Page 96 of Bleeding Hearts

“I’m her best friend. I’m allowed to. Brother and boyfriend definitely aren’t,” she says, skimming through the phone, a confused look forming on her face as she does. “Has Demi been talking to her mom again?” she asks, looking up at me.

“No, not for months. Why?” I ask, concerned.

“She called her like seven times today.” She pauses. “She answered a call from her at three forty-four.”

“Fuck.” Dread creeps through my veins. “She wouldn’t.” I look between her and Kade.

“Wouldn’t what?” Kade asks, going from doubting me to concern in an instant.

“It’s Demi.” Logan sighs, and I know she’s right.

“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Kade asks again.

“Do you know where Demi’s mom and your dad live?” I ask Kade. I look behind him to see Logan already grabbing her phone and slipping on her shoes.

“Yeah, why?” he asks. “Fuck, you don’t think she went there?” He looks between Lo and me, seeing the answer on our faces. “I’ll drive.” He walks to the door, quickly slipping his shoes on and grabbing his keys.

Logan and I follow him hurriedly down the stairs and out the back door where his car is. We jump in, Logan in the passenger seat and me in the back and he immediately steps on the gas.

The car is silent, tension and anxiety filling the space as Kade breaks every speeding law in existence driving to his father’s house.

My leg shakes in anticipation as I lose track of time on our way there. My mind races at a million different possibilities of what we may be walking into. Demi wouldn’t have rushed out the door, forgetting her phone in the process, without texting or calling anyone unless she deemed it an emergency.

The only way her mom could’ve put her in that type of panic was if she told Demi that she needed her. If she told her she was going to leave her father.

Demi would drop anything and everything in that moment if she thought it meant helping her mom escape from him.

I want to believe that if that is what happened, her mom was telling the truth. I want to believe we’re going to walk into a quiet house with Demi and her mother packing up boxes alone.

Unfortunately, that’s not what I think we’re walking into.

I know Demi said her mom would never trick her, but it wouldn’t be her mom doing it. It would be her father’s control and the fear of going against it that forces her to do it.

If it was a trap, I don’t even want to think of what may await us. My fists clench at the thought of Demi’s father getting anywhere near her.

I look up and out the window just as Kade speeds into a driveway, seeing Demi’s car sitting perfectly parked in the center of it. I’m opening the car door before Kade even has the car in park, jumping out of it and storming up the driveway to the front door.

I hear Kade and Logan’s shouts for me to wait for them, but I ignore them all.

The only thought on my mind is getting to Demi and making sure she’s safe.

I reach out for the door handle, twisting it and finding it unlocked before pushing the door open.

The sight in front of me, as I do, is worse than anything I could’ve ever imagined.

Demi, the love of my life, the purest soul with the kindest heart I’ve ever met, splayed out on the floor, her father hunched over her, his hands around her throat, squeezing the life out of her.

Her face is nearly purple as she struggles to breathe, yet still she tries to reach up, trying to fight him off.

I don’t think as I spring into action, charging at her sorry excuse of a father and yanking him off her. I throw him onto the ground, hearing his bones slam against the shiny marble floor before jumping on top of him.

He grabs his head in pain from where it slammed against the floor and I take the moment to look over at Demi, seeing that Logan and Kade have her before turning my attention back to him.

He opens his mouth to speak, and I punch him right across his jaw. I notice his face is already scratched up, his nose bleeding and my heart swells at my girl fighting this monster back.

I look down at the man who was supposed to love her, the man who was supposed to take care of her and protect her, yet instead took every opportunity he could to hurt her.

The image of him strangling her just minutes before plays in my head, the thought of what would’ve happened if I didn’t walk in when I did.

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