Forgotten Storm by A.R. Vagnetti

Author:A.R. Vagnetti [A. R. Vagnetti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A.R. Vagnetti
Published: 2023-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

2009

Nicole

Tonight, I murder my stepfather.

For the past four years, I’ve lived in constant terror of him. His deep, grating voice, the sickly sweet stink of his body, and the smell of his putrid breath. What I abhor the most is his painful, invading touch.

My one saving grace, and the reason I’m still sane, is the beautiful man from my dreams. The muscular giant with his long, dark hair and piercing green eyes is my beacon, the light in the darkness. He soothes my terror and pain, taking my mind on fantastical journeys far away from my life. I don’t know how I conjured him, but our time together kept the insanity and suicidal thoughts at bay.

Thank God my stepfather only visited a couple of times a year. If I’d had to endure him every day, I would’ve ended my existence years ago. Instead, his appearances conveniently corresponded with my mother, Bridget, being out of town.

Tonight is such a night.

The minute she packed her bag, dread and acceptance battled within me, along with scheming and plotting. I’ve spent the entire day—no, to be fair, the past four years—planning my revenge.

When the abuse began, I’d done what any thirteen-year-old would’ve done: rushed to my mom for help.

“Nicole.” Her long auburn hair, several shades lighter than my own, had swayed around her shoulders. The lack of emotion in her stern expression had hurt as severely as her words. “Instead of sniveling, you should glory in the attention he offers you. Dimitri is a king.”

Clearly, my mother’s a psychotic bitch who took the whole “a man’s home is his castle” thing way too far.

Fast forward two years. At fifteen, fear was my constant companion. My heart would plummet every time Mom walked down the hall with a stack of clothes, only to rise again when I discovered she was merely doing laundry, not packing to leave.

I had attempted to run away. Once.

The plan had started out great, as my plans invariably did. No rain to slow me down, no lightning to illuminate my escape. I’d squirreled away a hundred bucks from tutoring other kids and borrowing from Bridget’s wallet from time to time.

The idea would have worked. My bug-out bag had been ready and tucked under the bed. Of course, it wasn’t a genuine bug-out bag, just an old backpack with a change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a flashlight borrowed from a kid’s locker. I liked to borrow things.

I’d slithered out the bedroom window into the night, and the sweet smell of freedom filled my lungs. Our rundown, red-brick house sat on the corner lot, on a weed-riddled tree-lined cul-de-sac in the burbs of Louisville, Kentucky. It had easy access to the primary thoroughfare into town.

The plan? Hitch a ride to the first bus terminal and go anywhere my little heart desired. At fifteen, I could’ve easily passed for eighteen, waited tables, and gotten a small apartment with a roommate. Excitement filled my chest at the uprising of my dormant bravery.

But Mister

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.