Page 226 of The Forbidden Note

Up ahead, the parking lot is filling up with fancy cars, all belonging to the rich and privileged students of Redwood Prep.

For a moment, I don’t move.

It feels like I’m staring into a strange, yawning abyss.

My phone buzzes in my purse.

It has been for a while now, but I ignore it.

Whether it’s more reporters, Harris’s lawyers, mom or Zane, I don’t want to talk to anyone. My thoughts are sloshing around in my head. Liquid chaos. I just want to get away. Take a breath. Feel more like myself.

The car starts with a rumble.

I’m so glad I got it out of the shop. I would have hated to catch a bus with the way I’m feeling.

Rather than heading home, I take the open road. Somehow, I find myself heading in the direction of the cliff where Zane took me the night we kissed.

When I realize where I’m going, I jolt and glance around guiltily as if someone’s going to jump out of the bushes and accuse me of finding consolation in that forbidden moment.

There’s no one there.

I laugh softly to myself. “You’re being ridiculous, Grey.”

Shaking my head, I slam on the brakes so I can make a right turn and go home.

My heels pump the brakes all the way to the ground, but nothing happens. The pedal’s lack of resistance takes me completely by surprise and, at first, I wonder if I imagined the sensation.

Weird.

My brakes don’t feel like that.

The world outside the car blurs as the vehicle keeps moving, speeding up on pure momentum.

I slam on the brakes again sure that the first time, I made some kind of mistake and thatthistime, the car will slow as it’s supposed to.

But it doesn’t.

The first trickle of panic steps in. It’s like venom dripping on my face.

My eyes widen and I grip the steering wheel, pumping the brakes pedal furiously. The sound of the metal gears creaking fills my ears. It merges with the howl of the wind outside, battering my window.

Panic consumes me.

Fight or flight kicks in.

Should I jump out of the car? One quick glance at the speedometer tells me that would be incredibly foolish. There’s no way I could survive.

Up ahead, I see another car coming my way.

I honk like crazy and wave my arms.

“Help!”

They keep driving, probably wondering why some crazy person is making noise on the road.

My heart is slamming into my ribs, clamoring all the way up to my throat.

What do I do? What do I do?