Page 29 of Don't Leave Me Behind
Mercer sits back in his seat, head whipping to glare at me. “Told me what?”
“About the night she came to see me.” Picking at the leather on the pommel, looking for anything that might keep me from having to look my best friend in the eye.
“What night?”
“Right after she turned eighteen.” My eyes meet his, waiting to see the light turn on as he puts the pieces together.
“That trip she took when she was mugged?”
I jerk my chin, acknowledging his answer.
“She said that she didn’t find you.”
“I’m just piecing that together.” Cows lowing in the distance draw my attention away from him.
“Why would she lie?”
I nudge Mako into a trot, a sinking feeling starting to settle into my gut.
“She was protecting you, wasn’t she?” Calypso, to his credit, keeps pace with us. Mercer moves him alongside me as we make our way toward the herd.
I give a tight nod, trying to fix my breathing before I lose it completely. I shouldn’t have said anything.Fuck.I’m so fucking stupid.
Mercer is quiet as he works the details out in his head. We get closer to the noise from the cows, but they’re not lowing anymore. Now, they’re screaming.
Something is wrong.
“She was in that hotel room you trashed. Wasn’t she?”
I turn to my best friend, eyes darting over a mask of indifference as his own drill through me. I give another jerk of my head, watching the muscles in his jaw tick.
He opens his mouth, ready to read me the riot act, no doubt, when a car horn blares. The sound of rubber skidding on pavement assaults our eardrums. We drop the trot, urging both horses into a full-blown gallop.
Chapter 10
Fast as Fuck Boi
Leni
Rough hands grab my shoulders,gripping so hard I can feel fingernails dig into my skin. I try to break free, but it doesn’t work. Instead, I’m shoved back into the sink. Fire bursts out across my back, pain searing me as I scream. A fist grabs my hair, dragging me across the bathroom toward the wall. Shoving me against it and slams my head into the concrete as he pries my legs apart, pushing between them.
“No!” I scream, throat burning as my voice scrapes out of me over and over. He’s not trying to keep me quiet. His hands rip at my dress, frantically touching my skin. Then he reaches for his jeans.
My heart is pounding in my chest, every breath I heave burning as it leaves my body. I slam my forehead into his face, pain blooming in my temples as it connects with his nose.
Cold, dead eyes look down at me, his lips curl into a wide, bloody smile. One tattoo-covered hand grabs my neck, anchoring me to the wall, his other circling my wrist as he pulls my arm out to the side. I watch, helpless as he clamps those bloody teeth down into my arm.
I scream and scream and scream.
I wake up,drenched in sweat; the nightmare I just had makes it hard to breathe. I never have nightmares anymore. I’ve moved past this; let it go. This is why I can’t talk about it, because when I do, this is what happens.
My head is swimming with the lack of oxygen, as I continue to hyperventilate. I pat my nightstand, desperately seeking my phone so I can tap out an SOS text to Miya.
I don’t realize I’ve texted our Best Bitches Group Chat until a FaceTime call from Pepper flashes on the screen. I hit decline. My phone rings, Pepper’s bubbly face lighting up the screen again. I know she’s not going to stop unless I answer.
“I’m okay,” I rasp, sounding like I ran a marathon.
“I think that might be a lie, considering the text you sent the group says, ‘Please help me.’”
