Portia laid awake that night. She heard the footsteps of the night guard as he slowly made his way down the hallway and looked in through every window. When his shadow fell upon the small window to her room, she closed her eyes and waited. He moved away a couple of seconds later.

She jumped out of bed and fixed the covers to make it look like there still was a person sleeping there. The guard wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the darkness. She walked over to the door and looked out of the window. She could see Elias looking at her from his window. He was saying his final farewell in silence.

She listened and finally heard the door at the end being unlocked and opened. The guard closed it again behind him. She only had three minutes. She quickly unlocked her door, moved out of the room and locked the door again. She looked at Elias and he nodded from behind his door. She wasn't going to leave him though. She unlocked his door too and opened it.

"What are you doing? Get out!" He whispered in frustration.
"I'm not leaving without you," she said calmly.
"He'll be back soon," he said.
"Guess he'll find me out here with the keys. It will be a shame to see them go to waste," she said.
"Portia, god damn it!" He hissed.
"I'm not gonna leave you alone, Elias. Come with me. We can do this together. Let's tilt the fucking boat and make a swim for it," she said.

He broke out in a smile, ran to his bed to fix it quickly and then ran back to her. She locked the door to his room again, and they started sprinting down the hallway. They made it to the door between their prison and freedom. She unlocked it and let them both out. She locked it again and they ran out in the darkness.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He said. "Where are we gonna go?"
"To my place first. I got a car. It'll get us out of here faster," she said.
"I'm so fucking scared," he said.

She took his hand and looked at him.

"I know, Elias. You've been locked up for 9 years. The world is a scary place to be, but I'm right here with you. I won't let you drown. And I've been thinking," she said.
"About what?" He asked.
"Get in contact with whoever offered you a record deal back in the days. Tell them what happened to you. How you were locked up against your will because you wanted to create music. They'll love it. The medias will suck it all up. You'll be famous in no time. You'll connect with all the souls in pain out there. You'll get your dream life," she said.
"And my dream girl?" He smirked.
"Hopefully," she smirked back. "If we can stand being around each other for the long run. But for now, you're not getting rid of me."

It seemed easier with her by his side. She calmed him down. He wasn't on his own. She would take care of him for now. She had money. Once he found his place in this world, he would pay it all back.

"Oh, crap," she said.
"What?" He asked.
"Seth's car," she pointed at a car. "He's in my apartment."
"Let's leave," he said.
"We need my car keys. I can get us out of this state tonight, but only if we drive," she said. "Shit, I doubt calling the cops will do us any good. They'll quickly find out we escaped the asylum."

He pushed his chest forward and worked up the courage.

"No, he's not getting one over us again," he said. "I got this."

They walked into the building and up the stairs. She tried the door handle and was surprised to find the door unlocked. She put her finger to her lips and they both moved inside silently. The sound of moaning hit them as they tiptoed through the apartment. They found Seth sitting on the couch watching porn on his laptop while masturbating. He never saw them coming. Elias jumped over the couch and attacked Seth from behind. They stumbled down on the floor. Portia threw herself into the mix and helped Elias to pacify Seth. Elias smashed his elbow into Seth's skull and dazed him.

"What the hell are we gonna do?" Elias asked.
"I got it," Portia said.

She ran to the bedroom and came running back with handcuffs in her hands.

"Get him to the bathroom," she said.

Elias pulled Seth to the bathroom and placed another elbow to his head. Portia chained Seth to the sink, and she took a step backwards along with Elias. Seth raised his eyes and realized what was happening. He yanked at the handcuffs but nothing happened.

"Let me go!" Seth yelled.
"I bet you regret not wanting to use the safe handcuffs from sex shops now. You just had to get the real deal to make it more exciting. It was only exciting for you, asshole. I hated it. I feared it. I feared you," Portia said.
"I'll get out of here, and when I do..." Seth started.
"When you do, we'll be long gone," Elias said.
"I'm gonna call Sami tomorrow and tell him everything. I'll ask him to record the conversation, and I'll tell him what you did," Portia said.
"He'll never believe you," Seth said.
"He'll find you here chained to the sink in my apartment while being naked. Your laptop is in the living room. Your car is outside. And I saw some of your clothes and other things in the bedroom. It will be easy to prove that you moved your ass in here while I was locked up, and only my name is on the lease. He'll believe me. Even if he doesn't, I'll be gone. You got no power once I cross the state line," Portia said.

She took Elias' hand and laced her fingers in between his. Seth gritted his teeth in anger and tried yanking on the handcuffs again.

"I should write a book about all this too," Elias said.

Portia looked at him and grinned.

"What a great idea," Portia said.
"And my first album should be titled '9 years of pain'. I'll write songs about everything I experienced in there. All the people coming and going. My parents. The doctors. And you, of course. I'll write your story in a song for the world to know," Elias said.
"That sounds beautiful," Portia said.
"Let me go!" Seth tried again.
"Oh," Elias looked at Seth. "By the way, I'm not gay. And I already fucked Portia in a closet, so have fun picturing that."
"Elias!" Portia laughed. "Oh well, now he knows. Let's leave."

They walked out of the bathroom and left a yelling Seth in there. She found her car keys, phone and laptop and took them with her. Everything else was dead items that could be replaced once they figured out where to go and what to do. The important thing was to get out. They left the apartment and the still yelling Seth behind, and got into her car. She handed him her laptop.

"Find the e-mail of the person you talked to from the record company. Or a phone number. Just find him and reach out. Give him my phone number so he can call you. He'll fucking love your story," she leaned over and kissed him. "You're gonna be a star, darling."
"And you're gonna be right there next to me, sweetheart," he said. "I feel like I can do anything as long as I have you in my corner. I was right about you. You were a fucking tsunami coming through that place."
"And you didn't drown," she grinned.
"I didn't drown," he grinned back. "I made it to shore."

1 YEAR LATER

Portia stood backstage with a smile on her face and watched Elias perform his last song of the show. His hit single "Tsunami". It was her song. It was beautiful and perfect to her. He captured everything that had happened to her with Seth and Green Valley Asylum.

"Are you ready for the autograph signing tomorrow?"

Her agent had texted her. She was more than ready. When they left the asylum behind, she hadn't thought she would be a star too. People had loved the story of them being locked up against their will and escaping together. She had released a book two weeks ago about her abusive relationship with Seth and how far he ended up taking it. It was a bestseller, and she was about to sign autographs tomorrow in a book store.

"Thank you all for coming. Goodnight. Safe travel home," Elias said.

She looked up to see him take a bow. She quickly texted her agent that she was more than ready. She put her phone away and smiled as Elias walked down the small set of stairs. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"Perfect show," he said.
"Perfect artist," she said.
"Perfect audience," he said.
"Perfect man," she said.
"Perfect woman," he chuckled. "I love you."
"I love you too," she said.

He laced his fingers in between hers and they walked towards the locker room together. He needed to get out of the sweaty clothes and into something more clean.

"Everything set for tomorrow?" He asked.
"Yup," she answered. "And once they're done with my book, they're ready for yours."
"I got the release date earlier. I forgot to tell you. Two months from now," he said.
"Just in time for Christmas," she grinned. "It's gonna be under every tree."
"And another record to follow up in the Spring," he said.
"Don't forget the movie," she said.
"There's a movie?" He asked.
"We can dream, right?" She laughed.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her while backing into the locker room with her in his arms.

"Who the hell would have thought this would happen?" He asked.
"People believing in karma," she smirked. "It sure has been one crazy ride."
"All worth it," he said.
"All worth it," she agreed.