Page 51 of The French Honeymoon

The room feels familiar and foreign at the same time. The sheets look even whiter and crisper in real life, the balcony seems smaller, and the view is so much sharper. In an hour or so, it’ll be dark enough for the Eiffel Tower to sparkle in the night for a few minutes, as it does hourly. Maybe I’ll take the scenic route home to watch it up close. I don’t have a balcony to watch it from, but I’ll still have myself.

The door to the bathroom is halfway open, enough for me to see Cassie’s head wobble from side to side and to notice the empty bottle of wine on the floor. She hasn’t posted in the last ten minutes; I checked while I was going up the elevator. She must be really drunk. One might even say she brought this on herself.

I stand in the doorframe, the music drowning my thoughts. My brain is a pile of mush, my fingers tingling with fear. At the same time, I can almost feel the weight lifting off my shoulders at the idea of Cassie being gone. Out of my life forever.

It takes me a few more seconds to notice she has stopped moving. In fact, I’m not sure if she was moving before. If she drank all that wine… But that alone wouldn’t do it. What is going on?

Another step farther and I’m inside the bathroom, about to reach theedge of the tub. That’s when I sense a presence behind me, the warmth of a body, a woodsy fragrance. Before I can process anything, a hand clasps around my mouth while another one grabs around my waist sharply, encasing my arms. I’m too stunned to even scream. I, too, drank a lot of wine, and I’m slow to react.

Next, I’m being dragged out of the bathroom, along the bottom of the bed. The upbeat music covers every sound as I try to free my arms, kicking at his sides. Just when I think I’m about to set myself free, I trip and fall backward.

And then the room goes black.

Chapter 23

Cassie

Now

It’s not bad down here.

Cold, but quiet.

Peaceful.

Water surrounds me, swallows me.

I’m melting away. Letting go.

My mind wanders, my thoughts float around.

I’m okay.

This is okay.

Just when it feels like I’m so far gone that I won’t be coming back, I’m yanked up, my lungs painfully filling with air as my face breaks through the surface.

I want to resist. I need to fight. But my body won’t let me. My arms can’t move. I’m powerless.Thisis when I die, isn’t it?

Shivers, so strong.

Water droplets flick off me and onto the tiled floor as I’m being pulled out of the bath, out of the room. Onto a soft surface. The bed?

I’m scared but paralyzed.

My vision is blurry.

It’s a man.

Darren!

No, Darren isn’t here. But I’m too scared to think about who else it might be.

“You’ll be fine.” It’s his voice. At least I think it is.

He sounds rattled, out of breath.

What is he going to do to me? What has he already done?