Page 47 of Hold Me Before You Go

“Stop,” she commanded, holding her hand up.

As if that would help.

The tension around my wrists popped as Brandon said, “Robert was incapable of love, Monica. He was incapable offeeling.”

My hands were free, and tears stung my eyes, but I kept them together, watching the scene unfold, waiting for the right moment.Incapable of feeling?

Brandon cornered Monica against the door, towering over her thin frame as she remained frozen by fear. In a flash, he had the gun pressed to the bottom of her chin and my gut dropped, landing on the floor with a splat as I stared at them in horror.

He was going to kill her.

Right here.

“You’re in this for avenging that sack of shit,” he bit off, getting into her space.

“G-get a-a-away f-from m-me,” she stammered.

“My brother owes me,” he growled, reaching down for the doorknob of the bathroom. I blinked, and the door was wide open as he shoved her inside, the gun still pressed against her skin. “I’m going to get what I’m owed, Monica.”

Then, they were both inside the bathroom, and Brandon kicked the door shut.

The only thing I could hear as I bolted up from the chair and out of the hotel room was Monica’s screams.

The cold, early February wind whipped around me as I cut through it, my heart pounding, matching the pace as my bare feet hit the ground. I looked over my shoulder, my hair covering the bottom half of my face as I kept running, grateful to not see either one of them coming out of the motel parking lot.

“Thank God,” I whimpered, breathless as I righted my head. I pumped my arms as my legs carried me as fast as I could go. I couldn’t even feel the cold underneath my feet. I didn’t care. I had to get out of there. The sky above me was gray, snowing covered the ground, and I was on a two-lane highway in the middle of nowhere. The motel was the only building I could see, and that was a problem.

I ran and ran and ran.

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Not yet.

I kept running, staying on the side of the road, my eyes on the closest mountain straight ahead of me.

Despite my weight, my body could handle the running. I used to run three miles a day before Robert’s murder. I knew howto control my breathing, and how to ignore the burning in my muscles. I also could guesstimate the distance I’d run.

When I was about two miles away, I slowed, turning around to find an empty road. As my chest heaved, the sting of the cold began to settle into my cheeks, the adrenaline fading slightly now. My body was on fire, and I could feel the sweat on my face. I walked backward, keeping my eyes on the empty highway, fearful they were going to come.

I waited a few seconds, waiting to see something come over the top of the small hill I had just run up. When nothing came, an overwhelming sense of gratitude slammed into me, and my soul brightened.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I chanted those two words in my head as I looked up to the sky, a small sob leaving me.

Then, I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I turned to face the other direction and walked up to a road sign. I narrowed my eyes to try and read the faded wording, but it was no use. The sign was old and most likely forgotten. There was a dark forest to my right, a snow-covered pasture across the dark pavement, lined with barbed wire fencing. I couldn’t stay on the road, because even though they hadn’t found me yet, didn’t me they wouldn’t come flying down the road in that shitty black van any minute now.

I looked down at my feet, noticing how red my toes were.

Frostbite was my first concern.

My second concern was wildlife.

I didn’t know what state I was in, but judging by the mountains and the thick forests, bears would be present. I wouldn’t stand a chance in the forest. I’d be dead before nightfall, and that would be unfortunate.

Stop with the dark humor, Carrie.

Blowing out a breath, noting how long it lingered in the air, I looked down the street once more, listening and watching for cars. That was when I noticed it.

Thesilence.

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