Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Someone knocks on her door. “Crystal? Can you help me out with my homework tonight?”
I swiftly throw her key onto her bed.
Before she unlocks that door, I’ll be long gone, slipping into the dark, cold night where demons like me thrive.
CRYSTAL
I blew off the girl who knocked on my door and said I couldn’t help her with homework. I’ll make it up to her when I feel normal again, not like I got hit by a hurricane.
There was no way in hell I was going to open that door after just having my ass spanked. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, I can’t even sit right now, but sure, I’ll help you with your homework? There would be questions I don’t want to give the answer to.
So I stayed put in my room and waited until the morning before I finally had the courage to get out. I swiftly slipped away while they were having breakfast under the pretense that I was going to work on homework in the library.
Now I’m here in school, walking down the giant staircases, carefully holding the banister so I don’t slip. My legs are still stiff, and every time I take a step, I can feel my ass clench. It still burns from his hand, which left an imprint on my skin. Even now, it’s still there, buzzing, humming, reminding me of the wicked pain he inflicted on me.
Pain that quickly turned into a sinful pleasure I should not have been feeling.
God, why can’t I stop thinking about it?
When I finally get to the bottom of the stairs, I breathe a sigh of relief, then straighten my skirt so no one can see the palm of his hand on my ass. This short pink skirt was all I had left to wear today.
My mind isn’t fully there as I head across campus to the grassy area where I normally eat with my friends, but the moment I see them happily chatting away in our usual spot, I freeze.
I can’t go over there.
How am I supposed to face them after what happened?
How am I supposed to sit there with a straight face knowing my ass burns so hard I can still feel my pussy throb just from the memory?
I can’t lie to them.
But I can’t tell them the truth either.
I need to clear my mind. Sit somewhere where I can think without anyone to distract me.
I walk toward the benches near the rose garden, but then I spot a familiar black-haired guy with a killer aura walking right in my direction. Ares. Even though he’s looking at his phone, I can’t risk bumping into him, so I spin on my heels.
Only to see another guy wearing a hoodie, with familiar streaks of blond hair peeking out, staring right into my soul. He bites the piercing in his lip when he sees me, then takes a drag of his cigarette and chucks it on the ground.
Oh God. Caleb.
Did he follow me?
Or is he just waiting there, lurking in the shadows, watching me to see if I mess up and spill their secrets?
I swallow down the lump in my throat.
I’m locked between them with no way out.
Except right into the maze.
Without thinking, I bolt, heading straight into the rose maze. I don’t care where I’m going. All I know is that I need to get away from those guys as fast as possible.
At a split, I take a left turn, and then another, and then a right. I have no clue where I am or which path to take, so I recklessly pick without thought or reason. The only thing driving me forward is the handprints on my ass and a promise of more to come if I don’t stay the hell away.
But it’s too late now.
It’s too late to run from those bastards who’ve made it their mission to destroy me.
CRACK!
The snapping of a twig behind me sets me on edge, so I run like hell into the next bend and around another corner. Swaths of roses hang down from unkempt bushes, and I shove them out of my way as I run through a part of the maze barely anyone visits. There are scratches on my face, but I don’t care as I keep going, desperate to escape this harrowing feeling in my heart that it’s about to be swallowed whole.
I spin on my heels and listen for footsteps, waiting for them to come out of the bushes behind me. A few bluebirds hover above me, and my heart rate shoots up just from the fluttering of their wings.
I’m really losing it.
I’m totally and utterly losing my shit here.
I don’t even know if they followed me … or if I’m making it all up in my head.
Were they even there to begin with? Or was it just my active imagination taking hold of me?