Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
“It’s kind of challenging to not be scared when you don’t know what is happening.” I peek over at him to see if he’s going to give me a little more than a few words this time.
“I can understand that,” he agrees.
“And?”
“And?” he repeats.
"You should say something like, 'I can understand that, but' then explain why I shouldn't be afraid."
“I did.” I blink, trying to understand what he means. Mr. Hulk removes his paw from my hands in order to pull out his phone.
“Oh!” It dawns on me. I do an air gun and shoot him. “Right, because you’re next to me.”
Oh, my God. I quickly drop my finger gun. Did I really just shoot him with an air gun? I really want to throw myself out of this vehicle now. At this point, he must think I'm the biggest dork in the world.
He pulls up to a metal fence that is a couple stories high and has a giant gate. At the top of the gate, barbed wire is arranged in a crazy pattern, adorned with giant spikes. It swings open for us to drive through.
“That’s like a prison fence.”
“No one in or out.” He glances over at me. “Unless I allow it.”
“Right.” I sink back into my seat. Should that make me feel better or worse? “Not like I can get out.” I say this while attempting to gauge his reaction.
“Not with air guns.” I snort a laugh but quickly cover it up with my hands. Still, I’m smiling behind them.
“See? Was that so hard? All you have to do is tell a small joke. Puts someone at ease.”
"I don't want to put people at ease, usually."
“Right, because you’re like a bodyguard.”
“Sure.”
I furrow my brows. “That doesn’t sound like a real sure.” This man is so confusing.
“A real sure?” Now it's him with a puzzled expression.
“I said ‘like a bodyguard,’ and you said ‘sure,’ but your sure didn’t sound like you actually agreed.”
“Never been a bodyguard.”
“Right.” I nod. “Wait, you’re not?” I feel like we go in circles a lot. For someone short on words, we seem to go around and around with them. I still have no clue what is going on.
"No."
"So you're not like"—I motion to my body—"guarding me?" This time, when he glances over at me, his eyes roam up and down. Probably noticing my stupid teddy bear pajamas. Well, only stupid now because I’m wearing them in front of this handsome as hell, manly man. Yesterday, I loved them, but no one but me saw me in them before. Except my new best friend, and she said they were cute.
“I’m doing more than guarding you.” What the heck is that supposed to mean? The giant warehouse door we pulled up to slides open, diverting my attention, so I don't even ask.
This does not seem safe. In fact, this is likely a haunted house. Not that I’ve ever been to one because I’m a total scaredy cat. All of my childhood, my brother loved playing pranks on me. It brought him complete joy and made me scream in terror.
Mr. Hulk pulls into the warehouse. The only light comes from the headlights as the door closes behind us. "Ah, I might be getting scared again," I admit.
“Angel, let—” Something lands hard on the vehicle's hood, cutting off Hulk Man, and I let out a scream that probably just woke up all the ghosts in this building, alerting them to their newest victim's arrival.
3
CHURCH
For the first time in a long fucking time, a scream cuts through me. They are normally not something I pay much attention to. In fact, I can even tune them out. Not this time. Not hers. In the entry bay, the light in the warehouse starts to flicker on.
“Angel.” I try to soothe her, but I know I am failing. I don’t know how to calm someone down. I have spent my whole life doing the opposite: trying to instill fear in them, never mind soothing them. I flick her seat belt off, hoping that maybe not being constricted might help. It doesn’t. I grip her precious face between my hands to make her stare into my eyes. “You’re safe.”
She holds on to my wrist without attempting to pull my hands away, her face still etched with terror. The screams are a million little cuts to whatever soul I might have left inside of me. I don’t know what comes over me, but I have to get her to stop screaming. I can sense myself starting to become untethered by the sound.
I press my mouth against hers. The second I do it, it stops. A small gasp comes from her. I keep my mouth pressed firmly against hers. Her lips are softer than I could have ever imagined. Everything about her is so damn soft. I could sink into her and get lost forever.