“And you…” I just stared at him. “What the fuck did you do about that?”
“What could I have done?” he asked. “I’d done anything and everything I could have. She was an adult – on her own. My job was done.”
I walked around the bastard’s desk, pulled him from his seat, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
“You ruined an innocent girl’s life,” I spat in his face. “You convinced her she was overreacting.”
“Let go,” he wheezed.
“You told her she was being dramatic when she was looking for fucking help. Begging for it. You told a girl who’d been abused as a small child she was unfit to continue with her life.”
“I…” The fucker was turning purple.
“You ruined her fucking life,” I hissed. “Tell me one thing, Davies. Did you make a fucking move on her?”
The fear in his eyes told me everything. I fought every urge in my body so I wouldn’t snap his slimy neck.
“She acted older,” he choked out. “She was a fucking tease!”
I slammed him against the wall again before letting go. He doubled over, choking on his own breaths.
“She was a manipulator,” he got out. “The little bitch led me on.”
“You’re done,” I told him. “In this career, this city, this fucking country. Your life as you know it is fucking over.”
“Please,” he laughed. “You can’t touch me.”
“Watch me,” I spat out.
“Is she dead?” he asked, smoothing down his shirt and giving me a big grin. “Is this some kind of fucking vengeance thing? Little bitch finally offed herself like she threatened she would?”
I counted to three, stepped right up to him, and broke his arm in a single motion. His scream was ear-piercing, and he cried like a fucking pussy.
I twisted his arm uncomfortably and looked him in the eye.
“I want you to know,” I told him smoothly. “What’s going to happen to you is your own fault. And you fucking deserve it.”
I left him bawling on the floor of his office, and walked right past his hysterical secretary, and away from the emergency sirens pulling up on the curb.
It was a nine-block walk back home, and I practically ran the whole way.
It all made fucking sense. The way she’d isolated herself, cut off everyone who meant something to her. The dead-end jobs she worked, the non-existent friendships.
She was getting ready to end her life, gathering the courage to do it. She’d been planning to kill herself. That’s why she dropped off the face of the earth.
I dialed the same number I’d called before and barked into the phone.
“You found her yet? You fucking need to. Right now.”
I listed some locations off the top of my head, fighting the urge to smash my fist into a streetlamp.
“Fucking find her! NOW!”SeventeenPetRunning away was proving to be difficult since I didn’t have anywhere to go.
I wandered around town aimlessly, pissed off with myself for not taking my phone or anything else when I left. Not that I had any money to speak off.
I ended up at the library, the only place I felt safe enough in. I hid between the bookshelves and picked out some of my favorite classics.
The Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Rebecca.
Enough to distract me for a few hours.
I curled up on an uncomfortable chair in the emptiest part of the library, pulled my legs up and ignored people’s stares as I opened Rebecca and started reading. It only took me a few moments to fall into the world I’d found solace in so many times before, and I accepted the distraction gratefully.
Daphne du Maurier’s words pulled me in and I forgot about my surroundings for a blissful hour, until my stomach reminded me it was time to eat.
When I looked up from my book, I realized I wasn’t alone. And when I saw who was standing in front of me, blinding rage ripped through my body.
“How long have you been standing there?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“Long enough to see you’re not going anywhere.” She gave me a playful smile, and I wanted to smack it off her once-again-pretty face.
I got up and stacked my books, trying to get past her, but she grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go.
“I’m here to help,” she said.
“Like fuck you are,” I sneered. “Get your filthy hands off me.”
“You’re jealous for no reason,” she told me. “It’s been a long time since… since I was King’s pet.”
I nearly spat in her face.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I snapped. “I guess you’re his Angel now.”
“You don’t know anything,” she said.
“I know enough. Let the fuck go!”
Someone shushed us and gave us a mean look. Angel just rolled her eyes and half-dragged me out of the library. She took my books and placed them on a random shelf and I seethed with anger, not wanting to make a scene. We left the library and she didn’t stop dragging me along until we were in the street. Then, I finally ripped my arm out of her grip and glared at her.