The Only Way Out By Andra Day Novels & Stories

I burst into tears and screamed like a mad woman. I didn't understand. I was so sure I had closed the window. How was it open? Just then, my husband Cody Yates rushed in. He pushed through the crowd that had gathered around me. Without a word, he slapped me hard across the face. "Jasmine Zephyr, are you out of your mind? How could you throw our daughter out of the window? She's only three! No matter how much we fight, you shouldn't have done this to our daughter. What are you even trying to prove with this act?"

"You were amazing in there. Everyone saw it. You deserved that seat. Something isn't right..." Claire was right. My presentation was obviously the best but something wasn't right. I let out a shaky breath as she pulled me into a hug. "They're blind, But I see you. And you're not done yet." And somehow she managed to play a song with her phone while wrapping her arms around me, still. Andra day's 'rise up.' The one she knew was my favorite. Tears streamed harder and Claire's words echoed in my mind. No, I wasn't done. Not yet. And just like Andra sang, I was definitely going to rise again.

Not only that, they forced me to stay in a dingy, windowless basement apartment and saddled me with massive debt, leaving me to be beaten by loan sharks on a daily basis. Now, the comments were telling me that the person the three women loved most was me. All I could do was find that funny. Ignoring the comments, I stuck my head through the noose and kicked the stool away, allowing an overwhelming sense of suffocation to wash over me. Before my eyes appeared Mom and Dad's loving smiles. How nice. I was finally going home. "Don't worry, everyone! Elena is on her way! She might have a sharp tongue, but she'll save Daniel in the end."

" The pharmacist was frantic, shouting, but I might as well have been deaf. Had he not known I was her mother, he might have thought I was a criminal. I bought some bandages and painkillers from him and headed home. To my surprise, Laura was awake only three hours later, tearless and pain-free. At the same time, Alicia's live stream had come to a halt because her phone overheated and shut down, and she could not keep up with the broadcast. Nonetheless, Tony had genuinely walked across half a desert. Alicia became an instant sensation with a million followers.

Thirteen Daniela Berni “There’s got to be a way out of here.” I watched Audrina wander around the house, looking for some kind of window or door that wasn’t blocked by a guard. I laughed. “Audrina, just drop it. You’re not going to find a way out. You know how men like them are. They’ve got the entire place covered with body guards.” Audrina took a deep breath. “I wasn’t even kidnapped. I just followed you here. How am I the one that’s more freaked out than you?”

I dragged myself forward with my broken leg while gathering the children's belongings, speaking softly to them. "Nate, make sure you look after Cece when you're up there. Have fun with all the superhero figures and teddy bears over there." That day, Lionel Brooks was about to leave with Fiona Smith and her child. In the rubble, my son, Nate Brooks, lay with a steel beam piercing his small chest, blood dripping. He looked at me and asked, "Mommy, will Daddy come back soon?"

As for the woman left behind… she wanted us to have our fun with her before stripping her naked and dumping her on the street. His entire body trembled as he spoke. Neither Brandon nor the men behind him could believe it. Hannah had been the mastermind of the kidnapping farce. Brandon shook his head in agony. "Even Hannah was certain I'd choose her. How devastated must Eleanor have been the moment I left her behind?" He dropped to the edge of the cliff, staring into the endless abyss below. "Eleanor! Eleanor!" His voice grew hoarse from his screaming. One of his friends lowered his head in guilt, no doubt remembering how cruel they had all been to me.

Leaving no‌w is the only‌ wa⁠y to protect‍ us. It does not matter tha‍t I only have a small am⁠o⁠u‌nt of money and the cl‍o‍thes Damian‍ bought for us. We will figure it‌ out because we alwa⁠ys have. We will get on a bu⁠s and‌ disappear somew‌here far awa⁠y. We will sle‌ep⁠ in s‌helters i‌f we must and we wi⁠ll start over from nothing if that⁠ i‍s what it takes.

"Dad, I'm sorry for what happened today. Your identity got exposed… I'm really sorry." He chuckled and patted my hand. There wasn't a trace of blame in his voice as he chided gently, "Silly girl. I'll always have your back when you need it. How could I ever blame you for standing up for yourself?" A breeze brushed past, lifting my hair and the anger that had been weighing on my chest. … I later heard that Nigel had gone bankrupt and left Saltmere to return to the countryside. Apparently, he was now the hick Arlo had so despised.

Like when he gave away the healing potion I'd fought so hard to get—to Mia, because she had a tiny scratch on her finger. Meanwhile, I'd fallen down a slope and had no healing potion of my own, so I spent three months stuck in bed. He'd called all of that "acting out." Fine. Then I'd stop acting out. I straightened my spine. Stumbled, but kept walking. Left the camp behind. When I was finally outside the training camp gates, I reached out through the mind-link, calling for my father. "Dad," I said, my voice steady. "I want to come home to Healer's Hollow."