*~~Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Six~~*

{~~Avery Sterling~~}

When I didn’t wake up, I figured the nightmare wasn’t over.

I bolted toward the car, my heart pounding in my chest as if it were trying to tear its way out. The rain was pouring down in sheets, soaking me to the bone, but I didn’t care. My shoes slipped in the mud as I skidded to a stop beside the crumpled vehicle, my hands shaking as I yanked the door open. I half-expected Logan to be sitting there, maybe bruised, maybe hurt, but alive. Please, God, let him be alive.

But the seat was empty.

The inside of the car was eerily quiet, save for the sound of the rain beating against the metal roof. My breath hitched in my throat as I glanced around, eyes darting over the blood smeared across the dashboard, the seat, the steering wheel—too much blood. It's too much for him to be okay. A strangled noise escaped my throat as the realization began to creep in, a cold, numbing fear curling around my chest. My vision blurred with the rising panic, my heart thundering in my ea