Chapter 123: Flooded Cage

*Hell no… no, no, no, there’s no fucking way this is happening!*

I did my best to remain calm but my pounding heart wouldn’t obey. My tired was just slashed by fuck knows what! Whatever it was, it was definitely bigger than my pocketknife. I felt threatened.

*What am I supposed to do now??*

I looked outside the garage and noticed that it was still drizzling. *Looks like there’s no other choice. I’ll just have to walk to a neighbor’s house and ask to use their phone. FUCK this is so fucking embarrassing!* I’ve never had to do something like this before. Then again, the west-side of the city was literally stacked on top of each other. The neighborhoods weren’t wide, with lots of property belonging to each owner. What’s worse is that Gabriel’s property is farther towards the forest and away from the main neighborhoods.

Goosebumps from the cold, wet wind crawled up my arm and made me shiver. The baby that’s growing inside of me crossed my mind. *Of all the fucking times…!!* I didn’t want to get sick and risk hurting it. This was one hell of a time for my heart to go soft. *I’m gonna have to go inside and get my jacket. I’ll just ask one of the maids to tell Mom and Gabriel that I left to live with one of my friends till they get home.*

Summoning my prideful confidence, I made my way back into the mansion. Just like last time, it was eerily quiet… I didn’t like it. Where is everyone? I looked in the kitchen. Empty. I looked around the living room. Empty. I peeked into the bathroom. The door cracked open. Empty. Dining room? Empty. Laundry room?? Empty.

It’s like the place has been deserted… I get why the gardeners aren’t here, but where are all the maids? Usually, Grace pops out and sneers shit at me by now or Julian hovers like a lost puppy, but they’re gone too. Something’s not right.

I felt little safety when I was back in my room. Hell, nothing felt safe here anymore. I looked through my dresser and then my closet to find my jacket. *WHERE is the motherfucker?! Oh! There it is.* It was a black and white jacket made for jogging. My mom got it for me not too long ago. Well, before we found out that I’m pregnant…

Walking out of my room while in the middle of still zipping it up, I stopped halfway with a startled jump when I heard a sudden voice behind me.

“Hey, Sis.” her dark blonde eyebrows raised when I spun around but she still smiled as if she had seen something funny. “Wow, why so stiff? You look like you saw a ghost or something.”

“Fuck off, Grace.” I aggressively snapped. “Where’s Julian at?”

She crossed her arms with an annoyed scoff. “How should I know? He’s not my dog.” Grace gave me no hints on where she thinks he might be.

There was growing anxiety in the pit of my stomach, but I had to know if what happened to me last night was real. If Julian really did suffocate me. “Hey. Did you hear anything last night? In the study? Or see Julian doing weird shit?”

“The study? Why would I know anything about that?” my olive-green eyes darkened in a furious glare. I could tell she was lying. But why?

“Is Julian on medication?” I decided to come out and say the core of it. Depending on her answer is likely the answer to whether or not last night was a dream connected to my usual nightmares.

Grace looked me up and down and snorted with humor again. “Where do you think you’re going? You do realize the roads are all flooded, right?”

“Just answer the fucking question!” I shouted with impatient frustration.

Grace went silent for a moment before tilting her head the same way Julian does, and it sent a shiver up my spine. “I thought he told you. You both are still dating, right? I mean, that’s what he told me.”

*Shit! Did that really happen last night after all?? There’s no fucking way… Julian would actually do that to me??* The thought of the gentle, protective, charming man that I first met suddenly becoming so violent with me was jarring. And to think I actually felt something for him. I know I’m a giant idiot but…! The memory of Jack’s confession that he had feelings for me crossed my mind. *I’m the biggest idiot ever.*

“Stop fucking around, Grace! I know you know where Julian is! Is he in his room?” I was internally kicking myself in the ass for not looking for his car in the garage. I was so focused on getting out of there that all the other cars were practically invisible to me.

Grace heaved a loud sigh with a shake of her head. “Tsk, tsk.” for a moment she sounded like my mom. It made my blood boil but stopped as soon as her eyes, far too identical to Julian’s, made contact with mine. “You seriously don’t know? Sister, he is *always* with you.”

My heart began to thump rapidly as I looked around. I thought I was alone this whole time, but Grace’s words made me feel like there were dozens of eyes on me. She began to giggle, and I flipped her my middle finger. “Fuck you, hoe!” after that, I hurriedly marched my way through the hallways and down the staircase. I looked at my phone again to check for a signal. Still nothing.

*Fuck!*

Instead of going to the garage, I decided to just head out the front door. The whole way, I kept looking over my shoulder. Is Julian really following me? I can’t tell. My anxiety was numbing my feral instincts. The woman I once was on the streets was shriveling up facing forces I wasn’t familiar with.

The drizzle from earlier had gotten heavier, and I huffed in annoyance. *Fucking hell.* Nonetheless, I still threw my hood over my head and walked out of the mansion. Even when I was outside, I still felt uneasy. Was Julian watching me through the windows? Will he keep following me?

My jacket may have kept me dry, but the cold wind still made me shiver and the rain was starting to get my pants and shoes wet. I could hear the claps of thunder on the horizon again. *ANOTHER fucking storm?! For fuck’s sake!* I didn’t turn back. Like hell I would! Or at least so I thought. I didn’t take Grace’s snotty warning seriously until now.

The road was flooded. And I mean flooded‌–flooded. The dip in the road was completely submerged beneath brown water that had big logs swiftly floating in the current. I was eager to get the hell out of there, but even I could tell that my small body wouldn’t be able to stand that current. Who knows how deep it is? And I could see a place where the newly born river was thin enough to walk through. The most frustrating part of all? I could literally see the roof of the neighbor’s mansion in the distance.

“FUCK!” I screamed at the crying sky and kicked a rock in front of me, flinging it into the rushing water. Sure, I took Liam’s warning more seriously, but I didn’t think it’d be like this! Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The most I’ve seen are flooded streets, not an entire road submerged. I pulled out my phone again and lifted it up high in the air again. There’s been no change. Not only was there no signal, but I noticed my battery was dying too because it wasn’t plugged in last night. The boom of thunder in the distance was getting closer, too.

There’s no choice. I have to go back.