you.”
I huffed, anger beginning to spread through my veins like wildfire. “Any
suggestions I make are strictly against the rules. Why torture myself with the idea
of freedom when I know I’ll be denied every time?”
“What do you want, Jaden? Just start with something small.”
I exhaled sharply. “Fine. I want to be able to go outside when I want and
wherever I want WITHOUT Rocky and Bullwinkle constantly up my ass. I want to be
able to go beyond the trees, where I can find one moment of peace when I don’t
want to fucking kill everyone around me.”
“That seems reasonable,” Sid said with a nod.
“No, it’s not, Sid, because I can’t be trusted. And I’ve earned that mistrust.”
“Everyone has to be given opportunities to earn it back.”
“Good luck explaining that to Darren.”
“Darren’s a reasonable man, Jaden. Give him time.”
I turned back to Sid with more menace than I had control of. “Reasonable? Are
you serious? Reasonable!? Oh, my fucking God! This is why this is bullshit! You call
threatening to murder my entire family if I don’t comply with his rules
reasonable?” I nearly shouted, fresh anger seething through my voice.
“Well, n-now, let’s be fair here,” Sid stuttered, now seeming to backtrack.
“Fair? Are you fucking kidding me! Do you even know what that word means?” I
shouted, rising to my feet and looming over him.
“Calm down, Jaden,” Sid practically pleaded.
“Miss Jaden, please cooperate,” Clive demanded.
I almost turned and knocked him out myself.
“Calm down? You’re the one who wanted to get inside my head and try to tell me
that Darren is a reasonable man when you and I both know that’s a fucking lie. See?
This is why these little bullshit therapy sessions won’t work on me, Sid. Because all
you’re going to try to do is attempt to rationalize my situation from the wrong
perspective. The only thing you’re focused on is getting me to accept my status as
Darren’s slave for the rest of my life and somehow be happy with that.”
“Jaden, you can be happy. We can make this work,” Sid said softly.
In a fit of rage, I grabbed the edge of the coffee table and ripped it out of my way,
spilling tea and shattering the contents of the table to the floor. Terror filled Sid’s
eyes now that there was nothing blocking him from me.
“Just like it worked for Darren’s mother?” I snarled.
I could feel Clive and Owen rounding either side of the couch, most likely to put
me under. I wasn’t having any of that. While they were at each end of the long
couch, I turned, hopped over the back and tore the doors of the office open to bolt
down the hallway. I needed to get the fuck away from all of them. But as I ran, the
doors to Darren’s office abruptly opened, and Darren rushed out to block my
escape, anger and concern washed over his face. Too pissed off to deal or slow
down, I danced around him quickly, ducking under his arm as he reached for me.
“I knew it!” I shouted at him as I turned back to run for the door that led
outside. I knew he’d been watching!
“Jaden!” I heard him angrily call after me, but I was already at the door.
“For once, Darren, just leave me the fuck alone!” I shouted back, basically
running for my fucking life now. If he came after me, it was game over. But as I ran,
I didn’t hear his footsteps coming after me, so he must have let me go. He was
actually letting me break his own rules for once. Maybe he knew that I needed a
moment alone just as much as I did.
Pushing my legs harder, I raced into the trees, angry tears threatening to take
over as I jumped over the dead branches scattered over the trail. Once I felt I was
deep enough, I slowed my run down to a brisk walk, my head constantly turning
back to make sure I wasn’t being followed. After a while, I felt my heartbeat finally
calm down knowing I was far away from the house and deep enough for the trees to
shelter me, I hoped. Eventually, my walk slowed, and I started to focus on all the
trees around me, the birds flying around and singing, and the warm rays of the sun
shining through the green leaves. It wasn’t as warm as usual, but it was still a nice
day out.
A few minutes later, I came across a clearing of soft grass, and I decided to take
the opportunity to sit down and clear my head for a while. Kneeling down on the
grass, I found a comfortable position, bowed my head, and took a deep breath,
releasing through my nose until I felt relaxed and focused.
I’d broken so many rules back there, and I knew I was in for it when I returned.
I’d have to
