Chapter Twenty-two

Emma

Looking down at my bare feet, I realized I hadn’t taken the time to put on shoes or even socks. With my eyes wide open, I moved the direction I’d been taken each night, turning left from the door. A quick check over my shoulder confirmed that in the other direction, there was one door beyond mine on the other side of the hall. Beyond that, it dead-ended with a window, an unblocked window.

My fingers blanched as I gripped the square cap on top of the banister and took a step down. As soon as my weight pressed upon the stair, the wood creaked. I’d heard that sound before, when Rett was leading me. However, never before had it seemed as loud. My head quickly turned from side to side as I held my breath, waiting for someone to find me. The staircase was currently very simple in design, a polished oak with a smooth wooden handrail sandwiched between two tall walls. It paled in comparison to the other rooms in this house.