Page 17 of Fury

The Grim Reaper was never far away. It stalked her no matter how much distance she tried to put between them, carrying behind it a thick chain linking them together. The happier she was, the closer it got. She would never be free.

The bed sagged beneath Davis’s intrusion into her grief. His arm brushed hers. She remembered how many times he’d sat with her during those first few years they’d been friends. He hadn’t had the brightest childhood either, yet somehow he’d always made her feel better. Like she wasn’t alone. He’d been her best friend.

I was going to marry him.And they’d been going to have two kids and three cats and live in a house by the ocean. She’d had it all planned out. Then . . . he’d left.

“I wish I could change this for you, Hol.” His tone was warm. Genuine.

“I should have been in the car with them.” Her voice wobbled as she held back another flood of tears. “Iwas. But then?—” She wiped at her eyes. Shook her head. She never should’ve gone with her friends.

Fury whined and pressed his weight into her leg. She went to reach for his head but stopped herself when Davis’s warning about him not being a pet flashed to mind. To avoid disaster, she kept her hands to herself.

Davis wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and Hollyn sank into his embrace. She buried her face in his shoulder. Thought she felt him tense for a moment before his other arm came around her. He held her close. Didn’t say a word as she cried. He didn’t need to. Just like countless times before, his presence alone softened the blows of the world and gave her a safe place to fall.

Hollyn didn’t know what to do now. She felt so lost. So alone. All she knew for sure was that it felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest and shredded to pieces. She cried until sleep finally enveloped her.

* * *

Eyes feeling puffy, throat raw, Hollyn forced herself out from under the weight of slumber. Her teal floral comforter lay on top of her, the fabric cool to the touch. She reached up to manipulate the necklace Dad had given her. It rested in the hollow of her throat. She tugged the globe back down below her collarbone.

When had she made it to her room? The last thing she remembered?—

Davis.

Hollyn propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the dark room. He wasn’t there. Did she really expect that he would be?

The house was silent.

“Davis?” she called out.

Silence was her only reply. Had she dreamt that he’d come? Dreamt all of it? Hope flared. She reached out for her phone on the nightstand. Tapped open the voicemails. All eighteen from Randall glared back at her. Her chin quivered. That part, to her dismay, was true, then.

Dad and Mum. Gone. Forever.

Drawing on the last ounce of strength she had left, Hollyn shoved the blankets back and got out of bed. Turned on the light. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d fallen asleep in jeans. It was really uncomfortable. Before heading out to her living room, Hollyn changed into sweatpants.

Despair permeated her bones.

“Davis?” She called once more, even as her brain told her that partwasn’ttrue. The combined living-dining room showed no sign he’d ever been there, proving the lie her mind was trying to pass off as truth. Probably just the imaginings born of desperation. The mind was a powerful thing. She knew that.

Through the giant glass doors that led to the lower level of the backyard, all she could see was pitch black. Hollyn just stood there next to her couch, unsure what to do. Eat? She didn’t feel like it. Call Leila? Archie? And say what?Hello, my parents are dead?

Her chin quivered even as the sound of rustling paperwork upstairs caught her attention.

Dad!

But reality scaled her heart almost as soon as the thought popped into her head. No. It wasn’t him. Wouldn’t be ever again.

Davis, then?

She flung herself at the short staircase to her parents’ living room. The upper floor was dark. Not a single light on. Yet she continued to hear someone in Dad’s office. “Davis? Is that . . . ”

Keen familiarity with the home’s layout made it easy to maneuver despite the lack of light. Even the moon wasn’t shining brightly tonight. Hollyn trod along the runner behind the couch, turned the corner to the left, heading toward the study.

Why didn’t he have any lights on?

Before she could reach the switches, the sound of drawers slamming shut preceded shoes running. A figure barreled into her. Collided. Threw her back. She screamed as the heavy force of the person hauled her off her feet. Fear surged. Her legs flew up as a strong arm wrapped around her waist and rammed her into the floor. The back of her head smacked against the hardwoods.

“Agh!” She reached toward her head.

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