Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
I keep my mouth shut. The more in control he thinks he is, the better. I am going to remain calm and wait for my moment.
“I knew it was indulgent of me to take you to visit them,” he says. “I tried to take circuitous routes to throw you off a little. But I just couldn’t resist the temptation to be near them, you know?”
My brows knit together in confusion. “Why did you take me to those places? Couldn’t you bear to be near them on your own?”
“Because sharing them with you was special.” His gaze roams around the rest of the room. The books on true crime etcetera. And all of the photos on the walls of us together and all the places we visited. “See…you’ve been thinking about me too. We’re more alike than you want to admit.”
“This isn’t me sitting around reminiscing about how great things were between us. And I can assure you that we’re nothing alike.”
“I don’t know. Putting up this many photos seems more than a little obsessive if I’m being honest. Like you might be fixated on me.” He tightens the hold on my hair. “I mean let’s face facts, this isn’t normal. My therapist would have so much to say about this room, Sidney. He would go on and fucking on about what all of this means. Though it does kind of explain why that other guy didn’t hang around. You really haven’t moved on from me at all, have you?”
“I hate you.”
“You were always so much fun. Anyone with half a brain would try to pacify me right now. But not you. Look at you seething, and not even smart enough to hide it,” he says, still holding my hair with one hand and grabbing hold of my chin in a bruisingly hard grip with the other. “The hatred in your eyes is completely out of control. So much rage barely hidden below the surface. Right there underneath that soft pretty skin of yours. And you’ve always been this way…so angry at me and the world and everything. But then they say love and hate are two sides of the same coin, don’t they?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“This is your chance, Sidney, to leave behind this bland boring as fuck life and come with me. Just admit that you want us to be together. I want to hear you say it.”
“What the—”
“You’re a killer too. I know you are. I can see it right there in your eyes.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Oh, don’t I? So you’re telling me you didn’t get a rush from watching my mother die?”
“No!”
“Let’s experiment, shall we?” He sets me free, releasing his hold on my hair and chin, and taking a step back. Then he takes another. And another. Leaving a free path to the open study door and the house beyond. His smile is as wide as can be and his eyes alight with some sick emotion. “What are you going to do, Sidney? Huh? What are you going to do?”
I don’t answer him. Words would be a waste of energy. What I do instead is sprint toward the kitchen. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I am going to carve his heart out and end him for once and for all.
His hand reaches out for me, but too slowly. That’s one of the problems with bulking up…you get strong…but all of the extra muscle mass slows you down. The knife block sits on the counter near the entry to the dining room. I couldn’t have positioned it any better if I’d planned this. My fingers close tightly around the handle and yes. I am now armed. He reaches for my hair again, but it’s not long enough for him to hold tight. Not when I have some momentum.
Auggie is barking and scratching at the door. Such a good dog. But there’s no way for him to get in and lend his teeth. Just as well. I don’t want to risk him getting hurt.
It doesn’t take Ryan long to try again. This time he seizes a fistful of the back of my tee. There’s no good way for me to escape him in such close quarters. But I don’t want to get away from him now. Fuck no. I want to get in nice and close. His fist comes flying at me as I turn toward him, slamming into the middle of my face. Something cracks and warm wet blood gushes from my nose. For a second my vision darkens from the pain.
“Drop the knife, Sidney. Now.”
And that’s the one thing I am not going to do. This is not the first time I’ve been punched. I don’t freeze up in shock. I can take it and keep standing. He reaches for the knife but nope. Not happening. I won’t allow him to take it. He makes a grab, but I pull it back to my side.