with me.
“All right then, if you’re sure,” she replies, rolling her eyes a little. Not much, but enough for me to notice.
She must think I’m crazy. Everyone does. I’m the quiet one, the one who’s always daydreaming of a better life, a bigger future. The one who’s always too afraid to make the leap.
And this man … this man unchained something inside me that I didn’t know existed.
Because no matter how dangerous he seemed or how much my brain was telling me to run in the opposite direction, all I wanted to do was say yes.
Chapter 5
Amelia
That night
The music is blaring, and I’m losing myself on the dance floor of Club M. I don’t care who sees or how crazy I dance. I just need to let it all out. Let them see, let them talk; I’m done caring about what anyone thinks.
Why? Because it’s my birthday, and no one cared. My grandparents have been dead for years, so they’re not gonna celebrate this with me. Jamie won’t either because I never told her when my birthday was. But I expected Chris to care. And now he’s shown that he clearly doesn’t.
So I’ve decided I’m not going to care anymore either.
Instead, I’m enjoying myself thoroughly while going nuts to the music, dancing the night away until my feet are tired and I’m drunk on alcohol. I don’t care for a second that I’m drinking way more than usual or that this is the same club where my stalker came. I welcome the danger with open arms, or maybe it just doesn’t matter at all.
The only thing that matters is me, the music, and forgetting all about my own damn birthday until it no longer exists.
And I’m loving every second of it.
Hours later, I wake up somewhere else entirely. I feel groggy and completely out of it. I can’t even remember what I did or why I did it. I just knew I needed an escape, if only just for a moment. So I chose the alcohol to numb the pain and have a little fun all by myself.
Now, my throat hurts, and I can barely utter a sound. My whole body aches as I open my eyes and stare into the darkness surrounding me, the reality of my situation hitting me hard.
I’m not at the club … or in my apartment.
I sit up straight even though every muscle in my body hurts. I’m surrounded by trees and sitting on the grass in the middle of nowhere.
What the hell?
Where the heck am I, and how did I get here?
A searing headache slams into me, and I rub my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Ugh …” I groan.
It feels like hours have passed, but I don’t remember anything.
What the hell happened to me?
The longer I think about it, the less comes into my mind. It’s as if I’ve lost all track of time and space and forgotten everything that happened up until this point. That, or I’ve really hit my head hard.
All I remember is Chris … and the look on his face when I came home completely wasted …
I grab my throat and rub it, feeling exposed. But nothing I do brings back the rest of my memories. Nothing about my clothes or how I got here, or even what time it is.
I should definitely go home.
Without waiting another second, I storm off, and it doesn’t take me long to realize I’m in the city park. I head straight for the nearest road. I’m shivering, and my body is freezing, but I don’t give up until I’ve gotten back to the apartment building. By the time I’m back inside, I can barely feel my trembling body. I close the door and take a breath, trying not to panic.
But something deep inside makes me feel like something isn’t right.
Even though the apartment is completely unscathed. In fact, the place looks better than how it was when I left. A little too clean, if you ask me. Did Chris do this?
I swallow as I call out, “Chris?”
But there’s no response. I know he was here, but the bed is empty and hasn’t been slept in.
From the open window, I spot someone leaving the building, but it isn’t Chris. The figure turns around right as I peer outside, and he stares up at me while clutching his long black coat closer to his chest.
I gulp and quickly shut the curtains, breathing heavily as I hide behind them.
In that split second, our eyes