Page 20 of The Sweetest Revenge

"Omigod," I cried, scrambling to my feet and staring up at him standing above me. His eyes were dark and evil. "Zaiden. "The panic and terror in my tone was excruciatingly painful. "Please. Please don't leave me here." I was scared of the dark, but even worse, he was leaving me alone in a dark grave.

"Too bad I'm not standing here for your funeral," he said, his tone void of any emotion. He knelt, filling his hand with dirt. "My sister deserved better than you."

I reached up, extending my hand to him. "Zaiden, please, this isn't funny. Please just help me out."

He stood to his full height, staring down at me. "Good night, Ariella." He dropped the dirt in his hand, and I dropped my face to keep it from going in my eyes as it covered my head.

My gaze snapped up, and he was gone. "Zaiden," I screamed. "Zaiden, please, please don't leave me here." I dug my fingers into the dirt, and it crumbled in my hands before I could pull myself up. The grave had to be at least six feet deep, and I was only 5'2". I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to pull myself out, but I wasn't staying here tonight.

The faint glow of headlights faded, taking with it my last connection to the world above. "Zaiden, please!" My voice echoed against the dirt walls. Then—nothing. Complete darkness swallowed me. The cemetery's silence pressed against my eardrums. Tears carved hot trails down my cheeks.

"I didn't hurt her." My voice trembled. "Just tell me what I did." I knew he was gone, but I was overwhelmed with fear and sadness. I was stuck in a grave only feet away from where I'd watched Kacie's casket lowered into the ground.

Panic rose in my throat as I frantically clawed at the ground, but it crumbled in my hands. The fear consuming me made it hard to think straight. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and slowly exhaled through my mouth. "Calm down and think, Ari." My eyes widened. "My phone." I patted down my pockets and pulled it out. My trembling fingers opened the phone before clicking on Mila's contact.

"Hey!" Mila's voice lilted through the speaker, bright and oblivious. "Where are y–"

"I need you—" I swallowed hard, grit grinding between my teeth. "Come get me."

The darkness pressed down, a weight on my chest. My fingers dug into the dirt walls.

"Now."

"Ari? What's—" Alarm sharpened her tone.

"NOW."

Keys jingled through the speaker. A door slammed. Mila was moving.

"No time—" My voice caught as the battery indicator flashed red. "Phone dying. Sending location."

I disconnected, fumbled with trembling fingers to open messages, and sent my location.

Ariella: Cemetery. In an open grave next to Kacie's.

Ariella: HURRY

I shook my head. I wasn't thinking clearly. All I needed to say was I was at Kacie's grave.

The screen flickered. Darkness swallowed me as the phone died, its glow vanishing like a snuffed candle.

The silence that followed was absolute—nothing but the sound of my own ragged breathing and the distant cry of an owl. I pressed my back against the cold earth wall, the reality of my situation settling over me like the weight of the dirt Zaiden had let fall on my head.

I tilted my head back and let loose a scream that tore through my throat, rage, terror, and defiance all wrapped into one sound. Let the dead hear me. Let anyone hear me.

But when the echo faded, I was still alone—still buried—still waiting.

I had to get out of here.

I ran my trembling hands along the grave walls, inch by desperate inch. Seeking. Hoping. The dirt crumbled between my fingers, each handful another small defeat. My breath came in short, ragged bursts as panic threatened to overwhelm me.

Then, near one corner, something fibrous. Different. Not dirt.

A tree root.

I gripped it, fingers whitening with pressure. Yanked once, gently. Then harder.

It held.

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