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#Chapter 165: Blame
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I didn’t wake until the car shut off, and Ted carefully nudged my arm. I shot upright and lashed out. He winced as my punch landed hard on his shoulder.
“Jesus, Celeste,” Jack said.
The memories slowly trickled back in. I was in the car with my brother and Matt. I was safe.
“Sorry.” I gave Ted a sheepish look.
He waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Good hit.”
I nodded and peered through the front window. We were parked outside a motel. The neon sign gleamed blue and pink in the dim light. It wasn’t snowing anymore, but mounds of it covered the parking lot. A light was on in the office and in one room. Aside from a single red Toyota, we were the only ones here.
“We’re going to stop here for the night,” Seth said.
“Okay.”
I got out of the car and stretched my arms over my head. Everything felt sore, and I rolled my neck. Using that much power too
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I woke with a gasp, my heart hammering in my chest. The terror of the nightmare lingered, and I sucked in air, trying desperately to calm down. Every night, it was the same. I was standing in the dark woods, and there across the clearing stood Matt. Only, I never got to him in time. I ran and screamed, begging him to get away, but Ronan always appeared to tear out his heart. I’d have to watch him fall to his knees, blood staining the snow.“Hey, are you okay?”The sound of his voice brought me back to myself. A heavy arm was draped across my hip, and I clutched his hand. He was here with me. He was okay. I forced a shuddering breath through my lips and let it out slowly.Matt leaned over me, and I looked over my shoulder at him. His eyes glowed in the dim light, and his hair was sleep-mussed. The other bed sat untouched.“It was just a dream,” he murmured. I nodded, never taking my eyes off him. It took a few more minutes, bu
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I jolted awake, sitting straight up in bed with a gasp. Someone was pounding on the door, and it took me a moment to remember where I was. The cabin swam into view as I gasped down air. My heart rate slowly returned to normal as I took in the teak furniture and the sunlight slanting across the floor.“Celeste,” Jack called. “Are you awake?”“One second!”“Meet me in the main building,” he shouted.“Alright,” I yelled back.I forced myself out of bed. I had no idea what time it was, but I could’ve slept for a few more hours. A note on the bedside table stole my attention, and I snatched it up. I recognized Matt’s elegant handwriting.Went into town to get supplies. Will be back in the afternoon. Help yourself to anything here. - MattShort and to the point.I smiled and put the note back on the table. The dresser was half-full of clothes. Stuff that seemed old, but still in decent shape. I pulled on a clean pair of track pants, rolling them up a few times so the pant legs didn’t drag o
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His Secret Princess #Chapter 192: Shell Shock
Those of us still on our feet spent the rest of the day tending to the wounded. God, there were so many of them. Every wound I saw, every cry of pain I heard, felt like a knife to the gut. Everywhere I went, I saw pain, death, and gore.It was all too much.“Hey,” Jack said, giving me a concerned look. “Take a break if you need to.”He was still covered in blood, and I could barely stand to look at him. He’d taken a few minutes to wipe most of it off his face, but he hadn’t stopped to change his clothes. None of us had. There hadn’t been time.“I can’t.”I couldn’t get my father’s face out of my mind. Jack took me to his body shortly after the fight ended, tears in his eyes. I allowed myself to cry only for a minute before I helped him move the body to the small grassy area behind the church. That was where we were laying out the dead before we’d give them all proper funerals.There were already too many bodies out there. Seth had collapsed beside Jenna’s bloody form and hadn’t moved
