AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t speak.
I’m trying to stay still, damn it, but I’m so flooded with adrenaline that my body is shaking.
That doesn’t stop him.
It never stops a man who’s made up his mind.
Don’t move. Don’t move, or he’ll cut you again. Don’t move, or he’ll kill you. Don’t move don’t move don’t move.
Don’t breathe.
I have to breathe. I can smell him, too. He smells clean. This is my second night in the alleys and I already know that a man who smells good is rare. That’s why I thought he’d be okay. I thought he might even pay more, and I could find Mason something he can eat.
A tear rolls down my cheek against my will.
Last night I made enough to have Mason’s prescription filled. It’s twenty-one pills. Enough for a week. He needs more and it’s going to be hell to get a new prescription from the free clinic. His doctor from the hospital won’t see him anymore. Not without insurance. I have to take him back to the clinic a week from now.
I had to take him there yesterday. It took hours. He cried, silently, all the way to the train. All the way to our stop. Throughthe entire visit. On the way back, he stopped every block to dry-heave onto the curb. Nothing came up. He’s going to die.
I’m going to die.
Oh, it hurts. It hurts. The knife wound hurts. I tried to run when I realized what was happening, but he caught me by the neck. The knife came out of nowhere.
I’ve never been stabbed in my life.
He did it just above the waistband of my pants. Nicked the fabric.
Now the pants are down around my knees. My boxers, too.
Blood runs down my bare hip, my bare thigh, from underneath my palm. I’m trying to hold in as much as possible until this is over.
Got you.That’s what he said when he stabbed me. Then my cheek hit the alley wall.
I don’t dare fight. If I fight, I’m going to die.
For the first time I can remember, I fly out of my head.
There I am, up against the alley wall. There he is, concentrating hard on what he’s doing.
Which is—
Which is—
It’s never a starry sky in New York City, is it? It’s burned-out light pollution. It’s humid air. It’s dust and garbage and the unmistakable scent of Dior Eau Sauvage. If he has money for that, what does he need me for?
Please don’t kill me. I can survive this, but Mason can’t. My brother’s dying. If I die tonight, they’ll take Jameson and Remy.
God, it hurts.
My cheek. That’s all. It keeps pressing into the brick in a steady, relentless rhythm. My cheek. That’s all. Not anything else. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
Peppermint.
I taste peppermint first. Then, several beats later, I become aware of Jacob’s mouth against mine. Elise’s body snaps in next. How long was I back there? How long was it all I can see? She’s still panting, but Jacob knows. He must know, because I don’t remember the beginning. And now it feels like a lifeline. Like he’s trying to bring me back.
I know I can’t disappear into that place again. I know. But the memory clings.
Please don’t kill me.
