Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Shaking my head, tears falling down my wet cheeks, I look at Rhodes, who is staring right back at me. He doesn’t have to speak a word for me to know he’s telling me not to feed into Heston’s bullshit, but the psycho has been in my head playing mind games with me since the day we met.
“Oh, and your ex-husband had to get in the way of us, too. I couldn’t have him exposing me before I was ready…so I killed him.”
Sadness and anger spark in my chest. I was a fool. I put me and my daughter in danger and now Rhodes, but right now isn’t the time for me to cry about it, I need to fucking do something, anything to save us.
Using my nail, I saw and tear at the duct tape, my wrist pulling against the adhesive to loosen it.
Heston walks into the living room, the filtered light from the candles illuminating his way, so much so that it casts a dark shadow over him, reminding me of the Devil in Stephen King’s Stand. Reaching down, he takes a candle and sets it under the curtains. It blackens before finally igniting and zipping up the cloth material. My heart beats faster, my stomach feeling like I’m on a roller coaster, as I watch him start a fire.
He kicks another candle over and topples a few others. The temperature rises, heat blossoming off the carpet and couch. Smoke bellows into my lungs, making me cough and wheeze. I’m going to die here.
“Looks like you took another man to your place, got romantic and put one too many candles out.” He looks at me. “You should have blown these out, you know. They might catch fire.” His condescending tone makes me scream. I start kicking my legs, shifting my body with my movements until I tip over and fall to the ground. I freeze since the fire is only five feet away from my head. Closing my eyes, I try and tell myself I’m not going to die! Heston steps over me, and the sound of skin smacking skin can be heard and then crackling and popping. He’s beating Rhodes, punching him in the face over and over again. Using the floor, I brush my face up and down, my cheek burning from the rug’s abrasive touch, but I manage to get my gag loose.
“STOP! STOP IT!” I scream, my foot kicking the left of the table. The commotion stops; Heston’s stained-up shoe all I can see from this angle.
“Aww, baby. Don’t worry now. Shhhh.” He straddles my body and grabs my cheeks with both of his thumbs, his touch rough and my skin feeling like it might split at any second. He lifts my head, dragging me a foot closer to the fire, and I scream. Panic makes me want to pass out, but I fight it and slam my head into his, headbutting him.
He stills, his hand touching his forehead to check for blood.
“You little bitch!” He raises his hand and slaps me across the face, but the pain is nothing compared to the back of my head. Jerking me upward, he jostles me forward another foot, the smell of burnt hair telling me how close I am to the flame. Closing my eyes, remembering Paige, I try to think about the good times. The times we laughed, the nights my mother and I would stay up and talk, being able to watch Paige grow up. If I’m going to die, I’ll go thinking about all the good things in my life.
Something falls on top of me, thrusting the air from my lungs. My eyes open and Heston is lying on top of me with a dazed look in his eyes, something happened to him. I look around his body to see if Rhodes is up, but he’s still lying on the ground, blood smeared all over him so I know he wasn’t the one that knocked him out.
“You asshole!” Paige screams, kicking Heston’s limp body off me, a wine bottle in her hand covered in blood. She grabs the chair I’m stuck to by the legs and pulls me away from the fire and closer to the dining table, before fussing with the tape.
“Tear along the seam where it’s the thinnest,” I tell her, and she does, releasing my hands. I tear at the tape on my lap, and free my legs. I grab onto Paige and kiss her forehead, hugging her to my chest. I didn’t think I would ever have another chance to do this with her. A small explosion in the living room throws dirt and debris at us, our time growing short. We need to get out of this house.
Grabbing onto Paige’s shoulders, I make her look me in the eye. “Go out front, and do not come back. Do you understand?” I tell her, and she nods. Pulling away from her, I go to Rhodes. His face is bloody, his lip split and his eye bulging. He doesn’t look good.