Jesus, had I just done that? My body shook. I’d broken up with Easton. Hell, I’d all but threatened to kill him. Now what the hell was I supposed to do?

I laid my head against the door and stared up at the engaged deadbolt. Even though my body shook, my logical thinking functions kicked in. “First things first.”

I pulled out my phone and called a locksmith. The call after that was the most important one I’d ever made in my life. I clenched and unclenched my fists as I listened to the double ringing, willing the line to be answered.

“Hiya, my love.”

I tried to steady my voice, but it trembled nevertheless. “Faith? It’s Abbie. I need a place to stay.”

2

Abbie…

I sat on that floor.

I didn't know how long. Terrified and ashamed, hysterical and… euphoric. But I had done it. I had walked away. I had left him. Or made him leave, but that was just semantics.

I picked myself up off the floor, wincing as my shoulder popped. My knee protested, and my head threatened to explode off of my body.

But I was standing. And that was something I hadn't thought I'd ever be able to do. I was on my own two feet. And Easton was out of the house.

Holy shit. Easton was out of the house.

I whipped around and stared at that lock. He still had keys.

You can't stay here.

Right. I had a place to go. My classes wouldn’t start for another month, but I would just go to London now. Faith had already said yes, so I had somewhere to go.

Start moving. Passport. Clothes. Go.

My brain sent out the commands, but they all took a moment to process. A much-needed spark of adrenaline was now breaking down to make me sluggish and slow. My head hurt. Everything hurt. God, it hurt so bad.

But I had to worry about the pain later. Survival came first.

I didn't waste time. I grabbed the knife from where I’d dropped it. I made sure the chair underneath the doorknob was as secure then went to my closet. I pulled out the largest suitcase I had and started haphazardly shoving clothes into it. I would have loved to take my time and thought through what my future London style would be.

Who are you kidding? What London style will you have? You're a mostly basics kind of girl anyway.