Following Me by Linde, K.A. (best books to read in your 20s .txt) 📗

theway.  This wasn’t okay, and it wasn’t fun.  They shouldn’t let any morepeople in.  Things could get out of control.

Devon looked up over the heads ofpeople in front of her and sighed.  It felt like she was never going to reachthe bar.  There was a huge line anyway.  She thought maybe the restroom wouldbe a better alternative.  At least there, she would have some privacy.

She turned to walk the otherdirection and slammed right into a meaty guy who glared at her as she lost herbalance and tumbled to the floor.  Someone stepped on her hand as she tried toget up.  Devon swore and hissed, pulling her hand away from the ground so noone else could do the same thing.  She stood as best as she could, cradling heraching hand.  Pushing through people with one hand pressed between her breaststo keep someone else from smashing into it wasn’t easy.  All it did was causepeople to unknowingly smash into other parts of her.  She hadn’t made it morethan a few feet toward the restroom, and she had already been elbowed in thearm, gotten her foot stepped on, and been drunkenly body slammed, knocking thebreath out of her.  The club was getting dangerous.

As a space opened in the crowd,she took advantage, rushing forward through the throng of people.  It got hercloser to the restroom but not close enough.

Then, she felt it—eyes on theback of her head.  She didn’t even know how it was possible.  Hundreds ofpeople were in the place.  No one could be focusing that intently on her, butshe could swear that someone was watching her.  The feeling crept up herspine, forcing her to move faster.  She didn’t know where Amy was, but gettingaway from this place felt like it made more sense than looking around for her.

Finally bursting off the dancefloor, she rushed past the huge line of people waiting for the restroom.  Theyall cussed at her as she passed them by and walked to the front.

“Just checking my hair.”  Devonlooked over her shoulder and rushed into the restroom before someone could sayanything further.

As soon as she walked through thedoors, she felt water underneath her heels.  As she slid across the floor, shetried to right her balance, but instead, she crashed down on her hands and knees. Devon cried out as pain shot up her arms and legs.  Shock hit her like a tidalwave.  Her right knee had taken most of the impact, and it was on fire.  Shewas sure that she had broken the skin.  Tears rushed to her eyes as the painhit her full-on.

How can I be so clumsy?she wondered.

Devon wondered if anyone wouldhelp her.  She wasn’t sure if she could stand by herself.  When she dragged hereyes up from the floor, she noticed that she wasn’t in the restroom of theclub.  She was in a beautiful all white bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and awalk-in shower.  Her heart raced as she took in her surroundings.

“Aww, what did you do toyourself?” the all-too-familiar voice asked.

Her body rattled, Devon slowlystood, using the bathtub as leverage to hoist her up.  She felt the blood fromher knee trickle down her leg, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. Without another thought, she sprinted as fast as she could toward her pursuer.

He chuckled and moved out of theway.  Then, he approached her and pushed her back with just enough force tosend her stumbling toward the snowy white bed.  She could have avoided the bedif he hadn’t been at her side.  He grasped her wrist, swung her arm behind herback, and pushed her into the bedspread.

She tried to scream through hertears as he all but pulled her arm out of its socket.  The pain in her shoulderwas so blinding that she bent easily at the waist, forgetting about her hurtknees.

“Let go.  Let go.  Let go,” shemuttered, trying to ease the pain off her shoulder.  “Please.  Let go.”

“Isn’t this what you want?” thevoice asked.

With a chill running through her,she softly said, “Please let go.” She didn’t even know if he could hear her.

A hand came up and fisted in herponytail, yanking her head back roughly. As he pulled her off the bed by herhair, she squeaked as he tugged some of the strands out.  He released some ofthe tension on her shoulder, but he tightened his grip on her wrist.  She wasalready starting to lose blood circulation in her fingers.

He brought her head back towardhim but kept her facing the wall.  He whispered in her ear, “You don’t reallywant me to let go.  Do you?”  His voice was gruff but seductive.

She felt some her shouldersloosen, but her heart was still racing.

“I don’t want to let go, so Idon’t see how you would want me to.”

Devon trembled in his twistedembrace.  She tried to clear her mind.  She needed to go blank.  She needed toforget since she couldn’t stop it or fix it.

This is my fault.  Why did Ithink I could run away?  I brought this on myself, she thought.

He liftedher skirt and pushed her back over the bed.

DEVON AWOKE WITH a start as someoneshook her shoulder.

“Dev, wake up,” Garrett said,shaking her again.

“I’m awake,” she said hoarsely.

She was having a hard timethinking or even breathing right now.  Garrett was hovering over her bed, andhe reeked of alcohol.  She was glad he had awoken her, but after that dream,the smell of alcohol was the last thing she wanted to wake up to.  Thenightmares had never gotten that far before. As the reality of what hadhappened sank into her, she realized she had always woken up terrified before,but now, she wasn’t sweaty or crying or shaky.  She felt numb.  This wholetime, she had been letting her walls crumble all around her, but with thememories of that dream, she had tightly locked it all up again.

“Have you been drinking?” sheasked just so he would stop staring at her in the darkness.  She needed tocompose herself.

“Yeah.  It’s the Fourth ofJuly…well, it’s the fifth now,” he said, sitting heavily on the bed.

The covers fell down past herbreasts, which were only covered by