Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Tanner groans before letting out a heavy sigh. “Fine,” he finally says. “But don’t think you’re off the hook just yet. You stole my Mustang, and I can guarantee you listened to your bullshit chick songs in it. She’s a beast. She only plays my shit.”
I roll my eyes and fix him with a hard stare. “You can take it out on me tonight with a thorough fucking,” I tell him. “As for now, be a good little criminal and grab the hostage.”
Ten minutes later, Erica is laid across the backseat of the Mustang, chair and all, her face only a few inches from the ceiling. “Yeah, we really didn’t think this through,” I laugh as Addison climbs in the passenger seat.
Tanner walks around the front of the Mustang, straddling his bike and pulling his helmet over his head, though he makes sure to give me a pointed stare, narrowing his gaze on me. He starts the bike and takes off down the streets of Hope Falls. I follow after him, the momentum making Erica’s chair rock back. I try to overcompensate by hitting the brakes, but instead of straightening her out, she rocks forward, her face slamming into the back of my chair and getting stuck dangling over the leg space of the back seat.
“Whoops,” I say with a cringe as Addison slaps a hand over her mouth, muffling a booming laugh.
We drive like that, letting her dangle for the next few minutes and before I know it, we’re pulling up at the deserted basketball courts. I cut the engine beside Tanner’s bike. He climbs off and walks to the back door, pulling it open and pausing as he catches sight of Erica.
“The fuck?” he mutters to himself as Erica tries to scream through the tape.
Reaching in, he grabs her and drags her out of the car before adjusting the chair in his arms. Still shaking his head, he walks across the courts and sits her down right below the spotlight, knowing that the moment the sun goes down and the automatic lights turn on, she’ll be the center of attention for everyone to see … and read.
We follow Tanner onto the court while Addison flips Erica’s phone between her fingers. “Now what?” Tanner questions, glancing back at his sister, wanting her to get the justice she deems acceptable despite not agreeing with our tactics.
“Ummmm … just one more thing,” she says before unlocking the phone and bringing up the camera. She stands in front of Erica before turning the camera on herself. “Hi,” she says to the screen. “My name is Addison Morgan, and over the summer, I was drugged and raped by Colby Jacobs. My body went into shock and for six long weeks, I lay comatose in Bradford Private hospital. Upon waking from my coma, the flashbacks destroyed me, and I remembered how this bitch behind me had a hand in my attack. She encouraged Colby to fuck with me, laughed as they both pumped me full of drugs, and when I was dragged away to be raped, she stood back and didn’t do a damn thing about it.” Addison pauses, trying to regain control of her voice as it starts to break. “A few weeks ago, Colby was cleared of rape in front of a judge due to a dirty lawyer tampering with evidence, and barely a week later,” she says, pulling the neckline of her shirt down enough to show her scar, “he attempted to rape me again, only this time instead of mental scars, I escaped with a physical one. He stabbed me, punctured my lung, and put me in hospital for the second time. That night, Colby also stabbed two of my closest friends and they nearly lost their lives. If it weren’t for my brother … I wouldn’t be here. Colby is gone now, and while that wasn’t the justice I deserved, at least I know he can never hurt anyone again.”
Addison takes a breath, adjusting the camera to see Erica more clearly in the background, the words written on her skin clear as day. “A few days ago, I was informed the police had also dropped the charges against Erica Sawyer, and again, I lost my chance for justice. So I say fuck it. I’m taking justice into my own hands, and I am well aware the police will be knocking on my door for this, but I don’t care. I’ll accept it because I know Erica will finally be exposed for the monster she is. The world will know what she did that night. So this here is a call out to the authorities to do better. To the judicial system—do better. The police, lawyers, the principals in our schools—do better. Because girls like me are suffering. We’re terrified and carrying scars you couldn’t even dream of while monsters like Colby and Erica are freely walking the streets, looking for their next victim. And that is on you.”