Page 110 of Running from Drac

“I said get the fuck out of here. You’ve already done enough.”

“Eddie—” she starts, but stops when she sees my dad’s good eye narrowing.

“I—I’ll call you later.”

“Don’t bother. Consider this friendship done.”

“You don’t mean that.”

My head shoots up, my fingers digging into my dad’s arm as he fights to hold me back. The only barrier between me killing her.

“I mean every damn word,” I spit through clenched teeth, every syllable laced with venom. “You could die tomorrow, and I wouldn’t fucking care. You’re a horrible person, Pippa. A wretched excuse for a damn human being.”

Pippa freezes in place. For once, she doesn’t have a comeback. Her lips tremble, eyes darting from me to my dad, searching for some sliver a sympathy for her. But there’s nothing left for her here.

She’s fucking dead to me.

“I just wanted to be enough for you,” she whispers, voice barely audible.

I shake my head slowly. “You were never anything but a fucking parasite. And now everyone knows it.”

She falters backward; mascara smeared like a clown. One of her heels was broken in the fight, and she teeters, stepping on her dress, ripping it at the hem.

She glances over her shoulder once as if she expects someone to follow her. She’s met with the emptiness she created, and the scattered pieces of what should’ve been the best day of my life.

She slinks away, a single heel echoing on the stone walkway, the aftermath clinging to her like a trail of smoke. She doesn’t look back. She knows all ties have been burned and severed.

All that’s left is wreckage… the weight on my chest that feels like it’s killing me. An air so thick that it circulates only blood and betrayal. I fucking created this. This shit’s on me.

There was no forgiveness in Amber’s eyes. No future in her voice. I lit the match and tossed it onto everything good I had,and now I’m watching it burn, rendered helpless in a sea of my own festering ash.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Amber

I run until I can’t hear my own footsteps. Between my sobs of bitter betrayal and the thundering of my shattered heart vibrating through my ears, it’s impossible to focus on anything other than my own miserable misery, clutching my shredded dress that was seconds from falling to the ground.

I somehow find myself deep in the heart of Reno, making my way through the crowded streets, ignoring the catcalls and crazy looks I get as I go. Blurred tears block my vision, and I slam into a woman walking out of one of the shops, her eyes widening as she gives me the once over.

“Here,” she exclaims, you need this more than me.” She shoves a bright neon green T-shirt in my hand, one that says,‘Reno: The Biggest Little City in the World’.

Pushing it back toward her, I shake my head. “I can’t accept that.”

She smiles a smile that reaches her eyes, the look of understanding resonating in deep pools of brown. Her skin isa perfect light tan, and her long black hair hangs down her back in waves. She’s gorgeous, and all of her natural features scream exotic beauty.

“Nonsense. Your dress is practically falling off you.” She pulls me into an alley out of the view of the street. “Quickly now, put it on.”

Reluctance sets in, but I can’t keep running like this. Not when my dress is torn and shredded like what’s left of my relationship.

“Thank you,” I mumble, throwing on the shirt that’s a size too big, but the itchy fabric is a welcomed cover to conceal my pain.

Her gentle fingers wipe a tear away from my cheek, and she softens me with her smile again. “Betrayal is a stupid emotion, isn’t it?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Well, you’re running down the middle of the street in a ripped wedding dress, face smeared with ashy black tear stains, and the look of a woman who just lost everything she loved. I feel that here,” she exclaims, pointing to her heart. “Don’t worry, it gets better. Sometimes all you need is a break and space.”

“A break?”