A scream caught in my throat as I sprung a few feet away from him. He didn’t acknowledge my sudden movement. His smile was frozen on his face.
“It’s been a while,” He said and all the memories came rushing back to me.
The sickening sound of bones cracking that I was all too familiar with echoed in my ears. Images of blood flashed every time I blinked.
I drew in a sharp breath and took another step away from him. I wanted to say something. I wanted to say something that would make him think he didn’t have any effect on me. But as usual, my body was frozen in fear.
“How have you been?” He asked in a kind voice. He stepped forwards just as I took another step backwards.
I felt like one of those girls in horror movies about to get their heads chopped off by some psycho serial killer. They knew they shouldn’t have answered the door in the middle of the night, but they did it anyway. Just as I knew I should run but couldn’t bring my feet to move.
My father’s kind façade dropped and was replaced by an angry expression.
“Answer me,” he commanded. I flinched and forced myself to look him in the eyes.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I mumbled. He must have been in a good mood, as I knew that I would usually get a slap across the face for not speaking clearly. I hung on to that last shred of hope and I backed myself all the way against the wall.
“That’s a good girl,” He said, stepping even closer. I was still frozen in fear as he stood only a foot away.
“Have you been doing well in school?” He asked. Since when does he care? Instead of saying something sarcastic, I heard my voice reply.
“Yes, Sir.”
He smiled at me. “Good.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my courage finally bursting. I side-stepped him and put a feet more feet between us.
His eyes hardened as he stepped towards me again.
“I’ve come to take you back with me,” He said.
His words sunk in. This is what Tyler had been warning me about for months but I just brushed him off.
“Where?” I made myself ask. He smiled as if he was thinking of something funny.
“New York. You are going to come live with me,” He said. My fears were confirmed.
“I’m not coming.” I’d meant for my voice to come out harsh but it sound weak and unsure. I cringed away from his angry expression.
“I’m not giving you a choice,” He said. Before I could do anything, he stepped forwards and grabbed my wrist. My last hope of escaping vanished and he trapped me against the wall.
“I don’t want to come,” I whispered, but my voice was laced with fear. He slammed my wrists against the wall, making me cry out in pain.
Through my blurring vision, I saw him lean down so he was level with my face.
“You are going to do what I say, when I say it. If you don’t, you will be punished.”
“And this time, Tyler isn’t here to stop me,” He said. I realized what he was talking about once he moved even closer to me and pressed out bodies together. It was something Noah used to do right before we…
My bottom lip started to tremble as I fought back tears. My father wasn’t just going to physically abuse me anymore; he was going to abuse me sexually too. Just like he had tried to the day Tyler finally kicked him out.
“Come on, Amber. Let’s go,” He said dragging me closer to him. I tried not to gag as I sprang away. His eyes blazed with anger as his hand twitched at his side.
I know he was seconds away from hitting me, but I didn’t care. I still tried to pull my hand out of his strong grasp.
“Please, just let me go,” I begged. He held my wrist so tight I knew I was going to have a huge bruise there later.
“I’m your father. You are to do what I say,” He said, obviously trying to look menacing. It had exactly the desired effect as I flinched into the wall.
“I don’t want to go. Please let me stay,” I begged. I tried not to cry, knowing it would only upset him more.
It all happened in slow motion. I saw his hand raise from the corner of my eyes and watched as it curled into a fist. It came rushing at me, and that’s when everything went black.
Noah’s POV
My fingers drummed on my desk as I focused on the clocked. I began to tap my foot in time to the ticking second hand.
I was literally counting the seconds until school let out. Usually, I would just ditch, but Coach was watching me like a hawk all day and I never got the chance. I even tried to sprint past him once during the day, but he caught up to me before I reached my car. That stunt made him confiscate my car keys until the end of the day.
I really wanted to see Amber. I called her at least twenty times since morning and sent her twice as many texts. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she was avoiding me. But I didn’t blame her.
I let myself chuckle at what an idiot I’d been. Of course I zoned out in the middle of a very important conversation. She’s probably convinced I hate her now, but she couldn’t be more wrong.
I don’t know what she would think I would be mad about. If anything, she would be furious at me not the other way around. But she’s too perfect to realize that she really did nothing wrong. That’s what I love about her.
I allowed myself to smile slightly as I thought about her.
I didn’t want to sound cliché, but I didn’t really believe in love until I met her. It was always the same routine: screw a girl, dump her. But Amber had me whipped before I even started to consider sex.
It would be different for us. We would make love, something a thousand times more meaningful that sex. And I wanted to make it special for her.
I ground my teeth as reality set in. While I should be confessing my undying feelings for her, I was stuck here in the classroom, counting the seconds until I could finally leave. It seemed as if the closer I got to getting the leave, the slower time passed.
