Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,35

them and make a run for it right now. He’ll never catch me—not with his leg. If I was quiet, I could be in his truck before he even realizes I am gone. I know there’s enough gas in the tank to get me to the nearest city center. From there, it would be a short distance to the police station. If I told them everything that had happened, they would help me.

Leaving now is what any sane person would do. It is what I should do. I’d be free of Rich and all his problems. I start to push myself up…

And sit back down. Something compels me to stay. I can’t just leave without getting answers. I can’t just leave without understanding what is going on. I thought I understood things, back before the gas station. It turned out I hadn’t had the slightest clue.

Most of all, I can’t leave without getting an explanation from Rich about what he had done.

His eyes are still closed. His chest rises and falls with deep, heavy breaths. “…Rich?” I say softly.

After a moment, he opens one eye to peer at me. His face screws up. “God. You’re still here?”

“Of course I’m here,” I frown. “Where else would I be?”

Rich groans and rubs both eyes with the palms of his hands. “Can’t you take a hint?” He motions blindly at the keys on the table. “I left them there for a reason, you know.”

“I thought about it,” I admit. He cuts me off with a cruel laugh.

“You thought about it? Penny, please tell me, what is there to think about?” His eyes shoot open, and he glares at me. “Any person with half a brain would be fifty miles away if they had ‘thought about it.’ What are you still doing here?”

I never expected it, but his words sting. “You… want me to go?”

Rich shoots off the couch like a rocket. “Yes, I want you to go!” He staggers over to the table, picks his car keys up, and dangles them in the air between the two of us. “Here!” he taunts. “Maybe if I spell it out for you: I. Want. You. To. LEAVE!” He slams the keys down on the table in disgust, then limps to the kitchenette. He takes a shot straight from the bottle.

I stare at him as he gulps down the spirit. He slams the bottle back onto the counter. His eyes find mine.

“Well?” he demands. “What are you doing? Go, Penny! Leave!” He sniffs, then takes another generous swig. He sets the bottle down, steps back, and takes a moment to compose himself. When he speaks again, his voice is low. Dangerous. “If it’s permission you need, Penelope, you have it,” he sneers. “Take my Ford and drive away. Go to the cops. Go back home. Go wherever the fuck you need to go. Go, and get away from me!”

“Rich, I—”

“GODAMMIT!” He startles me by picking up the shot glass and hurling it at the door. It shatters in hundreds of sharp pieces. “That way, Penny!” he screams. “That’s the way out. That’s the way you want to go. That—” his voice becomes a roar, “—is the way AWAY FROM ME!”

I don’t dare move. I’ve never seen Rich like this. It scares me.

Sure, I had seen his temper flare before. But never this bad. His eyes burn like embers in his skull. An angry vein pulses along his neck. I know he’s not in the right state of mind. He’s exhausted. He’d been drinking, and he’d lost a lot of blood. I have no idea what he is capable of at this point.

Neither do I know what makes me choose my next words. “I don’t want to go.”

“What?” Rich’s voice cracks through the air like a whip. He takes a menacing step toward me. I shy back. “What did you say?” he seethes.

I swallow, but meet his glare. I will not let him see I’m afraid. “I said, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to take your truck. I don’t. I don’t.”

I expect another outburst of anger. I expect him to yell again. I expect him to demand for me to get the fuck out of his sight. Any of those things would make more sense than what he does next.

He throws his head back and laughs. His whole body shakes as he does it. He tilts his head back and raises both arms in the air. “Mother of God,” he says. “Why?”

The question throws