Chapter 22 Escape the club
>>Clio
No! No! No!!
The room felt suffocating, the walls closing in around me as I strained against his grip. Fear and desperation pulsed through me as I struggled to break free, my heart racing like crazy. The adrenaline surged as I wriggled and fought.
“Please,” I begged, “Let me go,” My voice came out feeble and I wondered if he could even hear my pleas.
My fingers clawed at his hands, my nails digging into his skin in a futile attempt to loosen his hold. But his grip was unyielding and brutal
I can’t just die here! I have so many things I had hoped would get better! I haven’t even lived yet!!! I twisted my body and kicked without planning anything out but luckily my foot hit his groin.
I haven’t lived the way I want to!!
“Ohmmm!” He grunted in response, momentarily losing his grip and I threw his hand away, crawling further out over the armrest. The room seemed to blur around me as the struggle continued, my breaths coming in ragged gasps and unfortunately, it didn’t take him much time to recover.
He caught my leg before I got off the couch and pulled me back.
I let out a scream and reached for anything within my reach as I was being pulled back – a lamp, a chair – anything that could give me an advantage.
My palm grazed against something and before I even caught sight of it, I grabbed it as I flew back onto the couch. His hands reached for me again but I swung the lamp I just grabbed towards him, the metallic clang as it connected with the side of his head. But it was not enough to free me from his grasp.
So, I hit him again, this time harder, making his whole world spin
For a split second, his grip faltered, and that was all I needed. I broke free, stumbling sidewards, away from the couch, as I tried to put distance between us. My heart thundered in my chest and my breathing was ragged. But before I could make my escape, he lunged forward, his fingers brushing against my arm. I felt the tug, the sensation of being pulled back towards him, and my world blurred as I realized I was being drawn back.
He took hold of me, “You little bitch,” And he threw me back onto the couch once again and tried to grab my neck again but I started fighting him with all my might. Throwing my legs and arms at him but he still somehow managed to bring his hands around my air pipes and choke me.
“You have the wrong person!” I yelled with whatever strength I had left.
OH, shit…
I felt my breathing get labored. I had exhausted a lot of my energy in mere seconds and I felt myself losing.
Oh no…
Tears slipped to the sides of my face as I stopped struggling but right as my vision started going dark the door burst open.
“Zhou-Lin!!” My boss barged his way in screaming the man’s name. He had an angry expression on his face and he didn’t waste any time coming towards us and tackling Zhou-Lin.
The couch toppled over with the impact and the pretty guy’s grip on me loosened and he let me go. I gasped for air as I fell on the head of the couch that was now on the floor while the other two rolled away.
With tear-filled eyes, I looked at them push each other off
“What do you think you’re doing?!?” Matthew yelled at the man named Zhou-Lin
“Are you out of your mind!?” Zhou-Lin yelled back, “She’s the enemy!” He pointed at me then turned to look at me, only pausing for a moment when he realized I was already up and running away.
Matthew turned to look at me too while I stumbled out of my heels and ran out of the room barefooted.
“Stop!!” My temporary boss yelled at me.
“Don’t you dare!!” The Chinese man threatened me as they both got up to run after me while I ran into the corridors with my hand rubbing my neck. My vision was still strange and tears were streaming down my face, ruining my mascara.
I couldn’t afford to go downstairs and make an exit from there. It would be too risky and my guts were telling me I’d fail miserably. Clubs have way more security after all.
So, I ran to the backspace of the second floor, searching for an exit there.
I heard loud footsteps behind me.
“Stop!!” Matthew yelled, “I mean no harm!”
Like hell!!! I ran faster.
“Guards!!!” Zhou-Lin screamed, “Security!! An intruder!!”
Oh HELL!!!
I turned the corner from the end and saw an open window at the end of the other corridor.
“Cherelle!!” Matthew called my fake name, “Stop!” And I felt his presence get even closer, scaring the shit out of me. But I didn’t stop and look at him, I just ran straight ahead with my eyes on the window.
Thunder flashed, lighting up the alley behind the club for a split second and I knew the weather was going to turn bad at any moment.
“Cherelle!” Matthew yelled the name once again when he realized what I was going to do, “Don’t!” He warned me, but I still did it.
There was no other choice.
I could not afford to get caught. Especially not when there was a Chinese mafia ready to kill me right on the spot.
The adrenaline surged through me as I leaped out of the window, my heart pounding in my chest. I rolled up my body as the water droplets came in contact with my skin in mid-air. The ground rushed up to meet me, and I landed with a rough roll, my body absorbing the impact.
“Oww!” I scraped my skin but I also knew I had no time to waste. With a quick glance back at the window I saw Matthew and Zhou-Lin stop there for a moment to see if I was alive or not.
It was a split-second view I got of both of them and while Zhou-Lin had a frustrated expression on, Matthew seemed somewhat concerned.
I got up to my feet immediately as the dark clouds started to make it pour, “Cherelle.” Matthew flung open the whole window to jump off but it was a head start for me because they didn’t jump right after me and then I ran off, hearing two other thuds behind me soon after, indicating both of them had jumped out and were at my tail once again.