I climb slowly to my feet, not taking my eyes off the shadowy figure behind the tree, and when I hear another snap to the right, my eyes fly in that direction. My body freezes, panic rising in my throat. The shadow is gone when I look back. Gone. Or just coming closer? I don’t know. I can’t tell.
I choke on a breath as my panic overtakes me. Turning on my heel, I take off running through the trees toward the house. At least I hope I’m running toward the house. Why didn’t I grab a flashlight? Why didn’t I at least turn the porch light on?
My lungs burn as I sprint through the trees. Branches whip my face, leaving a hot sting in their wake. My knees feel like Jell-O, likeI’m running in a nightmare and I can’t get away. Can’t get them to move fast enough.
I trip over a branch and go down hard.
My hands hit the ground as I try to catch myself, the impact vibrating through my arms and making my elbows ache.
My knee collides with something hard. A rock, maybe? I don’t know. I cry out in pain, stumbling to my feet as I take off running again.
My leg almost buckles with each pounding step, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Not with Damien behind me. He found me. He found me, and he’s going to take me away from Austin. He’ll never even know. He’ll just think I left. He won’t be able to save me this time.
I’m going to die.
Damien’s going to kill me.
I’m going to die.
A terrified sob rips from my throat. Where am I? Where’s the house? I stop, my heart pounding so hard I can barely breathe, turning in circles and trying to figure out where I’m at.
There’s the clearing. The house. I can see it through the trees. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.
I bolt toward it. My chest is on fire, my legs barely supporting my weight. I make it out of the woods and into the grass. So close, so close, so close. I barrel up the stairs and onto the porch, slamming into the door so hard it rattles. It takes me three tries to get it to open. My hand is wet for some reason, and when I finally get the door open, I rush inside, then slam it shut behind me, locking the deadbolt with fumbling fingers. I slump against the closed door, falling to my ass as my chest heaves with my shaky breaths. “Austin!”
There’s a crash from the bedroom, and then Austin is tripping over his feet as he rushes into the living room. “Luca? What’swrong?”
My throat’s aching, but I manage to choke out, “He’s here. In the woods. He found me.” My voice cuts off.
Austin’s eyes widen. “Go to my room and lock the door behind you. Don’t open it until I do our secret knock.” Austin kneels in front of me, eyes searching my face. “You’re bleeding, Luc.”
“I’m fine,” I mumble. “He’s out there, though. How did he find me?”
“My room,” he repeats.
He helps me to my feet, and when I’m sitting on his bed, he turns the handle lock on his door and shuts it. It’s only a second later when I hear the front door slam shut, and I’m alone in the silence.
My ears are ringing, and my hands hurt. I shouldn’t have come here. Austin’s going to get hurt, and it’s all my fault. I glance down at my hands, surprised to find blood on them. Did that happen when I fell?
I can’t breathe. I need to go get Austin. I can’t let him be out there alone, but I’m too scared to leave the bed. I’m too afraid to go back outside. What if Damien is out there? What if he’s just waiting for me to step outside so he can grab me and drag me away with him?
Even worse, though, is what if he’s waiting for Austin? He’s never liked him. I have no idea why. I never even told him that Austin and I used to mess around when we were young. It didn’t seem important. Was that my brain trying to protect me? Not that it helped. Not that it mattered. Damien still hurt me. And now he might hurt Austin.
I need to think critically, but it’s hard with the way my heart is pounding and my lungs are burning from lack of oxygen. How would Damien have even found me? All that’s around for miles is woods and cornfields. There’s no way he could have gotten here.He can’t even cook himself dinner. How is he going to traverse the woods in an unfamiliar town, in the dark, without getting lost?
There’s no way, right? My mind has to be playing tricks on me. But what if it’s not? What if Damien’s out there? What if something is wrong with Austin? What if he’s hurting him right now?
I can’t stay in here. I can’t take the chance. I’d never forgive myself.
I jump up, rushing to the bedroom door. My fingers are working against me, shaking when I need them to be steady. Fighting me when I need them to just fucking cooperate. I finally get the door unlocked and rush through the living room.
My heart is in my throat as I get to the front door, and when I get that lock undone, I open it and take off running. I make it two steps before I’m slamming hard into a solid body. Arms wrap around me like a vise, and a scream tears its way out of my throat.He found me. He’s got me.I want to fight. I want to run, but I’m frozen.
“Luca. Luca. Breathe. You’re okay. Hey, it’s okay.”
The voice cuts through the panic in my head.Austin.It’s Austin.
My knees buckle, and I hit the ground, pulling him down with me. Then we’re in a boneless heap on the front porch, my face is being tilted up, and warm brown eyes are landing on mine. “Hey,” Austin says. “I thought I told you to stay in my room.”
