“She got nothing anyway,” it was getting harder to breathe as I taunted her. I needed her to make a move before I passed out again. “Tell me - did she leave out the part where she wasdoingthe butler?”
She lunged into my face, screaming, “take it back.” And I barely registered what she said as I grabbed the sickle, leaned toward her on my knees, and sliced out across her stomach as hard as I could.
Allyson grabbed her belly, falling backward onto the dusty floor, screaming bloody murder.
I located a dirty rag nearby, then threw it at her. “Put that on your wound, or you’ll bleed to death.”
She screamed louder.
I found a sharper knife and cut the ropes from my wrists.
The screams pinged around my head, matching the rushing sound in my ears. I rubbed my forehead. More hair fell out in my hand.
I needed a phone.
Needed to call 911.
Needed help.
I was halfway to the door when I fell to my knees. Looks like the adrenaline that helped me get free decided to leave the building before me. I threw up for the second time in 12-hours.
I couldn’t get back up, so I decided to crawl toward the door.
Just a few more feet.
If I could just hold on.
Little longer.
Squealing tires and crunching gravel outside the door woke me up. Oh, good. The cavalry was here.
Wait. When did I call the cavalry?
Flint’s beautiful, concerned face appeared in my eye line. “Lalelei?”
“Hello, beautiful yourself!” I grinned. Or, at least I tried to grin. Who the heck knows what my face looked like at this point. All I knew was there was something important I needed to tell him before I died.
“I love you,” I sputtered before I keeled over on the dusty floor.
