Buried (Bailey Roberts Trilogy #1) Editing

15: Point of No Return [3rd Draft]

Gwen swung the car into her driveway and slammed on the breaks. Defeated and upset, she put the car into park, popped her seat belt off and opened the door.

"What a stupid fight, why did I have to say that?" she whispered shaking her head as she locked the car and quickly ran to the front door. "Maybe I should call her?" she added as she went to the kitchen and flipped the light switch.

She quickly shook her head. They both needed to cool off. She had pushed it a little too far and with Matt making Bailey run, Gwen should've known she'd be in a crankier mood than normal, Bailey hated to run.

Gwen paused and lifted her nose in the air, cringing. The woodsy aroma that filled the kitchen as she continued to walk to the fridge was almost a sickeningly sweet smell. "Damien, your new cologne is not happening!" she called through the darkened house. "In fact, just throw it away now," she added.

Gwen sighed as she shifted the contents around, searching for a Ginger Ale, praying the fizzy sweet drink would stop the rolling in her stomach. She didn't fight with Bailey all the time, but when she did it always seemed to make her physically ill. It was so incredibly stupid too.

They never fought too long luckily, so she couldn't help the smile that slowly crept on her face as she heard the pounding on the front door and the words that followed as she popped the top of her drink open.

"Gwen, I'm sorry, okay. Please open the door," Bailey called to her.

She took a quick swig, knowing that the drink had nothing to do with why her nausea was getting better. "I'll take pity on you just this once," she mumbled, smiling happily as she trotted to the door, soda in hand. "I'll have to hurt you for driving here by yourself though. And you aren't the only one that has to be sorry about something."

Just as she was walking into her living room, she noticed a dark shadow next to the spiral stairs by the pool. Thinking it was Damien she didn't even scream as it rushed towards her. The black clothing he wore blended in with the darkness of the house, and the ski mask only allowed for a glint of blue eyes. She realized too late that he was much larger than Damien and her father. Damien was still out searching for Sam, exactly where had wanted to be.

Gwen thought to herself as the clatter of the Ginger Ale can fell to the floor, splashing the liquid on her pants leg. She saw a silver glint in the tiny bit of light reflecting from the indoor pool and then she felt the coolness of metal digging into her neck.

A knife, he was holding a knife... to her neck. With his hand clamped over her mouth, smashing her lips backwards, into her teeth, she felt him push his body against the rest of her, dragging her towards the door. The window right next to the front door where Bailey was just on the other side, was draped with a dark blue curtain. He shoved her against it, plastering the front of her body to the window with the front of his body to her back.

"What was that noise? Gwen. Please answer the door, we can talk about this. I don't like fighting with you," Bailey called.

Gwen whimpered as it hit her, the reality of the situation. This man wanted her to understand that help was just on the other side, but this happen. It happening, and he knew that the worst of it was that her best friend was right outside, a window apart, but she couldn't scream, or cry out, because if she did they would both be hurt. He wanted Gwen to know this and she knew it. Only the front door and a curtain would stop Bailey from knowing that Gwen needed help and the fear choked her.

her mind whispered with frantic need, hoping the mantra would make Bailey realize that something was wrong, that she needed to call the cops. Bailey had moments of surprisingly good intuition. Gwen felt a tear slip down her cheek when a sliver of hope blossomed in her chest.