Better Things

Chapter 18

A/N: We're nearing the end, folks. The next chapter will the be the last regular chapter, and then there will be an epilogue. I can't thank you enough for the love you've shown this story. A huge thank you to my awesome beta, Heather, for her awesome ideas and beta skills.

P.S. This chapter has two POVS.

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I let out a groan as I slowly regained consciousness, and I opened my eyes, blinking a few times. My head fucking hurt, and my arms and legs felt like pins and needles. What the hell had Mike done to me? I went to move my arms but quickly realized my hands were tied behind my back, and that my legs were tied as well. Panic started to crawl its way up my throat, and I did my best to stay calm, but it didn't work. It only took moments for me to realize that I was trapped in something moving and something very small. Putting two and two together, it dawned on me that I was in the trunk of a car. That was incredibly terrifying.

My breathing picked up, my heart raced, and I felt like the walls, so to speak, were closing in around me. I began to scream as best as I could against the thing covering my mouth while trying to hurl myself around the small confines of the trunk. There was no escaping though, and I sent myself into a full blown panic attack. I began to hyperventilate until I saw dark spots and was in danger of passing out.

It went on forever, or so it seemed. When the car came to a stop and the engine cut off, I almost cried with relief. That relief was quickly diminished when the trunk popped open, and I saw Jessica's face staring into me.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked before she grabbed one of my tied up legs. I attempted to move away, but it did no good. I had nowhere to go, and when I saw the taser in her hand, I knew there was no way to fight her. She pressed it to my leg, and I let out a muffled scream before the world went black.

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Darkness surrounded me, and I felt like I would drown in it no matter how hard I tried to escape. I could hear muffled voices around me, and there was a horrible stench that made me nauseous. I struggled to open my eyes as I heard movement around me, and someone began to shove me.

"Get off my bed!" a voice screamed, and my eyes flew open as I was roughly pushed onto a cold cement floor.

I muffled a scream as pain radiated throughout my body, and my heart was racing so fast I was afraid it was going to explode. After a few minutes, my heart slowed, and my eyes adjusted to the dim light. That was when I realized I was tied up and lying on a dirty cement floor. I didn't know where I was or what was going to happen to me, and panic set in causing tears to pour down my face. I struggled against the ropes, crying out in pain when they dug into my skin.

"Help me," I tried yelling through the duct tape, knowing there was at least one person nearby since they had pushed me onto the floor.

"Please," I sobbed. "Please help me."

"Shut up!" the voice I'd heard earlier screamed at me before a bottle smashed onto the floor right next to my head. "I'm trying to sleep!"

I did my best not to breakdown, but it wasn't easy. Tears were streaming down my face, and I was having a hard time catching my breath. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths and focused on the fact that I had to get back to Edward. I had to make sure that he was okay, and the only way to do that was to get help.

It took me a few tries to get into a sitting position, and by the time I did, tears were falling from my eyes, and I felt like I'd been hit by a freight train. Everything was sore. Taking a few deep breaths to keep myself from vomiting, I began to scoot toward the broken bottle that had been thrown at me. I fumbled around before my fingers closed around a piece of glass, and I winced as the glass sliced my fingers.