Page 18 of The Depraved Prince
“Mom. Tell him you’re on the phone with me. I need you right now.” My voice breaks midway as I plead with her. She may not be able to do anything about my story. But all I want is her comforting maternal presence.
She doesn’t say anything as he continues to hound her with cruel, malicious words.
“He knows, but he doesn’t care,” she whispers like she’s trying to hide from him.
“Mom, please!”
“I can’t. Try and talk to your father.”
“Mom…” I croak out through the anxiety mounting in my vocal cords.
Is she really going to hang up?
“I’m sorry.” I can barely hear her apology, but the remorse is evident in her tone and volume.
The phone clicks, and I’m left puzzled. I’m breathing heavily as I cry silently. A familiar pain of hopelessness resides in my heart like it’s normal. Lately, these feelings of isolation and sadness have become my new routine. Every night, I fear one of the vampire men with bright blue irises will take me, but this time, they’ll finish me off for good without a stranger with red eyes to save me.
Cooper senses my wary behavior and sneaks his snout underneath my hand like he’s trying to distract me from my situation. He begs and pulls at my arm. I hang up the phone and ignore the dead tone that echoes in my ears. I give in and pet him as I let the reality sink in.
I’m on my own.
It’s such a dreadful feeling to be unheard, unseen,unwanted.
Especially by your own family.
All I wanted was loving parents. My dad is more present, but we still have our issues. My brother Nash promised me I could live with him after he secured his job as a general surgeon, and that was coming up very soon. He’s at the university in Austin, Texas.
I’m counting down the days.
I go back into my room with sore eyes, get back into the bed, and stare at the ceiling as if it’s a form of entertainment.
I groan and blink my vexation away. I wish I never worked at the Nostalgia coffee shop. Maybe then, I wouldn’t have been targeted or kidnapped or experienced the unimaginable trauma of monsters that walk our earth.
Finally, after I forget about my situation for a moment, I can feel myself finally giving in to rest. The night before, I hadn’t slept at all. I only got three hours of sleep before my morning shift at work. My breathing evens out, and the pace turns intoslow, deep ones. I close my eyes and give into my drained body that requires peace.
For an overall of what felt like five minutes, my eyes circle and burst open when the sounds of an intrusion break me out of my light sleep. It’s coming from the upstairs guest bedroom. My breath hitches as I try to concentrate on the hiccups above me. Was it a dream?
But then my fears are verified once heavy footsteps thud above me a second later.
Dad?
I could have sworn my father told me he was at a barbecue tonight with friends. My heart rate picks up, my lips tremble, and I grind my jaw as I think about the worst.
Oh no.
7
MILLIE
The footsteps don’t stop.Someone is in my house.
My entire body wants to coil into itself, and bile rises in my throat, burning it. I’m going to throw up…
What am I supposed to do? My wrist is barely healed!
If it’sthem.Oh, god. If it’s them…. My mind scrambles for solutions.
I can’t call the police because more of them will come after me. My heart pounds as fear reverberates with each beat. I palm my mouth hard to stop the whimpers from falling off my lips. Suddenly, the air runs thin, and the temperature feels suffocating.
