Page 63 of Unravelling The Beast

I stare in the direction of the living room and rush towards it and when I enter, I realize it's probably the darkest room to hide in because the moonlight doesn't shine directly through the windows in here.

I continue forward, shaky arms held out in front of me, trying to grasp for anything to help me figure out where the hell I am going. When I feel the couch, I grip the soft, luxurious padding tightly and begin to move around it. I realize that I can't exactly hide behind the couch since he'll undoubtedly look there.

I glance around the huge, pitch-black space until the wide windows gleaming to my right catch my attention, and I recall the huge, towering curtains in this room.

I shuffle forward slowly, arms stretched again, before gripping the window sill with shaky hands and moving along it. When I finally feel the velvety material of the curtains on my skin, I whip them open and drop myself to the floor before wrapping them around me in an attempt to hide.

I squeeze myself into the corner of the wall as much as I can and bring my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly over them. I hold my palm firmly over my mouth, trying to calm my chaotic breathing, thinking about how he could possibly find me and what his sadistic plans could be.

It doesn't take long for me to notice movement in the quiet house, and I clench my eyes shut, holding my breath. I’m pretty sure the noises are coming from the kitchen, but I can't be sure.

It already feels like ten minutes have passed, although it surely hasn't and I can hear his heavy footsteps everywhere, filling the once-silent room with loudness and they move closer toward me by the second.

As I sit there, I try to convince myself that it's far too dark and that if I stay quiet and calm enough, there is no way that he will see me down here.

When I hear him slowly step past me as if he can sense my presence, my entire body freezes. I'm sure I'm absolutely silent, but his footsteps suddenly stop not far away, and my eyelids snap open.

It feels like an eternity as I hear nothing and it's as if he's listening, waiting for anything, and I don't think I can hold my breath much longer. The brute force of my anxiousness grips my throat, choking me, and my body is desperate to tremble and breathe as if the grim fucking reaper is pursuing me, but it isn't; it's Arlo playing his cruel and wicked games with me.

There is complete stillness. I can only hear the ringing in my ears when, all of a sudden...

The curtain is whipped open and I dash under his arm while passing him. As he tries to reach out to grab me, I feel the air strike my skin, but I'm far too quick. The panic surges through me and I dash around the huge couch, still unable to see where I'm going completely.

I head for the moonlight in the foyer to escape the twisted beast, but I can sense and hear him closing the gap between us from behind. The loudness of his fast, heavy footsteps crashes over the hard marble floor, and I try my hardest not to scream this fucking mansion down like I desperately want to.

I come to a sudden standstill as soon as I realize that sprinting up the stairs will not help me escape him; he will only catch me. I slowly turn around to face him as soon as I hear him come to a halt as well.

He is a few feet away, and he's in a position as if he's about to pounce.

“Time is fucking up, Wren. Surrender!”

He lunges forward, and I dodge him in a panic, causing him to skid and crash to the floor. I try to flee again, rushing past him, but he suddenly snatches my ankle, causing me to trip and fall onto my arm on the hard floor with a thump.

I look down at him, still holding my ankle tightly, and try to kick him away with my other foot, but he catches that one as well, abruptly stopping me.

He drags me violently down the hard marble floor toward him, and he kneels between my spread legs. As he leans over me, he attempts to seize my wrists, but in my state of panic, I slap his hands away frantically, swinging them around like a maniac.

Before he speaks, I hear him give out a menacing chuckle.

“You little bitch!”

He manages to catch them after a struggle and brutally pins them down to the floor. I take deep breaths, my heart slamming against my chest and stare up at his silhouette, realizing that this asshole has somehow won and that I have no idea what's going through his wicked mind.

He hovers over me, placing his weight on my fragile wrists and bringing his face down to mine.

“I fucking told you to obey.”

“How did you find me?”

I'm having trouble breathing as I continue. .

“I was quiet; it's dark; there's no way you could have heard or seen me.”

“I hear and see fucking everything.”

“It's not possible.”

“Absolutely anything is possible with me, Wren.”

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