Page 3 of Corruption
“Yes, Mother…” I whispered.
“He is beneath you!”
“Yes, Mother,” I repeated.
“You’re better than them. You always will be. Such people drag you down.”
I nodded, and my mother stood up again. She forcefully grabbed my hand and led me away. I glanced behind myself, but Jared and his mother were long gone. Would I ever see him again? was all I could think as I trailed behind my mother.
Chapter 2
-Alison-
I was certain that when the gunshot rang out, a sharp, agonizing pain would shoot through me. I was convinced my brain would register the torment before I could finally rest. However, that was not what happened. The sound of the gunshot shook my entire body before I felt wetness splatter across my face. A heavy weight fell atop me, and when I opened my eyes, I screamed. A lifeless body lay in my lap, blood streaming from a head wound, its lifeless eyes fixed on nothing. I pushed myself away, desperate to escape from the corpse, but then I was seized from behind, forced to my feet. The cold muzzle of a gun pressed against my temple, and I knew the ordeal was far from over.
“Drop the fucking gun!” a sinister voice commanded from beside me, an unfamiliar accent coloring his words.
The world seemed surreal, nothing making sense. Everything appeared blurry, my own breathing deafening in my ears. The sensation of the lifeless body still clung to me, but then a voice pierced through the haze.
“You first.”
Relief washed over me, and I was shoved a little forward. My attacker held me tightly, his body pressed against mine as we both looked down to see Jared, standing in the doorway. He held his gun raised, hands steady and unwavering, which sent a shiver down my spine. Who was this man, and why was Jared so composed, as if this were just another ordinary Sunday? This wasn’t the scared and timid boy I remembered. I knew he had changed, but this was something else. Did I even want Jared to save me, or was I fleeing from one madman into the arms of another?
But as the gun pressed harder against my temple, my heart racing to the point where it felt like it might explode, every fiber of my being cried out for Jared.
“Do you want your little bitch to die?” my attacker taunted.
“She’s just a random hookup. This is between us, so let her go,” Jared calmly replied.
“So, she means nothing to you?”
Jared’s eyes briefly met mine before settling on the man behind me. I despised the sensation of his body against mine. It sent shivers down my spine, just like the dead man who had lain on top of me.
“She means absolutely nothing. I don’t even know her name,” Jared declared, his voice as composed as his hands, which did nothing to quell my trembling.
“Is that why she lingers?”
“You know, some people are difficult to shake off when they catch a glimpse of your wealth,” Jared remarked, a statement that irked me, making me feel like a gold-digging woman. I glared at him, but Jared’s focus wasn’t on me at that moment.
“Is that true, pretty?” my attacker inquired, leaning in so close that I could feel and smell the stench of his tobacco-laden breath, an odor that nearly made me retch. “Are you one of those desperate ones who linger, hoping he might suddenly fancy you?”
I remained silent, tilting my head away from him and squeezing my eyes shut. He leaned in even closer, taking a whiff of my neck.
“Mmm, at least she smells delightful,” he taunted as he shifted his attention back to Jared.
When I reopened my eyes, I noticed an odd tension in Jared, something I couldn’t quite decipher.
“She has nothing to do with this,” Jared asserted. “Just let her go.”
“But now she does. She’s involved now. Do you understand the magnitude of the mistake you made by killing Pete?” the man growled.
He... killed someone? I wondered, our eyes briefly connecting again before Jared turned his gaze calmly back to the man behind me.
“I am aware.”
“In that case, you must have a death wish,” the man sneered.
“It’s being resolved.”
