Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I pause at the entrance of my bedroom. I don’t want to keep locking myself in that room. I wasn’t lying when I told him I didn’t exchange one prison for another. I chew on my bottom lip, considering my options.
Despite Sebastian’s opinion and feelings toward Drew, he can't answer my questions. And I hope, by now, I’m capable of seeing through Drew’s bullshit games. If anything he’s said in those texts and at the library is true, then he won’t lead me along with some lie. I’m not dumb enough to think he won’t try, though. I know there are no guarantees with him. Up one minute, down the next. There's no way I can predict his next move.
I tug my phone out of my pocket and scroll to my text message thread with him. I deleted our old chain, as too many memories were attached to it. It feels like a complete contradiction for me to push him away but then go out of my way to meet up with him. This isn’t for anything but answers.
I'm already regretting every swipe of my fingers as I type out the text. There's a long fall-down-a-hole-drop as I hover my fingers over the send button. I don’t know if I can do this. If I can handle seeing him again so soon.
You’re stronger than you think.
And before I can chicken out, I hit send and wait.
It only takes a few seconds for the dots to show up on the screen and his response to come through.
Me: Meet me tonight, the cabin on The Mill property. I want you to tell me the truth.
Psycho: What time?
I swallow, my stomach churning with anxiety.
Me: 9 p.m.
I think about it a little longer. Do I really want to do this? Meet Drew in a dark cabin, all by myself? It sounds like a terrible start to a horror film.
The pinging of my phone interrupts my thoughts, and I look down at his response. That stupid, annoying part of me that’s suffocated by the anger and pain he caused sparks with life, and that distinct warmth that his presence brought me before trickles in slowly as I read his response back to myself.
Psycho: Unless you plan to walk six miles, grab the four-wheeler at the trailhead. There will be a key in it.
Shit. I forgot how far out it is. My phone chimes again, and the next message almost makes me regret messaging him.
Psycho: I knew I’d be seeing you soon, Flower.
Is it possible he said and did all those horrible things to protect me from his father? Possibly… but how can I ever forgive him? How can I ensure that the next time things get tough, he won’t push me away again and hurt me?
I can’t, and I need to remind myself of that. I need to remember that no matter what, Drew has always been about making himself happy even at the expense of others, and until he shows me otherwise, I’ll play defense, ensuring that I don’t become a casualty in the sick and twisted game of chess he plays.
9
DREW
My blood and body hum with a tingling of awareness. My small taste of her did nothing to quench my need or hunger for her. I can already hear her heady breaths in my ear and feel her little nails digging into my skin. To pull me closer or push me away, it doesn’t really matter. As I leave the house, I only think about seeing her. I didn’t realize how much she meant to me until after everything blew the hell up.
What’s that cheesy saying? You don’t know what you have until it’s gone? Isn’t that the fucking truth? Along the way to the cabin, I wonder why she chose the cabin in the woods as the location to meet. We could’ve met anywhere, but she chose the most secluded option…
Is she scared of being seen with me? Or is she hiding from her brother?
Probably a little bit of both.
The quiet claws through me, an unusual and unwelcome sensation.
Rivulets of moonlight cut across the path as I stride through the woods. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I jerk it out to make sure it's not Bel calling to cancel on me. I can't handle that shit right now. There’s no way I won’t march right up to the mansion and kidnap her. Fuck, think rationally.
All rational thinking goes out the window when I see his name on my phone. Father. I should change his name to fuckface since it’s far more fitting than father. God knows he’s treated me like an inconvenience for as long as I can remember.
Fuck him. He’s always got a way of ruining everything. This is the first time he's decided to contact me in days, and the only thing I want to say to him is “go fuck yourself.” Well, I’d be more than willing to tell him that, more than willing to stand up to him and put him in the ground. Other things are at stake, other people’s well-being hanging in the balance, so my selfish desires will have to wait a little longer. I choose not to let him ruin my evening and instead hit the decline button and shove my phone back into my jean pocket. A minute later, my phone buzzes again, telling me he probably left a caring and delightful voicemail.