Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Stalking aside, it was nice and peaceful on that trail.
That all changed when the sound of a man’s voice boomed through the silence. I froze, my brain struggling to figure out which direction it had come from, but Nora took off at a dead sprint.
I darted after her, and with every step, the shouting grew louder. Slurred cuss words soared through the air like wobbly arrows, escorted by an off-pitch symphony of grunts and grumbles. My feet pounded against the trail, sticks cracking and leaves rustling, but she never looked back.
Nora exited the woods first, her plastic bags looped around her wrists, smacking her legs as she ran across a yard of unkept grass straight toward a small ranch home with paint peeling off the crooked shutters. There was a broken windowpane covered by plywood on the front of the house, and the crack in the front door was visible even from yards away.
For a brief second, the night fell silent, so I ducked behind a tree to watch her while I caught my breath. I found no oxygen because no sooner than Nora reached the door did it swing open, nearly cracking her in the face. A man with messy, brown hair and a beer gut stumbled out, crashing into her. His hands snaked out, but not to catch her. He pushed her hard, sending her small body sailing.
On instinct, I lurched from behind my tree, but a boy, who I assumed was her brother because he looked just like her only a lot bigger, plucked her off the ground and dragged her behind him.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch her again!” the boy yelled.
The disheveled man used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth and slurred, “I should gut you both. No wonder your mom left you ungrateful pieces of shit. You ruined my whole fucking life.” His fist sailed through the air, landing hard against her brother's face.
I gasped and slapped a hand over my mouth as he fell back against the house and sank to his butt.
The man once again advanced, but Nora jumped between them, crouching low like a lion ready to attack. “Dad, no!”
Holy shit. That was her dad?
A blast of panic hit me, stealing my breath all over again. I had no idea what to do. If her brother, who was twice my size, couldn’t take this guy, I would have been next to worthless.
I could get help though. Surely someone else must have heard the chaos. Frantic, I spun in a circle. Multiple porch lights were on, but my hopes fell when I saw bent blinds with shadowy figures lurking behind them. Bile crawled up the back of my throat. People were just watching like this was some kind of sport.
By the time I turned back around, her brother was on his feet again, his murderous gaze locked on his father.
“Get to Thea’s,” he barked at Nora.
She tugged on his arm. “No. Please, Ramsey. Come with me. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it. Please. Please. Please!” she screamed through her tears. “Daddy, go away! Leave him alone!”
Hearing her call that monster “daddy” felt like the tip of a dagger raking down my spine.
He slurred something I couldn’t quite make out and then spit at them before finally stumbling to a beat-up truck. After he climbed inside, it rumbled to life like a fork in a garbage disposal.
I couldn’t see Nora’s face, but I didn’t take another breath until his taillights disappeared around the corner.
As soon as he was gone, the door a few houses down swung open and a girl with flowing, brown hair, darker than Nora’s, came running out barefoot. “Ramsey!”
“Shit,” he mumbled before calling back, “I’m okay.” He pulled Nora into his side and hugged her tight. “We’re both okay.”
The girl stopped in front of him and pressed up onto her toes to check his bleeding nose. “I hate that man!”
“Me too, Sparrow. Me too.” Ramsey laughed. Like a real honest-to-God chuckle. And if I hadn’t already been stunned into silence by what I’d just witnessed, I would have been shocked that he could still remember how to laugh after an actual fistfight with his dad.
Nora stepped out of her brother’s arms and wiped the tears from under her eyes. “I got you some gum.”
He had blood smeared across his face, but his grin was massive as he peered down at her. “How did you know I was on my last piece?”
“You’re always on your last piece,” the girl he’d called Sparrow smarted.
Nora giggled. And just like her brother’s laugh, it was so real that it transformed my stunned silence into outright, mouth-gaping confusion.
Who the heck were these kids? I was still shaking, and I hadn’t even been involved in the fight. Sure, my dad yelled at me, but he’d never hauled off and punched me. Or pushed me. Or spit on me. Or told me I’d ruined his life. Jesus Christ, what kind of dad did that to their kids?