Chapter 70

**Blue**


Once I have my escape route figured out I sneak back upstairs to our room and start to make my other plans. Less than an hour goes by before Bryant shows up with my old bag. It’s like seeing an old friend again, but the reunion is bittersweet. That bag holds so many memories and not all of them have been good.

“Thanks Bryant.” I say holding the bag close to me.

“It was no problem, Miss Blue. Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale.” He gives me a concerned look but I give him a smile and wave off his concern.

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

He nods and even though he still looks worried he doesn’t ask me anything else. We say a quick goodbye and I close the door behind me. Once I’m alone I put my old bag on the bed and look through everything inside. It looks like everything is still inside even the money I had saved up. I guess no one bothered with it since all of these people have way more money than this that it isn’t worth stealing. This moment is humbling. The reminder of what I came from and how high on a pedestal I’ve been put. So many things given that I could have never imagined having.

Most of all…a husband who has surprised me everyday since we met that even a grump like him can acre about someone. The fact that he picked me to care for makes me feel so special, but he needs to focus on his company. He doesn’t need any distractions, and all the attention I’m bringing to his personal life isn’t helping. If I keep my head down, and don’t get caught he could say that I’m laying low to protect myself from the stress of the media attention. He won’t look bad and eventually people will move on to another topic.

I might be hoping for too much that it will be that easy, but for Artemis’s sake I hope it is.

I grab a pair of jeans and my favorite band t-shirt before heading to the bathroom. A quick shower later and I’m dressed with my bag packed with the necessities and nothing more. I leave all the clothes, shoes, and jewelry nicely in their correct places. The last thing I set aside is my ring. I make sure to leave it on Artemis’s side table so he will see it. I’m hoping he won’t think I ran off with something so valuable but just in case. I’m about to head for the door when my phone goes off. I left it next to my ring, but I rush over and check to see who’s calling. It’s Liam.

“Liam?” I ask when I answer.

“Hey babe.” He sounds so sad.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

He chuckles. “Yeah. I just wanted to apologize for how I acted the last time I saw you. I was thoroughly scolded and hate how things ended between us. I miss you and so does everyone else. When can we see you?”

I know I shouldn’t involve them in this, but having a little help might make sneaking off easier.

“I miss you guys too. It’s been so crazy. Now Maria-Ann is talking to the press making things so much worse. I can’t cause Artemis any more problems.” I take a deep breath. “I’m leaving Liam.”

“What? What did he do? The fucker. I swear I’ll-“

“He didn’t do anything. He’s actually really great, but he has a whole lot of stuff to deal with. Me being here is only making matters worse. I’m thinking of going through with my plan and heading to California.”

He’s silent for an uncomfortably long time. Long enough to have me panicking a little.

“So, you’re running away.” He sounds mad which I find odd since he didn’t like Artemis.

“To protect everyone. How long before the press learns about you guys and hound you for information on me? This is best for everyone. It’s best if it’s like I never existed.” My heart breaks at the idea of everyone I’ve met forgetting me forever.

“We don’t care about that, and we would only have good things to say about you. You are an amazing, beautiful, and strong woman.”

My eyes burn with tears and my chest aches from how touched I feel by his words. “Thanks, but that won’t change things. I need to do this Liam. Please don’t try to change my mind, and don’t worry I’ll call you once I’m settled.”

“No.” he says in a firm tone so similar to Artemis’s.

“No?”

“No. You aren’t going.”

I scoff in disbelief. “Um, you don’t get to make that decision for me.”

“Well, I’m making it. You need to face this and accept your place in your new life. Running away is the cowards way out.”

My blood starts to get warm at being called a coward, but isn’t that what I am?

Still, I can’t find it in myself to care when so many people could get hurt because of me. I can’t put my friends at stake over some quicky marriage.

“Look Liam…I hear you and I’ll think things over some more. I have to go though. Talk to you soon.” I end the call without letting him get a word in because he’ll know I still plan to go through with this.

I regret telling him where I’m going, but that’s a bridge I’ll have to cross once I get to it. First, I need to get out of here. I check my bag one more time and look around the room to be sure there isn’t any sign of me being gone besides my ring. The sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs has me moving fast. I leave the door cracked and rush down the hallway. Several times I look over my shoulder to see if the person is going to catch me, but no one appears. Maybe I’d imagined the sound from before.

Just to be safe I jog toward the other stairs as quietly as possible. Thankfully my experience in sneaking around abandoned places to find a place to stay makes me light on my feet. Couldn’t have the cops catching me or I would have ended back in foster care, so I developed pretty good sneaking skills.

I make it to the stairs and move down them at a quick pace but stopping at the bottom to check if the coast is clear. Just like before I don’t see anyone, so I pull the door open and walk out before someone appears. Once I’m on the deck I move slowly over the wooden panels hoping they won’t make any noises. I’m not so lucky and I have to stop several times to make sure no one has heard the obnoxious sounds the wood is making. When I finally make it to the stairs that lead off the deck I give up trying to be quiet and since there are only three steps I jump over them and take off running.

It still seems odd to me that Alan and Artemis haven’t put in any security measures out here. Ignoring the nagging feeling that this all seems too easy I continue running like my life depends on it. I’m a mile or so in when I start to get confused about where I’m going. The trees start to sort of blur together and I make the mistake of turning in a circle which causes me to officially lose any sense of where I was heading.

“Shit. This isn’t good.” I say to myself.

At first I had planned on bringing my phone so that I would have the directions, but remembered that Artemis could probably track it. I’ve heard of all these new phones having shit like that. Seems a little extreme, but whatever.

“Just pick a direction and start walking. Why am I talking to myself out loud? Maybe because there is no one out here to look at me like I’m a crazy person.” I take my own advice and pick a direction to walk in.

I could be walking back to Alan’s house for all I know, but there would be other chances for me to attempt my escape if that happens. When I’ve been walking for a while and I haven’t seen the house I figure that’s progress, so I continue on my current path. I’m not sure how long I’ve been walking when an intense cramp hits me.

“Shit…shit…ow” I wrap my arms around my stomach and bend over as if it will relieve some of the pain. “This isn’t good.”

My periods have always been different each time, but recently the cramping has been getting more intense. I guess my mind decided to block that out when the idea of running away popped up, and now I’m in the middle of nowhere having intense cramps. The daylight is also slowly falling making me even more nervous. I need to keep moving the best I can before it gets dark.

I take a few more steps before another pain hits me and I whimper in pain. This is really bad…