Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
NORA
“ O h, shit.” Scarlet turns to me with wide eyes.
“I think I left my phone on the table.”
I glance from her toward the door and back again.
“Okay...”
“Let me run and grab it and then we can head home. Will you?—”
I already know what she's asking. Will I be okay? The honest answer is I don't know, but I want to be.
No, I need to be. I have to be.
“Yeah.” I lick my lips and then force a smile.
“Go grab it. I'll be fine.”
I want so badly to be normal, and normal girls can wait alone in a car.
“Okay, be right back.” She spares me a long glance before hopping out and dashing back into the restaurant.
It probably makes me pathetic, but I keep my back ramrod straight and my eyes laser-focused on Scarlet as she dashes toward the building, not blinking, barely even moving besides the slight trembling of my hands, until she's out of sight.
It's okay. I'm okay. Everything’s okay.
I repeat the words over and over again, my fingers idly fidgeting with the compass charm of my necklace, all the while refusing to take my eyes off the door. I want to know the second she’s on her way back to me.
It's deathly quiet in the car. So quiet, it amplifies the sound of my accelerated breathing—or maybe it’s the sound of my thundering heart.
A car door slams somewhere in the parking lot, and I flinch.
“Get a grip,” I mutter, curling both of my hands into white-knuckle fists. It feels like she’s been gone for hours, when in reality, it’s only been minutes. But it’s fine. I’m fine. “Everything is f?—”
Before I can finish the word, the passenger door flies open, bringing me face-to-face with my worst nightmare.
I try to scream for help, but he slaps his meaty hand over my mouth, digging his fingers in hard on either side of my jaw.
“I've got you now, you little bitch,” he snarls, and then everything goes black.