Red Thorns (Thorns Duet 1)

The lights go out.

Not just the TV. The lights are out in the entire house.

I freeze as my heartbeat skyrockets. I fumble for my phone to turn on the flashlight, but it clatters to the ground.

“Shit.”

I fall to my knees on the floor and even that sound is haunting in the silent darkness.

My fingers are stiff and my pulse roars in my ears as dark images from the past shoot through my head. The smell of the newspaper, the weight of a body, and the blood.

Lots of hot blood.

My hand feels sticky, as if I’m touching it again, as if the motionless body is hovering over me about to tear through me.

I inhale a deep breath. It’s not real. It’s over.

Despite chanting those words in my head, I can’t stop feeling the stickiness on my fingers, the liquid heat, and the sound of droplets of blood dripping into a pool.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Then…there’s a voice telling me it’s all over now. That no one will hurt me anymore.

Or maybe, like the shrink said, I could’ve been hallucinating to make myself feel better. That’s what victims do. They escape reality to feel better.

But not me. No.

My sweaty palm finally latches on to the phone and I nearly cry with joy as my stiff fingers swipe for the flashlight icon.

That’s when I feel it.

Even before I turn around to see it, I sense a presence at my back, hovering, waiting, biding its time.

Maybe it’s been there all along. Since I was fighting with my mind to let me go. Since I was a fumbling, trembling mess.

I open my mouth to shriek, but a strong hand wraps around my neck from behind, cutting off my breathing. “Shhh. Not a word. We’re doing it my way tonight.”

17

Naomi

Sebastian.

The one who’s currently cutting off my air supply while looming from behind me is none other than Sebastian.

I’d intended to kick and claw, to yell at him so he’d let go, but not only is he confiscating most of my oxygen by grabbing my throat, he’s also yanked both of my wrists behind my back and imprisoned them.

My phone has clattered to the ground and the flashlight outlines dark shadows.

Mine and his.

We’re gigantic on the wall across from us, like some beasts coming out at night to let their instincts loose.

If it were anyone else, they would’ve panicked at being immobilized in the dark by someone who might as well be a stranger. And while that feeling bleeds into my bloodstream, it’s not the only one.