I gave the door one extra-hard rattle, as if maybe I'd imagined it being locked, but no such luck. It held fast, unlike my resolve, which whimpered and died before leading the charge to the fire exit.
"Hey!" a voice yelled behind me, spurring me on to greater speed, my poor breasts flying up and down with each stride. "Stop, you shameless hussy!"
I'd have laughed if I wasn't so panicked. Why on earth would I stop? But stop I did, thwarted by the fire exit. It took me a moment to realize it was held immobile by some rod, sitting like a pin through the push-bar, presumably to stop someone from accidentally leaning against it and activating the alarm.
I remember thinking "Alarm?" as i lifted it and pushed, looking toward Mrs Gormley to see how far away she was. Was that sudden recognition on her face? The blast of the alarm going off drove all thought from my head and I think I might have screamed before pushing out the door, my frantic charge taking me into the parking lot between my place and the restaurant next door. |