Red Leather (Book 2)

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

I had to open the door.

My fingers began to blister as I rattled the doorknob frantically, trying in vain to pull it loose. Broken hairpins crunched beneath my feet, having tried to pick the door open. Banging my shoulder against it did nothing, as did throwing sharp objects. By the end of it I was sweating and breathing heavily, my shoulders bruised and tender. Now it felt as if there wasn't a bone in my body that didn't ache.

Somehow none of it mattered – nothing mattered except having Eli's head as a Halloween decoration. My rage – once so all-consuming and frenzied – had dwindled down into something more manageable. Yet it was a rage so potent that it gripped me in a way that no bouts of fury ever had in the past.

Eli had a lot to answer to.

First was the matter of Sarah Jones. I had known right from the start that Eli was dangerous, and that he liked to play games. Had he known that night, standing on top of a roof and shrouded in a cloud of leaves, that she hadn't been Chloe Newman? And had he killed her anyway, just for the sake of earning my respect?

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, I will rip your spinal cord out of its socket.

And he had fooled me twice. He had fooled me into thinking that Chloe was dead, and that all my enemies lay dead in my path. Eli of all people couldn't play the dumb card – he had done this on purpose. For whatever reason, he had left that woman live.

And I would kill him for it.

The gas made no noise as it leaked into my room, but I sensed it the moment it was released into the air. Laughing gas had a distinct smell to it, and Aurora was a fool if she believed that I wouldn't have noticed. Had Aurora played a part in this as well? Oh, she had played me well all along. The woman would die, too. One way or another, I would find a way around her henchmen and stab a knife through her heart.

 At least Nathan was safe. For now. Trapping me here would also trap Nathan with me, and I'd rather kill the both of us than give her the opportunity to do it herself.

Everyone was an enemy. Eli, Aurora, every single one of them. Nobody could be trusted. I had given Eli my trust, and this was the result of it.

I could only hold my breath for so long. Covering my mouth and nose with a shirt did very little to stop the gas from making me dizzy. First the feeling was pleasant, until I began to suffocate. My eyes began to water as I slid down onto the floor, coughing and gagging and trying to feel past the numbness beginning to consume me. It was as if my entire body had been filled to the brim with too air, and my lungs were seconds away from bursting under pressure. Yet, I felt no pain. Everything was wonderful, and I hated it. I fought it off desperately. No. I was angry. I was murderous. I was...

I was gone.

***

Under the weightless burden of unconsciousness, I began to dream. For days and days and days, all I did was dream.

I was Shanelle Fraser. Sunlight streamed past the classroom blinds as our Psychology teacher droned on and on about socio-biology. The dream felt as real and vivid as reality, and I noticed that the ceiling fan was directly above the pretty blonde beside me. I worked out a variety of ways to jump under it if it were to fall. Almost as if she could feel my gaze, the pretty blonde turned to my direction, and together we shared a knowing smile.

Her lips were a bright pink today, and I was suddenly hit with the urge to kiss them. She was so, so pretty. How would the classmates around me react if I were to lean over and claim her mouth with mine? They would be shocked, surely. But I did it anyway. I leaned right over, crossing the distance between our desks, and kissed her. I kissed her passionately, as if I were deeply in love with her. And I was. I began to pull back from the kiss, but realised that I couldn't. We were stuck. I opened my eyes, expecting to see her face, only to be faced by a metal statue of what had once been the girl I loved. Hundreds more stood around me, circling me, cornering me. I was trapped.