Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

I take five slow, deep breaths, and the second I step out from behind the pillar, I crash into a hard body and stare up at Grayson with wide eyes. He studies me for a moment, and it takes him all but two seconds to realize where I’ve come from.

His gaze narrows and it’s clear as day that he doesn’t like the thought of me sneaking out of Carver’s room in the middle of the night, and I don’t doubt that he thinks we fucked.

Just great.

Awkwardness spreads between us, and without a word, I drop my gaze and step around him, heading straight for the door and hoping that I don’t go running face-first into Cruz or King.

Finally reaching the door, I pull it open and take a deep breath of fresh air, feeling as though I was never going to make it this far. Still in the danger zone, I sprint down the stairs and get my ass to the bottom before starting on the long driveway, only to feel someone watching me.

I look over my shoulder and there they are; Cruz and King, watching me as though I’m running away from my unfinished business, and I guess on some level, I kinda am, but stuff it. It’s the middle of the night and I have absolutely no intentions of handling my unfinished business right now.

Ignoring their lingering, curious stares, I keep my feet moving, one after the other until I finally reach the gate at the top of Carver’s driveway. I have no choice but to scale it like I’m some kind of superhero and jump right over the fucker, hoping that I don’t set off an alarm.

Once my feet hit the ground, I feel as though I can finally breathe again and start getting myself out of here. The night swarms around me and I soak it up. I’ve never been one of those girls who are scared of being alone at night, I’ve always thrived on it, loving the danger, loving the thrill, but tonight, it doesn’t seem to feed my adrenaline like it usually does.

With the chill in the air, I keep my pace up and wrap my arms securely around my waist until I’m reaching the gate at the top of the road. I hash in the code, thankful that I don’t have to jump this one as well, and after slipping through the opening, I get my ass moving.

It’s going to be a long walk through the city and into the shitty areas of Ravenwood Heights, especially as I have nothing but my own fucked-up thoughts to keep me company. God, I’d give anything to have my bike right now, but there’s no way in hell that I’m going to wake Ember’s whole family just to take my bike out of the garage. Besides, what’s a little walking? It’s probably good for the soul.

An hour very slowly turns into two before I’m finally sliding open the window of my shitty bedroom. My cold fingers ache against the window frame and I wonder just how much it would piss off Irene and Kurt if I were to run the shower at three in the morning and use up every last ounce of hot water. Though, I wouldn’t. Not tonight anyway. I’m too fucking tired that I’d prefer just to shiver in bed.

The dog jumps up against my worn jeans as I slip through the window. As my feet hit the ground, I turn back around to pat her on the head for being a good girl and not waking the entire street with her incessant barking.

I pull back through to my room and close the window behind me before turning around and spying my bed across the room. It calls to me, despite how shitty and uncomfortable it is. After a two hour walk in the middle of a cold night, even the queen would take it. I cross the room, more than ready to drop down between the sheets and finally call it a night.

I start peeling off my jacket, and as I reach for the elastic in my hair, a shadow falls across the room, but as I spin around, I find it far too late. All in one swift motion, a black bag violently crashes over my head, and a rough hand presses against my mouth to muffle my scream.

My heart races as fear rapidly pumps through my veins, every thought in my mind begging me to somehow get out of this. Hands pull at my arms and legs, and the shuffling of feet echo through my shitty room. The hand across my mouth pulls tighter than before, and I fight for the air that won’t come.

I try to scream but nothing comes out, and all I see is darkness.

Something is pulled tight around my wrist, so tight it stings, and I fear that my wrists have been sliced open. I pull at my binds, desperately fighting and doing what little I can, knowing that with a limited air supply, I don’t have long.