Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
I could help her. And I will. With or without Jay. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this right.
The only reason I’m not there now is that I need to know more about her. And see if I can find the evidence Jay left behind. The anger rises slowly. It’s always like that when I think of Jay. A slow rise that turns to a simmer. Usually the thought that he can’t help it is enough to calm me, but he fucking set me up. He forced my hand, and that’s something that’s unforgivable.
I slip the phone into my back pocket, turning my head to the window on the left side of the room as the gentle city traffic is disrupted with a honking horn.
I’m quiet as I walk through the house, greeted only by silence. My instinct is to go to her bedroom, but when the door creaks open and I peek in, I see her bed first. The sheets and comforter are in disarray and there’s broken glass on the floor.
Fuck! Jay told me he left evidence, but I didn’t expect it to be something so fucking obvious.
I grit my teeth and go back to the tiny galley kitchen, reaching into my other back pocket for the thin black leather gloves. I’m careful with every step.
The cabinets are old and worn. I have to go through three of them before I find the dust pan. I take my time, cleaning up the room and wiping down every surface I can think of. All the while I take in every inch of her place.
What’s most odd is that it feels like I’ve already been here. Especially the bedroom. It feels like I know her, like we aren’t strangers in the least. I can’t shake the feeling; I haven’t been able to since I first laid eyes on that photograph.
I toss the rag I’ve been using to wipe down surfaces into the trash bag in her kitchen as the unsettling thought passes through me.
I make a mental note to take the trash with me on the way out. No piece of evidence left behind. I don’t know when she’ll be back…
I was going to let her go this morning. I was ready to take her with me. I’d do what I have to do with Jay and plead with her to stay with me until I figured a way out, but she was so willing to remain when I left. So unlike what I anticipated.
It feels like a trap.
I let the unfinished thought slip away as I think I hear someone in the living room.
My eyes whip up to the small doorway and I wait, listening to the blood rushing in my ears. Thump, thump, thump, thump. My heart races in my chest.
I’m quick to remove the gloves, shoving them in my back pocket and waiting for whoever it is to say or do something. I anticipate them calling out her name to see if she’s home. But there’s nothing but silence until Jay appears in the doorway.
A smirk slowly lifts his lips up with a knowing glint that sparkles in his eyes.
“Fucking bastard,” I mutter under my breath. The smile widens and he walks closer to me.
“Cleaning up?” he asks me and then glances at the trash bag.
“Yeah,” I answer him and bend down to tie it off. “Just on my way out,” I tell him.
“You should go,” Jay says, his voice full of something I’ve never heard from him before. Possessiveness, jealousy even. He leans his back against the doorway, blocking part of the exit and adds, “She’s waiting for you.”
There’s an undertone to his voice that accompanies his narrowed eyes as he cracks his knuckles one by one. “You’ll have to tell me what you think of your session.”
I crack my own knuckles, mirroring him. “What I think about her, you mean?” I ask him, pushing him just slightly to see what his intentions are, to pick at the real meaning behind his question.
A rough laugh escapes his lips as he tilts his head and looks me in the eyes, crossing his arms as he shrugs. “I already know what you think of her,” he says in a low voice, almost a murmur. Like it wasn’t meant for me, which pisses me off.
“Is that right?” I ask him, feeling my blood heat and adrenaline coursing through me. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten into it. But I can feel it coming. Maybe not today while she’s trapped at the cabin. But when she’s safe, I know it’s going to happen.
He relaxes his posture, as if coming to the same conclusion at the very same time. It does an odd thing to me and I want to bite the question back, but I can’t anymore.