Page 56 of Borden 3

“Theo?” I whispered, my eyes catching on to a room that was opened midway and had the light on. I saw a bunch of boxes and random junk. I began to approach it—

My right shoe slipped on something wet and I nearly fell over. I steadied myself immediately, preventing the fall. My arms were outstretched as I balanced myself. I peered down instinctively, wondering what I slipped on. Probably beer.

My heart stopped dead in its tracks. Blood drained from my face as I took a giant step back like I’d been jolted. My stomach churned, fear and anxiety slamming into me like never before.

I turned around and ran.

My footsteps were loud as hell on the stairs. A cry escaped my lungs as I slammed the basement door opened, my mouth open, on the verge of screaming—

I slammed into a hard chest. Hands immediately wrapped around my arms, steadying me. I looked up, panting, staring into Theo’s eyes.

“Where the hell have you been?” he hissed at me. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

I took a moment before responding. On the verge of telling him that I’d stepped on a puddle of blood. Not just a little bit of blood. A whole bucket of it beneath my black shoes.

One look at my face, Theo’s mouth pressed into a hard line.

Some chatter drifted loudly behind us, and he immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulder and steered me out of the house. I was still choking for breath, my heart slamming into my chest like a violent drum. My teeth chattered as I attempted to say, “Theo—”

“Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

He led me out of the house and down the porch. Then we were on the sidewalk, walking at a pace that was too fast for me. My head was swimming. I felt like I was going to vomit.

“Theo, I saw blood in the basement—”

“You shouldn’t have gone down there!”

“Theo…I think someone is hurt.”

“If someone’s hurt, that’s not our business, Emma. You don’t know the guys that were down there. They work for some bad people. They’re bad news.”

I just stared at him, my mouth parted open. “You went down there to talk to that guy—”

“I went down there because I wanted to buy more weed, Emma. Okay? That was all. And I bought some, and then I went looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” I nearly roared, trying to rip myself out of his hold. He didn’t let me. “Theo, you put me on a plastic chair in the yard! You left me for ages.”

“I got sent to another guy on the top floor because that douche only sold coke, and I ain’t going on that stuff. I wasn’t even down there. I literally just came back and bumped into you.”

My head spun. I tried to breathe. My mouth went dry from all the heavy mouth breathing I was trying to do. And then I saw the blood in my head. So much blood.

I nearly collapsed.

Theo was still holding me, so he caught me straight away. “I got you, Em.”

“Don’t take me to another party again!” I huffed out, face red. “That was fucked up!”

“Shh.” Theo looked over his shoulder and then tightened his hold on me. “Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

I nodded, still trying to calm down. “Our spot? Please, Theo. Please.”

He nodded back. “Our spot.”

Chapter Twenty Two

Borden

“Please,” one of them cried.

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