Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
This means I’ll have to employ different means to get my hands on that kind of money.
She yawns against my shoulder, and when I push her back, she’s rubbing her eyes.
“C’mon,” I say, and I pick her up. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
“Wait, but I want Rosey with me!” she pleads.
I roll my eyes and pick up the plastic flower from the table. “Here she is.”
She hugs the flower like it’s some kind of stuffed toy. Adorable.
I put her down on the only bed we have and lie down next to her on the second pillow, pulling the blanket over us while the small light next to the bed stays on so I can watch her fall asleep.
I cherish moments like these the most, a sliver of happiness in the daily storm of life.
And I find myself slipping away, just like her, into a deep sleep filled with waking nightmares.
Pools and pools of blood.
My vision becomes cloudy as the red puddles growing on the floor beneath me stain my eyes.
I have to get out.
Frozen, I stay put near the wall, shuddering from the breaths my lungs refuse to take.
It’s happening again. And again. And again.
“Ivy!” I can hear my name but don’t hear anything else even though I can clearly see a mouth moving in the distance.
My head spins violently, but I don’t know what to do.
All I can hear is the deafening sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
THWACK.
THWACK.
THWACK.
Tears form in my eyes and roll down my cheeks, flooding the house with my tears until I can no longer stand. I’m drowning. Drowning in the misery of my own wails. I grasp my neck as I suffocate, reaching out to breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
But no matter how hard I try, my lungs refuse to open.
Refuse to give me the life I need to force my legs to move.
RUN.
A crackling noise makes me stir, and I turn around, but a warm fog close to my face wakes me up from my slumber. I sit up straight, sweat dripping from every pore of my body as I swiftly turn on the light.
There’s nothing.
No one.
Yet …
The window is open.
I didn’t open it.
I shiver and get out of bed, brushing off the recurring nightmare I just had. I grab my knife from my bag and clutch it tightly as I look around. I check all the closets, all the doors, all the nooks and crannies, under each cabinet, and under the bed.
Nothing.
I take a deep breath and sigh out the remaining adrenaline.
Maybe it was just the nightmare that woke me up, as usual.
I approach the window and peer outside.
A man stands in the shadows down below.
I don’t know what he looks like. I can’t see his face or make out any features except for his lanky figure.
A gust of wind makes goose bumps scatter on my skin, and I promptly shut the window, sealing it tightly, still staring at the man who refuses to budge.
Maybe I was only dreaming.
Maybe the gust of wind pushed the window open.
Or maybe … just maybe … someone was inside my house.
CHAPTER 5
Ivy
A few days later
“Table six,” the bartender says, scooting the tray with drinks toward me.
“Got it.” I make my way through the crowd of people dancing to a table on the left of the club where I recognize a girl from university—Sunny Reed, Silas’s cousin, is laughing with her friends, all wearing extravagant, over-the-top outfits covered in glitter. Her long, black-and-green hair falls beautifully over her tattooed skin, and she looks like she sparkles in the club lights.
I place the order in front of the group, and they cheer in unison, grabbing their drinks.
“Happy birthday, Sunny!”
“Can I please take these off?” she grumbles, picking at the hat on her head that’s covered in bright lights.
“Nope!” another girl says, and she takes a picture. “It’s just for your birthday, promise.”
“The last one, yeah,” she adds. “Because I’ll definitely throw myself off the bridge after tonight.”
The rest of the girls holler at her, and she grabs her drink and chugs it down in one go, then hands it back to me. “Another one.”
“Sure,” I say, smiling awkwardly, but the stone-cold look on the face of the girl just won’t budge.
I’ve never seen anyone this pissed off to be a birthday girl.
I shrug and turn around but feel woozy all of a sudden, and I catch myself on one of the booths. My legs have started quaking from the lack of energy, but I have to keep going. No time to slack off. I’ll catch up on sleep during some off hours at the university. I need this goddamn money more.
I pick up the next order at the bar. “Table twenty. In the back.”
“Got it,” I say, swiftly placing everything on a tray before I whisk it away.
Even if the work is tedious, I’m grateful to be able to do this on the side with my studies. It provides just enough money for me to ensure Cora has a warm home and a full belly. Everything else is gravy on top.