Page 77 of Altered

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hope

"Hope!"

"Hope, please…"

With the couch shoved up against the living room door, I sank down, curled myself into the smallest ball I could, and tried to block him out.

It didn’t matter how hard I pressed my hands to my ears though; I could stillhearhim.

And it broke my heart.

"Don’t leave me here."

"I'm dying here!"

"You're not dying!" I screamed back, losing my temper. "But you will die if you keep putting that shit in your body."

"You're a fucking whore!"

"Fucking bitch."

"You want me to die!"

I wasn’t going to give into him.

He could call me all the names he wanted, but I was not feeding the demon possessing his mind.

"Please… I'm in so much pain."

"It burns!"

With tears burning my eyes, I reached for the remote control and switched on the television, desperate to drown out the sound of his voice.

"I wish you were dead, the way you've killed me, you fucking bitch,"was the last thing I heard him say before the sound of the television drowned him out.

Trembling, I reached for my phone, I quickly scrolled through the contacts list before finally landing on the one name I never imagined myself messaging.

Karen Valentine.

Inhaling a deep, calming breath, I steadied my nerves and tapped out a message.

Hope:Karen, it's Hope. I'm not even sure if this is still your number, but I need you to come home. It's Jordan. He's going through some stuff right now. If you could come up here, I think it could really help. He needs help, Karen. Come see him. Please.

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Chapter Thirty

Jordan

It felt like a truck had mowed over my body.

I knew what was wrong.

Of course, I fuckingknew.

Reality was crashing in on top of me like an unwanted tsunami of torture, bringing with it every horrible image and memory I tried so hard to block out.

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