Page 103 of Juliet's Echo

Ignoring the pain exploding through my skull, I planted my hands against the floor and fought to get up. The room spun and my stomach churned, but none of that mattered. Lucky was still tied to that chair.

The sound of me scrambling caught Alonse's attention.

His eyes cut in my direction and for a brief second he looked annoyed that I was still conscious.

Then he smiled.

Before I could make it to my feet, the coward stepped in and drove his boot into my side so hard I folded in half, sending the contents of my pockets scattering across the floor.

“Stay down,” he ordered.

The ice returned.

It spread through my body as if it were healing the damage my cousin had done. My scalp chilled and it felt like invisible fingers were tangled in my hair, forcing me to look toward my phone.

I grabbed it.

“You were trouble since the day you entered my life, but I never saw you as unworthy. You know who always helped you?” Alonse ranted somewhere in the background.

My phone was open to the home security app.

More specifically, the front door controls.

“Open it.”The voice whispered.

“Answer me, bitch!” Alonse screamed.

The crack of his hand against Juliet’s face echoed through the room and her cries intensified.

Open it now!The voice no longer whispered.

Pain exploded through my hands so violently that I screamed, but still placed my fingers on the keypad and entered the code.

The phone chimed.

For a second, nothing happened. Then I watched the front door slowly open a few inches and it was as if whatever had been inside me finally got what it wanted.

The cold left my body instantly.

Every strange sensation, every unnatural feeling, gone.

Unfortunately, the pain returned just as fast. My stomach twisted, my head throbbed, and every injury Alonse had blessed me with reminded me it was still there.

I collapsed back to the floor, not unconscious this time, just trapped inside my own body and forced to watch as my cousin prepared to kill the woman I loved.

And all I could do was lie there.

Another slap sent her and the chair crashing to the floor. Her cries came softer now, fading into a defeated rhythm that sounded entirely too much like acceptance.

I squinted my eyes.

Preparing myself for the inevitable.

Alonse stood over her, gun aimed down, and asked one final question.

“You know who loves you best?”

I looked at her and all I could think about was everything we hadn't done yet. Summer break. More dates. More arguments. More kisses in hallways. Watching her roll her eyes at me when I learned how to sign combatively on purpose just to get her attention.