My stomach heaved, and the remnants of my Pop-Tart breakfast spewed across his lap and all over the fancy leather upholstery. Jumping up, he released me and let out a curse. “God, damn it!”
Go, now. The words slammed into my skull. Run or die. Beneath the layer of vomit, my eyes settled on the ignition button. I pressed and held it down until the car ground to a halt, the doors unlocking.
I leapt out of the barely moving car and raced into the middle of the two-lane highway.
“Come back here, little girl! There’s nowhere to run!”
I sprinted across the middle of the road, running along the double yellow line. Behind me, the man shouted curses I couldn’t quite make out as I focused on getting the hell away.Don’t look back. Keep running. I pumped my arms like mad, the chaotic tempo echoing across my chest.
A massive truck turned onto the highway just below the overpass and barreled straight toward me. I didn’t stop. Raising my hands, I waved my arms like mad until the enormous vehicle slowed. The sound of screeching brakes jerked me out of the frenzied haze I’d descended into, and I sucked in a swig of balmy air.
“Are you crazy, kid?” A bearded man stuck his head out the driver’s side window when he finally stopped a few yards in front of me.
“H-Help...” I gasped, not a single breath of oxygen left in my lungs.
The man’s bloodshot eyes widened. “Are you okay?”
My head whipped back and forth.
He opened the door, and a fresh wave of panic assaulted me.
“No, stay away!” I cried, staggering back a few steps.
“Kid, I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong.” He glanced over my shoulder, and I hazarded a peek down the highway.
The black Mercedes sped away in the opposite direction. I released the breath I’d been holding and slumped down in the middle of the road. Black seeped into the corners of my vision. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back the crushing fear.
“You want me to call the police or something?” He called out from his truck, half in, half out, drawing me back to the present.
“No,” I finally forced out. “J-Just go. I’ll…I’ll be fine.” The idea of stepping into another man’s car sounded worse than getting my eyes gouged out.
“You sure, kid?” He scratched at his greasy hair, dark brows gnarled in concern.
“…Yeah.”
“At least get out of the road, okay?”
I nodded numbly and forced myself to stand as all the adrenaline leached out of my system.
The trucker got back into the cab, and I watched from the side of the crumbling asphalt as he drove off. The moment he was gone, I collapsed again. The dam broke, my shoulders rounded, and tears cascaded down my cheeks.
My legs were still shaking by the time I snuck through the row of overgrown, yellowing hedges. I’d walked for miles because I’d left my damned backpack in that asshole’s car. No phone. No money. Nothing.
Thank God Killian lived closer to the school than I did. I never would’ve made it all the way home. Killian Briggs was my best friend, and right now, he was the only person I wanted to see. If I sawPapá, I’d break down, and I refused to tell him what happened. He couldneverknow. My Puerto Rican father had a temper, and if he found out what that man tried to do to me, he’d hunt the bastard down and murder him. There was no doubt in my mind. Then I’d be left without either of my parents. An orphan.
No. I would never tell anyone.
“Lexi?” Killian’s voice ripped my attention away from the bush I was apparently staring at.
I turned to see my friend wearing only pajama bottoms, bare chest gleaming in the early morning light. Damn, when had he gotten so ripped? The absurd thought brought a hysterical laugh bubbling up my chest. Oh shit, I was losing my mind. I was in shock. That had to be it. My throat tightened, unexpected emotion cutting off my air.
“What are you doing in my backyard, Red? Aren’t you supposed to be taking the ACTs?”
My feet compelled me forward, and I practically lunged at him, my arms lacing around his neck. I buried my face in his warm chest, and dammit, the tears started again.
Killian wrapped his arms around me like a shield. If he ever found out what almost happened to me that morning... someonewould die. I vowed he never would, losing myself in his strong, familiar frame, the trace of mountain fresh laundry detergent mingling with his natural, musky boy scent.
“What’s wrong?”
