“I knew if I could get you alone and explain, you’d understand,” Elijah said. “That’s all I want. For you to realize I still love you. Nothing will ever change that. But your stupid friends were always in your ear telling you I wasn’t good enough.”
I shook my head. “The decision to break up was mine.”
“That’s what you think,” Elijah said. “Sam isn’t happy unless you’re doing what she wants. She’s a selfish little bitch, and you know it.”
“She’s one of the best friends I ever had,” I said, looking into his disgusting, evil eyes. “I’d do anything for her, and she’d do anything for me.”
Elijah grabbed my hair and jerked me backward. “I’ll do anything for you. You never appreciated me like you should have. I started to help clean your mom’s house. That was me.”
“You stole my stuff?” I asked.
“I just moved it,” Elijah said.
“Where?” I said, ignoring the pain from my nails digging into my palms.
He tipped his head forward. “Walk faster.”
“I’m going as fast as I can with a gun pointed at me,” I said. “You know how I am.”
“That I do.”
“Where is my stuff, Elijah?”
He sighed. “It’s safe.”
“Safe where?”
“Where I’ve been staying. Once we figure out where we’re going to go, I’ll retrieve it,” Elijah said, quickly shifting his eyes at a squirrel bouncing through the grasses. “First, I need to figure out what to do about your new pals.”
My throat dried. “We don’t need to do anything about them. We can just go. Leave them alone. They’re going to leave anyway.”
“Where are they going?” Elijah asked, cocking his head.
“Back to Massachusetts. You won’t need to worry about them,” I said.
“You’re probably lying,” Elijah said.
I shook my head vigorously. “No! I’m not. It’s the truth.”
“All you’ve ever done is lie to me,” Elijah said. “You lied about where you were, who you were with. You even lied about loving me.”
“I’m not lying about this. You know Sam has a daughter,” I said, with wide eyes. “She’s going back for her. You can just let them leave.”
If Sam was even still alive. There had been a lot of blood splattered around her when Elijah dragged me away.
I fought off the tears. I couldn’t think about it. I couldn’t let myself fall away from what was happening. If there was ever a time to hold it together, it was now. In fact, my life depended on it… and maybe not even just my life. If panic overtook me, Elijah might go back and finish what he started.
“Nah,” Elijah said. “They won’t leave without you.”
My heart sank into my acidic stomach. It felt like my insides were being eaten away.
“What do you want, Elijah?” I asked.
“Everything to go back to how it was before your friends turned you against me,” he said, touching my shoulder. “I want that future you planned for us.”
I’d never planned to be locked in a basement, and if I didn’t get away, it would happen again. Elijah not only had a temper, but he was also insane.
I couldn’t survive him again, and I couldn’t let him do anything to the others. If I didn’t get away, we were all in trouble.
“Can’t you walk faster?” Elijah asked, looking around nervously.
My eyes darted, desperately trying to find a way to escape. I couldn’t think. There was only one thing that kept repeating over and over and over again in my head.
Run.
31
I could see my mom’s house in the distance. If I could get away from Elijah without getting shot in the back, maybe I could get inside. Lock myself away until I figured out a way to escape and get back to the others.
I knew the area better than Elijah did. I knew where every rock was, where every large branch rested, and where there were holes in the ground.
My hands were free. The only thing stopping me was the gun pointed at me.
Everything around was colored in dreary grays and browns. The dark clouds overhead muted the tones, blending the trees and foliage together. A thin mist from the humidity floated a few feet above the ground. The night would be here soon, and I would be out of time.
A smile Elijah couldn’t see curled my lips. An idea hit me.
It probably wasn’t a good idea, but it was the only idea I had. I sucked in a breath and stopped walking.
“What was that?” I whispered, grabbing onto Elijah’s shoulder.
He shifted the gun away from me and turned in the direction I was facing. “What was what?”
“I saw something,” I said. “Was it an animal?”
“I didn’t see anything,” Elijah said, narrowing his eyes.
“Over there,” I said, holding up a shaking finger over his left shoulder.
Elijah turned, and I curled my fingers into a fist. I launched my hand at the side of his face as hard as I could.
He barely moved, but he hadn’t expected to get socked in the face. His fingers slipped off the handle of the gun.
I could have tried to yank it from him, but I didn’t. I ran as fast as I could, weaving between the trees.
“You stupid bitch!” he yelled.
The twigs under his feet snapped and cracked as he ran after me. I didn’t look back, but based on sound, he was close.
I would have to unlock the door and get inside before Elijah caught up to me. I felt a strong urge to reach into my pocket and feel the keys, but I forced myself to ignore the feeling. It would only slow me down, and I didn’t need to touch them… I knew they were there.
Of course, I
