Page 97 of Hurt Me Not
I froze. My breath hitched. My senses heightened. Blood rushed through my ears.
The world fell away around me, my vision tunneling.
I had felt this before.
When someone was lingering over my shoulder. Hiding in the darkness. Their intentions sinister. The feeling crawled up my body, narrowing its focus and causing every cell in my body to scream at me.
It had been too late then. But not now.
I ducked just as someone tried to wrap their arms around me. When I heard a man’s voice curse, I immediately knew who it was.
I moved away from him, going to the other side of the kitchen, trying to find a way out. I couldn’t get to the door. He was in the way.
He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans, his lower face covered with a black mask, and there was a baseball cap on his head.
But the same crazed look was there in his eyes. I would never forget that look for as long as I lived, and I never thought I’d have to see it again.
Ice-cold fear was injected straight into my veins.
He turned to me as his left hand lowered his face mask so I could see his face and his bone-chilling smile.
I wanted to scream, but it was stuck in my throat.
“I warned you, didn't I?”
I made a move toward the door, but he was faster, cutting me off.
“You ignored me. Put me in jail. And now I hear you sold yourself out too. Do you have no decency?”
My eyes scanned around for a weapon I could use against him. At my back were my room and the bathroom. To my right was the living room. He was covering the only exit.
Except…
I turned around and ran as fast as I could to my bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind me.
How the fuck did he find me?
My heart was beating erratically in my chest. My breaths came up short. My head was spinning.
His body slammed into the door, followed by his hands pounding on it.
My phone was in the living room. I’d set it down there before I came into the bedroom. I had no landline. If I screamed, would the neighbors hear me? I was the new girl, I hadn’t even met anyone in the building yet…
I’m alone.
“Come on, Pearl. Give me a chance. I promise this time I won't try to kill you. If you’re a good girl for me.”
The fear racing through my body threatened to freeze me to the ground, but I'd been through this before. This time was going to be different.
Grow up and save yourself, Pearl.
I ran to the window and pried it open. I tried to push it up, but it got caught less than halfway. Definitely not enough space to push my body through.
The chilly air brushed across my heated skin, centering me.
I put my foot on the sill and put all of my weight into pushing it up. I could see the fire escape from here. There was a high chance of it collapsing on me, but I would take those odds.
His pounding got harder. His yells became belligerent. His short fuse had blown when he realized I wasn’t going to stay there and listen to him or even dignify his words with an answer.
