Total pages in book: 11
Estimated words: 10371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 52(@200wpm)___ 41(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 10371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 52(@200wpm)___ 41(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
Even if she refuses to tell me, I know there is more going on than she lets on. The bruises on her wrists are proof of that. Why is her father not protecting her from those punks?
At the reminder, I squeeze the steering wheel a little harder. She’s just a kid and doesn’t deserve to endure that shit. He is supposed to protect her.
When I finally pull into my driveway, relief floods my veins. I put the SUV in park and kill the engine before opening the car door and stepping out into the cool night air. My feet have just touched the ground, my spine barely straight when a scream pierces the air that has every hair on my body standing on end.
The sound causes something inside of me to snap, and in an instant, I know that Claire needs me. My vision becomes blurry, and I lose myself in the rage that consumes me.
I have to save her, protect her, at any cost.
6
Claire
Pain. I feel it in every cell of my body.
Pain is all I can think of as I lie on the floor, unable to get up. I try to make sense of what is happening. Why is my dad so angry? Why is he hurting me so badly? Is he going to kill me?
All the questions swirl in my head, but the pain won’t let me think.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Who he is?” My father spits, confusing me even more. “He is going to tell his boss where I am. He is going to kill me because I can’t pay back the money. Is that what you want, Claire? You want me dead?”
I try to shake my head, to tell him no, but as soon as I move, a sharp pain shoots down my neck. I open my mouth to speak, but my throat is so raw from crying out for help. My lips are dry and cracked, and I can taste the coppery ting of blood on my tongue.
“This is all your fault. Everything was great before you were born. Your mother loved me. We were happy, and then you had to come along.” He says it like I chose to be here.
My father paces through the room, a beer bottle in his hand. I follow him with my eyes since that’s the only part I feel like I can actually move without pain.
I want to tell him that I’m sorry, beg him to forgive me and stop hurting me, but my body is so weak. Everything hurts, and all I want to do is close my eyes and go to sleep.
“You destroyed my life!” my father yells.
My eyes fly back open just in time to see the beer bottle fly my way. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to turn away, but my movement is too sluggish. The bottle hits me in the side of the head, the glass shattering around me.
Agonizing pain erupts inside my head, like a million little bombs going off, crushing my skull and turning my brain to shreds. The room starts to spin around me, and all I can hear is a loud ringing in my ear.
My vision goes blurry, but something in the back of my mind is telling me to hold on, to keep fighting. Forcing myself to blink and keep my eyes open, I stare up at the ceiling and try to think of anything but the pain. There’s a loud pop in my ear, and the pressure is so great, it feels like my head is going to explode.
Above me, my father slams his fist against the side of my head, saliva clings to my skin as he spits words of hate at me. I feel something warm trickling down the side of my face. One more punch, and I can’t contain the scream that’s been building in my throat this entire time.
Fracturing like a piece of glass, I don’t even recognize the sound that escapes me. I let my eyes drift closed then, the darkness becomes a comforting balm.
Please, make it stop! I repeat over and over in my mind.
Then, as if God can hear my silent prayers, the weight against my body is removed. I force my eyes open, even though it feels impossible to do. The pain in my face is overwhelming, but for a brief moment, it becomes background noise when I see Lucca hovering over my father.
The world around me is silent, there is no sound, and all I can do is watch in horror as Lucca transforms right before my eyes, becoming someone else entirely. Fear replaces any happy thoughts I ever had about him.
There is a darkness in his eyes that makes it hard for me to breathe. Terror reignites in my veins as I lie helplessly on the floor and watch my father’s head bounce against the ground, over and over again like a basketball.