Page 10 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

It wasn’t until I came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs behind Mitch, that I noticed the other guys standing around watching us. They laughed at my pitiful appearance and gave Mitch a fist bump along with various vulgar comments directed at me.

TJ pushed Ken’s bag at Mitch with a serious expression. “What do you think?”

Mitch gazed at me then back at TJ. “She’ll be fine. Ken’s holding her old lady’s life over her head.”

TJ laughed and clasped his hands together like that was the best news ever. “Crazy fucker’d do it too.” He looked over at me, amusement clear in his eyes. “You know it too, don’t you?”

I felt sick that someone could be so delighted knowing my mom’s life was in danger. Bastard. His eyes suddenly turned dark and his gaze cut into me like a razor blade. Panic flared inside me as I wondered if he’d somehow read my mind. Crazy, but that was where my head was at.

“Do I need to tell you what will happen to you or your mother if you so much as think about this place or what you’ve seen here in front of another person?”

I gulped and shook my head. “No.”

He stared at me for a long minute, his terrifying gaze reinforcing his threat. “Mitch, I want you to take her home. I don’t want any unnecessary risks with this lot,” he said, indicating to Ken’s brown bag. He turned back to me with hard eyes. “And you can tell Ken that if he sends anyone but you from now on, he’s going to regret it.”

My heart sank to the floor.

Mitch jerked his head, indicating I should follow him, and my exact state of mind became clear when I found myself willing to do exactly that.

Taking a wide berth around the others, I trailed behind Mitch’s fast moving form, never so relieved to leave a place in my whole life.

Leading me out the back door, he walked over to a very plain looking white Camry parked under a dilapidated carport and threw the bag onto the backseat. Opening the front passenger door, he held it open until I climbed inside, then closed it softly behind me.

My whole body felt like it was hanging by a thread. I knew it wouldn’t be long until I fell apart completely. It was only a matter of time. I could already feel everything rushing up at me, ready to push me into a complete emotional breakdown. My stomach roiled with it, needing the release.

The silence in the car didn’t help either. Every now and again I thought I could feel Mitch’s eyes on me as he drove, but each time I’d chanced a look at him, his eyes were set straight ahead, his jaw set tight and his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

When he pulled the car into the alley behind our house without asking for directions, I wasn’t surprised. It should’ve made me feel uneasy knowing criminals like TJ and his gang knew where we lived, but I thought I might be too numb to feel anything just then.

He glanced at me as he flicked the car into neutral. “I thought it’d be better if you went in this way. Do you need help climbing over the fence?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure if my voice would work, but I tried it anyway. “No, there’re a few loose palings I can squeeze through.”

He nodded then passed me the bag.

My legs shook as I climbed from the car. I knew I had to have been in some kind of shock or something. Mia always seemed to shake after having an anxiety attack, so I figured it was maybe something similar. I just knew I needed to be alone.

Without a backwards glance at Mitch, I slipped inside, finding Ken watching TV in the den. Not wanting Mom to see me in the state I was in, I chose not to say anything at all. Instead, I just gave him a stare I hoped told him just how much I hated him, and dumped the bag in his lap before turning to dash up to my room.

Pausing on the bottom step, I drew in a steadying breath, praying my voice wouldn’t betray me. “Hi, Mom! Sorry I’m late. I’m just going to jump in the shower!”

Without waiting for a reply, I ran up the stairs, no longer able to hold it all in. The second I stepped under the flow of the shower, it all came crashing down on me.

Hard and life shattering.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to get myself out of the mess I was in. The whole thing had been so terrifying, so chilling. I didn’t want to go back there. I couldn’t.

Sobs wracked my body. Big, uncontrollable shudders that destroyed a tiny piece of my soul with each painful breath.

I wanted someone to save me. Take me away from the horror of it. I wanted to curse my mom for marrying someone so ugly. I wanted to curse my dad for leaving us to deal with this hell. I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it.

As my soul splintered, I sank to the floor, huddling my knees to my chest, trying to protect myself the only way I knew how. I’d never felt such despair, such hopelessness. It was a huge vacuous cavern. Pitch black and utterly devoid of life.

Lying there, I allowed it to consume me. To swallow me up and take me. My body shuddered under its heavy hands and heaved.

The water ran cold, and still I lay there. If not in weakness, then to simply feel something other than despair.

Chapter 8

---