UNLEASH HER || OUTER BANKS

20: whiskey killer ☆

Emerson tried to run away but before she could even leave the office Carter grabbed her arm and threw it down, causing her to fall. Her back hit the ground so hard that she could feel the air leave her lungs. Carter walked beside her, looking down at her. She hardly recognized him at this point, the man who was supposed to be her father wasn't there anymore.

"Where are you running off to?" Carter asked her, chuckling as he looked down at her.

The Rhodes girl lifted her leg and kicked Carter right in the shin. He groaned in pain, giving her just enough time to stand up. Carter looked up at her and before she could even try to move out of the way his fist came towards her.

Carter Rhodes let out a sigh of annoyance as he looked at his daughter who was on the floor again. Her breathing was heavy and there were tears in her eyes. She brought her hand to her lip, pulling it away seeing a drop of blood on her fingers. She didn't get up from the ground while Carter walked around her, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a cup. From behind her she could hear him take a sip, meaning her troubles would only get worse.

"Get up, I didn't hit you that hard," Carter said, rolling his eyes. He downed two more shots while Emerson stood up, turning to face him. He looked at her bloody lip and let out a sigh. "That's your fault," He told her.

"You... you hit me," Emerson said with disbelief in her eyes.

"Oh you're fine," Carter scoffed.

"You're a psychopath!" Emerson shouted then Carter threw his glass on the ground, causing it to shatter. He moved over to his daughter, grabbing her by her shoulders and shoving her against the wall.

"Don't fucking say that," He demanded as he shoved her into the wall again.

"Dad!" Emerson cried when her head hit the wall, making her vision go fuzzy for a second. She thought maybe Carter would let her go but it was like he forgot that she was his daughter, now she was just someone saying stuff he didn't like. And god knows you can't cross Carter Rhodes more than once, he wouldn't let it happen.

He pulled her away from the wall and threw her to the floor. Carter was barely treating her like a human, much less his own daughter. She tried to stand up but Carter stepped on her wrist and Emerson could've sworn she heard her bones crack.

She let out a cry of pain but Carter didn't seem to hear her, or he didn't care. She tried to move out of his grasp but he was stronger than her. Emerson didn't know it then but she'd soon find out that the pogues weren't doing any better than she was.

Sarah was being pushed under water by her own brother. John B was being held by his throat while he fought for another second of life. JJ was being trailed by two cop cars in a plan gone wrong. Then Emerson herself was fighting against her father, the person that was supposed to keep her safe. All of them were fighting for just one more chance to live, all of them thinking about that person they'd get to see if they made it out alive.

"Dad!" Emerson gasped trying to get him to stop but he wouldn't. It was almost like he was on autopilot. He moved slightly, putting his arm over her neck, limiting the air that made it into her lungs.

Emerson reached her hand up, trying to grab ahold of anything that could help her. She could feel herself growing weaker as her head started feeling dizzy. She tried to speak but nothing came out, her voice was gone. Her arm reached to her side, and she prayed that there was something, anything she could grab ahold of.

"Da..." She breathed out, then finally she was able to grab ahold of the whiskey bottle that Carter dropped. Emerson picked it up, using it to hit Carter in the side of his head.

"Ah," He stumbled backwards as more glass shattered in the small room. "You brat!"

Emerson stood up, a rush of dizziness taking over her. She leaned against the desk, trying her best not to fall over and as she did she felt something cold against her fingertips. It was Carter's gun. She went to pick it up but Carter stopped her, grabbing it before she was able to.

He pointed it at her, and even though Emerson wasn't in any position to fight him she didn't back away. "Dad, it's me," She said with tears pouring from her eyes. "It's me, your daughter."

"My daughter would've trusted me," Carter said, looking at Emerson with absolutely no emotion in his eyes. "You aren't my daughter."

The sound of the gunshot was louder than Emerson expected it to be. It was odd, how that's what she thought when her father pulled that trigger. Sure she was terrified and in pain, but the noise, that's what she remembered. She didn't even remember falling over, it was a blur to her.

Everything around her would go black then she'd open her eyes and it was like she was looking right into the sun. She didn't know how long it'd been, but when she finally got her eyes to stay open she realized Carter was gone. She was still on the floor of the office, broken glass surrounding her.

She lifted her head and for a moment she thought she was dead. She moved slowly, checking herself over for any gaping holes or brain matter left on the floor, but there was none. She turned around, seeing the bullet hole in the wall behind her. He missed, he didn't hit her.

Emerson didn't waste a second thinking about the fact that her father nearly killed her, instead she stood up and did her best to run away from the house. Even though she shouldn't have felt relief, she did. Carter could've killed her but he didn't, she was still alive. She continued walking down the streets of Outer Banks, her mind was still fuzzy and she had no clue where she was going. Frankly she didn't really care, she just kept on walking.

The roads were dark and there weren't any people out on the streets. Emerson was alone, something she's gotten used to since Sarah "died". But she wasn't thinking about that now, in fact she wasn't thinking about anything. Actually she didn't stop walking until a pair of headlights turned in her direction.

Author's note: so... wow that totally happened. I know this was kind of all over the place but I haven't written a lot of fight scenes yet so hopefully I'll get better at that. I just want to remind everyone that this story is fiction, meaning not all the medical facts are accurate. So in real life Emerson probably wouldn't be casually walking around after getting jumped, but it's all for the story. Anyways if you enjoyed this chapter please let me know by voting or leaving a comment, and I hope you're excited to see what's next.