Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Her eyes bugged out of her head. “My poor baby. Why didn’t you tell me sooner or call the police? How did you escape?” Tears welled in her eyes as she attempted to understand.
“My abductor was taking me somewhere and I was terrified but unable to get away. I ended up causing him to crash the car and was able to escape. That’s how I ended up in Jonestown.” I was sobbing now.
“Oh, baby. I had no idea,” she bawled and squeezed me tight.
“I survived three long years without incident. Figuring my abductor was a random person, I felt safe where I’d ended up. Then, out of the blue, I had two different people vying for my attention. Sam was my delivery guy. Cale was the new builder I’d accidentally maced.” I couldn’t help but smile at that memory, and she smiled too. “They both wanted to date me. I ended up going on a completely platonic date with Sam and it ended horribly. Cale came to my rescue and we were glued to each other’s sides ever since. Sam continued to terrorize me and even set my house on fire!” I exclaimed.
“What?! Oh my goodness!”
“Don’t worry, Cale was with me and put out the fire immediately. It could have been worse but thankfully he snuffed it out right away. The window has been replaced and the mess has been cleaned up. Anyway, Cale was my knight in shining armor, protecting me at every turn. Last night, we went to Anj’s Halloween party. Cale and I had planned on surprising each other with our costumes. When he texted me to tell me he’d arrived, I told him to meet me upstairs in one of the rooms.” I swallowed in fear of having to retell the next part. “He snuck in behind me and started touching me. I was so happy he was there. When I turned around and he pulled off his helmet, I was horrified to discover it was Sam.” A shudder quivered through my body.
“Oh no!” she shrieked.
“He held me down and forced my dress up. My panties were ripped from my body,” I gasped, eyes wide in fear.
“Shh, honey. It’s okay. I have you,” she consoled me.
“He was just about to rape me when he was forcefully pulled away from me. Cale had kicked in the door and began punching him over and over again. Anyway, they hauled Sam off to jail and he took me home.” At this point, the tears poured from my eyes.
“Sounds like you’ve had quite a ride, baby girl,” she sniffled, stroking my hair some more.
“That’s not all. This is the worst part. This morning, Cale and I professed our love for each other.” A painful wail escaped me.
“Honey, that’s good news. You finally found someone perfect,” she replied softly, trying to calm me down.
“I finally got the nerve to tell him the story of my abduction. Mom, it was him. Cale abducted me all those years ago!” Now I was a hysterical mess.
“I don’t understand,” Mom whispered, genuinely confused.
“He’d been in an accident and couldn’t remember anything about it. He was in a coma for twelve days. When I told him the date of the accident, he told me it had to have been him. Putting the nail farther into the coffin, he explained that the only memory he had from the accident was an ‘angel’ that he had tattooed on his freaking arm. It was of me, Mom!” I wailed.
She pulled me in for a tight squeeze as I sobbed loudly into her shoulder. We stayed like this for quite some time. Finally, she withdrew from me. “All right, little lady. Tomorrow is going to be a day of retail therapy. We’ll hit all the best stores, and I think it sounds like some new shoes are a must. You’ve had a hell of a day and could really use the rest. Call me in the morning after you’ve woken up and we’ll get to it. I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I hugged her one last time before she walked out of the room.
I took my time showering in the exquisite bathroom. It was definitely plenty large enough for two people, I thought sadly. I wished Cale had never even told me what he’d done. My life would have been fine if I could have stayed in blissful ignorance.
Once I was all wrapped in the thick, plush hotel robe, I snuggled up under the covers. God, I freaking missed him already. How was this even possible? I just wanted to forget him, but it wasn’t that easy.
As if on cue, my phone chimed, notifying me of a text.
Cale: My beautiful Lia. Wherever you are, know that I am thinking about you. Missing you. Still loving you. My heart just can’t turn itself off. I’m bleeding for you. I can only pray you miss me too. I love you, my brave, fiery Lia.