My stomach threatens to revisit my dinner as I stumble onto the mostly empty deck, the rain chasing everyone inside. It’s not enough. I have to leave. Right now.
The nausea intensifies as I hobble down the steps to the yard. Lightning flashes in the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder.
Rain pelts me, the frigid droplets snaking down my neck into my ripped shirt. I shudder.
In my head, the haunting memories of Matt coalesce with what just went down in a sickening amalgam. I get to the car and wilt against the side as I struggle through dry heaves.
I scrub at the slimy feeling on my skin. It doesn’t go away. I want to get as far away from Carter as possible. I rip open the door and hop in the CR-V, starting the ignition with shaking hands. Every shadow, every creaking tree limb, every echo of rainfall makes my heart falter.
I check my mirrors for my demons fifty times before I peel out.
I thought I had built my walls back up after Matt. I thought I was strong. But my fight-or-flight mode skews hard in flight’s direction.
The thunderstorm makes me jumpy as I drive down the winding mountain road. Each booming clap makes my heart skip a beat. I hope there isn’t another road blockage like last time.
I shriek when the wheel fights me, control flung from my hands for several heart-stopping seconds as the car fishtails on the slick road.
I regain control and tears blur my vision.
Headlights appear in the rearview mirror.
My eyes snap up to check the reflection as my body goes cold, the icy prickle rushing across my nerve endings.
I’m sick to my stomach, in a chokehold from my fear.
Carter is coming after me.
I floor it. He can’t have me.
Thirty-Four
Lucas
The second I finish directing Devlin to throw Carter and Marissa out, I turn to find Gemma missing.
She vanished.
An ice cold fist breaks through my chest to strangle my heart as I rush through the party, chasing after her with Carter’s blood on my sore knuckles.
My fury hasn’t abated. Carter deserves more than a beating for touching Gemma. I seethe with the need for revenge, a bloodthirsty focus blaring in my head. It’ll have to wait. Gemma is my first priority.
“You looking for the sad girl?”
I pause my edgy scan of the rain-soaked deck. There’s a lone smoker huddled under the overhang, a cigarette dangling between his fingers.
“Yeah.”
The smoker nods to the steps. “Tore off, like, five minutes ago.”
“Fuck.”
I’m already taking the steps two at a time as I barrel down them. I pat my pocket, sending out thanks to whatever force is listening when I feel the outline of my keys. I don’t have time to grab Alec or the others.
As I throw myself into the car and kick it into gear, I press a hand to the pounding beat in my chest. My heart hasn’t fully calmed from the last thirty minutes. As soon as I ensure Gemma’s safety from one situation, she goes and dives into another.
“Damn it, Gemma.”
I grip the wheel and click my wipers on the faster setting. I hope I’m not too late. The last time she took off on the unfamiliar road in the rain, it was a close call. That’s not a fate she can escape twice.