Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
“What is it, Lila?” I ask.
“I just ... when was the last time you talked to Grace?”
The tone in her voice matches the look of near-panic on her face, and it sends a chill down my spine. My belly churns, and my throat is dry.
“We exchanged texts, but I’ve been locked down training and prepping this week, so not for a few days at least,” I say. “But she’s supposed to be here tonight. Are you not with her?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen her for a couple of days, Griffin. I’m scared something’s happened to her.”
My stomach drops into my shoes, and my heart stops dead in my chest, a sick feeling washing over me.
“It’s not like her to just disappear,” Lila says, her voice trembling. “But she hasn’t returned any of my calls or texts in the last couple of days. Campus police refuse to help, and I’ve been going out of my mind.”
I put a hand to my head and pace the room, that sick feeling getting stronger. No, it’s not like Grace to just disappear. It’s not like her at all.
“Champ, we need to get ready,” Ray says. “It’s almost time.”
“Hang on, Ray. Just … hang on a minute.”
“Griffin, it’s worse,” Lila says. “Professor Bryson hasn’t been to his classes for the last couple of days either.”
It takes me a minute to recall the name. Bryson. He was the guy in the restaurant harassing her the night I took her out. The night I told her about this fight. I remember the look of fear on Grace’s face.
“Please, Griffin,” Lila says as tears stream down her face. “We have to find her.”
“Griff, we have to get ready,” Ray urges.
“Give me a fucking minute, Ray!”
Pacing back and forth, my head is spinning. Grace wouldn’t just disappear without saying a word to Lila. Or to me. No way in hell she just vanishes like that. Not on her own. There really is no decision to make, so I throw off my robe and quickly start to dress.
“Griffin, don’t do this,” Ray warns.
“I have to.”
“If you walk out now, you’re never going to get another shot at the title,” Ray says. “You’ll never get to where you’ve always wanted to be.”
Grace’s face flashes through my mind, and her voice echoes in my ear. I feel her fingertips on my skin and think about those times when we’re lying in bed together, staring into each other’s eyes, neither of us feeling the need to speak while just enjoying the connection between us. It’s in those quiet moments we share that everything seems to make sense. When I feel more complete and whole than I’ve ever felt in my life. Than I ever thought I could feel.
I look Ray in the eye and nod. “I’m good, Ray. I am where I always wanted to be.”
13
GRACE
I’m sitting on a mattress on the floor of his basement. A single cone light hangs from the ceiling, providing the only illumination until he turns on the overheads. The walls have all been soundproofed, making screaming pointless, and the three windows set high in the wall have been blacked over. Nobody knows I’m here. Nobody knows I’ve been down here for the last two days. I don’t even know if it’s day or night right now.
He grabbed me when I was walking back to the dorms from the library a couple of nights ago. I never even saw him coming. My head was in the clouds, and I was thinking about Griffin, not paying attention to my surroundings. And I’ve been kicking myself ever since. Griffin warned me. He told me, I don’t even know how many times, to always be aware of my surroundings and to keep an eye peeled so nobody can sneak up on me.
Just the thought of Griffin and the possibility—maybe even the likelihood—that I’m never going to see him again fills my heart with an agony I’ve never known. Tears spill down my cheeks, and it’s all I can do to keep from losing my mind from grief. I have never felt as close to somebody as I feel to Griffin. He’s opened my heart and my soul in ways I never expected nor thought they could be. And now, just like that, it’s all been taken from me.
A squeal of terror bursts from my mouth when I hear the heavy deadbolt on the door thrown back, followed by the sharp creak of it opening. A moment later, the bright, fluorescent overheads snap on, the sudden and blinding light making me wince. Squinting at the sudden intrusion of light, I look down and wipe the tears from my face, sniffing back the fresh wave that threatens to flow.
The hollow boom of his footsteps descending the stairs sends fresh needles of fear through my heart, each thud of his boot driving them deeper. I sit with my back against the wall and draw my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them tightly, desperately trying to make myself as small as possible.