Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“My mother died giving birth to me and I was raised by a cruel man. So cruel, I was taken when I was five because he locked me in a basement for two weeks, and I got so sick I nearly died. I was then placed into a foster home, where my foster father assaulted me in ways you couldn’t imagine. That’s when I met . . . Peter.”
Oh. God.
No.
No.
Please, no.
“I was only eighteen when I met him, but he took me under his wing, and he helped me out of the hardest parts of my life. I owe him, I suppose. When you’ve lived in hell your entire life, you have to wonder what fuckin’ heaven feels like eventually. I took what I could get, even if at times it made me question who I am.”
God, stop.
Stop.
I stare at him, and I swallow the thick lump in my throat.
His hand goes out and cups the side of my face.
I can’t breathe.
“There’s something about you, Waverly. Something different. Something that makes me feel . . . things I haven’t felt before.”
Oh no.
He leans in, and every part of me is screaming—I just don’t know what for. My head is spinning, my mind is a mess, and when his lips touch mine, I shut down. For a moment, I shut down. I don’t know how to think or how to breathe or how to act. I just know that I can’t function right now. I can’t do anything but sit here, stunned.
Then he’s kissing me a little deeper, and it feels nice.
God, it feels so nice.
My lips move, and I feel woozy, and I don’t know what’s happening.
I don’t know what is wrong.
My mind is chaos, my body is in turmoil, and I’m kissing a monster.
I pull back and gasp as my head spins and I topple off the chair.
I don’t feel right.
I don’t feel well.
I need to get out of here.
I just kissed the man responsible for so much torture, so much pain.
He’s a monster.
A cruel monster.
Oh, god.
“Waverly are you okay?” he asks, standing and helping me to my feet.
“I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little off. I need to use the bathroom.”
“Let me help you.”
He supports me as we head inside and to the bathroom, where I immediately slip in and shut the door.
I’m panting, lightheaded, and for some reason, I can’t think straight. My body is definitely betraying me. No matter what I do right now, I can’t gain control. I stare around frantically for an escape. I just need to get the hell out of here. Out of this monstrous place. Out of this hellish ordeal. I need to find Alarick. I need to go. Now.
I notice a window, and walk over to it, frantically curling my fingers around the frame and pushing it up. I breathe a sigh of utter relief when I see no screen on it. Using the bathroom counter, I push my way up and out through the small gap in the window. It takes a lot of effort, and with every passing second, my mind feels a little hazier. It seems . . . strange. Like I’m drunk, but I’m not. I know I’m not.
Did Bobbie drug me?
Oh, god.
I start to panic. Shit. Fuck. What’s going to happen to me?
Then I’m falling.
The ground seems a long way away. I slip to the grass with a thud that knocks the wind out of me. For a moment, I lay there gasping, wondering if my lungs will just stop working. I take a few moments, my body in complete fright, and then I manage to push to my feet.
I run. It’s dark. I don’t have my phone. I don’t know where I am. I just run and run, smashing into trees, tripping over things, but I need to find Alarick’s cabin.
With every step, my mind becomes more and more chaotic.
I begin to tremble, and I feel like I could run miles and yet at the same time I want to lie down and just stop.
Just. Stop.
I do stop, only for a moment. Just to try and take in my surroundings. I can see the lights of a cabin up a small dirt road, and maybe that’s where Alarick is staying.
I make my way up towards the cabin, stumbling, my eyes frantically darting around as I near it. When I reach the dimly lit structure, I can hear voices coming from inside. I should go around the back, just in case someone is following me. If Dax sees me going in, it’s definitely over for me. I take off in a sprint, and I must be running a whole lot faster than I realize because suddenly I slam into a hard form just as I round the cabin.
A grunt is followed by a shocked, “Whoa.”
Mykel.
I’d know his voice anywhere.