Page 33 of Unforgettable

“Gotta go. Now. We gotta go…” I don’t stop tugging on him, trying to pull him along. Hannah is still right by my side, holding my arm.

My whole body is quivering from fear. When Slade doesn’t immediately move, I let out a panicked sob. “Please!” I beg.

Christi is cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West, if she just called me her pretty, I could believe for a second this is some crazy nightmare version of Oz and not a mall in the middle of New York City miles and miles away from Red House. I came here because a big city offers autonomy. I should’ve been just another faceless name in the crowd.

Instead of acting, Slade asks me what’s wrong. He seems determined to get answers before taking action. My eyes flick between him and Mr. Perfect, who is slowly making his way through the throng of people. Every step closer, ratchets up my anxiety.

I can’t answer. I’ve lost the power to form words, and my response is some kind of pathetic death moan. It’s Hannah who seems to pick that Christi isn’t the real threat. She follows my line of sight, and I’m not sure what she sees when she looks at Mr. Perfect, but whatever it is makes her act.

“We have to go. Now.” Hannah pulls me away from Slade and starts running. The mall is packed with people, but Hannah doesn’t slow down. She darts between other shoppers and, in one case, knocks into a teenaged boy who falls into a kiosk causing merchandise to go everywhere.

I can hear Slade behind us cursing a blue streak and yelling for us to slow down. We ignore him. We push our way through another group of shoppers, and there is a break in the crowd. Hannah picks up the pace, pulling me as fast as our feet can carry us towards the doors.

Slade is seconds behind us as we burst outside. He’s no longer asking questions. The lights of the SUV flash as Slade unlocks it. He doesn’t stop to open our door for us, he rushes to the driver’s side. Hannah yanks open the door and shoves me into the backseat, then practically crawls on top of me to get in herself. Our door is barely closed when Slade slams the car into gear and speeds away.

I watch out the back window as Mr. Perfect and Christi burst out of the mall. The last thing I see before we turn onto the road is him backhanding Christi so hard that she falls to the ground. I turn in the seat and pull my legs up to my chest and bury my head in my knees.

Oh, God. Please. Please don’t let this be happening,I beg. Please let this all be another bad dream. Just this once. Please.

Hannah slides over to me and pulls me into her arms. She rocks me and tells me everything is going to be okay and that I’m safe. Nothing she says calms the hysteria that’s bubbling up to the surface. I’m not safe. Nowhere is safe. I’ll never be safe again.

Distantly, I hear Slade speaking. I drag myself back way from the edge enough to focus. “We’ve got a situation. Shit went bad at the mall.”

I can hear someone screaming on the other end of the phone. I’m guessing Matthew.

Slade interrupts the tirade. “Look, I’m not even sure what the fuck happened. Some chick approached the girls, and next thing I know, your woman is tossing this chick’s phone in the fountain. Hannah got between them, and when I tried to figure out what was going on, Rose had some kind of panic attack.” Slade is cut off by more screaming… a lot more screaming. Slade ignores the yelling. “Then Hannah grabs Rose and takes off running like they were being chased by hell hounds. My Hannah!” Now it’s Slade who is shouting. “We were followed by the woman, and a man who I suspect is the cause of your girls little freakout. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I do not appreciate my—” Slade stops himself from whatever he was about to say, “—Hannah being put at risk. What the fuck is going on?”

My tears come faster now. He’s right. I put Hannah in danger. “I’m sorry.” I say it once and then over and over again like a mantra, the words echo through my lips.

Hannah’s hold on me tightens, and she makes soothing hushing noises. “It’s okay, hon. Not your fault. Breathe, Rose. You’re going to hyperventilate. Breathe.” When gentle doesn’t get through to me, her voice hardens. “Rose, take a deep breath.”

Something in her tone jars me out of my panic, and I take in a shuddering breath. And another.

“Good girl,” Hannah praises.

Soon, I’m breathing normally again, the panic temporarily stuffed back down inside me.

“You good?” Slade asks, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror so he can look at me.

“I think so,” I murmur.

“Now that you’re calm, you mind telling me what the fuck just happened?”

“Slade!” Hannah scolds. “Can’t you see she’s fucking traumatized.”

“Of all the times for you to decide to stop with the whole ‘master’ thing you have to pick now? Un-fucking-believable.”

Hannah stiffens, and hurt fills her eyes. I don’t know her well, but I’ve picked up a few things… like she’s madly in love with Slade. Like over-the-moon, completely gone for the man, and despite the fact that he doesn’t return her affection, she’s still loyal to him. She offers her submission no matter how many times he rejects her.

“Slade, please, don’t be mad at Hannah. I don’t want you to fight because of me.”

“We’re not fighting,” Slade growls. “Now, will you please tell me what’s going on?”

Hannah hugs me a little tighter whether to reassure me or herself, I’m not sure.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, debating how much to tell them. I hate the thought that my new friends are going to know I’m just a whore. It’s bad enough that everyone knows I sold myself to Damon for six months… telling them this? They’ll never look at me the same way.

And when Matthew finds out what I am? I choke back a sob just thinking about it. I know exactly how he’ll react. He’ll be disgusted with me. He’ll see exactly how damaged I am, and he won’t want me anymore.

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