Gracelynn let out a pained groan. “This is my dominant hand. Ugh. Do you think you’ll be able to drive us back home?”
I nodded. Gracelynn had taught me how to drive. Though I didn’t have my driver’s licence yet, I was pretty confident I would be able to drive us home. It wasn’t that complicated. Just a few easy turns.
I started the car while my sister got in the passenger seat. She let out another agonized hiss and guilt gnawed at me. This was my fault.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.
Gracelynn shook her head. “It’s fine. Not your fault. That asshole deserved it.”
I pulled the car out of the driveaway and made an easy turn to the left. It was past two AM and the streets were pretty much deserted. So, I wasn’t worried about traffic or panicking over too many cars driving past me.
But a few minutes later, Gracelynn made a strange sound in the back of her throat. At first, I thought she was in pain, but after taking a quick glance at her, I saw unsettling fear and distress on her face.
“Julianna,” my sister started slowly, “I don’t want you to panic, but I think a car has been following us since we left the party.”
My heart leaped to my throat. “What?”
I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw a black Range Rover behind us, all its windows tinted. “Do you think it’s the guy you punched?” I asked shakily.
My sister shook her head. “No. He was still inside, passed out when we left. That Range Rover was parked outside of the house and started following us the moment we pulled out from the driveaway.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Father has a lot of enemies, Julianna. And now we’re publicly connected to the Spencers.”
My stomach churned with nausea. “You think someone wants to harm us?”
“Take a random right,” Gracelynn instructed me, instead of responding to my question.
I nodded, my fingers clenching the steering wheel, and I took the next right. Taking a quick peek in rear-view again, I saw that the Range Rover had taken the same turn and was still following closely behind us.
My sister cursed under her breath. “Take another random turn, this time left.”
I did as I was instructed and again, it took the same turn. Gracelynn fumbled with her phone, calling someone. It had to be Simon. When no one picked up, she dialed the number two more times.
“Fuck,” she cursed again. “Simon is not picking up.”
So my assumption was correct. I swallowed. “Call Dad.”
She did but nothing. Our calls ended up unanswered.
Just when I was about to tell her to call Killian, something collided into the back of our car. Gracelynn let out a startled scream and she cupped her stomach.
I gasped, belatedly realizing that the car that had been following us closely had rear-ended us. Panicked, I kept my feet on the accelerator.
I didn’t obey the traffic laws, burning through two red lights, trying to escape whoever was following us.
“Julianna,” my sister whispered.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to pacify her. “Nothing is going to happen to us.”
I took another peek in the rear-view mirror and my eyes widened. My lips parted with a silent scream and my arm snaked out in front of my sister, as if to protect her from the impact.
The Range Rover crashed into the back of our car again. My head slammed into the steering wheel, pain slithering through my skull. Too late, I realized that I had lost control and our car spun in a circle.
My ears were ringing and I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision. Gracelynn let out a whimper and I focused on her. Tears slid down her cheeks and she cupped her stomach, protectively.
“I’m scared, Julianna.”
Thud.
My heart pounded in my chest.
Thud. Thud.
I saw it coming, through the window where my sister was seated.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The black Range Rover drove toward us at full speed. It collided against the passenger’s side, Gracelynn being the first to feel the impact.
I heard my sister’s scream first.
And then my own.
Before the world went pitch-black.
“NO!” I bellowed, my eyes snapping open. Next to me, Killian startled awake.
“Julianna?” He questioned carefully, brushing my damp hair away from my face.
My chest tightened, and I wheezed, sobbing heavily. Shivers racked through my body. Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I fought the urge to retch.
I squeezed my eyes shut, but the memories flashed behind my closed lids, in black-and-white images, as if the accident had been documented through a Polaroid.
Oh my God. I was going to be sick.
“Julianna,” Killian called out my name, more urgently now. “Did you have another nightmare? What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
My lungs squeezed as I struggled to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
My stomach churned with nausea, tears sliding down my cheeks. I couldn’t control the tremors, and I couldn’t stop crying.