Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 240(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 240(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Like a hot knife through butter.
But the boy—because that’s exactly what he was—didn’t touch me. He moved in front of me and turned, jogging backward with a grin on his face. His forehead was greasy and his hair unkempt. He reeked of booze that not even his overpowering cologne could mask.
“Hey, we were talking to you. Didn’t you hear?”
I stayed silent.
He chuckled as if amazed I ignored him. “Too good to respond?” I could hear other footsteps behind me as his friends caught up.
I just kept my focus on the pavement as I kept walking. A few times, I had to step to the side so I didn’t run into him, but he kept pace with me the entire way, continuing to ask me questions that I refused to answer.
But it was when I was close to my apartment building that I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let up. I didn’t want him to see where I lived. He was just some drunk college kid who seemed harmless. He made me uneasy, but not in the dangerous way I felt when I was surrounded by lowlifes, my brother and father included.
God, Matteo would eat this little shit up and spit him out until there was nothing but skin and bones scattered on the ground.
I was going to take a different route, hopefully losing him, because it was very clear this asshole wasn’t giving up or taking the hint.
The two guys behind me clearly were the followers as they weren’t even paying attention to me. Instead, they talked to each other about their college classes.
But when the idiot reached out and tried to touch my hair, the girl who’d survived a shitload of stuff, who’d been hit too many times by her father and brother, rose.
The girl who had to fight tooth and nail just to stay above water when it felt like a tsunami was covering her came up like a warrior about to destroy everything around her.
He tugged on my hair, and I spun around, brandishing that knife and holding it up between us, the blade pointing at the fucker. My hand was steady, eyes narrowed, and vision focused.
His shocked expression came on instantly, but that soon faded to anger.
Oh, he was one of those.
His buddies, who laughed, broke that stunned moment of silence.
“Holy fucking shit,” one of them said.
“This fucking bitch pulled out a damn gutting knife, man.”
I paid them no mind. They weren’t the ones who were threatening me in this moment. Maybe this douchebag wasn’t a genuine threat, but that wasn’t a risk I would take.
“What exactly are you going to do?” The fucker seethed.
I still stayed silent.
He took a step forward, and on instinct, I swiped out, the blade nicking his forearm. He hissed out a curse and held his arm back, looking down at the small, very clear, superficial cut. A bit of blood welled up before sliding down his forearm to drop off his elbow.
“Bitch, do you know who I am? Pulling a knife on me is going to get your life destroyed.” He took a step closer but froze when I did the same, the tip of the blade digging into his chest.
“I’ve dealt with real dangerous men. Unlike you.” It was the first time I’d said anything. “Killing won’t be something new for me, asshole.”
After a long moment, he pursed his lips, stepped back, and held his hands up.
His friends had since shut up, maybe sensing this wild energy in me. I felt unhinged. This wasn’t a normal reaction for me. But ever since my time with Matteo and now weeks later being alone and feeling more lost than I ever had in my life made me not act like myself.
Fuck this guy. He was so privileged and probably got everything he wanted. The entitled prick had fucked with the wrong girl.
“Leave me alone,” was all I said. We were in a standoff for several moments before he took another step back and then another.
“Big fucking mistake.” And then he turned and left, his friends following.
I didn’t move, keeping my eyes on him the entire time. It was only when they disappeared around the corner that I slowly lowered the knife and exhaled. A rush of adrenaline moved through my veins, and I breathed out again, feeling more centered with each passing second.
God, why did I ever think that just because I left Desolation my life would be easier? Safer?
Being completely honest and frank with myself, moving away made things feel a lot harder than they ever had been.
A lot scarier. Definitely lonelier.
I got back to my apartment, locked the door, triple checking it, and kept the knife in my hand. I ran that bath, grabbed a cold beer, my dinner and tablet, and for the next hour and a half disconnected.