Aria Matthews is in love with her best friend, Lucas Miller. It is the best kept secret since Area 51 and she knows she would take it to the grave. But things start changing in her senior year of high school when another of her friends takes it upon...
It was pitch-black when I reached the area. I had not given the driver the exact address that Brad had texted to me because I didn't want to directly arrive at his door like an Amazon parcel.
"Uh, are you sure about this, kid?" asked the middle-aged cab driver, his eyes uncertain as he took in the dilapidated buildings. The street was deserted and had a distinct air of menace. A single streetlight loomed at the beginning of the road, flickering sinisterly.
"Yes, I'm sure," I answered, with false bravado, not convinced if I was assuring him or myself.
After paying the man, I climbed out, my hand tightening on my purse. Pulling out my phone, I made a quick call.
Then, I slowly walked down the street, reading the numbers in my head: 30, 29, 28...
As the headlights of the Uber disappeared, the street returned to its inky state. I rummaged in my bag for my phone, turned on the flashlight and kept walking: 27, 26, 25...
The buildings looked abandoned. Some were old warehouses, others decrepit lodgings: 24, 23, 22...
I stopped, turning off my flashlight. As I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I took in the rundown house with its boarded-up windows and crumbling roof. My heart seemed to have hidden somewhere in the vicinity of my throat as I tried to swallow. I had never prided myself to be a brave person. But the thought of sweet Rose alone with my pedophile of an uncle forced my feet forward.
Clutching my bag, I tiptoed around the side of the house, trying to look in any gaps I could find. The house seemed dark and uninhabited. Did I have the right address?
Just as I rounded a corner, an arm grabbed me from the back, a cold hand covering my mouth roughly. "Hi sweetheart," said a deceptively honeyed voice. "I've missed you."
I struggled frantically but he was too strong. No! This could not be happening! Where had he been hiding?
"Did you think I would give you the address where I was keeping the kid? I'm disappointed in you Aria."
My obscenities were muffled by his hand. But he seemed to get the idea.
"There's no need to get all testy. We are all alone here. No one to disturb us for miles." His arm that was clutching me around my waist disappeared for a second. A second was all I needed as I bucked hard, my head bashing against his jawbone.
Swearing, he gripped me again. But this time, he had a cloth that he pressed to my nose. A cloyingly sweet odor assaulted my senses and my vision swam.
"Good," he hissed. "Sleep now."
Then everything turned black.
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"Aria! Aria! Wake up!" A stream of consciousness filtered in before I jolted awake. My head pounded with a pulsing beat when I realized Rose was shaking me as hard as she could, her tiny face tearful. "Aria, are you okay?"
