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And I took it away.
Everything.
All of it.
I think I’m going to throw up.
Just when nausea clogs my throat, a strong hand pulls me by the arm. For a moment, I think it’s that wake-up call I’ve been praying for.
Maybe it’s Creigh, who’s calling me a sleepyhead—when he’s way worse—and he’s surprising me with a date.
Maybe he’ll watchPride and Prejudicewith me again, call me a hopeless romantic, then fuck me.
Maybe Tiger will have a Peeping Tom session and he’ll be irrationally jealous about it.
So I let it happen. Closing my eyes, I chalk the whole scene up to a horrible nightmare.
The nightmare of all nightmares.
I wait for the ball that’s clogging my throat to disappear. I wait for the trembling in my limbs to subside and the stickiness to vanish from my fingers.
It gets worse.
Seeps deeper.
Closes my throat further.
When I open my eyes, I’m being shoved in the direction of a car, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks as I catch a glimpse of Jeremy.
His brow is furrowed as he studies the Elites’ circular driveway.
“No,” I murmur, clutching my head with my bloodied hands. “No, no, no, no…a nightmare, a nightmare, this is only a nightmare…”
“Anoushka…stop fighting me and get in the car.”
It’s then I realize I’ve been wiggling, struggling, and jerking, preventing my brother from pushing me into the passenger seat.
I come to a halt, pull my hands from my temples, and drown in the red.
All red.
Blood red.
Hisred.
“Anoushka…”
I stare at my brother and the cut on his shoulder through my blurred vision. “Tell me this is a nightmare. Tell me you’re not real, Jer. This…this is just in my head. I didn’t… I didn’t…shoot him.”
“You did, and we need to get the fuck out of here while they’re distracted.”
I shake my head continuously, with enough force that I’m surprised it doesn’t fall off. “I-I’m…going to go back in there and make sure this is a nightmare…it has to be…”
My brother grabs me by the shoulders and slams me against the car. “Wake the fuck up, Annika. You shot him in the fucking chest. He’s probably dead, and if you go in there, they’ll only kill you, do you understand?”
“No…no…no…” My murmurs grow in intensity and so do my wiggling and distressed attempts to escape his hold.
This time, Jeremy throws me inside, uses the seatbelt to strap me in, and then he runs to the driver’s side.
