Page 20 of Sugar Coated Secrets

I smile. “Thank you, Grandma.”

I follow her to her room near the living room and wait until she turns the chair so that it is easier for me to assist her to bed. I carry her bridal style, balancing steadily in my heels and feeling how frail her body is in my arms as I place her gently on her hospital bed.

“I could have walked, Dulce. I don’t want to wrinkle your dress.”

“Oh, Grandma. I don’t care if you did.”

She gives me a once-over after I make sure she is comfortable and secure in her bed. “Good.” My grandmother’s Rosewood Grandfather clock chimes. “It’s already seven thirty. It’s not wrinkled, and you don’t have a hair out of place.”

For a fleeting moment, dread sinks in when I glance at my phone. There’s no text from Ford. Has he stood me up?

I try not to, but I can’t help wondering if I’ve fallen for another prank. Picturing myself waiting for him all night while he’s at prom, laughing with his friends

Maybe agreeing to go was a bad idea. If I’d said no, I wouldn’t have to worry about being made fun of. I wouldn’t have to face them.

School will be over in two weeks. My attendance is perfect, and my grades are good enough that I can miss the rest of the year and still graduate. I wasn’t planning on going to graduation, anyway, since my grandmother can’t go and I have no other family to watch me take the stage.

My phone pings.

Ford: I’m outside.

I get up out of the chair in nervous excitement, realizing my grandmother is already fast asleep. I place a soft kiss on her cheek and make sure she is hooked up to her monitor.

Dulce: I’ll be right out. Wait for me where you dropped me off.

I shut the front door, making sure it’s locked. The sun has already disappeared in the horizon. Gripping my clutch, I walk up the square trail of steps leading to the main road, careful not to get my heels stuck between the cracks. A large black SUV gleamed under the single streetlight.

I bite my lip and squeeze the clutch in my hands. A sense of dread comes over me, causing nausea to snake up my throat. I only prayed for one night. One special night.

The back door to the SUV opens. Everything happens so fast. The door slams shut. The locks click, and the SUV bolts forward.

My eyes go wide, dread making my skin crawl. “You look pretty tonight,” Trent drawls from the front passenger seat with a dark smile. No.no.no. Please, God.

My chest feels tight, and my vision blurs.

I turn my head, and the seat next to me is empty. Chris watches me from the rearview mirror. They’re both dressed for prom, but it’s just the three of us in the SUV.

“Where’s Ford?” I croak.

They both laugh.

“Where’s Ford?” Chris mocks.

“Did you actually think Ford would ask an ugly cunt like you to prom?” Trent says with a gleam in his eyes.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask.

“Somewhere special,” Chris says, “where desperate cunts like you go when no one wants them.”

“Please, take me back home,” I beg, panic seizing my chest.

“I’m afraid it’s too early. What would Granny think?”

I try to open the door, but it’s locked. I pull the lock, but it quickly slides back in place.

“Tsk, tsk. Not yet, baby,” Trent says with a sinister grin. “We haven’t reached the best part.”

I unlock my phone, but Trent snatches it from my hand.

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