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“You ran away from me yesterday,” he said. “You were seen at Homecoming, and you were seen at the Cove last night.” He steeled his spine, lifting his chin and tightening his lips. “And I know you know what happened to that crypt.”
So, he got rid of Grandma for the night to show me how much noise he could make without her here.
My jaw ached, I pressed my teeth together so hard. People pushing me. People pulling me. People, people, fucking people….
I told him to deal with me. I said I was to blame.
I told them all to leave me alone and stop pushing me and pulling me, over and over again. No one listens.
Blood rushed to my face, something crawling under my skin with its claws. I rubbed my eyes.
“Take it out on me,” I gritted out. “Leave her alone.”
“But that’s how I take it out on you,” he replied, a smile playing behind his eyes, laughing at me. “And mark my words, there is still so much more I can do.”
I let out a scream, seeing red and too furious to care as the tears filled my eyes. Grabbing the edge of the kitchen table, I shoved it across the floor, the tools in my bag clanking as the table pinned him to the counter.
He growled as I crushed his legs, and I reached into the bag, snatching out a hammer as he threw the table on its side, all the tools in the bag crashing to the floor.
“You stupid little bitch!” he yelled.
I raised the hammer, but he launched out and grabbed my wrist, punching me across the face with the other hand as the tool spilled out of my grasp.
Fire spread across my cheek, but I whipped back around and shot up my knee right between his legs, not wasting a second.
Stop.
Just stop.
He buckled, and I shoved both hands into his chest, sending him flying to the floor. Tears blurred my vision, and I spun around, running from the house.
“Emory!” His bellow hit my back, and I let out a sob, charging down the porch, across the lawn, and as fast through town as I could race.
I hurried past the village, down the road, and deeper into the dark forest, hearing the echo behind me fade more and more as he tried to find me but couldn’t.
“Emory!”
I dove through the trees, the branches whipping my face, and I fixed my glasses as the lights of the town disappeared and sweat covered my back.
My legs ached and tears dried on my face as stitches pulled at my side. I slowed to a jog, eventually falling into a walk.
I should’ve gone to the cathedral. The key was in my pocket, and if everywhere didn’t hurt, I’d laugh at how useful that place had become when I seemed to survive fine without it a few days ago.
I squeezed my eyes shut, blinking long and hard.
What could I do? He was going to kill me.
Or worse.
My grandma would be at the hospital now. I needed to go, even to just sit in the waiting room until they let me see her, but that would be the first place he’d look, and being a minor and all, he could carry me out of there without any argument from anyone.
God…
I walked and walked, hearing the cars on the other side of the trees make their way up and down the road, and even though I didn’t look up, I knew where I was going.
It was as far as I could go.
Crossing the bridge, over the narrow but fast river, I climbed the incline up toward the cliffs where the mansions sat. The Fanes’, the Crists’, the Torrances’, the Ashbys’, blah, blah, blah…
