Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
He leans closer and whispers his plan to me. And the more I hear about it, the more I approve of his sick idea. At the haunted house, his focus will be on Lila and mine…
Well, I have my little wallflower to play with.
Almost as if Maddox can hear my thoughts, he quirks an eyebrow in question. “So, what’s your deal with Riley?”
Now that Maddox has posed the question — I don’t know.
Maybe…
I don’t like how yellow her hair is. The color is too vibrant on her — she is too pretty to be the spawn of Thomas Johnson.
I don’t like how she smiles. There’s a softness in her that pisses me off.
I don’t like how she looks at Grayson with stars in her eyes. What’s there to like about that nerd? He’s nothing interesting. The only reason he’s here, at Berkshire Academy, is because he got adopted by the Hales. Otherwise, he’d still be trailer trash.
And I don’t like the calmness that resides in her.
Riley Johnson went from being Miss Little Popular and a Pageant Queen to a hopeless wallflower. With withered petals and broken thorns.
She’s too quiet, too calm, too docile — I want to ruffle her feathers.
I want her hate and her fury.
I want to see the fire in her eyes, because her poison feeds the venom in my heart.
I want to see what Riley is truly capable of. Other than this docile version of her. I see her vulnerability, but who is she beyond that person?
So, that’s my deal with Riley. But I don’t tell Maddox that.
I lean back in my chair, so I’m only balancing on the rear two legs. “She’s fun to play with,” I tell him, which is partly the truth.
“She’s a Johnson,” Maddox reminds me carefully. “Your father will disown you if he finds you hung up on Thomas’s daughter. Don’t get too attached.”
Attached? To Riley?
I can’t help but laugh. “Won’t be happening. She’s too…quiet for me.” Quiet and boring.
Maddox stares at me, his blue eyes darkening with suspicion. I don’t know what he sees on my face that convinces him, but he finally nods in satisfaction. “So, tomorrow? Haunted house. I’ll get Lila and you’ll get Riley.”
My lips twitch with a smirk. Oh, fuck yeah.
***
The place is pitch black as Maddox and I wait right outside the haunted house’s exit. We’re both sporting a LED mask, finding our faces. The type of mask you’d see in the Purge movies. Maddox is the one who came up with the idea. And I can’t lie, the masks go perfectly with his sick plan. After all, we are set on terrorizing our little hostages.
I see her the moment she exits the building. Her blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing a wine-colored mini dress with a black leather jacket and knee-high boots.
Riley takes a deep breath before she giggles, bumping her elbow into Lila’s hip. “You’re spooked,” she teases.
Lila lands a soft punch on Riley’s arm. “Shut up,” Lila says grumpily. She does look spooked. Lila takes in several ragged breaths, and she presses a hand over her heaving chest.
I hear the screams inside from the other visitors. This place is…creepy. But both Maddox and I are adrenaline junkies. We love shit like this.
Can’t say the same for Riley and Lila though.
My attention slides over to Maddox. He nods, motioning for me to move forward. Time to set his plan into action. I unfold myself from my position and get to my feet, walking out of the shadows.
I move behind Riley and Lila notices me first. Her smile dies and her eyes widen in alarm. She doesn’t realize that Maddox is behind her, but I know the moment Riley sees him. Her body tenses and she gasps out loud, her shock evident in the tiny sounds she makes. Both girls reach out for each other, almost protectively, but they are too late.
I reach out toward Riley and grab her by the waist. She lets out a terrifying scream as I spin her toward me. She doesn’t have a chance to take a look at my masked face before I’m hoisting her over my shoulder. Maddox does the same with Lila, and then he’s carrying his captive away.
Riley lies there, hanging upside down over my shoulder as I do the same, going in the opposite direction. My little hostage doesn’t stop screaming though. “Let me go!” she bellows, her words choked with horror as she claws my back. “Oh my God! Please don’t kill me!”
Kill her? She does have a creative imagination; I have to give her that.
Yeah, there’s no killing happening tonight, I’m just gonna have a little fun terrorizing the little wallflower. I wonder if her eyes will look as pretty when they’re filled with fear.
And then it makes me wonder what her tears would taste like. I’m sure they would taste of salt, pain and despair. It would taste like the wreckage that is of her soul.