Chapter 28
7 Years ago—25 Years old
“It's miserable out,” I grumble to myself.
My pea coat and umbrella do little to shelter me from the freezing downpour at present. I'm hoofing it to my car, the arctic water soaking the hem of my flared jeans, making me want to strip in public. I detest soggy, cold clothing.
Halfway through the parking lot, a familiar voice causes my body to stiffen.
“Hey, little doll.”
My skin prickles at the gruff tone, and I look over my shoulder. I lock eyes with the grimy ones of Lonnie. Clutching the handle to my umbrella, I nod once. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I'd see you. Wanted to give my congrats to you and Will.” Despite the fair greetings, there's no hint of kindness on his face. Soulless eyes glint black, threatening to leech life from anyone. Combined with the sinister smirk from his thin, chapped lips, there's little to trust.
“Yeah,” I say, curtly. “Well, you’re late. We’ve been married three years already.”
“I just got out.” He runs one hand over his forehead, scooping back ratty blond pin curls. He's no longer the scrawny twig he once was. He's bulked up … menacingly so, if you ask me. I try to ignore that. “Why is my toy such a bitch? After everything I’ve done—”
“What you did is make my life hell, and it’d be nice if you could leave.” I scowl, drowning out the sickening inward voice announcing that he's been following me. “Why are you here, anyway?”
My skin crawls as his tongue pokes out one side of his mouth. “Can’t have you forgetting about me … married or not. A part of you will always be mine, Vivie.” Sleazy eyes rake me over, lingering far too long on my breasts.
“Yeah, well, sorry to break it to you, but I’m not yours, and Will and I have forgotten about you.” An iceberg of dread plummets through my stomach as he smirks.
“Which is why I’m back, little doll. I could never let that happen.”
“Stop calling me that.” My eyes narrow, the slits so thin his frame doubles. “I’ve never been your doll and never will be. I don’t even know why you call me that.” My neck stiffens when he steps forward.
His thick black boots splash in the rain with his slow approach. “Your pretty green eyes, Vivie. That’s why I call you my doll.”
A breeze rustles the leaves on a tree above my head. The gentle swish crackles of danger, warning me to go. I take a step back, but I’m too slow.
I gurgle on a yelp as Lonnie’s hand grips onto my throat, his thumb and fingers cruelly cutting off my air supply. My lungs ache behind my ribs, screaming for air, and my tonsils pulsate in agony with the curl his fingers make.
Lonnie lowers his head, and the lack of oxygen is suddenly tame as my heart leaps to my throat in frigid panic.
“I wonder,” he hums in a way meant for only evil intent. “If I squeeze hard enough, will you crack? Will your porcelain skin fall at my shoes? Will I be able to stomp on the pieces underneath my boots and hear you shatter?”
“N–” I’m spewing on the word no, but of course, it’s choked up in my body. And while there is so much that I’m dying to say, there’s only one thought spanning throughout my body, simmering under my tendons.
I see it now. He’s fucking crazy. Pat voiced that Lonnie was merely different or troubled. A hurt, damaged soul rejected by society because he didn’t meet the standards of what’s thought to be normal. But I think those words fail to hit the trajectory of what actually flows underneath the surface of this man.
He’s dangerous, menacing, deranged, and I need to see him as the threat he is. And I will be keeping all these things in the forefront of my mind—if I make it out of here alive—which I need to fight to make happen.
My hands raise from the dense shot of adrenaline crowding my veins. I’m going to scratch, claw, bite, kick—fucking anything to get away.
But I don’t even get a chance to start.
His grip marginally eases, and he drags me in with a wicked force that has my shoes scuffing against the concrete and my frame slamming against his. The fear of him trying to kiss me becomes real, and I draw my foot back to kick him.
Instead, death seeps into his pupils, and he brings our noses a hair’s breadth apart, smirking. “Run, little doll. Make it fun and run for me.”
Air rushes around my body as I’m shoved away with a force so volatile, I stumble, nearly colliding with the ground.
The sound of his unhinged chuckle unleashes the urgency of an untamed animal in me. I can’t even breathe, and my battering heart is all I hear while breaking into a sprint across the parking lot.
My heart is pounding at the base of my skull, my fingers clenching the key fob so tightly that my fingertips are white. I don’t know if I’ll make it to my car in time. I’m uncertain I can close the door and lock it quickly enough—but I need to try. A fight is better than not trying at all.
I hit the unlock button, barely able to connect my thumb to see the yellow lights blink on my car, but suddenly, my feet slow, stopping in a high puddle of water as I hear Lonnie’s laugh.
It’s farther away, nowhere near close to me.
Slowly, I turn around, stiff, as panic grips me in its palm when I look at Lonnie.
He’s exactly where I left him, and water pours down on him as he tilts his head back and laughs maniacally into the sky.
My lungs fill up painfully with air while I stand and watch wide-eyed. When he stops laughing and snaps his eyes to mine, all the joints in my spine weld together.
“Oh, Vivie.” He laughs again, pushing back his soaked pin curls. “Like you could get away. You’re so cute when you run.”
The blood in my veins is ice cold, so cold I shiver and my lip trembles. He points to my car, like he’s granting me his permission to leave, and automatically, I fly back, still in shock as I hurry to get inside.
My fingers are brushing the handle when his voice forces my attention.
“Tell Will I said hi.” Judging by the normal tone in his voice, you’d never guess what kind of sick business just passed between us. “You two still living in Hampton?”
“None of your business,” I say, strangled, then I quickly duck into my car and speed away.
I'll tell Will about this when I get home, and then we’re going to the police and getting protection. We have to.
I check the rearview mirror. Lonnie is still standing right where I've left him, with no shelter from the rain, staring my vehicle down. Shit. My throat closes up, and I clench the steering wheel till my hands go bloodless.
Not good.For starters, how does he know Will and I live in Hampton? It's been ages since I've talked to my mom. Worse, what else does he know about us, and how long will he continue to haunt me?