Page 91 of Hiding for the Holidays
“No one, I choose no one,” I blurt out, knowing I’d rather be alone than with him every day of the year.
He laughs as if he knows something I don't. “So be it then.” A moment later he stops, as if checking for something then runs even faster. I think we cross a road and soon the sound of cars disappears as I start to notice tree trunks pass by us.
Where is he taking me?
“Help!” I try to yell.
“Shut up, you fat little cunt!” Even in my dazed state I hear the contradiction in his insult. I guess he never was the smartest man?—
“Ah!” I scream in pain as he manages to swing my head into what I think is a tree trunk. I grip my head with both hands to stop it from bouncing as I whimper in pain.
With every step he takes, pain shoots through my skull and Ihiss, trying not to throw up. Maybe I should, it would serve him right, having my vomit down his back.
Suddenly, I feel airborne for a moment before I land hard on my back on something solid that immediately gives way beneath me, dropping me into ice cold water.
I gasp as I reach for something to grab into.
I see the dark form of Scott hovering nearby, watching me with a satisfied smirk.
“Help!” I scream as my legs flail underneath me. I try to swim towards where he is but I quickly realize he’s standing high up on a bridge.
He dropped me into the pond!
“Remember Rosalie, I gave you the choice and you chose this.”
I ignore him as I look around. There wasn’t any ice here last time I looked, so none of it can be very thick, which means as I try to pull myself up on it, it just crumbles beneath my arms.
I have to make it to the shore. I glance around, finding the closest point, which has to be over fifty feet away.
I can make it.
I splutter as my head dips a little too low and cold water gets in my mouth. I hear Scott laugh as I try to make my way to the edge. It’s extremely hard. If there was no ice, I could probably swim there before hypothermia takes over, but the ice is thick enough to provide a real nuisance without being thick enough to support me, making me have to work for every inch of freedom.
My legs start to slow down, and I panic, my hands trying desperately to find something to hold on to while I regain my strength. But my head is throbbing, and thinking is difficult. The ice continues to crumble at an agonizingly slow pace.
I’ve barely made it ten feet, and as my body starts to freezeup and slow, I realize with desperation that I’m not going to make it.
I turn to look up at Scott, hoping he’ll have mercy on me. He must care about me in some sick way, to have chased after me all this time. Was it really just so he could kill me?
“Please!” I beg, lifting a hand in his direction. His body doesn’t move, but even from down here, I see the smile grow on his face.
A whimper escapes me just before my mouth dips below the water. Suddenly, Scott is thrown off his feet when something collides with him right as my head drops under the surface.
Chapter 28
Rosalie
I’m able to move just enough for my eyes to break the surface again and I see Leo and Grant’s wide eyes move from Scott to me.
“Fuck!” In one swift move, Leo jumps over the bridge railing and drops into the water beside me. His arm wraps around my waist as he pulls me above the water. I suck in a deep gulp of air as he starts to pound his free arm through the ice in the direction I had been trying to move.
“That’s it, just breathe, I have you,” he gasps as he moves us through the water much quicker than I had been.
“Is she breathing?” I tilt my head and see Grant ahead of us at the shore.
“Yes!” Leo yells back. “Rosie, are you still with me?” he asks.
“Y-yes,” I say through my shivering.
