❝ I had a secret hidden deep in my heart. Hidden in the bruises that were scattered all over my body. And in the scars hidden beneath the sleeve of my hoodie. A secret that I had promised myself not to reveal to anyone, specifically the people that...
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"What the fuck?"
Landon's deep voice echoed loudly throughout the car and cut off the silence that had previously taken over. Both confusion and curiosity were evident through his tone, causing my eyes to warily scan over his figure.
His face had paled, and his blue eyes were narrowed at a scene playing in the distance — a few feet away from where he had stopped the car. I twisted my neck and allowed my gaze to follow his.
A gasp escaped my lips as soon as my mind registered the events taking place in front of the house — in front of my house. My vision blurred and my heart started to race rapidly within my chest.
"Isn't that Parker?"
I nodded to Landon's question before I could manage to stop myself from doing so. My shaky hands fell to my lap, and I didn't dare to move. Fear paralysed each and every limb of my body and cradled my heart so tightly, forcing it to beat faster.
I was going to be next.
A punch after the other. And a kick after the other. Parker continued to aim them endlessly at the man in front of him. It seemed as though it didn't matter to him that the man was getting hurt; all that mattered was his own amusement — just like it always did whenever he hurt me.
It took a few seconds for my mind to register that the same thing would happen to me as soon as I step into the house. I'd be in the same position as that man.
I couldn't breathe. A wall of suffocation formed within my throat and blocked all the air I needed out. As though that wasn't enough, my chest tightened and snatched the slightest bits of air away from my lungs.
Muffled, blurry thoughts unceasingly bounced within my mind. Those thoughts weren't only about what I'd have to face once Parker would notice me, neither were they only about the scene taking place before me eyes. But they were also about everything that had happened today — starting with the encounter I had with Adrian Romano.
"Oh my fucking God."
I couldn't entirely focus on what was happening, but I still managed to spot the gun within Parker's hand; he was aiming it at the other man. I wanted to speak; to utter any single word. And yet I couldn't.
Within seconds, Landon pulled out an identical gun and said some words that my ears didn't manage to register. He then left the car and headed towards Parker and the unfamiliar man who froze upon the deafening bang caused by Landon's gun.
'What the fuck was happening?'
Parker dropped the gun onto the ground beneath him as he slowly got onto his feet. The second man, on the other hand, didn't waste any second before he ran away.
My shaky hand grasped onto the door's handle and twisted it. I slowly left the car, making sure to stay hidden within the darkness of the street — away from Parker's sight. I moved closer to him and Landon and strained my ears, attempting to listen to their conversation.
