Page 45 of The Wrong Drive-
“You’ve got that distant, dead look in your eyes.” His expression is riddled with concern, and I hate it. I hate his sympathy. I hate the torture and isolation I’ve brought on him. He reaches out and touches my shoulder.
My head explodes, the touch searing through my body like a fire. Gunner barks at me. Tommy removes his hand and backs away…
And then it all goes dark.
I wake up in the snow, my body sore and my head hurting. I peer down at my hands, covered in dried blood. Gunner whines beside me, and I turn to him, panic thrumming through my body.
“What did I do?” I ask him, my voice shaking. “What did I do?”
But the limp body a few feet away, laying in the snow tells me everything. I immediately crawl to him, my knee smashing into something hard. I glance down to see my rifle. Why is he out here?Why do I have my rifle?Panic and dread flush through my system as I crawl to my brother.
“Tommy?” I choke out. “Tommy.” I grab his arm and roll him over. His face is contorted with pain. His hands grip his chest.
“It’s okay,” he whispers.
I shake my head, tears blurring my vision. “What did I do? What happened?”
Blood slips from his lips, rolling down his chin. “You snapped.”
“But I don’t remember,” I say quickly. “I don’t remember it. I gotta call… I need to call an ambulance, Tommy.” I go for his cell phone in his jacket, my hands shaking as I try to unlock it, my numb hands not working right.
Tommy’s hand stops me, knocking the phone out of my hand. “Don’t.”
“Why?” I exasperate, trying to fish it out of the snow.
He lets out a pained breath, and I recognize it. It’s death, bearing down on him. “You don’t belong in prison for this.”
“I don’t want to hurt people,” I plead with him. “If I’m there I won’t…”
His head shakes. “You just have to figure out…” Blood spurts from his mouth again and I try to wipe it away. “You have to figure out how to stop it, feed the monster, something.”
“What?” I exasperate, panic, guilt, and dread suffocating me. “Do I just stay here by myself? What am I supposed to do?”
“Bury me under my favorite tree.” His eyes close, and then he tremors with death, his breaths ceasing. I shake him violently, but it’s too late.
I just fucking killed my brother.
I suck in a gulp of air as a hot breath pants on my face. I come to, staring into the face of Gunner, his wet nose nudging me. I stare into his chocolate-brown eyes, hating everything about myself in the moment. Rage toward myself sears through my body. It’s a flood of heat, coursing through my veins like a drug—but the realization is still there, even in my descent into madness.
All the killing I did to try and feed the monster after Thomas’s death, I tried to say was in the name of trespassing, but it was just an attempt to stave off the pain. And it’s time for it to end. I rise to my feet, and with numb, methodical movements, I exit the room.
My footsteps are quiet on the stairs as I make my way out into the snow. There’s only one thing that Em really needs for Christmas. There’s only one thing I really want to do for her—and that’s to fucking save her from me.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Chapter 20
Emersyn
Something jarsme from my sleep, and I startle awake, my eyes drifting up to the clock. It’s almost nine o’clock in the morning. As the time registers in my mind, the door to the bedroom creaks open, and Turner’s figure appears in the doorway.
“Morning,” I greet him, my voice groggy with sleep.
He doesn’t say anything as he takes a step toward me and slams the door shut behind him. My heart jumps to my throat as I meet his dark gaze, full of emotion and hatred.
“Are you?—”
“Shut up, Em,” he growls, ripping his shirt over his head. “Just shut up.” He strips down within seconds, coming for me. I find myself bracing as he rips the covers off, exposing me in just an oversized T-shirt.
