Page 50 of If You Dare

Dread washes over me when Wes heads for the door without looking back.

He has no intention of giving me what I want. He took his time, knowing he’d bring me right to the edge before snatching the pleasure away from me without a second’s warning.

A new form of torture.

Chapter20

After

Violet

I call Mom.She answers on the third ring with a tired, “Hey, hon.”

My heart squeezes. I’m hon again. Even for just a second, she’s forgotten to be disappointed in me.

“Hey, Mom. I have a favor to ask.” She sighs into the phone and I press on before she can object. “Can you take me to Chloe’s grave today? It’s her birthday.”

Chloe and I had already made our plans for her birthday by the end of April. We’d go to the movies first thing in the morning and sneak from theater to theater, watching as many movies as we could until we got kicked out. Her favorites were romcoms and horror, a dichotomy I could never wrap my mind around. Then we’d head to the ice rink and we’d “skate,” which would translate to her skating and me watching safely from solid ground. My plan was to have my book written by then so I could print it and sign it and give her the first copy of my first-ever book. Dedicated to her.

She and I thought my first book would be inspired by my life. Fun, romantic, maybe even smutty.

Now if I were to write a book based on my life, I’m pretty sure it would be shelved as horror. I’ve been jumping awake the past three nights, just as Wes squeezes the life from my throat in my nightmares. As all twenty-five Devils track me down and pin me to the ground while they each take their turn.

What would’ve happened to me if that security guard hadn’t found us? Would Wes have fucked me? Shoved his cock down my throat? His hand was on his fly.

The crazy part is...I wouldn’t have tried to stop him.

Mom lets out another sigh, this time with a note of sympathy. “I can’t today, hon. I’m working a double. Maybe this weekend.”

Panic rises in my chest. This weekend isn’t Chloe’s birthday. I need to be there for her today. “Please, Mom. It won’t take long—”

“Violet, you shouldn’t be going to the cemetery today, anyway. The Novaks will be there.”

I flinch. I know she’s right, even if I don’t want to admit it. Before the accident, Chloe’s parents loved having me around—it’s hard to imagine them celebrating her birthday without me. “I need to give her this gift.”

The little stuffed duck that I won at the carnival. Chloe coveted Ducky as soon as I held him in my hands. It’s not much, but I want to give it to her for her birthday. Especially since I never did manage to write that book.

If that night had gone differently, if Chloe was still alive, would I have written my first book? Would Wes be my boyfriend instead of my bully?

“You can leave it there this weekend. You don’t need to be stepping on her family’s toes today.”

If I can’t get a ride to Chloe’s grave, I’ll just have to walk. Diamond really needs a bus system, but luckily the cemetery is only a few miles away, just outside of the town square.

I don’t care what I have to do. I’m visiting my best friend’s grave on her birthday.

* * *

Sunlight beamsonto the rows of gravestones, some of them fading under the sun’s harsh rays.

The cemetery is blessedly empty. Even though Chloe was my best friend, I don’t want anyone to see me visiting her grave. They’ll only hurl horrible insults my way. All I want is to be left in peace to mourn my best friend. I may be the one responsible for her death, but I didn’t want her gone either. That’s what no one seems to get. I’m just as devastated by her loss as everyone else. If I could take back what I did, if I could take back that whole night, I would. I would switch places with Chloe in a heartbeat.

I kneel in front of her headstone.Chloe Novak. 2003 to 2023. Beloved daughter, sister, and friend.

The words blur, and I tuck the stuffed duck at the base of the stone. I can almost feel Chloe’s ghost grinning next to me, whisperingthanks.

“Happy birthday.” And those two words are all I get out before the sobs wrack through my body. “I am so sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry, Chloe.”

“Still willing to switch places?” a deep male voice asks behind me.

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