CHAPTER 1
955 Words
The streetlights outside my window passed in a blur as I drove down the familiar road to our house. The soft sound of the engine was the only sound in the car coupled with my favorite music. I had been trying to call Marcus for the past hour but he wasn’t answering. I tapped the call button again, listening to the ring in my ear, hoping he’d finally pick up.
But still…nothing.
I turned onto our street, my grip tightening on the steering wheel. Something didn’t feel right. I pulled up to the gate and parked. The house looked dark. The porch light that’s usually left on when I am away, was off.
I stepped out of the car, the cool air brushing against my skin. My heels clicked softly as I walked to the front door. I unlocked it and stepped inside. It was quiet. Too quiet. The living room was dim. If not for the moonlight that penetrated through the curtains, then it would have been completely dark.
“Marcus?” I called out. I placed my purse on the small table near the door and looked around. Then I noticed a faint glow coming from upstairs. The door to our bedroom was slightly open.
Maybe he was tired and already in bed.
I walked up the stairs, but halfway up, I stopped. I heard something. I could barely hear it at first, but then it got clearer.
I stood frozen, my hand gripping the railing as I heard someone moaning and the sound of the bed creaking. It couldn’t be…My heart pounded in my chest. Every step after that felt heavier. The surrounding air thickened. My breathing turned shallow.
No. Please, no.
With shaky hands, I pushed the bedroom door open just a little.
And there it was.
“Marcus,” I brokenly called out his name in a whisper that only I could hear.
I watched him as he was wrapped in sheets with someone else. In our bed. In our home.
I stared at them, my mouth slightly open, but no sound came out.
I felt like my body wasn’t mine anymore. I wanted to scream, to run in there and throw everything off the shelves. I wanted to yell, to ask why he did this, to make sense of it. But my legs wouldn’t move. Damn it! Why wont my legs move?! Why can’t I say anything?!
I just stood there. My chest ached. I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned around instead of fighting. I walked away instead of yelling at them. My footsteps felt disconnected from my body. I don’t even remember leaving the house. The next thing I knew, I was outside the subdivision, walking down the street alone.
Everything was spinning. My vision. My thoughts. My emotions. It all blurred together.
How could Marcus do this to me? After all the years? After everything we shared?
I kept walking, barely noticing the cars passing by or the people I walked past. My vision was foggy with tears. The future we talked about, having kids, traveling together, growing old together, it all cracked apart in my mind.
And then, out of nowhere, I heard a loud honk.
I turned my gaze to my side where I heard the sound and saw a bright light directed at me.
A car was speeding straight toward me. I froze, unable to move. Is this it? Is this how I’ll die?
And just as I thought it was too late, my arms wrapped around my waist. And next thing I know, I was falling to the ground…or rather…it was right to say that we were falling to the ground.
I landed on something firm. Not the ground, but someone’s chest.
There was a smoky scent in the air, mixed with the lingering smell of rain. My head was spinning. My cheek was pressed against the warm fabric, and a loud heartbeat thudded beneath me.
The car raced past us, and the sound of its tires screeching fading into the distance, as well as curses of the man driving.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked, making me shudder by how deep it sounded.
I lifted my head slowly.
A man with pitch black eyes was staring right at me. His hair was messy as he looked down at me, concern written all over his face while his arms were still holding me close tightly.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
He stared at me like he knew me. “Leila,” he muttered my name softly.
I blinked. How did he know my name?
“Let’s get you off the road,” he said.
He stood up, still holding me. He guided me to the sidewalk, keeping a steady arm around me. I didn’t resist.
It was only when we sat down that I realized tears were still running down my face.
And through it all, he never let go.
But really though, who was this guy?
“Wait…who are you?” I tried to ask as he guided me somewhere safe.
“I’m…” He was about to answer when all of a sudden, everything around me started spinning.
I kept hearing his voice as he tried to shake me to keep me awake, but as seconds passed it became more distant, until all I could hear is a buzz. Like I was underwater, and someone was calling my name from the surface. My lips moved to ask who he was, but the words didn’t come out right.
The last thing I saw was his face close to mine, and the feeling of his cold hand on my cheek.
Then everything went dark.
- Writer
