Page 59 of Kylie

“Happy birthday, sweet girl,” I said, though the words didn’t actually come out.

With only the slightest of breezes coming from the cracks in the floorboards, I doubted it would take long before my organs stopped working altogether.

Unable to do anything else, I closed my eyes and prayed some more.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I was roused by the sound of the chain on my leg. I tried to open my eyes, but I was too tired, too weak.

“Kylie, it’s me, Kieran. I need you to do me a favor. Don’t move,” he whispered, his words kind. “I’m here to get you out, but I need you to be as still as possible.”

That wasn’t a problem since I didn’t have enough energy to swallow, much less move.

I felt his fingers press against the pulse in my neck briefly, then he leaned down. I didn’t open my eyes, but I could feel his breath.

“I’m gonna lift you up. I want you to remain completely lax. Let your head fall back, and your arm swing down.”

He was talking so softly I could barely hear him, but I managed a tiny nod.

“Good. The goal is to convince them you’re dead.”

Probably wasn’t too far off.

Kieran didn’t say another word as he slid his arms under my back and my knees and lifted me like I weighed nothing. I did as he instructed, letting my arm swing and my head fall back while he held me close to his chest and carried me out of the room. My body moved with the motion of his.

“She’s dead,” Kieran snapped, but I wasn’t sure who he was talking to. “If I were you, I’d find a way to remove your presence from here. Unless you want to go down for murder.”

“Murder?” a man said. “Fuck that, man. I didn’t kill that bitch.”

Kieran didn’t respond, continuing to walk.

I was aware of the fresh air on my face. It was warm, but it felt good, and it smelled even better.

“Open the trunk,” Kieran called out to someone.

The trunk?

“Only for a few minutes, Kylie,” he whispered as he shifted. “We’ve got to sell this.”

I didn’t like the idea of being confined in a trunk, but I figured it couldn’t be much worse than where I’d been.

When Kieran leaned forward, my spine resting on something hard, I broke my silence. “Please, Kieran. Please don’t let me die.”

“I won’t.”

For some strange reason, I believed him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Kylie

“What day is it?” I asked, my question directed at the man sitting in the chair near the sliding door.

“Thursday. August twenty-fifth.”

I swallowed, the move painful.

My throat was dry.