Chapter 5: Running Home

As soon as I heard Chase leave, I scrambled out of bed.

My clothes were torn. I opened the closet, planning to borrow some of his girlfriend’s clothes, but the closet was full of men’s clothes.

Huh?

Not a single women’s outfit?

Does she have a separate closet?

I didn’t have time to check. I just threw on his shirt and jacket.

Chase is really tall, six-foot-two—almost eight inches taller than me. I looked like a kid playing dress-up, wrapped in his clothes.

I rolled up the sleeves and pant legs, grabbed the scraps of my dress, and hurried out.

Once I made it out of the apartment complex, I let out a long breath.

Finally free.

Even if Chase realizes it wasn’t his girlfriend last night, he’ll never guess it was me.

Then I’ll be safe.

Our sibling relationship might still be salvageable.

I jogged down the block, head ducked low, hoping nobody from the building recognized me in his oversized hoodie. The L was screeching by overhead, and a kid on a skateboard nearly clipped my heels at the corner. A gust of wind whipped my hair into my face, and I nearly tripped on the curb, but I kept moving, desperate to put distance between me and that apartment. But none of it mattered. For the first time all morning, I felt a flicker of hope.