Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
All I can hear are my heavy breaths. It's so dark. No lights anywhere. How did he take her from my own damn bed? "Tor?" I scream so loudly my voice breaks. I run down the empty hallway, the soles of my bare feet slapping over the cold concrete. "Tor?"
My heart is beating up into my throat, and then, a light flips on. Joe has her and Caleb. He's only about ten feet in front of me. I go to run, but I can barely move. I'm moving so slow it’s like there's a weight pressing against me. Joe's sinister laugh echoes through my ears and my skin crawls. "Not good enough to save them, huh, boy?"
I watch as Joe pulls a gun and aims it at Caleb's head.
"No!" I shout, trying to reach him. A loud pop rings out, and Caleb crumples to the floor. Tor screams. Joe laughs. I feel so weak, my entire body is as heavy as lead. Joe approaches me, and I draw my fist back to swing at him, but the blow barely taps against his cheek.
"Weak. You. Are. Weak!" he snarls.
My eyes pulse open, and I sit up in the bed before jumping to my feet. Adrenaline is flooding my body, setting my skin on fire, and sending my racing heart into overdrive. I pant, attempting to catch my breath as I gain my bearings. A small sliver of light is coming through the window, and I make out Tor lying asleep in the center of the bed. I walk to the bathroom and brace my arms against the edge of the sink. I turn the faucet and splash some cold water on my face, and then stare at my reflection. I can see my pulse thumping through my jugular and temples. It's not enough that he plagues my every waking thought, he's taken over my subconscious as well. Joe Campbell is the only man I've ever feared, and in order to make this stop, I have to kill him.
I've been awake since two A.M. Every time I closed my eyes to sleep, I saw Caleb's face. I can't do that. I can't go there.
I've walked around in a fog, not even sure what I've done today aside from sitting and watching Tor sleep, trying to force her to eat whenever she wakes up. Marney has been getting things ready for Caleb's burial because, well, I just can't. I lay down next to Tor, skimming my hands over her arm.
"He killed Caleb because he wouldn't rape me," she whispers.
I swallow and nod my head. "It's okay Tor."
I sit there for well over an hour holding her as I silently think about what I could have done to have things end differently. There's a soft knock on the door as Marney pushes it open. "We're ready, Jude."
The sun is slowly setting, the orange hues barely visible through the thick trees. I grab the handle of the coffin and stare straight ahead. Marney's hand comes to rest on my shoulder before he takes the handle behind me. "He was a good kid," Marney says solemnly. "A real good kid." I can hear him fighting back the tears.
Rich and Paul take the other side of the casket and lift it from the ground. It's so fucking light. He was only a kid. The fact that my little brother's body is inside this box now resting on my shoulder causes my chest to tighten and burn. This fucking hurts. This right here makes it all too real. Caleb is gone, and I can't deny it any longer. For a moment, my knees threaten to buckle from the reality that is all too quickly setting in.
I train my eyes ahead of me and find Tor standing by a pile of red dirt, staring vacantly into the hole. A light breeze picks up, blowing her hair in front of her face. She doesn't bother to brush it away.
We set the coffin on the grave. Marney steps to the side, shaking his head. We all stand around the grave in silence. I should say something, but what? Caleb is dead, not one fucking thing I say will change that. Silence is all I can manage. I keep telling myself this is not real; this is not my life. I don't want this life anymore. I'm so goddamn tired of each day being a fight, of always being on guard, I never felt like this before her. If I could take all this away and just have her...
"He's with his pops now." Marney chokes a little and reaches for his cigarettes. "We'll make this right, Caleb. I promise you and your pops we will." He lights the cigarette, his eyes watering as he turns his back to us, and stares off into the woods.