and if I told him what I remember, they’d let him out. Wait, if he’s not in unit 3… what unit is he in?

I shut the door and look over at Jayden. He’s waking up Lucas. As Lucas wakes up he looks over at the bed and then his eyes circle the room until they land on me. He smiles, stands up, and starts walking towards me.

Hugging me tight, he says. “I missed you.”

“That’s good to know.” I smile.

I walk over to Jayden. “Is Bryan in your unit?”

He looks over at Lucas. I look over at Lucas. Lucas looks at me and back at Jayden. Jayden nods at Lucas.

“Yes, Bryan is in unit ninety-nine.” Lucas nods.

“He arrived at the facility three days after you did. I didn’t realize who he was until right before you met up with him.” Jayden says.

I look over at Lucas. “Okay then, how’d you know?”

“When he came in here to check on you when they put you back in here after what happened, he told me.” He says.

“Wait--how did you get in?”

 He holds up my room key. “You left it in my room and I hadn’t seen you anywhere. I was really worried.”

I really don’t remember much from my past except for the affair, but I’m beginning to realize why I chose Lucas. Why I wanted to stay with Lucas. From what I’ve remember and what I’ve seen, not only does he care; he shows it too. He doesn’t show it just through his actions and words, but I feel the care just by looking at him. It makes me feel safer than I did when I first arrived.

“Natalie,” Jayden says as he sits a piece of paper on my nightstand.

“Yes,” I nod towards the paper. “What’s on the paper?”

“Look in the bag under your bed.” He smiles.

I look at him for a couple seconds to see if he’s serious. I think he’s serious. He looks at me to see if I’m going to do it. I lift my right eyebrow and get on my knees. I look under the bed and see a plastic bag with something in it. I slide the bag out from under there and open it. There scrubs; white scrubs. I look up at him.

Jayden smiles, “In two days, wear those at 4:30am.”

“Why?” I ask, confused.

“The numbers ‘Four nine six three’ is the code for the entrance doors to unit 3.”

My mouth opens wide. Did he just say what I think he just said? That’s the code for the doors that take you in and out of unit 3? With those numbers, I can find a way out of here. We can find a way out of here, Lucas and I. I smile and stand up. I turn to Lucas and he’s smiling too.

“You only have four nights and you must be back by 6:40am every night. If you get caught, I don’t know what will happen. It’ll be very bad, though. That’s what the scrubs are for; it’ll make you look like a watcher.” Jayden says as he walks over to the door. “Good luck.” He smiles and opens the door.

“Thank you so much.” I say.

“I’ve never seen so much determination in a person.” He winks as he leaves the room.

Lucas smiles and leans against the wall. “Can you believe it?”

I can’t believe it. I didn’t see this coming. I never really thought I’d find that code, let alone be given it. It’s too good to be true, even though it is true. I thought if I’d ever figure out that code it would lead to my--escape. My eyes begin to tear up.

“Natalie, what is it?” Lucas says as he walks towards me.

A tear hits my cheek. “What if w--we never make it out? W--what if there’s no--escape?”

He softly grabs my forearms. “We are going to find a way out of here. You hear me?”

I nod.

He caresses my chin, leans in, and kisses me. “I love you.” He whispers.

“I love you too.”

Author's Note

6 to 8 more chapters left!

Reviews

[JBoone]

WOW I did not expect the code to be given and I didn't expect Natalie to have feelings for Lucas. I would have thought she would be more guarded. This is a great story.