Chapter 5 Last walk to home

Emily's shoes tapped softly against the marble as she followed the woman in grey-the same one who'd welcomed her that first day. The echo of their footsteps was the only sound in the corridor, each step a reminder of what she'd just endured. Of what she had just become.

Her skin still buzzed from the tension of the last hour. Her mind felt stretched thin, like something inside her had been quietly torn and was now trying to stitch itself back together.

They passed the room where the final test had taken place. The heavy door was shut again. Sealed. Like it hadn't happened at all.

The hall opened up toward the entryway. The same polished floors. The same too-clean air. The same silence that felt more like surveillance than peace.

The woman didn't speak until they reached the front door. She paused, hand on the latch, and turned to Emily with a face that betrayed nothing-no warmth, no judgment, just the robotic professionalism of someone long past caring.

"This is the last time you will walk out of here on your own," she said, quiet but firm. "You are to report tomorrow morning. 6:00 a.m. sharp."

Emily blinked. "Where?"

"Corner of West 9th and Carrow Street. An unmarked black car will be waiting. You'll be told nothing. You'll ask nothing."

The woman held her gaze for the first time, her tone softening only slightly.

"If you do not show up, the offer is gone. Forever. There is no second chance."

Emily nodded, slow and unsure.

"Pack nothing," the woman added. "Everything will be provided."

A cold finality hung in the air between them. Emily looked past her, to the massive front door, and suddenly felt the weight of what stood behind her.

She wasn't free. Not really. But this was the last breath of freedom she'd be allowed. The last moment where she still technically had a choice.

The woman opened the door.

Cool night air swept in like a slap.

The city beyond was the same - cars humming in the distance, wind brushing against bare branches, the hum of neon buzzing down the block. But everything inside Emily had shifted.

She stepped out slowly.

The door shut behind her with a muted thud, like a seal locking closed.

For a moment, Emily stood on the quiet sidewalk, unsure of which direction to turn. The night pressed in around her, making the world feel both endless and suffocating.

Tomorrow, she'd belong to someone else. To him. To that world.

Tonight, she still had her name. Her breath. Her silence.

Emily walked into the darkness, one last time as herself.

Emily stood at the sink in Lena's tiny kitchen, staring out the cracked window as the city settled into night. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. A siren wailed and faded. Life moved on like it always did, indifferent to what she was about to do.

She held a chipped mug in her hands, the tea long gone cold. Her fingers trembled slightly, not from the chill, but from the heaviness in her chest that had been building all evening. A part of her still hoped it wouldn't come to this. That someone might knock on the door and say, "You don't have to go. We figured something else out."

But no one came.

The knock that did come was quiet. Almost hesitant.

Emily didn't need to check who it was.

She opened the door and found Lena standing there, hunched into her denim jacket, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle like she was bracing against more than the cold.

Neither of them spoke for a second.

Then Lena let out a breath, voice barely audible. "You're really doing it."

Emily stepped aside to let her in. The apartment was small, with dim lighting and mismatched furniture, but Lena had spent enough nights on that threadbare couch to know every creak in the floorboards. She dropped her bag and sat without being asked.

Emily followed her, sitting beside her but leaving an inch of space between them.

"I leave at six," Emily said finally.

Lena closed her eyes, her jaw tightening. "I thought you might change your mind."

"I thought so too," Emily whispered.

They sat in silence, both women looking at the floor like maybe it held answers. Lena's hand reached out slowly, fingers brushing Emily's.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"For telling you about it. For letting it feel like... an option."

Emily shook her head. "Don't. You didn't do anything wrong. You told me the truth. It was an option. The only one that didn't end with me living on the street or worse."

"But this?" Lena's voice cracked. "Being owned? Used?"

Emily's breath hitched. She turned her head away, eyes stinging. "You think I don't know that?"

"I know you do," Lena said softly. "That's what kills me."

They fell quiet again. The hum of the old fridge filled the space between them. Outside, wind scraped against the window like a warning.

Lena broke the silence. "What if you just ran? Disappeared tonight? Took a bus somewhere?"

"And then what?" Emily asked. "Start over with what? I have eighty dollars and a landlord ready to throw me out tomorrow."

"I'd go with you," Lena said.

Emily turned, startled by the sudden emotion in her voice. "Lena..."

"I mean it," she said. "We could figure it out. I'd scrub toilets with you, hustle whatever we had to. You don't have to do this. There's always a way."

Emily reached over and finally took Lena's hand. She held it tight, like she was anchoring herself there for just a second longer.

"I love you for saying that," she said. "But you know as well as I do-there isn't always a way. Sometimes the door they leave open isn't really a door. It's a tunnel. And you have to crawl through it and hope there's still some part of you left on the other side."

Lena's eyes were wet now. She wiped at them roughly. "You're stronger than me."

"No," Emily said. "I'm just more tired."

She leaned in and rested her forehead against Lena's. For a moment, neither of them moved. Just breathing. Just existing in that sliver of peace before the world came crashing back.

When Emily finally pulled back, she smiled - a tired, cracked little thing. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Don't wait for me. Don't try to follow this road. You're better than this place. Smarter. Kinder. If I ever come back, I want to find you living."

Lena nodded, even though her lips trembled. "Then you better come back. Or I'm coming to drag your ass out myself."

They both laughed - a real, shaky laugh that spilled out and filled the quiet for just a moment.

Then it was done.

Lena stood. She hugged Emily hard, longer than either of them had in years.

When she finally stepped back, she cupped Emily's face in her hands. "You matter. Don't let them take that from you."

Emily nodded, unable to speak.

''I mean on the bright side the mans hot and packing an 8 -inch''

''The fuck is wrong with you Emily ? '' Lena said as she laughed.