Page 279 of The Invite
Gripping my hair at the roots, she yanks my head back and backhands me again until my lips split. I swallow the metallic taste in my mouth.
“Mark my words, little girl, you will plead to me for mercy tonight.”
“No,” I growl, spitting the saliva and blood in her face. “I’ll never give you the satisfaction.”
“Never say never, love,” she sings.
Something razor sharp pierces my thigh, making my back arch and toes curl in blinding agony. “Ahhh… oohhh!”
The scream melts into a loud cry.
My arms tug and jerk against my binds and I heave uncontrollably, allowing oxygen into my lungs. Through blurry eyes, I make out the shape of a wooden handle plunged into my right thigh. Blood trickling out of the sides in a river.
She stabbed me!
I look around, finding myself alone in an empty room.
She… She wouldn’t leave me here? Where did she go?
Intense pain shoots up my spine as I unclench my toes. Every time I move, it hurts worse. Until my vision tunnels in and out. The room goes in and out of focus. I feel myself losing grip of reality.
Stay awake, Nessa!
Inhaling and exhaling in a steady rhythm, I start counting to stay alert. However, the exertion of the entire night slowly catches up to me. Lightheadedness makes my eyelids heavy.
Ma-maybe a small nap won’t hu—
“Ness… Nessa!”
I bolt upright and blink at a black figure hurtling toward me at rapid speed. A woodsy scent fills into my nostrils, awakening my senses. I choke out, “August?”
“Oh, honey.” A notable tremor laces his hoarse voice as he inspects my state with teary eyes. Not sinister. Dark. Or stormy. Just abject misery. Unsteady hands cup my cheeks, brushing over my lips, and I hiss. “Stay with me, Ness. Please. I’ll get you out of here. Please stay awake.”
“No! Yo-you have to g-go,” I whimper as he tugs at the knot at my wrists. “She… She’s here.”
His jaw hardens. “Not without you.”
“You’re not listening. She’s dangerous. Please go.” I beg him with words. With my eyes. His fingers keep working at the knot, pulling one undone. I seize his hand, halting him. “I lied to you. About everything. My name. My past.” He stills under my fingertips. I keep going, wanting to get it off my chest. In case it’s the last hour of my life. “It wasn’t burglars… it was—”
“Your parents,” he finishes, shocking me to the bone. “I know everything and it doesn’t make you any less mine. You’ll only ever bemy Nessa, not Tyra.”
His raw and possessive profession spreads a rush of warmth, eclipsing the pain. I burst into fresh tears. “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was going to tell you.”
“I know.”
“Forgive me.”
“Then live for me. Fight for me. For us.” His fingers move to my other hand.
I plead to him again, “Don’t destroy your life for me, Augustus. Go before she comes back. She’s planning something. I can feel it. Please leave. She’ll hurt you.”
“Let her!”
A shadow appears behind his hunched form and I shout a warning, “August!”
My mother knocks him over with an ornament sitting on my shelf. Augustus smacks into my chair and swiftly turns around to fight her, but she’s too fast and stabs something into his neck.
The end of a syringe widens my eyes in terror.
