Page 89 of Make Me Scream
“Oh, God,” I groan, clutching my stomach as my vision whites out.
I think I hear a resounding, “I will see you soon,” before there’s a click, and then, I’m left even more alone than I have ever been.
“What the fuck…” I choke out, swiping my hand over my mouth, swallowing down the excess salvia dripping from my mouth. Sweat clings to my clammy skin, and I clutch at my stomach as I force myself to sit up, vision swimming.
I cling to the sheets as I clamber to my feet, swaying. The rooms spins around me, walls blurring and morphing together. I reach down and grab my phone, clutching to it for dear life as I cling to the wall for support. I use it to guide me to the door, not knowing what else to do other than needing to move. Needing to find him.
I brush along the wall, skimming and bumping along the way, one eye shut tight, the other squeezed against the blurry film coating it. My right hand is clutched to my chest, and it throbs painfully but not as painfully as my chest, or my stomach, or my head.
But surprisingly, I also feel kind of numb.
It’s strange, the way it’s all blurring together into a tunnel—and at the end of it is Abel.
I just need Abel.
I finally make my way out the door and to my car, shivering as the cold, winter air burns my exposed, damp skin. I stare out of my windshield, at the snowflakes that cling to the cold, cracked glass. I’m shivering as I start it, and by the time I’m down the road and pulling up to the stop sign, my teeth are chattering.
My body feels the cold, but I don’t.
I’m deadened, like one’s frost-bit fingers. Cold and black and paralyzed.
My tires spin on black ice as I pull into the parking lot to Lucy’s apartment building, and my heart thuds painfully as I turn the wheel to correct it. Thankfully, the wheels straighten out, and I’m able to park close to the propped-open front door,my tires only jerking against the sidewalk in front of me as I slide on the snow.
I stare out of the cracked glass, seeing absolutely nothing in front of me before pushing my door open and getting out. My strides are long and quick as I make my way inside the shitty hallway and up the rickety steps. Each one creaks under my feet, making my eye twitch, but it doesn’t matter. Not really.
Not when I just need Abel.
That’s all that matters right now.
Not these shitty steps and even shittier lights. Not this ratty, torn carpet, busted doors, and moldy walls. Not the screaming babies and drug deals happening in between floors.
Just Abel.
I need my runt.
My footsteps move quicker, and by the time I make it to apartment 232, I hammer my hand on the door before howling in pain, not even realizing I’ve used the wrong fucking hand to do it—too caught up in needing him.
“Fuck!” I scream, cradling my hand against my chest, gritting my teeth against the throbbing radiating from the tips of my fingers all the way down to my elbow. “Jesus fuckingChrist.”
The door swings open to some creepy, greasy-looking dude, and I swear to God, I can’t take anymore. “Can I help you?” he says, a grimace on his nasty face.
“Where’s Abel?” I ask, lip curled in a snarl. This must be the fucking boyfriend. I should punch his fucking face in…or not right yet,I think as I look down at my pathetic excuse of a hand at the moment.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“None of your goddamn business, bitch. Where the fuck is Abel?” I step forward with a snarl and grip the door with my good hand, pushing it open a bit to get his attention. He’s scrawny, and well, I could take him with one hand, I’m sure of it.
“Look, whoever you are?—”
“Move!” I shout, and shove the door open, barreling past him. “Abel!” I scream, sweat beading along my hairline as I rush past the creep and into the living room. It’s empty, save for Lucy’s scrawny ass sprawled across the couch.
“Hey, you can’t just?—”
“Oh, fuck you, too, bitch,” I seethe, narrowing my eyes as I stomp past her toward the narrow hallway, where I assume the bedrooms to be. The first I come across must be hers, which I keep moving past with my nose upturned becauseyuck.
The next, the gap in the bottom part of the door looks familiar. My heart shoots into my throat, and I yank it open, uncaring that I’m ripping it even more. “Runt!” I shout, stepping into the dark room. I reach around, sliding my hand up and down the wall in search of a light switch, and when it finally flicks on and his room is brightened at last, my entire world shatters into pieces.
Everything is gone.
