Total pages in book: 213
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
I take a few minutes, each one seeming longer and longer even though hardly any time has passed. And when I look up, I see a pretty version of me, with mascara and concealer to hide the exhaustion. I can’t hide the pain though.
I’ll try to let him go and move on.
Because that’s what I’m supposed to do. Isn’t it? It’s what a sane, strong woman would do.
The zipper seems so loud as I close the makeup bag, as does the click of the light switch. There’s hardly any light from the early morning sunrise as I make my way out and down the stairs to the side entrance of the apartment.
Each step feels heavier than the last and my heart won’t stop breaking.
It’s a slow break, straight down the center. My heart hates me, but yet again, it’s something that seems so fitting.
There’s a large window on the side entrance door and I’m staring out of it, looking for Daniel’s car when I push it open. He isn’t here yet. Not that I can see.
I want more time before I have to say goodbye and it makes it painfully obvious that I don’t want to speak the words. But I can’t be weak and I don’t know that I can forgive him.
The cool air hits my face as the wind whips by and I walk slowly down the stairs. I take my time, not wanting this to end but knowing it’s so close and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
The second I hit the bottom step and see Daniel’s car pull up to the curb, a large hand covers my face at the same time that I’m pulled back into a heavy wall—no, a man’s chest.
A man. Someone’s grabbed me. The realization hits me in a wave. I didn’t see him coming. I still can’t see him.
A scream rips up my throat as I try to swing back and hit him. Daniel! I try to scream, but I can’t. The man whirls around and my vision is blurred as I hit a brick wall, my arm scraping against it.
I don’t stop screaming; I don’t stop fighting with everything I have. My knee thumps against the brick wall as the man sneers at me to be quiet, the black leather glove on his hand making my face feel hot. I kick off the wall with the fear, the anger, and the knowledge that if I don’t scream for Daniel, he won’t know. He won’t be able to save me.
My knee burns with pain as I shove my weight into the man and push at the same time, falling to the asphalt and breaking free for only a split second.
I scream out for Daniel, although I don’t know if he heard me. I can’t breathe as a man in a black hoodie with bloodshot eyes shoves his hand down on my face so hard that I think he broke my nose for a moment. The pain radiates and tears stream from my eyes.
I always thought the worst thing you could see when you die was the face of someone who loved you, but couldn’t help you.
Staring into the black eyes of this man, I question that.
But relief comes quickly.
Through my blurred vision, I see a boot slam into his head, knocking him off of me although I struggle to get myself free and scramble away.
Bang! Bang!
I hear gunshots and I scream out again out of instinct, falling onto my side and huddling into a ball. Bang!
One last shot.
One heartbeat.
Another.
Silence.
And then I look up to see the man lying still, but Daniel clutching at his chest. He breathes heavily and then stumbles.
“No!” I cry out as blood soaks through his white cotton t-shirt and into the open button-up layered over it.
“Daniel,” I cry out with fear gripping my heart.
He screams at me, even though the strength is gone. “Get inside!”
My body refuses to obey as he pulls his hand away from his chest. There’s blood. So much blood.
Daniel’s expression only changes from worried for me to angered as he stares at his hand. His focus moves to the man lying motionless on the asphalt and he points the gun at his head, firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Each shot makes my body tremble. The man’s body doesn’t react. His face is one I don’t recognize as he stares lifelessly at nothing.
My gaze shifts from his dead eyes back to Daniel as he hunches over and grips his chest, falling to his knees on the ground.
That’s the moment I can finally move again. And I run to him as fast as I can with one thought running through my mind.
Everyone I love dies.
Every.
Single.
One.
CHAPTER 26
Daniel
Fuck.
Hot blood pours from my wound and soaks into my shirt as I lean against the brick wall, feeling sharp, shooting pains run up and down my spine. I apply pressure to the gunshot to try to stop the flow.