The past 2 weeks felt like a slow blur. Of course, Pitch felt nauseated most of the time now, probably because the video was still fresh in her memory. But beyond that was Papa's constant disdain for her, in fact he could barely stand to be in the same room with her. A good thing in retrospect because he would have probably strangled her a long time ago.
Pitch remembered waking up on the cold hard floor and wondering why everything was dark and quiet. Her heart lurched in pain at the fact that none of her family had cared enough to stay while she was passed out. It made her feel less human and more like a stable animal. It was the only thing fueling her determination to run away from such a miserable existence. The fact no one would care or miss her. Why miss out on a golden opportunity for people who wouldn't blink if she was choking to her death right in front of them?
They were no longer family, surely, she hadn't had one since she was probably 7. And come what may, she was ready to risk it all for a chance at freedom. And with that thought, she laid down three critical parts of her escape plan. First, she needed to find a way to contact NYU about campus housing. Next, she needed a way to get Marisa out of the house so she could pack some valuables. Her mom's jewelry and wedding ring would probably fetch a good amount if she could somehow manage to get to the local pawn shop. The problem was her room had been installed with cameras to watch her every move and the person watching her like a hawk was none other than Marisa. The last part of the plan would be to figure out a way to get to the airport without arousing suspicion and she had to do that within the next 2 weeks. It was a risky timeline given the limited number of excuses she could come up with and if anything went wrong, she could really end up with a noose around her neck this time.
Two days after the plan was hatched, Pitch set it into action. She watched the camera briefly and then pretended to fall asleep. Except, she ended up taking an actual nap. When she woke up it was 1 pm, her lunch sat on the nightstand, still warm. So, Marisa was probably out for lunch at that time. She had steadily built a routine of napping before lunch time to trick Marisa into not checking her footage at that time. If Marisa believed that she was napping while she ate, she wouldn't think that Pitch was up to something during that time. Using the small window she had, she quickly slipped into her bathroom and sent a quick email to NYU. Within that email, she detailed her acceptance but also her need for campus housing citing her out-of-state status and the fact that she had never been to New York. Once that was done, she slipped back into her room to finish her lunch. She had to be eating or at least pretending to and in her room by the time Marisa gets back to her "job". She had also made up an excuse about briefly using the bathroom for if she got caught. Thankfully everything run smoothly and she crossed the first challenge.
If being an underdog had taught her anything, it was that you could be mistreated and played with, but you would also know everyone's schedule and many of their secrets. Although not something she had initially planned to use, Pitch knew Marisa had been texting someone. A stranger named Fern. They had exchanged voice memos and videos although she couldn't speak to their content because Marisa's phone was always locked. Days later, Pitch devised a means to get to the family jewels. She would sneak out of her room to Rodrica's, find the safe and grab whatever she could before Marisa's lunch break ends. After noon, she pretended to sleep and set an alarm for 1pm. When the clock chimed, she got up and quickly slipped out.
She made her way to her stepmom's room to claim her inheritance. Halfway there, she saw her stepmom stepping out of the room. Pitch dived behind a pillar waiting for her to exit before sighing in relief. She had completely forgotten about her and didn't account for the risk to the plan. Taking one final look, she dashed for the door. Once inside, she found the safe behind the huge painting of Rodrica, herself, where her mom's painting was now replaced.
She took a moment and stared at the lock. Of course she didn't about the combination for it but she had a few guesses. She took the first guess. 0914. Marisa's birthday. The safe beeped and a red light on the side blinked once. She tried again. 0820. The safe beeped again and the light turned green this time. Only someone as conceited as Rodrica would set her birthday as a safe's password. Pitch was grateful for that though as she grabbed a handful of jewels and her mother's ring before heading out. When she made it to the door, she heard footsteps approaching and dashed to hide behind the curtain by the large windows. Rodrica stepped into the room, a cup of chamomile tea in her hand. Pitch could smell the sweet fragrance and barely made her out from the slit in the thick curtains.
"Yes, I made sure she's as penniless as a drenched chicken"
Pitch instantly knew who that penniless chicken was. It was her. She watched as her stepmom turned with a smile on her face, staring into the large mirror by the window. For a moment, her heart beat raced at the thought of being discovered but knowing Rodrica, she was only admiring herself at the expense of being aware of her environment. It was a flaw Pitch was most grateful for, although it was also the reason why she was running out of time and risking getting caught by Marisa. After a full minute, Rodrica turned and left the room.
When Pitch finally made it back to her room, she took a deep breath and dashed to hide the jewels in the bathroom. Then she had lunch. Halfway into the meal, the door swung open.
As her luck would have it, Marisa suddenly barged in and declared a surprise inspection of her room.
Pitch instantly froze in horror.