Fuming, I reach into my purse and fling the pictures along with the invitation card at him. The rest fall to the ground but he manages to catch one of the pictures and the invite before they slip down his chest. I close my eyes but my memory still burns from the images of them coming out of the hosp
KIAN’S POVLeslie’s back is the only part of her I hate. That’s because the only time I see it is when she’s walking away from me–from my life. And I’ve seen her turn her back on me too many times to know that the pain I currently feel in my heart could kill me if I let her go again. By the time I r
BEVERLY’S POVA bleak world greets my eyes the moment they open, followed by an onslaught of pain in every part of my body. A groan follows the realization that I can’t move any of my limbs as it seems like they have been forced tightly together by the force of a rope that can break through skin to
He crouches in front of me and lets his fingers graze the skin at my ankles that is all red and angry from the rope tightened around it. I shiver at his touch, whimpering at the memory of the terrible things it has done to me in the past. He sighs. The psychopath fucking sighs like he empathizes wi
LESLIE'S POVHeartbreak doesn’t begin to describe this feeling inside of me. No, it is not enough to quantify the depths of the pain I am going through. It hurts, badly. Not the false sense of security I was lulled into; not the lies told to my face and the secrets kept from me. It is how weak my
LESLIE’S POVOf all the things that already don’t make sense, this very one tops the charts and breaks the scale–this one where I am being told I am siblings with a man I have never seen in my life. A man that looks nothing like the one lying unconscious on that bed, save for the color of his eyes.
“Excuse me?” My eyes snap to his.He shrugs, “Did he really look around the entire country and beyond for you?” “He did and then he found me and–” “Correction, you found,” he points to me and then to my unconscious father, “Him.” This man is getting in my head and I can’t even stop him. “What d
BEVERLY'S POV(TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT)I must have blacked out again. Because when I wake up this time, it’s in the trunk of a car so small my entire body is curled into a ball to fit into it. The acute pain on one side of my head signifies that my abductors didn’t consider druggi
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