It would be stupid to piss Thomas off before I got to eat. The bitter soap taste lingering in my mouth is enough incentive to behave until I get the chance to rid of it.

Lunch passes too fast. The entire time I'm thinking about how immediately afterward I'll be back to fighting everyone. Once everyone has left, Thomas fills up the sink with hot water as he waits for me to collect all the dishes. I stand, but that's all I move.

After the sink is nearly full of water, he turns to me. "What the hell are you doing?"

I gather up my nerves, trying not to let my voice shake. "I'm done with this. I refuse to be your or Adam's slave any longer."

My legs shake as I prepare myself for his response, but he just laughs.

"Aww, that's cute, kid. How do you think you're going to accomplish that?"

"I'm not staying here."

"Well, there are only two ways you're leaving. One, when I return you. Two, in a body bag."

Despite his threat, I hold my ground. "You don't scare me. Adam said you can't kill me. No matter what happens, I won't give up on trying to walk out that front door."

"Well, that's simple enough," he chides. "I'll just have to make it so you can't walk anywhere."

It only takes him a step to reach me and twist my arm behind my back. I twist and thrash to free myself, but he still manages to push me to the sink. He pushes his hips against mine, pinning me to the counter. With his free hand, he grabs and twists at my hair.

"Usually, this is the part where you would cry and beg for my forgiveness, but I'm too excited to see how far you can go before I break you in."

"I'm not a new pair of shoes that need to be broken in."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid. Better hold your breath."

As soon as I can close my mouth, he pushes my head down, bending me over the sink. The steaming water irritates my skin, but I hold in a gasp so I don't drown myself. I buck back against him once my mind catches up, but I can't catch him off guard. When I realize I don't have the leverage, I reach up to pry his hand from my hair.

No matter how hard I tug, his grip stays locked on. I prepare myself mentally to control my breathing, but my head is pulled back up out of the water.

Three breaths, then I'm back under.

He goes through several different rounds, each time increasing how long I'm under water and decreasing how long I get to breathe. When I come up sputtering and near tears, he drops me on the ground. Jenna walks out the front door with Thomas's parents as I try to catch my breath, locking the door behind them.

"We have three hours, just you and me. What should we do?" He towers over me as I kneel and shakily breathe. "How about a game of cat and mouse? You run and I chase. I'll even give you a head start of thirty seconds."

The moment he starts counting, I'm on my feet. I dash quickly through the house, testing every door and window I come across. There has to be at least one left unlocked that leads outside. The second floor is more likely to have something open because they rarely let me up there, so I take the stairs two at a time. The bathroom window is locked. Both windows in Thomas's room are locked, and nothing I see in his closet hints at a secret exit. Same for his parents' room.

Just as I finish with the last window, Thomas shouts the last number. His footsteps charge up the stairs and I immediately regret being so loud in my search. I crawl under the bed quickly, pulling my legs under the bed skirt and placing a hand over my mouth and nose to keep myself quiet.

I focus in on his footsteps, mentally tracking his position. He makes his way around the floor like I had, finally entering his parents' room. I hold my breath, waiting for his torturing, tedious pace to leave the room.

But things never go my way, do they?

Hands wrap around my ankles, dragging me out from my hiding place. I thrash against him, rolling over onto my back as soon as I'm out. Before he has a chance to do anything to me, I kick him as hard as I can. Twice in the chest, then once in the throat and he's back enough for me to escape. I rush past him, ducking in the nearest closet, quietly this time so he can't track me.

I listen for him. Once he runs past the door, I sneak my way down the stairs. Each window is locked securely. As a last resort, I go to the front door, but can't figure out all the locks.

A hand reaches over my shoulder to the door as a body boxes me in from behind.

"I thought you'd be more fun to play with," Thomas croons.

"Let's play again," I try. "I'll do better this time."

"Oh really? Do you really think you can make it worth my while?" He huffs quietly against the skin on my neck before sinking his teeth into my flesh. Any indication I had that he was hitting on me flew out the window when he drew blood.

"Thomas! Thomas, please—please stop! I'll play, I'll play, I'll make it worth your while, I promise!"

With a hum, he unlatches from my neck. "I doubt that, boy. But, to play fair, I'll make a deal with you. The longer you can keep me chasing, the lighter I'll make your punishment. Go."

I take the stairs heavily before hiding in the hall closet. I hold my ear to the door, waiting for the sound of his footsteps in pursuit. He doesn't keep me waiting long, hurrying up the stairs and into a bedroom. I take the opening, sneaking back down to check the doors and windows on the first floor.

Nothing is open. Nothing is unlocked.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Taunts can't throw me off my game now. There's too much riding on this. While noting where his voice came from, I head to the kitchen door and survey the locks.

The chain is already undone, and two of the locks I undo from the inside. In two of the corners are a strange type I've never seen before, attached to two places in the frame each. It must lock from the outside, because all I have is a keyhole with no key to match.

Searching for it would be futile. If anyone was carrying it, it would be Thomas and I am not willing to go asking him for it. They wouldn't leave it lying around where I could find it because obviously they've covered all their bases. There has to be some way to pick it.

"You can't run forever!"

But not now.

I abandon the door as he approaches, hiding in the living room behind the sofa farthest in the corner. The thumps of his feet harden as he enters the kitchen and walks around, then soften and disappear as he leaves.

I wait as long as my nerves let me, then jump out of my hiding place. As I reach the threshold to the kitchen, Thomas reaches out an arm to stop me.

My body instinctively wheels back, barely staying upright.

"How...?"

"This isn't my first chase. I know all the tricks."

Before he has a chance to grab me, I burst off in the opposite direction.

"Now this is what I'm talking about, kid."

He catches up quickly, able to brush his fingertips against my shirt before I pull away again. It only takes me three times to realize he's toying with me.

As he goes for the fourth, I immediately halt and duck under his hand. Once I'm clear of it, I switch directions.

We continue until I can no longer keep a fast enough pace for him to be entertained. It doesn't take long. There's something inherently wrong about this family's collective physique.

His foot reaches out in front of mine, knocking me down to my hands and knees. He flips me onto my back, pinning me down as I pant.

"Please..."

He smirks down at me, wiping sweat off his forehead as he slows his breathing. "Best I've had in quite a while. Wish you would've lasted longer though."

God, me too.

"Well now that we're done playing, we can go back to your punishment."

He pulls me to my feet, but he can barely bring me anywhere with my legs shaking so much. Still, we manage to reach the pantry. With my back to the stairs, he reaches up and caresses my neck.

"You're worthless. No one will ever want you back."

"No! You're lying!" I choke back a sob.

"Don't get all worked up. This will only hurt more if you tense up."

With a final gentle touch against my cheek, he shoves me down the stairs.