She had watched him mouth the word freshman year as she entered the lunchroom for the first time with her new scars.
He looked away from her. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“What was I suppose say?” Chloe put her hands on the front door. “Bye, Amo.”
Tears filled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it …”
I know you didn’t.
“It’s okay, Amo. We’re even. I called you a beast.” She opened the door, going inside. Then she reached out to close the door. “I can’t be fixed. Not by you, not by anyone. I’m just broken.” Shutting the door and closing out his glossy dark gaze somehow broke her even more than she already was.
Chloe wiped the scar on her cheek, feeling moisture. A single real tear had finally fallen.
I’m so sorry, Amo …
*
Chloe quickly shoved her suitcases into the trunk of her car, wanting to be long gone before her parents got back from a dinner after his City Council meeting. The last suitcase, which she had actually taken from her mom’s closet since she hadn’t been able to retrieve the one she had bought, was finally shoved in.
After Amo had left, Chloe had decided she needed to leave … now. She was afraid to see how she felt in the morning, and she didn’t want to give Amo a chance to meet her at the airport before her flight took off. Therefore, she had called and gotten her flight changed to leave in three hours.
She had written two notes. One was for Lana, which she had left in the cleaning closet, telling her that she loved her and not to worry about her and also how she was sorry she didn’t say good-bye to her face. The second note was for her parents, telling them that she had decided to leave early and that the key to her car would be placed in the hidden key box above her tire.
It was sad that the one she had said I love you to wasn’t the one you would think.
Getting in the car, Chloe took one last look at the house that had never been a home, but had been her prison. As she drove away, she could feel the chains slowly start to break as she left her prison and then her city behind. Breaking free was a paramount feeling she would always remember.
Chloe rolled down the window, letting the warm summer air whip across her face. Taking a deep breath in, she felt the last chain break.
I’ve finally reached freedom.
It was going to be close, but she would make the plane. Most of her time was spent trying to find the correct parking area.
Chloe parked her car in the desolate-looking parking garage. Pulling out her suitcases and backpacks, she locked her doors then went to her rear wheel. Her fingers fumbled as they searched for the hidden key box that was stuck to the underside of the car.
Bending down farther to look for it, her fingers finally grasped the box.
“Got i—”
A hard body wrapped around her, along with a cloth covering her mouth and nose. The hand behind the cloth stifled any screams or protests she could have made, and the strong body kept her in place.
Stay still, little girl.
There was no fight to be had. Her vision went blurry as it all started to fade away.
Or it’ll just hurt worse.
She had known it was too good to be true. Her soul belonged to the devil …
Thirty-Nine
The Story Behind the Scar, The Story of Sadness, Grief, and Torture
Seven Months Earlier
Pulling his classic black Cadillac onto the side of the street, he positioned himself perfectly to watch the house. Then he looked at the clock and saw he had timed it perfectly. School’s out.
He flipped his lighter off and on, off and on, waiting for her return. Lucca had never been good at sitting still, nor was he a very patient man when he was tired. The night before had been a long one, and his body still felt it this afternoon. Regardless, he had enjoyed every second of it.
Last night, he had lain Mr. Johnson to rest and held up his promise of fucking the blonde until she regretted it. Both things had satiated his dark side … for now, anyway.
Lucca flipped his lighter closed as a stuck-up BMW pulled into the driveway. He had never trusted a German car. The only thing good about it was its black paint color.
A strawberry blonde exited the car. Elle Buchanan. He couldn’t help the sneer he pasted on his face. His little brother was in big fucking trouble.
Watching her walk to the front door, he believed the girl only got prettier the more you looked at her.
It’s going to be a shame when I have to strangle the life out of her.
One thing was for sure, the girl was going to die, and nothing was going to save her. It was unfortunate she had been there when the trigger had been pulled, but some girls were just born unlucky, this one in particular. She was only going to make it another month to her eighteenth birthday.