Page 197 of Teacher's Pet

Fight.

Dragging myself out through the shattered window of the overturned vehicle, glass slices into my palms, embedding itself in my skin. Pain flashes white-hot through my thigh as the knife lodged deep shifts with every desperate inch I crawl. My breath comes in sharp gasps, fogging in the frigid night air.

Gritting my teeth, I drag my bound wrists over the jagged shards of the shattered window. Pain flares as the glass bites into my skin, but I press harder, grinding the zip ties against the serrated edges.

Come on. Come on.

The plastic resists, tight and unyielding, digging deeper into my already bruised and swollen flesh. Blood slicks my fingers, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

Snap.

The zip ties give way, splitting apart. My arms jerk forward, freed, though agony pulses through my wrists, skin raw and torn.

No time to dwell.

I flex my fingers, trying to force feeling back into them, my heart pounding with a single, unshakable thought.

Levi’s phone.

I fling it away, choking down the scream rising in my throat. No sound. No hesitation. Every move has to count. Blood drips freely from a gash on my forehead, blurring my vision in streaks of red. My hands tremble as I rip off my heels, throwing them aside. Useless. Slowing me down.

Stumbling, my legs barely hold me upright, but the woods—they're right there. My only chance.

Behind me, Jake groans. A slow, ragged inhale, then a shift of movement. My stomach knots.

He’s waking up.

"Ana," he hisses, voice slurred but laced with fury. “You fucking dumb cunt!”

The snap of his seatbelt unlatching. The scrape of his boots against the crushed metal.

Run.

A vicious scream rips from my throat as I force myself to my feet, yanking at my dress until I tear off a strip of fabric. Shaking fingers wrap it tight above the wound, the makeshift tourniquet barely holding the pain at bay. The knife stays in. I can’t risk pulling it out. Not yet.

I lurch forward, staggering into the snow-covered dirt, my bare feet sinking into the frozen ground. Cold wraps around me, biting deep, but there’s no time to feel it. No time to think.

Branches claw at my arms as I push into the forest, weaving between the trees. My breath is loud...too loud. My pulse pounds, drowning out everything else.

God, what do I do?

How do I signal someone?

Jake has my phone. He’ll know. He’ll know I planted my fucking phone on him, and now he’ll come after me even faster.

But I can’t think about that now.

All that matters is distance. I have to put as much space between us as possible.

Snow clings to my feet, burning against my skin, but I keep moving. The adrenaline won’t last forever. My body will give out soon. But not now.

Not until I’m safe.

Trying to keep a mental note of the direction I took, my blood betrays me, dark crimson splattering against the stark white of the snow.

Jake will follow.

He’ll track the trail with ease. He’ll know exactly where I went, and-

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