Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
PIPER
Ican’t breathe.
Darkness presses in around me, thick and suffocating. No matter how hard I pull air into my lungs, it never feels like enough.
The panic hits first, sharp and crushing.
“Piper,” a harsh male voice calls my name in the dark.
My pulse stumbles.
It’s him.
Reece.
A door slams somewhere in the distance, the sound echoing like a gunshot. My chest tightens.
He’s coming.
The sound of his footsteps follows my thoughts.
They always sound the same.
Slow. Steady. Heavy. Like he’s dragging his feet across dirt.
“No,” I whisper, but my voice barely works. It comes out weak and broken.
Just like me.
My body is shattered, broken bones aching.
Still, I force myself to move against the ropes binding my wrists and feet.
I lift my head and the acrid scent of bleach and blood burns my nostrils. Nausea claws up my throat.
I shuffle backward, trying to make myself smaller.
But there’s nowhere to go.
No escape.
More footsteps.
The monster is coming.
The door creaks open, and then he’s inside.
“There you are, my angel,” he coos lovingly, his voice smooth as velvet.
Bile rushes to my throat.
“Look at me.”
My stomach twists.
A faint light flickers briefly. Fire maybe. Then darkness swallows it again.
Reece moves toward me and my body locks in place.
His breathing fills the room, hot and uneven, the sour scent of sweat mixing with bleach.
“Please,” I beg. “Let me go.”
“Never, my angel. Never.” Reece’s voice cuts through the darkness, calm in that terrifying way that always used to make my blood run cold. “After everything I gave you? You want to leave me? You’ll die here with me.”
I shake my head violently, but suddenly his hand is around my neck, squeezing.
His hands are too tight.
Oh my God, he’s going to kill me.
“Please—”
Suddenly he throws me backward.
Wood slams against my spine.
Then I realize where I am.
A coffin.
“No—”
I scream as the lid crashes shut above me, sealing me inside.
And then I jerk awake with a gasp.
I bolt upright, breathing so hard my lungs burn. I drag in a round of frantic breaths, trying to calm myself, but my chest is still tight.
I screw my eyes shut and opt for the next best thing. Counting.
One… two… three… four… five.
My pulse finally starts slowing and the tightness loosens.
I open my eyes again and take another breath. This time inhaling and exhaling through my nose.
The room swims into focus in pieces, the morning light helping me to put them together.
A dark ceiling.
A 1920’s style lamp on the nightstand.
A poster of the hot anime guy Alexis has loved since she was sixteen.
I’m in Alexis’s guest bedroom.
At her apartment.
I’m not back in that place. And I’m not in a coffin.
Reece isn’t here.
I’m safe.
That was just a nightmare. Or rather fragments of very, very, dark memories.
Jesus.
I haven’t had a nightmare that bad in… more than a year.
After the disaster with Reece, I had nightmares every single night. I suppose I should be lucky that’s all I had.
That bastard kidnapped me and tried to kill me. You don’t make it back from shit like that without consequences.
What followed in the wake of our ugly relationship was two years’ worth of therapy for serious anxiety, PTSD, and losing the will to go on.
Me—the girl who always excelled at everything—was suddenly too broken to function. It felt like my wings had been clipped.
It took serious work from all sorts of professionals to get me to where I am today. Counselling helped rid me of the nightmares the most.
But they never fully went away.
Every so often like just now, one sneaks up on me. Like I need the reminder that those dark memories will always be a part of me.
I dream like that mostly when I’m stressed.
After last night’s encounter with Levi, I guess I’m stressed out for different reasons.
Levi is the first man who’s made me feel something real since Reece.
He makes me feel things I’m not ready for.
I felt so bad when I left him. I felt like I’d strung him along, when I didn’t. There was no part of me that didn’t want to be with him. No part. I just… froze up.
And of course, I know why.
The monster from my dream is still taunting me. That bastard Reece is still screwing with me even from behind bars. He’s far, far away but still in my head.
That part’s probably not his fault.
It’s mine.
I need to let go. It’s just that it’s not easy.
A sheen of sweat clings to my skin and I’m shaking.
Great. This isn’t how I wanted to start today.
I’m viewing office buildings later, and Alexis is coming with me. I’m supposed to be excited. Not a mess.
I stay there for a moment with my hand pressed to my temple, breathing deeply.
Once I feel calm enough I throw the sheets back and climb out of bed.
The apartment is quiet, but I can hear one of Alexis’s reality shows playing in the living room. The normalcy of it helps a little.
I drag in a breath and head straight for the bathroom.
I jump in the shower and allow the freezing water to blast over me.
The cold shocks through me at first, but then everything sharpens. My thoughts. My pulse. My breathing.
I brace my hands against the wall and lower my head, letting the water pour over my hair and shoulders.
Levi slips into my thoughts again, and suddenly all I can picture is his smile. The way he looked at me last night like I was something precious instead of broken.
Even if I spoiled whatever we had, I still have those moments.
“You alive in there?” Alexis calls, knocking on the bathroom door. “Or did you drown dramatically?”
I lift my head and find myself smiling at the sound of her voice.
“I’m alive,” I say, but the meaning in my answer goes beyond the joke.
“Good. Because I ordered bagels and if you let yours get cold, I’m eating it.”
“I’ll be out in five minutes.”
“Alrighty.”
I let the cool water run over me for another minute, then I get out.
By the time I get ready the nightmare is thankfully fading.
I meet Alexis in the kitchen.
She’s leaning against the kitchen wall in an oversized sweatshirt and fluffy socks. Her curls are piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She looks effortlessly comfortable in a way I’ve always envied.
