Julianna

Islipped out of my apartment building as dusk was approaching. I'd spent longer there than I had planned. Nora wouldn't let me go, squeezing my neck like she was a child, sniffling into my collar. I pushed away a pang of sadness for the life I would be leaving behind.

The thought of Roman soothed the ache. He was my life now. He was more than I ever expected for myself. I could always sneak back to visit her.

A few leaves flew past me, whipping my hair up. Now to just find a cab. It was peak hour and an available cab would be hard to find. Perhaps if I walked it would be quicker.

A taxi turned the corner towards me. That was lucky. I hailed it and jumped inside the warm interior. It seemed fresh out of the box, unmarked leather seats and the plastic divider behind the driver had hardly a scratch on it. From the back seat, I only had a view of the cabbie's dark hair, a dark blue cap pulled low.

"Waverley Cathedral, please."

The cab driver nodded and pulled away from the curb. I watched the city that I grew up in slide past my window, recognizing the familiar streets and shops with a nostalgic pang. Soon, everything would be new: new city, new streets, new life. I found myself missing my mother. She would have understood. She knew what it was to love deeply. She would have urged me to go, she would have accepted Roman. I know she would have. Not like my father. A seed of bitterness rooted in my stomach. He would never understand. He would never accept Roman and me.

The taxi took a wrong turn into a deserted alleyway. I frowned. Where was he going? I knocked on the plastic divider. "Excuse me? This isn't the way to Waverley Cathedral."

The mechanical locks on the doors clicked like a gunshot. A voice crackled through the small speakers on the side of the cab. "Afraid we're not going there, Miss Capulet."

My blood froze in my veins.

A low hiss grew into a loud one as a white smoke filled the back of the cab, stinging my eyes. I held my breath and struggled with the door. This wasn't working. I spun to my side and kicked at the glass. Break, damn you, break. I could hear the cab driver laughing through the crackle. I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I gulped in sweet medicinal-smelling air. My head spun. Black spots flickered in front of my eyes. I couldn't pass out. I wouldn't. I just had to break this window…

My legs grew weak. The edges of my vision closed in.

I just had to?—

Everything went black.