Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“Leave her alone!” a high-pitched voice screamed. Rory charged toward Victor with a shovel in hand. She gave it a swing, aiming for his head, but he caught it by the handle with his free hand.
I rolled over as Rory struggled to take the shovel back. He hung on to the handle, grunting as he did. Then, with a smirk, he released the handle and Rory tumbled backwards. I pushed to a stand and started to run off, but Victor caught me, hooking an arm around my midsection and hauling me backward. He slammed me down on the ground again and I yelped from the pain.
“All of you are pissing me off now!” He dragged me by the hood of my jacket, going down the hill that led to the lake.
Rory started to chase after us with the shovel again.
“No, Rory! Stop! He’ll hurt you too!” I fingered the zipper of my hoodie, ready to pull it down and escape the arms, but Victor stopped and slung me around to grip me by the back of my neck. I could smell lake water now, its fresh scent invading my senses.
My knees slammed into the cool water at the shoreline. Then Victor shoved my face forward and plunged my head under water.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
I was going to die.
I should’ve known it from the first night I spent in Twilight Oaks. I sensed something was off. I knew something had happened to Eve. There was a gut feeling and it’s never wrong. But, still, I stayed. Like a fool I stayed.
Perhaps Victor was right. Maybe I did have some kind of death wish. Perhaps I did hate my life. Maybe, subconsciously, this was the result I wanted. I have felt nothing but unfulfilled since I saw Cole and Eve that day.
I’ve felt empty, like there’s a gaping hole in my chest that grows bigger every day. Sure, my family and friends keep me somewhat centered, but some days it doesn’t feel like enough. Some days, I just want to quit and run off, start a new life. Forget about the past and all my worries.
Victor’s grip tightened on the back of my neck as I thrashed, trying to come up for air. Water filled my nose and mouth. My eyes burned with each panicked blink. No. Dying wasn’t what I wanted. Not by a long shot.
I threw back an arm, trying to swing at him, but he held on tighter, shoving me deeper.
I could hear my heartbeat slowing in rhythm. My gasps and moans catching in my chest.
And then I heard a voice.
A familiar whisper.
I’m here, Rose.
Eve.
A muffled pop sounded off. Victor’s hand slipped from the back of my neck, and I jerked my head out of the water, gasping for as much breath as possible. I pressed on my hands and knees, sucking in oxygen as I tried to orient myself.
Then, to my left, I saw Victor’s body. He was face down, bleeding from the shoulder blade and wincing. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. A short distance away, holding a shotgun aimed in Victor’s previous direction, was Griffin Abbot. Behind him was Selma Abbot, whose eyes were wide and panicked. Griffin’s nostrils flared as he swung the barrel of the gun to Victor again.
In the distance, Rory stood, and Alex approached with a heavy limp. Rory turned to him, throwing her face into his chest. His thigh was bleeding too, from where I’d shot him. I instantly regretted it.
I fell down beside Victor, shivering.
“Lower the weapon!” Kennedy’s voice blared in the distance. I heard something thud on the ground and Griffin’s deep voice telling her that he was only helping.
I’m not sure how much time passed before I heard Kennedy read off Victor’s Miranda rights while yanking his arms back to cuff him. He was still staring at me, an absent look in his eyes.
“You should be thanking me,” Victor rasped, ignoring Kennedy. Water was in my ears, so his voice was muffled, but I understood. “She’s dead. She was always your burden and now that burden is gone.” He said all this with a sneer.
Kennedy hauled him up just as another deputy appeared. She handed Victor over to him with a firm set of instructions, and when another cop showed up, Kennedy pointed at Alex and said something. The deputy hesitated before walking to Alex and, reluctantly, grabbing his upper arm and leading him away from the scene. I was surprised Alex didn’t resist, or protest, at least.
Kennedy started back my way. I turned my head to look up. The sky was velvet blue and splattered with stars. The trees hovered, towering like skyscrapers. It all swirled into one big starlit mosaic.
Then I saw someone standing above me, wearing the same brown hoodie she’d worn in the camera footage from Flip Stack’s. She smiled at me before lowering to one knee. Her eyes were rimmed with tears. She touched my face, rubbed my cheek. It was now I noticed the transparency of her skin. The slight glow to it.