Free Chase You To The Sun by Jocelyn Han

she was afraid of what she might do.

7.
    T he vibrating smart phone under her hand woke her up with a start the next morning. Lana sat up, immediately switched off her alarm and hid the phone under her pillow again. She’d set it at six o’clock, anxious to find out whether the sun had already risen. When she opened the curtains in her room and looked outside, though, the world was still pitch black. No stars or moon were visible, and the sun was definitely not there either. With a sinking feeling, she realized that the force field Bruce had mentioned was still up. Chances were she wouldn’t be able to see the sunrise at all. How would her friends ever find out where she was being kept prisoner now? A sunset time of about eight o’clock probably wasn’t enough to pinpoint her exact latitude and longitude on Earth. Or was it? She had no idea, and she was freaking out. Lana turned on her heels and crawled under the covers again to get out her phone, cursing under her breath when the display showed no reception bars. All communication seemed to be cut off under the blanket of that impenetrable force field. There was nothing for it – she’d have to try again later.
    Now that she was awake, Lana felt restless. What she wanted to do most of all right now was take a hot shower or a nice bubble bath. Suddenly, she felt grossed out again at the thought of John touching her while she was unconscious. She wanted to wash off the marks his hands had left on her skin. Yesterday, she hadn’t had the opportunity to locate the bathroom on the second floor – she’d just used the small toilet adjacent to her room before going to sleep – but if there was ever a time she could sneak around undisturbed, it was now, at six in the morning. The rest of the house still seemed to be in deep sleep.
    Armed with a small towel and a bottle of shower gel from her baggage, Lana tiptoed out into the hallway in her tank top and shorts, the clothes she’d used for pajamas. Somehow, wearing her short, silk night gown hadn’t seemed appropriate last night. Despite Bruce’s words of reassurance, she had still locked her door, anxiously listening for footsteps out in the hallway for a long time before drifting off to sleep. Nothing had happened – John had stayed away, and so had Bruce.
    Lana’s cheeks burned with shame when she thought back to last night’s hushed conversation at her doorstep. Why the hell had she let that take place? The worst thing was that she didn’t just feel threatened by the fact Bruce had asked her that question full of dark promise – she felt intrigued . Terrified, but fascinated. If only her dad knew what thoughts were going around in her head, he’d probably shell out another gazillion rubles to get her out of here pronto.
    “Get a grip,” she muttered to herself, trying several doors to the left of her room before hitting the entrance to a large bathroom, complete with sinks, a giant tub and a frosted glass shower enclosure in the left corner. A small smile tugged at her lips as Lana locked the door and walked over to the shower. Perfect. This was just what she needed.
    As the hot water ran and steamed up the shower cubicle, Lana quickly shrugged out of her makeshift PJs. She stepped under the spray and gasped when the water almost burned her skin. It felt good, though – it made her feel clean and focused. The lavender-scented shower cream on her skin did wonders for her shot nerves. Back on Mars, she’d always used it after a long day at college. It felt like a little piece of home, almost bringing tears to her eyes.
    Grabbing her towel, Lana dried off and wrapped it around her body before stepping up to the mirror above the sink. Tired, hazel eyes stared back at her. She wished she could put on some make-up, but her mascara and eyeliner were still in her handbag on board Captain Blanco’s ship.
    After washing her face with some cold water, Lana picked up her clothes and walked over to open the door. When