Page 36 of Sweet Anarchy

I let him pull me up. "I'm pretty fast. Why?"

"So am I," he grins, squeezing my hand as he leads us back outside the cabin door. We walk down the steps and I pause, confused.

"What are we doing exactly?"

Zayn looks around, giving himself a little nod. "I do love our Truth or Dare. But I have a better game today."

"Oh, no," I mumble, trying to hide my grin. "What's the game?"

"Hide and Seek."

I blink a few times, staring at him in bewilderment. "Come again?"

Zayn holds the stopwatch in his hand, fingers pressed lightly on the buttons. "I'm going to start counting. You have one minute to hide, then I'm coming to find you."

"There's more to this. I know there is," I mutter, wondering where the fuck I'm going to be able to hide in the middle of the woods.

He nods, stepping towards me. "Oh, there sure is, pretty girl. If I catch you, I fuck you. Any way that I want. Now, are you ready to run?"

My heart starts beating rapidly in my chest, eyes locked with his. There's a dangerous glint in them, a touch of crazy.

I'm relieved to be in sneakers and shorts. It's the best impromptu outfit I could have hoped for to run in. I give him a nod.

"Bring it on."

Zayn grins, hitting the button and starting the timer. "Start running then."

He turns his back towards me so I take off sprinting, running over shrubs and branches. I keep going as far into the center of the trees as I can, looking around wildly for somewhere to hide.

There's literally nothing – the only option I have is to find a thick enough tree to duck down behind. My footsteps echo around the trees loudly, so I know it's pointless trying to keep moving. I might be a quick runner, but something tells me that Zayn is faster.

Finally, I spot a thick old tree, ducking behind it just as I hear Zayn's voice bellow out in the distance.

"Ready or not, here I come."

I stay out of view, straining my ears to listen for sounds. If he starts getting close or heads in this direction, I'm going to have to run.

Branches snap all around me, the sounds of nature fucking up my ability to listen for the predator who's searching for me right now. I peek my head around the trunk, looking towards the cabin in the distance. Zayn is nowhere to be seen, which concerns me. I can't hear or see him at all.

I stand up, checking once again before moving to a slightly thinner tree. The pounding in my chest sounds so loud that I can hear it in my ears. I take a deep breath, focusing on calming my body.

I won't let him catch me. I'm going to win this.

The sound of crunching reaches my ears and I freeze, listening. It could be Zayn… it could be an animal. It's hard to tell.

Poking my head out again, I'm baffled when there's still no sign of him.

Suddenly, something grabs me on the waist, spinning me around. I gasp as Zayn slams me into the tree trunk.

"Oh, come on, baby. That was too easy," he smirks, pressing against me.

"Where the fuck did you come from?" I gape.

I feel something wiggling against my leg and I flinch, jumping as I look down for spiders. I pause as I notice the black nylon rope in Zayn's hand that's hanging against my leg.

He notices that I've seen it, his fingers curling around my throat and pushing my head back against the tree.

"I've caught you. So, now I get you."

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