one.

The light flickered every few seconds. A buzzing filled the small white tiles bathroom. The sink knob squeaked as the water came out in a rush. Cupping their hands, collecting the falling water. They were hunching over the basin as they brought the hand bowl they made of water closer to splash over their heated face. Taking the bottom of their black t-shirt to wipe off the remaining beads of water. They opened their eyes to come face to face with their own reflection. Taking in a deep breath as they stared into their own brown eyes. A knocking sound had soon pulled the person's attention away from their reflection.

"Hold on a second." They called out as they shuffled around to gather their belongings that poured out of their bag. The knocking continued which caused an awful lot of irritation to surface. Tossing the stuff onto the counter into their bag. They then grabbed their bag from off the ground and headed towards the incessant knocking. Flinging open the flimsy wooden door and setting their eyes on the person on the other side. An annoyed look in their eyes as they glared at one another.

"Jeez, Pru. Thought you fell in or something." One of the crew guys, Benji had joked. The lame joke the guy had said caused Pru to roll her eyes before she tried to go past him. He grabbed her by her arm and pulled her back quickly.

"You can't just go off and do your own thing." Benji let out as he lowered his voice. Pru yanked her arm from his grip and sent a harsher glare in his direction. Hate had filled her eyes in an instant. She hated being told what she could and couldn't do by the group she was stuck with. None of them respected her therefore they didn't deserve her respect.

"I don't need a babysitter and I sure as hell can do my own thing. I have been staying in this house for over a year." Pru snapped back which caused Benji to instantly throw his arms up in defense.

"I just listen to the boss." Benji defended himself with a shrug. She cringed when he had said the word "boss" because of who he was referring to. The reason why she was stuck in the damned house for so long and stripped of her everyday kind of life for over a year. She was stuck. And had no way of getting out. Even if she wanted to make it out alive, the chances were slim-to-none. She couldn't even sneak out to contact someone for help. Constantly being watched like a hawk. As fast as she cringed at the name, she instantly covered up her distaste with a scowl as she looked at the guy in front of her.

"Well you can tell Graham if he has a problem with me wandering in a house that I've been staying in for a whole year, then he can talk to me himself. He doesn't need one of his lap dogs to try and get me in line." Pru spat as she crossed her arms, standing her ground.

"Where is he anyway?" Pru questioned as she shifted weight from one foot to the other. Waiting for his response as he stared at the girl with wide eyes. Today she was in a mood and he crossed her. Now he knew that he had to safely leave this interaction before she really exploded in rage..

"In the meeting house. Going over the usual guidelines before the run." Benji informed her as she huffed out. He scurried away as she made her way through the house.

Pru paced around the kitchen. The outside light was slightly brightening the tan painted room. Trying to keep herself busy as she walked back and forth. When she saw everyone exiting the backyard garage from the window, she took a deep breath. Preparing herself for the worse. The door opened from the other room then closed. Footsteps could be heard as she soon felt arms wrap around her waist. She tensed up for a few seconds as she began to feel kisses being peppered along her neck. Sighing in defeat as she turned around to come face to face with Graham. His scar across his tanned cheek looked more detailed in the lighting. His dark brown eyes focused down on the girl like she was prey. Pru had a frown on her face as she looked up at him then down at the floor.

"Why are you so sad, baby?" Graham questioned as he grabbed Pru's chin. Lifting it up to make her look at him.

"You're doing another run?" Pru let out as Graham released her chin, his hands falling down to his sides. Pru crossed her arms as she looked at him with a look of disappointment on her face.

"We've been over this a million times, Pru. We need the money." Graham said with irritation in his voice.

"Graham, you almost got caught last time. We don't even need the money. You have your job down at the store. And I would have had a job already if you didn't keep me in here. But we don't need to live a life like this." Pru tried to persuade him. She could already see the switch flick off as his emotions began to drain from his being.

"I'm doing this run. End of discussion." Graham stated as he turned away from her. She huffed out as she hit her hands on the counter in annoyance.

"Then don't expect me to be here when you get back. You can have one of your other girls you've been sneaking around with be there to tend to your needs." Pru shouted out as he whipped around quickly, his hand making contact with her cheek. The harsh impact threw her off a bit. Her hand instantly went up to her face as she stared at him.

"You better be here when I get back or there will be consequences." Graham gave her one last look before he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Pru let the tears that welled up in her eyes, slowly escape down her red hot cheek. The stinging sensation boomed across her face as she stood there. She couldn't live like this. Pru couldn't be the evil man's hostage anymore. So she knew in that moment exactly what she needed to do. It was her only option at this point as she headed towards her bag. She began to dig around until her hand had landed on the item. Pulling out the small card with a number on it, she stared down at it with her last bit of hope.

+

Noise of the police scanner was the main sound that filled the room. Going back and forth around the house to collect things that she needed. Pru packed her bags and suitcase in the fastest pace that she could. Zipping up the suitcase she began to bring some of her bags out into her car. She then went back into the house to get the last batch of things before she left when the scanner beeped.

"25-33. Armed robbery in process. On the corner of North Clark Street." The scanner announced as Pru really picked up her pace.

"Shit." Pru swore as the call got picked up. A man responded that he was on his way to the scene. Pru knew that Graham was going to be on his way home soon before he went into hiding. And she knew that he would take her unwillingly if she was here when he got back. And she couldn't put herself in any more danger. His aggression had become too much and she didn't want to be stuck in this life. It might have been a year together with him but she knew if she didn't get out now, she wouldn't ever.

Pru rushed out of the house with her keys and wallet in hand. Throwing the remainder of her belongings into the back of her car, she then slammed the door. Going to the driver's side to get in, she paused as she saw her neighbor peering out from behind their curtain. Pru stared at them for a second longer before she hopped into her car. The girl pulled away from the house in an instant to get as far as she could. She had to find a safe place for the time being. With no idea currently where to go as she still glanced from time to time at the card beside her, she drove around. One of the places she decided to go by was the crime scene. As she peered out the window of her car, she tried to capture the scene into her mind. She was confused as to why there were as many cops and paramedics on the scene. But she didn't really stop to think for a minute what had actually gone down at the robbery. Her brown eyes had been caught by a pair of blueish-green vibrant eyes. They watched her carefully in confusion as she looked around. Pru began to feel uneasy at the attention she was receiving from the man as she pressed onto the gas a bit more to get far away from the scene.

Edited: 5/9/2021