I glanced at the clock above the white board. For the first time since I’d opened my eyes this morning, time had flew by and there was only five more minutes until the final bell. Now, I could feel a huge smile on my face.
Only five more minutes until I was out and could finally see Amber.
A bell rang, but it wasn’t the one I had been expecting. My phone rang loudly and vibrated in my front pocket. Everyone turned to stare at me and I rolled my eyes and dug my phone out of my pocket.
Amber’s name flashed across the screen and I felt my smile widen to the point where it almost hurt. The teacher gave me a questioning look.
“It’s important,” I stated and got up to take the call in the hallway. As soon I was outside the classroom, I answered.
“Amber. I am so sorry for everythi-.” I began but a unfamiliar voice cut me off.
“How have you been?” He asked. I frowned.
I pulled the phone back from my ear to check the caller ID again. I hadn’t been wrong. This was Amber’s number. But I didn’t recognize this voice at all.
Maybe she lost her phone, I thought. But why would the man speak like he already knows me? I was still perplexed as he spoke again.
“Answer me.” The voice was so filled with venom, I barely recognized it. But I could faintly tell it was the man from earlier.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I heard Amber say and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Okay, so she was in the room with this guy. Although I didn’t know him, I took an immediate dislike. I didn’t like the way he spoke to her, and if I ever met him, I’d put him in his place.
“That’s a good girl,” He said. Then the kind voice was back.
“Have you been doing well in school?” He asked. By now, I’d come to the conclusion that Amber hadn’t really meant to call me, but I didn’t hang up out of pure curiosity.
“Yes, Sir,” She said. Sir? That meant he was either significantly older than her, or someone she respected. Maybe a teacher?
“Good.”
“What are you doing here?” Amber’s voice shocked me. It was different that the soft and held-back kind she had been using before.
“I’ve come to take you back with me,” The man said and I clenched my fists at his words. Was he crazy, or just plain psycho? Already, I felt myself walking forwards.
I needed to find Amber and see what was going on quickly.
“Where?” Amber asked, sounding shocked and maybe a little scared.
“Where are you, Amber?” I asked, hoping that maybe, by some miracle, she could hear me. I didn’t get my answer I’d been hoping for.
“New York. You are coming to live with me,” He said. It was like he was discussing the weather, not blurting out a major change in someone’s life.
Thankfully, I’d finally managed to sneak past Coach. Either that or it was so close to the end of school he didn’t care anymore.
“I’m not coming with you.” She sounded scared and that made me push my already sprinting feet faster. I needed to get there now.
I decided to try her home first then, if she wasn’t there, just drive around town until I saw Alice’s car, which I assumed she’d taken. Then, as I pushed my keys into the ignitions, I caught sight of one of the cars behind me.
Alice’s car was parked a couple cars down, so Alice must have just dropped Amber off before coming back to school. That meant my last hope was that Amber was at her house and not somewhere I couldn’t track her down.
“I’m not giving you a choice,” He said and his threatening voice was back. Something about the way he spoke screamed danger to me. I knew I needed to do whatever it took to get Amber out of there.
“I don’t want to come,” She said, now sounding absolutely terrified. A couple seconds later, I heard her cry out in pain.
I clenched my teeth. Whoever this guy was, he better be near a hospital or he definitely wouldn’t live to see another day.
“You are going to do what I say, when I say it or you will be punished!” the man snarled. I was only a couple minutes away from her house now, having gone twenty miles over the speed limit all the way here. I was lucky I hadn’t caught any cops yet, because I certainly wasn’t stopping.
“Come on, Amber. Let’s go,” he said. She whimpered and I almost swerved off the road. I obviously was in no state to drive from what I was feeling, but I didn’t give a crap.
“Please, just let me go,” She begged.
“I am your father, you are to do what I say,” he said. Her father. Her father was there and speaking to her face to face. After everything he’s done to her. Now nothing was going to stop me from personally dismembering him.
I added another ten miles to my speed, only a minute away now. I needed to get there quickly. Amber was obviously in trouble. He was hurting her, or doing something she doesn’t like. My teeth were starting to ache painfully from the pressure I was putting on them.
“I don’t want to go. Please let me stay,” She begged just as her house came into view.
I spotted an unfamiliar car in the driveway. He was here and they were inside. I slammed on the brakes and dove out the door. I realized they had been silent for a while and I dreaded to think what had happened.
I opened the door and ran through the house until I saw something that made me freeze.
An unfamiliar man that couldn’t have been more than forty-five was massaging his knuckles and staring at a limp Amber on the ground. And she wasn’t moving.
Dun Dun Dunnnnnn! Is Noah really going to kill him? Vote to find out ;)
PLEASE READ!!!! Since this is almost over, I’m starting a new book but want to find out what kind you guys would like. Just comment the genre(s) you would like (ex. Vampire, werewolf, humor). All of my writing is sure to include romance ;)
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