Her gaze flicks over my face and concern fills her eyes immediately.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” I force a small smile. “Just didn’t sleep great.”
Her expression shifts slightly. “A nightmare?”
I hesitate for half a second too long.
“Piper…”
“I’m fine,” I say quickly, because I really don’t want her to worry and I don’t want to talk about Reece first thing in the morning. “It was just one of those random stress dreams.”
She studies me for another moment like she’s deciding whether to push. Thankfully, she straightens and seems to let the idea go.
“Well.” She straightens and smiles. “Today’s going to be a good day anyway. You’re about to look at your future office.”
I smile back at her. “I’m really excited. My heart is set on the one in Brooklyn.”
Alexis nods and places both hands on her heart. “I’d love that one for you too. The pictures alone looked like a Pinterest board for rich creative women with trust funds.”
“It really does.” I nod, finally starting to feel more like myself again.
“Okay, let’s eat bagels and get going.” She points toward the counter. “I can’t wait to see this place.”
Me too. And maybe I’ll feel better.
* * *
The office building sits on a busy street in Brooklyn, tucked between a row of coffee shops and a law firm.
The second I see it, I know it’s the one.
Alexis and I looked at four other buildings today. Each one I saw didn’t quite make the cut because the pictures of this building stole my heart.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, taking it all in. The pictures didn’t do the building justice.
In real life the building is stunning.
Alexis smirks beside me. “Yep. You’re already mentally moving in.”
I nod mindlessly.
The building isn’t flashy or intimidating like the massive corporate towers in Manhattan. It feels creative, warm, and like me.
Tall industrial windows stretch across the front, framed in black steel, while the exposed brick inside gives it that classic Victorian edge.
More than anything, it looks like possibility.
The realtor spots us through the window and opens the door.
She’s a well-dressed blonde lady who greets us with enthusiasm.
“Hi, I’m Piper,” I say, shaking her outstretched hand.
“It’s wonderful to meet you. Come on in.”
Alexis and I exchange smiles and go inside.
The realtor starts showing us around, explaining square footage and lease terms, but I only absorb about half of what she says.
It’s four thousand a month, scary financially, but I can already see myself here.
I’d have a reception desk near the entrance.
My logo on the wall in the foyer.
And I’d have swanky leather furniture in the waiting room.
Clients would be greeted properly from the moment they walk in, and I’d have a ridiculous amount of coffee.
The thought makes me smile.
“This level was recently renovated,” the realtor explains as we walk through the open-concept space.
“The previous tenant used it as a photography studio, so the lighting is excellent. There are six medium-sized rooms that can be used for offices and the two larger ones for meeting rooms. Of course, you may do as you see fit.”
“I love the place. Can I take it now?”
The realtor smiles. “I’d love to say yes, but we have a waiting list. The owner wants to do interviews over the course of a month. I can certainly add you to the list.”
“Yes, please. That would be great.” I smile, but my hopes sink a little. I forgot that some places have that system. It makes sense and I get it, but I’m still disappointed.
It feels like my chances of getting this gorgeous building have been trimmed. I have money now but I don’t have the financial backing some of these business people have in New York.
“I’ll add you to the list. Feel free to look around for a while longer,” the realtor says with a smile.
“Thank you.”
She leaves us in the foyer area.
“You can absolutely picture yourself here, right?” Alexis asks excitedly. “This is so you.”
“It is, but I don’t know if I’ll get it.”
“Have a little faith. Luck seems to be on your side so far.”
I smile. She’s right. I just have to wait.
At least I’m here and I have a chance. That’s more than what I had weeks ago.
“And when you become wildly successful and too important to answer my calls, I expect free marketing.”
I laugh softly. “You’re insane.”
“I’m serious. I supported you during your struggling artist era.”
“I’m not an artist.”
“Creative person era, then.” She waves a hand dismissively. “Same thing.”
“Alright, free marketing.”
“How about one last look around then we grab something to eat?”
“That sounds great.”
She nods.
We hang around a little longer, doing one last round of the building.
At the end, I head upstairs by myself to look at the top floor office one last time, while Alexis touches up her makeup in the bathroom.
Right now, the room needs work, but this one will be mine. Providing I get the building.
This is the biggest office and it just feels like it should be mine.
I walk around, absorbing the quiet ambiance.
But in the silence a strange feeling suddenly hits me.
It feels like…
Like someone’s watching me?
But I’m alone.
A chill slides down my spine.
Slowly, I turn and look around.
There’s nothing.
I walk out of the office and onto the landing.
No one there either.
A shuffling sound makes me jump. It came from behind me, back in the office.
I head back there. No one’s here. I look at the fire escape door and wonder if someone came up that way.
Quickly I check it out.
Nothing.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Alexis’ voice makes me jump.
I turn back to her. “Did you by any chance come up here from outside?”
She narrows her eyes. “No. You mean go on the fire escape? No way.”
Of course, she’s scared of heights and loathes fire escape stairs that are on the outside of the building.
“You okay?”
I nod.
I’m being silly.
That stupid nightmare is doing a number on me.
I probably just heard a bird outside.
“Ready?”
“Sure.”
We leave the building carrying brochures and way too much excitement for two people who haven’t signed anything yet.
The cool afternoon breeze brushes against my skin as we walk toward the car.
I feel lighter but unease still settles in my chest.
I shove the feeling away.
Of all the things I have to worry about, that’s not one of them.
Now that I have a potential office building, the tall, handsome, daring man who’s supposed to be my fake boyfriend sneaks back into my mind.
Levi Vale, what am I going to do the next time I see you?
Probably not what I want.