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A terrible thought struck her. What if someone had messed with the generators? If that was the case, then the lights wouldn’t turn back on. She was inside the bathroom with a crazy person waiting for her outside.
But that was the worst-case scenario. What were the chances of that actually being true?
She pressed her palms on her belly. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. I promise.”
Rita’s pulse quickened as she waited. She flashed back to the room she’d been held in against her will.
No!
She wouldn’t think about that. This was completely different. Tomorrow was her wedding day, and shewasgoing to be there. Nothing would keep her from it. She wasn’t a victim.
Whoever was waiting for her was going to get a surprise. She would fight back. Get away.
She shone the light around the room. The only exits were the door and a tiny window up high. Even if she could reach it, there was no guarantee she’d fit through. Not with her belly.
That left only one option. She needed to find a way out of the door that would ensure her and her baby’s safety. One option was to burst out as fast as she could and hope to surprise the person enough for her to make a quick escape. Another thing she could do was look around the room for something that could be used as a weapon and come out fighting. She’d look stupid if nobody was out there waiting to attack. But the power was off, so who would see her?
She looked around the bathroom again. The only things she could carry out were the garbage can and the fancy little soap dispensers. What was she supposed to do with those? Squirt someone to death?
As ridiculous as it was, she put the flashlight in her mouth to see in front of her, then grabbed the trash can. She inched toward the door, careful not to make a sound. The can was nearly as big as she was, and it was awkward to maneuver. But what other choice did she have?
Her pulse thrummed in her ears, making it hard to hear anything. She stopped and took measured breaths until she could hear normally again.
After this, she was going to finally give in and learn the self-defense that Ariana and Damon taught. Her best friend made that her life, and Rita knew nothing about it. She never wanted to think about what she’d been through before and figured she’d already lived through a nightmare so she didn’t have anything to worry about. Surely nothing bad would happen twice.
Clearly that was wrong. But now she needed to focus so she could get out of this situation. The thoughts of the threatening drawing and the dead bug in her locker made her stomach turn.
Someone was definitely after her and had to be waiting outside the door. Considering the generators still hadn’t turned the power back on, that person had to have done something to them.
Rita trembled and nearly dropped the garbage can. Then she regrouped. Took a deep breath. Stood tall. Her tormentor wasn’t going to keep her trapped in the bathroom. She was leaving, and then she would march straight to the ballroom and continue dancing with her fiancé. Tomorrow, they would get married, celebrate with loved ones, then leave for their honeymoon.
That would all happen… as soon as she left the bathroom. Once she could get her feet to move. Which they weren’t.
She fought with her legs — sticks of jelly that barely supported her weight — but finally managed one step. Another.
Perfect. Now she just needed to get out into the hallway. Rita held her breath as she shuffled to the door. Her hand shook as she reached out. She struggled to balance the garbage can with only one arm.
Somehow, she managed to grab the handle. Pull it. Her heart threatened to explode from her chest as she stepped into the hallway that was somehow darker than the bathroom.
A hand squeezed her arm.
Rita dropped the flashlight. It fell into the trash. She threw the garbage can at the person and screamed.
Then she ran.
ChapterFifteen
Ariana froze in place. That was definitely a scream. It sounded like Rita. Her stomach dropped, and her breath hitched. She pulled her phone from her clutch and shone the light around the room.
Rita was nowhere to be seen.
The scream in the hallway had to have been her.
She bolted for the door.
“Where are you going?” Damon called and quickly caught up.
“Didn’t you hear that?” She skidded to a stop once outside the ballroom. Shone her light around. Something lay on the ground down the hall.
