Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I want to shake my head, to fight him, but I know there’s no point. Mykel will most certainly carry me out of here. I step forward and hug Kendric so tightly, it hurts my sore and damaged body. He hugs me back, and then Samson, Mykel and I start running.
I know we’ll reach the fence boundary soon, and we’ll be able to get out. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll make our way out before the cops find us.
I just pray to god Kendric makes it too.
Please, please let him make it out.
It simply cannot end like this.
18
WAVERLY
My whole body hurts. Every piece of me aches, right down to my toes, as we run through the thick woodland that makes up Dax’s property. Only when we reach a fence, and we know the cops aren’t close behind, do we stop and take a breather. We’re all panting, all of us exhausted, but I feel like my body just might not make it any farther. Once we’re at the road, we should be able to get a ride home.
I just pray the cops aren’t there already, because if they see us like this, they’re going to know that we were in on this, and we’ll have nothing to fight back with.
“I don’t know if I can run anymore,” I whisper, pressing my fingers to the dried blood on my face. The wound on my head hurts, god, does it hurt, and I want to curl up and feel sorry for myself, pretending none of this ever happened.
“I can hear the road,” Samson says, his voice strained. “We’re not far.”
“I’ll call Alarick, have him come get us,” Mykel murmurs.
“Kendric hasn’t caught up,” I say, my voice shaky. “Do you think he’s okay?”
“Kendric can take care of himself.” Mykel grunts. “We need to focus on getting out of here.”
I nod, and rub my arms. I’m sweating, and yet I feel cold. My whole body is aching so badly I don’t think I can take another step. I know I have to, but everything inside of me is screaming just to lie down and be done with it.
“Come on,” Mykel urges me, taking my arm gently. “We’re nearly there.”
I take a step, and I can’t help the sob that rips from my throat. I’m in so much pain, but I’m not going to let it beat me. I take another step, and the sobs keep coming, but I don’t stop. I fight through every single bit of pain because I’m going to get out of here. Dax is not going to win. We’re going to be stronger than this.
“I got you,” Mykel says, his voice kinder than I’ve ever heard it. “I won’t let you fall, you hear me?”
He hooks his arm around my waist, and then, without being asked, Samson steps up to the other side of me and does the same. Together, they keep me moving. Together, they hold me up. Tears run down my cheeks at their sheer kindness, and when we finally reach the road, I don’t let Mykel go. Samson releases me and Mykel’s arm stays right where it is, and I turn my body slightly and hang onto him.
He leans down, brushing a kiss across my head, and that kiss is everything.
It’s everything.
Ten minutes later, I see a truck slowing down and I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s Alarick. So far, no cops have gone past, but that’s not to say we won’t run into them soon. We climb in, and as soon as we do, Alarick turns and his eyes scan over us. “Where’s Kendric?”
“He’s coming,” Samson says. “He wanted to make sure nothin’ was left behind.”
Alarick’s eyes flash, and he glances off into the woods. He’s concerned, we all are, but there’s nothing we can do right now. We need to get out of here.
“We’re goin’ back to Mykel’s place. We’re goin’ to get rid of every single thing we’re wearing or have touched, and we’re goin’ to fuckin’ pray we’ve gotten away with this.”
Nobody says anything the entire drive home.
I press my cheek to Mykel’s shoulder and close my eyes. Over and over, I say the same prayer.
When we arrive back home, Mykel helps me out of the car and before we’ve even reached the front door, Briella is running down the stairs. She reaches me and takes my face in her hands. “Oh honey, oh. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” I tell her, my voice crackly. “I just . . . I just need to sit down.”
“Come on. Let’s get you sorted out.”
We all enter the house, where Cohen, Bohdi, Merleigh and Briella have been waiting. The moment they lay eyes on me, their faces fall. I know I look terrible, but judging by their expressions, it’s a whole lot worse than I’d first thought.