Then, the call cuts off abruptly."Ashley? Ashley? Are you there?" I yell into the phone. Something doesn't feel right. There is no time to think clearly about what she said as I hurry to the elevator, my heart thumping loudly in my ears.The elevator is in use and I stamp my feet in place, anxious to get on. My apartment is on the topmost floor else I would have taken the stairs. Something feels urgent. Ashley is acting strange and I get the sense that it has nothing or everything to do with our weakened bond.I am glad to see that the elevator is headed down here, but when it opens in front of me, my blood runs cold at the sight of Tyler standing alone in it. His cold eyes look me over and a malicious smirk creeps up his handsome face.I take a step back when he steps out, feeling the survival instinct kick, screaming at me to put as much distance between us. I am numb. My mind races with a million unfinished thoughts. Each bouncing off the last, never quite following a pattern."He
"Okay, sir. I get you. We will get to work immediately." Mrs. Delgado says calmly.I end the call without waiting for Mr. Harvey, the lawyer, to chip in. I am sick of the seemingly endless back and forth conversation. I just need it fixed. And now. I am so mad that I predicted the angle this shit would take once it hit right. I had hoped I was just being paranoid. But now I know better. People are insane. Why the fuck would Amelia be roped into this? How did Arthur even know about her? Kathryn rarely talks about her daughter to her flings.I push all the thoughts aside as I walk out the office."Mr. Dmitri, sir, you have backlogged meetings. I have got the most important on hold right now, are you on your way out already?" Charlotte follows me as I head straight for the elevator, when I step inside the waiting car without so much as turning to look at her or even acknowledge her with a word, she turns around, getting the message.Nothing is as important as getting back to Amelia right
Amelia POV::I taste the salt in my mouth before I gain consciousness fully. It doesn't alarm me as much as the tight binds eating into my wrists and ankles. I am bound to a cold metal chair, and the room is bare with dull walls, dark except for a lone light bulb that keeps fluttering. It could as well have been off. I can't judge the size of the room because of the dimness, but I get the sense that it is a huge building. A warehouse, probably. And I am confined to a corner of it.Panic floods into my bloodstream as the last of my consciousness slids into place. I feel a revolt so foreign that it shocks me to the core.Tyler. At my apartment complex. Those cold, emotionless blue eyes. The sneer that marred his face, transforming his usual handsome features into a severe hateful mask.That scream I heard before passing out was undeniably Ashley's. My heart slams around in my ribcage with the implication of what it meant for Tyler to have been in my apartment. For Ashley to have called
Something very vital that is just out of my reach.I hear footsteps at a distance that I can't judge from my position, bound on this metal chair, but it is clear that it is someone walking by. I can't mistake the rhythmic sound of hard boots slamming on the cement floor."Is someone there?" I yell, but the sound comes out pathetic. Low and weak. My throat is parched. I am tired and I am scared.I have just been kidnapped. I don't know what to think. My best friend betrayed me. My heart lies in a million shattered pieces at the bottom of my stomach.The footsteps stop. Then it starts moving again, but by the faint sound of each step, I can tell it is receding instead of coming towards me. I clear my throat and open my mouth."Hello! Who is there! Help! Hello!" My voice echoes back at me emptily. Whoever it was is gone. I sag dejectedly into the uncomfortable metal chair. My body heat has warmed it to a point, but my back is bent at an angle that makes my whole body hurt. I don't know h
"He promised he wasn't going to hurt you." Ashley whispers amidst her tears, pathetically. "Well, no shit." I scoff sarcastically. Was she even really my friend all this while? Have I just been blind and held onto a bond that was never there in the first place? "Did you even consider me as your best friend? Your sister? Was that all just talk? How long have you hated me for?" My heart breaks at the thought. It feels like someone took an iron fist and started squeezing the organ. It hurts like madness. It takes my breath away. It mellows my anger for a bit. "No! Please, Amelia, No. I never hated you. I don't hate you. You are my best friend, Amelia, I love you. I can't even ask for forgiveness because this is unforgivable, but please don't question our years together. I never once faked my love for you." "Then what the fuck do you call this! How do you explain this!" I yell, craning my neck around, ignoring the pain at the base of my skull as I bend, I can't see anything clearly b
Our classmates might not believe this if I told them. He was able to deceive Ashley for fuck's sake. My best friend. People in his everyday life who have not witnessed this part of him wouldn't believe it. "Well fuck. Open your mouth." Tyler says and pours the lukewarm content of the bottle on my face, I don't have a choice other than to open my mouth else the water goes down my nose. His face has a maniacal glint to it as he watches me struggle with drinking the water pouring down my face. It is all I can do to not cry. It is over in a moment. I swallow the water and surprisingly, feel better. If only by a fraction. Tyler walks away and I remember Ashley behind me. "Wait, please. Ashley. She needs it." I am unable to say more. I guess I am still numb but he stops and looks back at me. He looks past me and scoffs. He walks off to the window and drops the bottle of water so it spills. I watch this with a crazed kind of terror. I am mad at Ashley and all, but I know she is in a worse
The shock of the stinging blow to the face burns more than the physical pain. He hit me below my chin, and I taste the blood on my tongue, I feel my molars tug loose with the abrupt force. I can't even scream. I can't even bring my hand up to touch or at least soothe the stinging spot. I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I am dazed. I blink at him. It is like looking at a whole new person. I knew he was capable and willing to hurt me physically, to assault me if he felt like it, but to actually be on the receiving end of that idea is beyond terrifying. It is not the pain or discomfort of it but absolute humiliation. To be reduced to this and for what? Anger, along with hurt, stirs in the pit of my stomach. He sees the fire come alive in my eyes and smirks at me, tongue out, ugly as fuck. In the dark, we watch eachother for a beat. Then I look away. Because it is useless. He has the upper hand here. I still don't know my standing in this situation. Does he consider me disposabl
"I need you to answer me when I ask you a question. That is the only way for this to work. Do you understand?" Tyler leans forward. His eyes have a crazed glint to them in the dark that scares me out of my senses, I will do anything he asks. Just to avoid his wrath. I nod frantically. He shakes his head at me disappointedly. Somehow, I understand what he is asking of me, so I open my mouth and say, "Yes, I understand. I am sorry." He raises an amused brow at me, and I add again, "No, I don't know what kind of person Linc was before my mother married him." I say. He leans back in his chair, a twisted pleased look on his face. I feel nauseated. "He was a piece of shit. An asshole. He belonged to this group of friends who got off on being wild reckless idiots. Rich spoilt kids who got away with anything and everything. Late night parties. Getting high. Alcohol. Hard drugs. Women. The whole thing." Tyler folds his hands over his chest. He looks normal for a second, and the lapse in hi