Page 78 of Exes and Oh Hell No

The wind shakes the leaves harder, increasing my panic.

A whisper that sounds like, “You’ll never escape me” hits my ears.

I’m in such a panic, so terrified, I can’t distinguish reality from my fear.

Did the masked man whisper those words, taunting me?

Or is it the tall trees around me, watching as I run in circles, knowing the inevitable truth—I won’t be escaping these woods tonight?

“Someone…help.”

Although I use every bit of energy to scream those words, they come in a pitch barely above a whisper.

A loud crack behind me makes my heart seize.

It sounds like a firecracker… or agun.

My legs nearly give out as the sound rips through my ribs like an electric shock.

Am I… dying?

My heartbeat is sluggish as I slowly turn my head, looking over my shoulder.

My eyes fly wide.

The masked man is right behind me.

My foot snags on a rock.

My eyes widen, my mouth contorting in horror as I flail my arms, trying to maintain my balance.

But it’s no use.

I’m watching it in slow motion as I lurch forward, falling.

A scream rips from my lungs as the ground rushes up to meet me.

The wind claws at my face.

My stomach lurches into my throat.

When I hit the ground, it’ll be all over for me.

Tears spill from my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.

The leaves on the trees shake harder, the sound a frenetic warning that they were right, and I was wrong.

My life flashes before my eyes, and I realize with a startling, sickening sense of irony that my biggest regret is Ford.

All I can think about is him as I fall.

I wasted a decade.

Tossed us away like last week’s trash.

I should’ve fought for us.

I close my eyes.

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