บททั้งหมดของ MY EX-BOYFRIEND WANTS ME BACK: บทที่ 91 - บทที่ 100

The little energy I had left was leaving me, but not just that, I feared the neighbors might think there was a burglar around. With the way I was hitting hard against the padlock, it was easy for them to do anything, maybe call the police on me. But I do not have any other choice. I would have to sleep out in the cold if I failed to open this door. The door I was struggling to open looked like an entrance to a haunted house. I was sure that every part of the floor would be covered in thick dust as well as the walls and every other thing in there. But there was no other place I could go to at this time, I had miraculously escaped from Marcus and his accomplice, with nothing left on me. There was basically nothing I could do with a dead phone, an empty purse, and a jar of pepper spray, especially not with the way I looked. No hotel would accommodate, that was if I had a means of payment. I swallowed hard. I was as thirsty as the dry land in summer. I knew I could get nothing to eat

I stood on the cracked sidewalk in front of the old house, the place where I grew up. The afternoon sun beat down on the faded blue paint, making the wooden porch look even more tired than I remembered. The yard was overgrown with weeds that brushed against my ankles. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I stared at the rusted padlock on the front door.Lucy had helped call a couple of men from the street. They worked with hammers and crowbars, metal clanging against metal. Each strike sent dust and small rust flakes flying into the air. I watched them, arms wrapped around myself above my protruding stomach, the breeze tugging at my hair. I exhaled a couple of times heavily while fighting the memories flooding my mind.lQuiet dinners at the small wooden table inside. Mom dishing out rice and vegetables, three-year-old Mia giggling at something silly I said. Dad’s chair empty after he passed, but Mom still setting a place for him out of habit. The way the three of us would sit togethe

Mr. Richard paced the living room, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the floor with every step. He dragged on his tie, loosening it a bit.The sound of his fingers snapping in anger echoed off the high ceilings and bounced back at him like an accusation. His eyebrows were drawn tight, deep lines carved between them. He lifted the phone to his ear again, for the umpteenth time in a minute, his thumb pressing hard on the redial button. The screen lit up his face in the dim evening light.The line rang once, and then twice before Alex picked up.Mr. Richard’s voice exploded through the speaker, raw and loud. Not holding back any ounce of the emotion surging through him. “What the hell is going on, Detective Thorne? First, you can’t find my daughter. Then you have nothing on Elma. And now Samantha is missing too? How many more people do I have to lose before you do your damn job?” He blurted into the gadget in his hand, lips trembling.He stopped pacing near the minibar. His fr

My fingers twisted the edge of the couch, grabbing it tighter as my breathing raced. The look on Sara’s face got me all worked up, it didn't look like the call was going through, and for unknown reasons I was worried. Sara paced in front of me, phone pressed to her ear, pulling the hem of her blouse lightly like she was getting worked up too. She tried Alex’s number again, for the fifth time.The line rang once, twice, then clicked straight to voicemail. The same robotic voice filled the room for a second before Sara ended the call with a frustrated tap, then lowered herself into the couch right beside me.“Still not connecting,” she said softly. Her eyebrows pulled together, worry sat deep in her eyes as she darted me a glance.I nodded, but my chest felt tighter. I tilted sideways on the couch, shifting my weight, trying to find a position that didn’t make my heart feel like it was trying to punch its way out. Why did this bother me so much? Alex was just… Alex. Or maybe I tried

The door slammed shut behind them, Sara and Mia. I had watched them, my lips parted in that way that made my cheek hurt. Mia had been all smiles, Sara had asked that they go get some ice cream sticks.She cheered at the sound of that, her bright yellow dress swaying lightly as she bounced toward the door, her little hand tugging at Sara's. I sat on the hospital bed, legs crossed under the thin blue gown, feet swaying lightly below me, making the mattress creak with every small movement. The room felt quieter now that Sara and Mia had left. My eyes burned behind the closed door, and slowly my smile faded, my gaze staring into nothing now.My finger rubbed the part of my hand unconsciously where the IV pipe had passed into my skin as my mind wandered back to Sara’s apartment, to the black leather bag I had found in Mom’s old room. The pictures. The birth certificate. The marriage certificate with the date that didn’t make sense.Everything replayed in blurred fragments. Mom and the ma