Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

“Oooh… I want a cheeseburger,” I say as I walk into the kitchen. Then, noticing the back door is open, I frown. “We forgot to lock the back door.”

“What?” Eli asks.

I hear a sound behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, a scream’s ripped from me when I see the guy who raped and killed Katie grinning at me with the baseball bat resting on his shoulder.

Ice-cold panic and shock shudder through me.

“Quinn!” Eli shouts.

“They’re here!” I gasp, darting for the back door.

Before I can escape, the other guy pops up in front of me, grabbing hold of my waist. “Hey, now. That’s no way to greet old friends.”

I can hear Eli’s truck starting as he says, “I’m coming, baby. Hold on..”

The guy rips the phone out of my hands, throwing it to the floor.

“No,” I cry, pushing against his chest while wiggling to get myself free as my fear darkens and morphs into something menacing.

The guy holding me chuckles as he tries to move me deeper into the kitchen. “Come on, I know you’ve been dying to see me again.”

I strain back, using all my strength to try to get away from him, but he just leans forward, then takes a deep breath of me. His tongue licks me from my jaw to beneath my eye. “Mmm… sweet.”

I let out a disgusted cry and somehow manage to bring my knee up, slamming it into his groin. He staggers against the counter, letting out a pain-filled groan.

Not thinking, I dart out of the house, and then I run as fast as I can in the direction of Nina and Alex’s house.

I make it to the treeline and weave between them, the air burning in my lungs. My heart thunders painfully in my chest, my thoughts nothing but shocked chaos.

“You can fucking run,” the other guy shouts behind me, and then I hear a bang, and a second later, a bullet slams into a tree as I duck around it, “but you can’t fucking hide!”

I let out a shriek, raw terror making my body push harder to get away from them.

“Alex!” I scream as loud as I can, hoping they’ll hear me. “Alex!”

One of the guys plows into my back, and it sends me sprawling over the leaves, thorns, and undergrowth, knocking a scorching breath from my lungs.

“You just won’t fucking die,” the guy chuckles, breathing hard from having to chase me.

Terror engulfs me, and I try to curl my body into a fetal position as I wait for the shot that’ll kill me.

I feel the cold metal of the gun press against my head, and then I hear the manic chuckle that’s been haunting me.

Eli.

“Time to put out, bitch. Fuck, you’ve made us work for your pussy. It better be good.”

No. No. No.

Eli!

He starts to push the fabric of my dress up, again chuckling. “I wonder if your pussy will clench as hard as your friend’s did when I blew her brains out.”

God.

Bile builds up in my throat, and I let out a broken cry, desperation and disgust whirling into a destructive force, clashing with the terror inside me.

ELI

Rushing through the house, there’s no sign of Quinn or the fuckers. I have my gun drawn and ready, the safety off.

Dad didn’t answer his phone, and I had to leave a message. With no time to call the sheriff, I dart out the back door.

“Fuck, Quinn,” I hiss, my chest tight with fear and anger.

Just then, I hear a horrifying scream coming from the trees, and I break out into a run.

As I rush by a tree, a bat comes swinging at me, and I manage to duck to the side, avoiding the blow. Turning around, I bring my arm up, my finger curling around the trigger. The gun’s recoil shudders through my hand as the blast sends a bullet slamming into the fucker’s gut.

My body lurches at him as he staggers backward, shock rippling over his face. I grab hold of his throat, and lifting him off his feet, we come face to fucking face.

With murder coursing through my veins, I slam him back into the tree, and then I fucking keep hitting his head against the bark until the life drains from his eyes.

Dropping the bastard’s body to the ground, I lift my arm and train the gun in front of me as I move forward, searching for Quinn.

Where are you, baby?

“I wonder if your pussy will clench as hard as your friend’s did when I blew her brains out,” I hear the other fucker chuckle.

I break out into a run, and when they come into view, and I see the guy on top of Quinn, I lose my fucking mind.

With the momentum from running, I kick him hard, sending him flying off Quinn. He hits the ground rolling, then darts to his feet, raising his gun at me.