LESLIE’S POVI watch with immense pleasure as giant cardboard packages get lifted off delivery trucks and loaded into the company’s storage. Dianne stands with the men doing the heavy lifting, notepad in hand as she takes inventory of the packages getting loaded into our storage. The thud of the p
********************Home. What a joke. It’s the only joke bigger than me who came back here and who still can’t leave even after finding out it was all a part of Kian’s plan to have me back in the palm of his hands. I have realized that whether consciously or not, I must have also used grandfathe
KIAN’S POVGrandfather is leaving.That should make me happy, right? Because it means I won’t have to constantly worry about his health or worry about him finding out about the divorce. It means I finally get to breathe in my own house. But it also means having absolutely no reason to keep Leslie a
KIAN'S POVThe idea of going on a camping trip didn’t sit well with me not only because of the awkward air between Leslie and I but also because of grandfather's health. He has always had this overly obsessed love for the beach, frankly just any huge body of water so it’s not a surprise that he chos
“Kian, that is great! I’m invited, aren’t I?” My uncle sounds ecstatic. Before I can reply, the door opens and my secretary walks in, a tray with a mug in hand. She bows slightly in a greeting before moving closer into the room. I return my attention back to Travis, shrugging. “I guess you are.”
LESLIE'S POVPRESENTI struggle with a tent, twisting and folding. Unable to tell where it starts or ends. Somewhere, Kian talks his grandfather’s ear off about how this whole sleeping outside in a tent near the beach thing is a terrible idea. Well for the first time, Kian and I agree on something.
LESLIE'S POVMy excitement somewhat dampens when she mentions that one bit of information. I hate to think about it but it is always there at the back of my mind. It never leaves. My boss is prickly to everyone but not to the one woman who manages to break a smile from him. Beverly is everything I’m
KIAN’S POVGod, I hate surprises. And everything else attached to it; the shock, the confusion, the momentary loss of control, the fight to get that control back and the aftermath of losing it. It’s all a fucking mess wrapped together in a thing called surprises. I can’t emphasise enough about how
LESLIE’S POV I join Kian’s mother outside the room, closing the door behind me. She is still stewing in anger, face red with rage that’s waiting to be unleashed. Usually, I would do anything to pacify her so I wouldn't be at the receiving end of that unbridled rage. Now? Irritation is all I feel at
LESLIE’S POV (One Week Later) “If the police show up again, spray them in the face with the fire extinguisher or something.” Cole’s irritated voice filters through my phone’s speaker and it makes me crack a smile for the first time in a week. “Pretty sure I would get arrested for that.” “Not
LESLIE’S POV My reflexes work faster than they ever have. Fast enough to help me roll away, and bump into Beverly in the process. Mike relentlessly stalks towards me and that’s when I get a good look at his affected leg. I time his movement and before he can take another angry swing of his weapon
LESLIE’S POV Seconds after Beverly crumples to the ground, my breath is still caught in my throat. I’m still trembling as I watch her sprawled on the floor, body jerking uncontrollably. I’m amazed at my strength to still remain standing despite the traumatising scene in front of me. To still grip t
LESLIE’S POV Our hearts are already in our mouths before we see what jumped at us—a ginormous rat, every bit as scared as us. It runs at full speed and scurries into the nearby bush. “All clear.” She mutters and we both step into the shed using her phone’s flashlight. It’s a full shed; a bunch of
LESLIE’S POV We’re barely two minutes away from the abandoned school gate when the engine starts to sputter, the entire truck shaking with the intensity. “No…no…no…no, not now!” Beverly lets out a panicked groan. I am preoccupied with looking behind us to make sure we’re not being followed but at
LESLIE’S POV Kian doesn’t know it—the name of Mike’s sister. I can tell from the way his entire face has gone even paler than it was before. Earlier, it had been pale from the pain of the injuries from the accident that I still don’t know the extent of. Now, he has turned ashen from something m
LESLIE’S POV The sound of my name reaches me from somewhere distant. The sound is repeated just like the throbbing ache in my head. When I finally manage to pry open my eyes, the feeling of deja vu washes over me. My hands and legs are bound tightly just like three years ago in that warehouse.
BEVERLY’S POV The familiar beeping sound that comes from my phone causes me to jerk upright. My eyes train on the screen, following the movement of a blinking red dot on the map. He’s on the move. I slam a couple of bills on the coffee table before hurrying out of the cafe where I had been havi