Page 107 of Ace of All Hearts

“Call me back, please. I don’t want to die alone.”

“Rachel,” I bark, harshness kicking in as a defense mechanism. “Stop this right now. You are not dying tonight. You are not dying anytime soon.” The fear is so great I have to force myself to breathe again. My brain keeps on forgetting to make me. “I won’t need to call back. I’m almost there. Just stay where you are.”

I hang up, calling Sam right away. While it rings, lists and lists go through my head. Instead of my usual perfect memory, they all tangle together. Names of Monarchs, dates empires were created, the most expensive art on the planet...

“Lovebug,” Sam says as he picks up. Simple, effective. Just him.

And I explode.

“I’m on my way to Rachel’s house because her abusive piece-of-shit husband took itthatstep too far. I swear to fucking god, if she dies, it’s on you. And I will kill you myself. You and your fucking idiotic ideas. I told you, Sam,” I rage. “Itold youwe had to get her out of there.”

He completely ignores my threats and the blame I put on him. “I’ll leave right now. Donotgo inside that house before Lik and I arrive.”

“Fuck you,” I yell. “I don’t answer to you!”

“Rose,” he growls, ever so calmly. “If you put yourself in danger, I will make you regret it.”

“Fucking try me,” I snap before hanging up.

22

RACHEL

Royalty- Kat Meoz

I wonder how many horror films I’ve watched in my life. How many times have I watched characters do stupid things that would get them killed? I laughed when they dropped their keys, knowing the killer was right behind them. I slapped my hand across my face when they kept trying to turn on a phone that was out of battery while the killer was catching up to them. I giggled when they hid in stupid places and I was eager for the killer to catch and stab them—stupid characters begging to be killed.

Just like me.

Rose said to stay locked in the bathroom. My rational mind fought too hard, and I lost. Why wait in a locked place with no exit, like a lamb awaiting slaughter. Why? When the hallway was silent and the front door so close. I could escape so easily.

Maybe Conor was right all along. Maybe I really amstupid.

He grabbed me as soon as I opened the bathroom door. Of course, he was waiting silently behind it.

“You’re so fucking dumb,” he laughs in my face as he wraps a hand tightly around my throat. “You honestly thought I left? After what you did?”

My hands come to slap his face and forearms as I rapidly feel the lack of oxygen. My vision dots as my chest starts to heave, and I already feel the strength leaving my muscles. The blood on the side of my head is so warm, and my lips are busted from the punches he got in before I managed to escape to the bathroom.

He shakes me with a strength that doubles with rage. “You stupid fucking bitch,” he hisses. “Fucking me over. Why, Rachel? I would have stopped as soon as you got pregnant. Did you just love being fucked over and over again?”

A whimper gets stuck in my airways when he shakes me again. A moment of full consciousness brings back the defense tactics Sam spent hours teaching me. I step on his foot as hard as I can, and he screams but doesn’t let go. “Bitch!”

I go for his eyes before he can recover. Pushing my thumbs in both of them and forcing him to retreat. I didn’t get to truly hurt him, but he does finally let go of my neck. I take in a huge breath and run for my life.

Only he’s the killer in my horror film now, and I’ve got no chance of escaping him. He grabs me by the hair before I can flee our foyer. He slams my head against the nearest wall, and dizziness overwhelms me.

“Stop!” I cry out. “Conor…” There are shards of glass stuck to the left side of my face from when he smashed the glass into my head.

Another pull at my hair, and I’m not against the wall anymore. Everything is so blurry, so quick, and almost painless. The adrenaline is saving me from feeling everything but there is still a feeling of sickness inside me and a fear that death is imminent.

He throws me onto the floor, and I try to crawl away, but he kicks my back over and over again until I’m just a weeping mess on the floor. I curl into myself, desperately trying to protect as much of my body as possible. He kicks my side and pushes me on my back.

“Please,” I heave. “You’re going to kill me…” I can barely see straight anymore. The black dots overwhelming my vision are getting bigger by the second. A headache is growing strong inside me.

“I had time to think while you were hiding in the bathroom like a little bitch,” he tells me. “I think the agreement between our families just isn’t worth it for me, babe.”

I shake my head slowly. He’s stopped hitting me, but my body has given up. I can’t move, can’t run away.

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