Page 36 of The Secrets We Keep

I say nothing. I just glare at him with my hands on my hips and try to think of a way out of this mess. He pulls out a knife and I gasp at first, only to realize it is to free Sarah’s hands from the ropes. Once she’s released he grabs her throat and she screams out.

I rush up to him without even thinking, “Stop Chet!” I yell, but am suddenly backhanded and stumble backwards. Fuck! I grab my face.

“Now you both listen up. Eleanor and I are going to be leaving. Sarah you are to stay put. Don’t try to follow us and don’t call the cops. Do you understand me? Calling them would be very stupid on your part. Oh and I’ll have someone watching you to make sure you do as you’re told.”

Chet squeezes her throat a little tighter. The veins in his hands bulge as he does. All she can do is nod and cry. He releases her and she gasps, instantly grabbing her throat and rubbing it. My heart is breaking. Seeing the red marks on her face and wrists is crushing me. This is all my fault. I should have kept my mouth shut. Chet walks up to me grabbing me by the upper arm. It shouldn’t shock me, nevertheless it does and I jerk back.

“Lets go Eleanor. We have a guest to meet. I think he will enjoy you so much.”

He chuckles pulling me towards the door. I give a little resistance stealing a few more moments with Sarah. I look to her and the hurt that I thought would be written on her face is nothing compared to the silent anger I see. She mouths Landon and immediately I know she’ll reach out to him. I just hope it won’t be too late.

Being pulled against my will through my old home is something I never thought would happen, not in a million years. But here we are. Chet only has one wrist in his grasp. I’d like to pull out my pocket knife, but I’m afraid he’ll notice and I can’t have that. I need it. It’s the only thing I have going for me and I need to save it for the right moment. We stop at the front door and Chet turns to me, not letting go.

“Where are your car keys?”

“In my pocket…”

He goes to reach for me and I pull back.

“I’ll get them. I don’t want you touching me.” I spit the words out. I don’t care. Chet chuckles in response, giving me a sinister smile.

“Fine. But let’s get to it. I don’t want to keep our friend waiting.”

I glare at him and reach for my back pocket. A thought hits me. Stab him with the key to at least break free, just like last time. Gripping the key tightly I pull it out and quickly st

ab him in the arm that’s holding mine. As shock and maybe what I hope to be pain, register on his face he lets me go and I run for the kitchen.

“You bitch!” Chet yells. I don’t look back. I’m hoping Sarah hasn’t rearranged the kitchen to much. I need a weapon, a knife, anything will do at this point.

I find a large steak knife. It’ll have to do. I turn around to Chet. He is furious, beat red in the face, as if the devil himself were standing in front of me. The way the anger is rolling off of him is a scary site.

“You stupid bitch.” Chet spits out me.

I stand there saying nothing at all. I wait for him to continue.

“If only you had kept your pretty little mouth shut Eleanor. You wouldn’t be in this position. Why did you have to stick your nose where it didn’t belong?”

I squint at him, is he serious? Yes, yes he is. Suddenly I see a small glimpse of Sarah. She must have heard the commotion. I’ve got to keep Chet distracted if I want to escape this. Looking him in the eyes I say,

“Chet how was it fucking that receptionist on your desk? Was she good?”

The question throws him off. He tilts his head at me. I hope Sarah can hear all of this.

“It was fucking fantastic Eleanor. Just like all the other times I’ve screwed her. You just happened to walk in at the wrong time and ruin everything.”

“How did I ruin everything? I wasn’t the one cheating on Sarah.”

This statement irks him. I can see the vein in his neck is starting to bulge out. I need to keep him focused on me so I continue to egg him on.

“Did me walking in ruin things for you and your little skank?”

“As a matter of fact you did.” He says as he walks up closer to me.

He’s definitely not afraid of the knife that’s still firmly gripped in my hand. He’s standing close enough that I can feel his hot breath when he breathes.

“I fucked that woman for almost a year. She was better than Sarah. I have needs and Sarah didn’t meet them. When a man has needs they need to be met.” Chet reaches out and picks a piece of my hair twirling it between his fingers before he continues, “Do you get that Eleanor? Sarah didn’t. She was too blind to see. It was better that way. Until you had to come along and ruin everything.”

Chet moves fast then and grabs me by the hair. The sudden movement throws me off and before I can make a move to stab him his other hand has wrapped around my wrist that is holding the knife. Fuck. I had no idea he had such strength. The grip he has on my hair has caused tears to spring. It hurts so bad. I can no longer tell where Sarah is or if she is still standing there. The tears start to fall one by one and I can’t seem to make them stop, it feels like he is literally ripping the hair from my scalp.

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