16. Daniella

CHAPTER 16

Daniella

T here is a presence behind me and I go to turn around, but I'm not fast enough. A hand covers my mouth and I'm ripped away from Braxton. I'm dragged behind a booth and my phone slips from my fingers. A different set of hands are on me now as I'm punched in the stomach multiple times. The two unknown people drag me into the tree line and deep into the woods. I kick and drag my feet, doing anything I can to get away. I lose track of where we are and start throwing my body around until I slip from their grasp. I turn to see two men in ski masks and I quickly kick my foot up, hitting the closest guy in the balls and take off. I zig zag between trees and do my best to avoid hitting low branches.

Running through the woods, one of the men is hot on my heels. I turn around, for just a moment to see how close he is, and trip over a branch hitting the ground hard. I roll, hitting my head on something hard. I continue to roll through sticks and leaves, rocks embedding themselves into my skin, until I come to an abrupt stop. When I open my eyes, I see that I'm stopped beside the river. Reaching up, I touch the side of my head and look at my fingers to see blood. Looking to my right, I see the man that was chasing me coming towards me.

I do my best to push myself from the ground and run as fast as I can. My head is throbbing and blood is dripping into my eyes, obscuring my vision. My energy is gone. I can't run anymore – my heart feels like it's going to explode and my lungs are burning. I keep pushing myself until I run into a hard mass.

"Gotcha, bitch!"

I look up to see one of the men with a ski mask on. No, no, no! This can't be happening! I feel a sharp prick in my neck and quickly lose consciousness.

Waking up, I feel like I was hit by a train. My body hurts everywhere and I can't move anything. I open my eyes and see nothing but darkness. I hear voices in the distance but can't make out where or who they are coming from. My head is foggy and I can't think straight. The air is cold.

Where the hell am I? Am I dreaming?

My memory comes flooding back and I prepare myself for the worst, wracking my brain on who it could possibly be. I hear footsteps coming closer, then the creak of a door opening off to my right. I can feel someone else's presence but I don't know who they are and I begin to panic.

"Who's there? What do you want from me?" My breathing picks up and I feel like my heart fell to my ass.

"There she is. The irredeemable slut in the flesh. You thought you could get away from me, but you never will again. I'm going to be the last face you see and the last voice you hear before your final worthless breath leaves your body."

What the actual fuck is going on? Why the fuck can't I see and why can't I move?

I try to move my arms when I feel the rawness around my wrists. My hands are bound behind my back. I try to kick my legs and realize those are tied too. Moving my head around, I feel a rough fabric on my face. I'm fucking blindfolded, shit!

"Who the fuck are you? What the hell do you want from me?" I hear a maniacal laugh before the rough material is ripped from my face and I'm momentarily blinded by how bright the lights are. Once my eyes adjust, I look up to see a face that I thought – HOPED – I would never see again.

"Dad?"