Page 33 of Escape

“You dropped something.” Her voice snagged me from the thought. “Looks very important. Full of love.” Her striking, deep green eyes met the ground then snapped back up to me.

Without taking my eyes off of her, I carefully bent down to scoop up the note.

“You should get inside. It's dangerous out here at night all alone. See ya later, Jasmine.” She pulled her mask down and after a little wave from them both, the SUV skidded away.

After what I’d just been through, I didn’t have the mental strength to process who that might be and how they knew my name. It was clear they probably helped Kel set up this entire, fucked up night. But with the car gone and the street lights beaming down on me, I felt entirely exposed.

Looking down the street both ways, I tried to muster up any ounce of strength to keep running, but I was cemented to my spot. I needed to finish this. I needed to find out what Kel wanted from me. So I leaned back against the cool streetlight pole and unfolded the note.

My heart squeezed at her familiar, jagged letters. In the top right corner, the date made me pause. It was dated about a week after we were caught in the janitor’s closet and I denied her, which meant it was a letter I never got to read.

Suddenly, I felt like I was holding all of the world’s most precious gems in my hands. For months, maybe even years, I wondered what Kel would say to me, or what I would say to her, if we just had one more moment together. But I was always too scared.

My babydoll. My smart girl. My star.

I miss you so much… It hurts so fucking bad, baby. I miss hearing your sleepy voice on the phone. I miss rubbing my fingers over your cold cheeks when we’d sneak out at night. I miss your lips and how they made my heart feel like it was going to explode every time you kissed me. I miss feeling like I mattered to someone.

I know I still do. I understand why you did what you did. You weren’t ready…and that’s okay. I’ll always keep my promise to always be yours and one day, you’ll know the whole truth. And I’ll be here waiting.

I never said this out loud and it may be too late now, but I love you, Jasmine. I love you so much it burns holes in my chest. That’s how I know this pain won’t last forever. That’s how I know you’ll come back to me.

Until then, just know that I forgive you.

-Your Kel Baby

With tears burning in my eyes and my chest so tight I thought I’d pass out, I knew what I needed to do. I couldn’t leave without seeing it through. I couldn’t leave her again. Not like that.

So I ran back up the street, up the stairs and pushed back inside my torture chamber of the night. The click of the door behind me was chilling and final. I sealed my fate and headed back to the algebra room.

***

Taking a deep, grounding breath, I wrapped my fingers around the handle and twisted. To my surprise, it was locked. I jiggled it a few times, but it wouldn’t give. That’s when all the lights in the building went out. Darkness filled all the spaces around me.

I scrambled backward until I hit the far wall of the hallway. My ragged breaths echoed throughout the space. It was the only sound for what felt like hours. With tears streaming down my face, I tried to convince myself that this wasn’t the end. But I could feel the darkness, slippery and slick over my skin, making its way around my neck and down my throat. Just when I was sure I was going to choke, the lights flickered.

My head whipped in front of me, the light flashing just long enough to make out a looming, dark figure before going out again. The thunk of heavy boots moved toward me and the lights flickered again. The figure was closer. I strained my eyes to get a better look, but it went dark again. The footsteps didn’t stop. Another flash and I caught a clear glimpse of Kel in her freaky-ass demon mask stalking toward me.

Without the glass between us, my whole body was screaming at me to run. After I pieced the whole puzzle together, I thought Kel was giving us another chance to be together, but now I wasn’t so sure. Fear shot through me as the flickering lights danced over her sculpted arms and the black curling horns of the mask, making her look like Hell itself coming to collect me as its prize.

With each flicker of light, she got closer and closer. With each step forward, my body fought an internal battle of fear and anticipation. My heart wasn’t just thumping in my chest. Between my legs, rivers of arousal were threatening to spill down my thighs. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t bring myself to run.

Could I actually be enjoying this?

When she finally reached me, I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head to the side, preparing for the final blow. I was sure I was going to die. This wasn’t a story of reunited lovers. It was revenge. It was my death. It was what I deserved for deserting my heart and leaving her all alone.

Chapter 27

Jasmine

A heavy thud on the floor in front of me tugged my gaze forward and down. The dim lights stopped flickering, illuminating the figure in front of me. The sight brought a dangerous heat curling in my belly. All of the fear disintegrated, curiosity replacing it.

Kel was on her knees at my feet. Her head hung in surrender. It wasn’t until then that I realized her hands had been cuffed behind her back. At that angle, I could see the muscles that rippled around her shoulders and down her back. My mouth watered as I clenched my fists, holding back the urge to run my nails over the rolling hills.

I cupped my hand under her chin, slowly bringing it up so I could look into her eyes. Through the mask, I was met with the same, deep green eyes that I’d gotten lost in so many times before. My fingers grazed gently over her smooth skin, traveling to the edges of the mask. I looked into her eyes again, a silent plea for permission. Her lids fluttered closed and she nodded, leaning her head up a bit more.

As I carefully slid the mask up and off her face, I almost didn’t recognize the woman I’d uncovered. Her lips were her lips, just with a pierced tongue and metal, pointed canines poking from underneath. Her nose was still her small, rounded nose, with a thick, curved bar through the middle. Her ears were still her ears, just stretched to the size of my fist.

Her eyes were still her eyes, just as green and deep, but the whites had been tattooed black. Deep, pink and white scars were embedded in designs across her forehead, her left eye and cheekbone, like they had been carved there on purpose.