Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Ugly? Maybe you need to get your eyes checked.” Ren huffs.
We’ve been driving around aimlessly for hours just so I don’t have to go back home. Currently, we’re parked in a diner’s parking lot, though we’ve been done eating for a while. I’m tempted to go back to Ren’s place with him, but I already know I’d be getting dirty looks over there as well.
“I’ll drop you off at your house and leave you alone for the rest of the winter break. I’ll find something to do.”
“Go home, Q, spend time with your family. I know a lot has happened between you and your father, but it will get better.”
I’m about to tell him I don’t want it to get better when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I almost ignore it, thinking it’s probably my mom, but something in the back of my mind tells me to check. Fishing the sleek device out of my jacket, I unlock the screen and read the message popping up.
UNKNOWN: I’M DONE WITH HER NOW. YOU CAN HAVE HER BACK IF YOU WANT. THOUGH SHE’S QUITE USED UP NOW.
I stare at the screen, reading each word carefully, not wanting them to be true. My lungs burn painfully, making me realize I am holding my breath.
“What’s wrong?” Ren’s concerned voice meets my ear.
Everything. Everything is wrong.
I read the text one more time, and the worst scenario runs through my brain. Aspen’s beautiful face, pale and bruised, and lifeless eyes staring back at me. Her slender body, cold and rigid. Matteo standing over her, bloody knuckles and a sinister smile on his face.
No, no, no… He doesn’t have her. She is back at Corium, safe and sound.
Ren grabs the phone from my hand. I’m so out of it I don’t even move. I simply stare at my now empty palm.
“Fuck. Do you think Matteo sent you this? He is probably just messing with you. How would he have gotten her—”
My phone buzzes again, cutting Ren off.
“What is it?”
I snatch the phone back before he can answer. It’s another message, but nothing is written in it. He only sent an image of a North Woods city map. A red pin hovers above a building in the warehouse district. I throw the phone back into Ren’s lap and put the car in drive.
“Are you sure you want to just go there? This could be a trap, Quinton.”
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do. You just can’t think straight when it comes to Aspen. You don’t even know if he really has her or if this is Matteo at all. Stop for a second and think, Quinton. We have no idea what we are walking into.”
“I. Don’t. Care. Call my father or text yours for backup. I don’t give a shit who you call, but I’m not waiting. I am going there now. You don’t have to come with me. I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“Just shut up and drive. I’m calling for backup.”
I break every speed limit and traffic law possible, and still, I feel like I’m going too slow. Every second I’m not there could be her last. I know what Matteo is capable of, and thinking he’s had her since yesterday when the cameras went offline has bile rising in my throat.”
THOUGH SHE’S QUITE USED UP NOW… His message replays in my mind, only adding to my panic. He touched her, he fucking touched her.
We pull into the empty parking lot of the warehouse from the map. There are no cars anywhere and no sign of anyone being here, except a single lamp flickering right above a door. I park right in front of the door and get out before I even cut the engine.
“Q, wait!” Ren calls after me, but I’m already at the entrance, pulling the handle hard enough to rip it off the heavy metal door.
It’s unlocked, and I push my way inside. The warehouse opens up into one large, empty space. The air is thick with dust and mildew, and even the dim light can’t hide how dirty and run down the inside is. I walk further into the warehouse, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.
Eerie silence blankets the space, only to be disrupted when heavy footfalls approach behind me. I’m about to turn around to make sure it’s Ren, when I spot something in the corner of the room.
My heart stops, frozen in place right in the center of my chest as I take in the lifeless form on the floor. With the lack of light and distance between us, I can’t make out a face, but I already know it’s her. I know it deep in my gut.
My feet move of their own accord, carrying me to the body sprawled out on the cold concrete. With every step that brings me closer, the pit in my chest becomes larger, and when I come close enough to see her face, I almost fall to my knees.