The Bet (North Woods University 1)

“I know, baby, we’re coming. We are on our way. Five minutes, we’ll be there in five minutes.”

I can hear the car engine rev up in the background.

“I’m scared,” I whisper, my eyes trained on the door. The fact that there is no noise coming from the other side only heightens my fear. What is he doing? Where did he go? Why isn’t he attacking? I try and calm my breathing, my heartbeat, but I can’t calm down. I can’t let go of the fear, because he is here…he came for me again.

“It’s okay, just stay put, Jules. I will not let him hurt you again. Four more minutes, that’s all. Hide in the closet if you have to.” Remmy’s voice comes through the phone and even though I can hear the edge and fear in his voice, the mere sound of his voice has calmed me enough to stop the impending panic attack.

That little bit of calmness evaporates when I hear someone walking up the stairs, and down the hallway. I hear something scraping against the wall…

“Come out, Jules.” Cole’s muffled voice comes through the closed door, and my body starts to shake, my teeth rattling inside my head.

“Remmy… he is…he is right outside the door,” I whisper into the phone.

“Three minutes Jules, just…stay calm baby…” The fear in Rem’s voice terrifies me further.

Bang. Cole kicks the door and the loud noise startles me so much so that I drop the phone onto the floor. I scramble, picking it back up with my shaking hand.

“Jules?!” Rem’s panicked voice fills my ears as soon as I press the cell phone back against my ear.

“I’m here, he is trying to kick in the door.”

Bang. Another kick echoes through the room. Bang. The sound is so loud and violent, I feel it in my bones. I feel the anger, the energy he’s exerting with every single kick.

“Two minutes, Jules, two minutes,” Remmy assures me.

“I don’t know if the door will hold that long,” I rasp, watching wide-eyed as the dresser moves with every kick.

Bang. The last kick has the dresser moving away from the door an inch and the next one after that has the door handle coming off. Each kick eats away at the only thing protecting me from him. My heart races so fast I don’t even feel it beating anymore. I just feel like my whole body is vibrating with fear.

“Jules, are you there?” I don’t answer, the words are lodged in my throat when I see Cole pushing the door open. I jump up, dropping the phone where I am and run over to the dresser, trying to push it back against the door.

I’m pushing from one side while he pushes from the other, almost like we are in a reversed tug of war. I use every ounce of strength I have, but I can feel him gaining on me inch by inch. I dig my heels into the floor, but I keep sliding, the dresser skidding away from the door with each shove.

“I’m going to really enjoy making you bleed, bitch.” Cole’s voice is much closer now and when I look up and crane my head around the dresser, I find that he is halfway into the room. Squeezing his body through the small opening, he gains entry.

I’m trapped…trapped, with nowhere to go.

“Was that really needed?” His eyes gleam with rage as he lurches toward me. His hand wraps around my throat, and within seconds, I’m slammed against the nearest wall. If there were air in my lungs, it would be gone, but there isn’t any air…because Cole’s grip is so tight it feels like I’m breathing through a straw.

“Now instead of just fucking you…I’m going to fuck you and then slit your throat. I’m sure your precious Remmy will enjoy finding you with my cum dripping out of your cunt, all while you’re lying helplessly on the ground choking on your own blood.”

His meaty hands start to rip at my clothes, tearing the fabric with one hand while keeping the other tightly around my throat. It’s getting harder to breathe, harder to keep my eyes open, but that doesn’t stop me from fighting him.

I’ll fight him until my last breath if I have to. I scratch, hit, slap, and kick at him like I’m a wild animal. I do anything, and everything I can to keep him from touching me. I claw his face and get him in the eye, making him hiss out in pain and tighten his grip on my throat. He adds his second hand and squeezes until my vision blurs.

No! I dig my nails into his skin, feeling them pierce through the flesh but he doesn’t budge, not until he hears the loud bang of something hitting the door. He turns to the now moving door, his eyes going wide.