Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! Enjoy :)
Recap:
"Rosalie? Is that you?" A familiar voice asks.
Royce tries to keep me from turning around but I manage to squirm my way out of his hold and turn to face the person who called me.
The woman smiles. My eyes flash to the side of her face for a moment but quickly return back to her kind brown eyes.
" Ms Young ?" I ask. It was her. The maid who'd practically raised me.
She takes two steps forward and hugs me. Her hug feels warm and safe and I never want to let go. She leans back to get a better look at my face.
"You can call me Emily." She tells me with a smile; still beautiful even with scars marring the side of her face.
Rosalie POV
"Rosalie." Royce's barely controlled voice causes the smile to disappear from my face. "Who's this?"
I take a fearful step backwards and gaze up at Royce's impatient face. "It's Emily." I say.
"I used to be a maid for the Hale's." Emily explains. "Rosalie, who is this man?" She asks, eyeing Royce with suspicion.
"I'm a family friend." Royce interferes; sounding annoyed. He directly stares at her scars with scrutinizing eyes. Emily winces under his fierce gaze and I secretly wonder what had happened to her. She had never had scars when she worked for my parents. Then again; I didn't have any scars then either.
"It seems strange that the Hale's let a friend take their daughter to the middle of no where. Especially to a place like this" Emily says, gesturing to the small grocery store. Whatever town we were staying in was very small. She was right, my parents wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. Emily crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at Royce.
"Laura and Richard are friends of mine; I know them far better then you ever did." Royce tells her, clenching his fist. I wring my hands nervously.
Please don't make him too mad, I think to myself as Emily stares at his clenched fist with a frown. After she'd gone I would be the one who would be facing the consequences. I feel my face grow pale as I think about what exactly my punishment will be. My hand drifts to my stomach and I rest it on my rib cage, remembering the terror of being unable to breathe after Royce had kicked me in the stomach so many times I lost count. Carlisle later told me my ribs had broken and one of them hit my lung; which was why I couldn't breathe. It was so scary.
I resist the urge to cry. I didn't want to hurt anymore.
"Is everything okay here?" A large man with tan skin asks as he comes around the corner holding a jar of peanut butter. He shifts closer to Emily and wraps his arm around her waist protectively.
"Rosalie this is Sam." Emily tells me, seeming slightly less tense with him around. "He's my fiancée."
"Is this the Rosalie I've heard so much about?" Sam asks, smiling at me. "It's nice to meet you!"
"It's her alright." Emily tells him, snatching the peanut butter from him and putting it in their shopping cart.
"Hi." I say shyly, waving at Sam when he continues to smile at me. He was kind of scary looking, but I was far more worried about Royce than him. If Emily liked him, he'd have to be okay.
"We'd better get going." Royce says after a couple moments. His hand reaches for mine and I squirm. He ignores it for now but I know I'll pay for the action later. Sam and Emily don't notice the interaction.
"Are you sure?" Emily asks. "Maybe we can go out for lunch at the diner or something." Her eyes flicker to me and she seems hesitant to let us leave.
"Thanks for the offer," Royce says with a smile. "But like I said, we really have to get going."
"Well, it was nice meeting the both of you." Sam says, his voice friendly.
"You too. Say bye to your friends now Rosalie." Royce tells me in a patronizing tone.
I hug Emily once more and whisper a soft good-bye. I probably would never get to see her again.
Royce takes my arm and I trail behind him to the front of the store. Reggie is waiting for us and we quickly pay for the groceries and leave. I watch with dismayed eyes as my final chance of escape disappears from the back window of Reggie's convertible
Emily POV
There was something seriously not right about Rosalie. Sure she had always been a nervous kid-always desperate for approval-but the little girl I saw today seemed downright terrified. It hurt me to see her so scared.
"Are you okay?" Sam asks me, reaching over the console to hold my hand. "You're kind of quiet."
I let out a deep breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and pull my phone out of my purse. I sigh, my hands hesitating over the keypad. I was probably being paranoid. But I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut that something was wrong.
"Is this because I skipped date night? Look, I already told you I was sorry-" Sam begins, mistaking my silence for anger.
He'd had a bonfire with a couple of his friends from work and had accidentally missed out on date night this week, I think he had been more upset than me. He was like that though, I didn't mind his overprotectiveness; it was something I was used to. He'd been like that ever since the animal attack that had left me scarred. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to reassure him right now or properly explain the situation.
"I'm calling the police." I say, interrupting him before he can rant. "You're forgiven."
"What?" He asks. Pulling off the highway and stopping on the side of the road abruptly.
"There's something weird with Rosalie- wait one second, I promise I'll explain." I tell him as the operator picks up.
"This is 911 please state your emergency."
I take a deep breath and do my best to explain.
Rosalie POV
"We should drop the groceries off before we go to the park." Royce suggests once we're back on the road.
"Alright, is that okay with you Rose?" Reggie asks me.
"Yeah." My voice trembles and I cover it up with a cough. I blink back tears. Royce told me not to talk to anyone, I could feel the anger radiating off him all the way in the backseat. He was mad, and usually that meant he was dangerous too.
Once we arrive back at Reggie's modern home and we carry in all the plastic 'Darcy's' grocery bags. While most the homes we drove past were country like; Reggie's was different than any other in the area. His house looked like something you'd find in an upscale neighbourhood, not in the middle of a field.
Reggie reassures he can handle putting the groceries away. Everything in his home has its place, and Royce and I were useless when it came to understanding where he put things. At first I think nothing is going to happen, but after five minutes of sitting in the living room while Reg continues to put away the food Royce motions for me to follow him upstairs.
Without any warning Royce suddenly shoves me into his office. My head smacks against the doorframe with a thud. Royce shuts the door behind him and I scurry to the corner of the room, curling my knees up to my chest.
"Is everything okay up there!?" Reggie shouts; I hear his footsteps as he races up the stairs.
"They'll call the police. They knew something was wrong, they knew." Royce rambles. It takes me a moment to understand he's talking about Emily and Sam. My ears are ringing from the hit to the side of my head.
"Royce, what's going on? Open the door." Reggie says from directly outside the room, he wiggles the doorknob.
"I was going to keep you safe. I wasn't going to hurt you, I brought you here so I didn't have to hurt you! You just signed your own death sentence!" Royce rages.
"Open the door right now!" Reggie shouts, the door shakes harder as he slams his body into it.
Royce pulls out a knife and takes a crazed step towards my huddled form. I close my eyes, knowing I have no where left to run. I was going to die. I wanted Carlisle and Esme.
Royce is only a couple steps away from me when the office door slams open and Reggie charges at him. The two roll around, a flurry of punches and kicks. Miraculously my legs don't give way despite how much I'm shaking and I take the opportunity to run out of the room as fast as I can.
I want to cry out in relief when I see that Reggie has left his cell phone on the kitchens granite countertop. I snatch it in my hands and race to the bedroom I'd been staying in. Reggie lets out a loud yell of pain from upstairs and I quickly slide beneath the bed, my breaths coming in pants.
"Shit!" Royce shouts. I hear him coming down the stairs. "Where are you?" He demands.
I dial 911 and jump when I hear Royce opening and slamming different doors.
"I'll find you soon enough!" Royce yells, sending shivers down my spine.
"Emergency services, what can I do for you?" The phone is answered the same moment Royce throws open the door to the room I'm hiding in. I cover my mouth with my hand, tears flow freely down my cheeks.
"Emergency services, what can I do for you?" The woman repeats.
"Help me." I whimper into the phone.
Before I can hear the lady respond someone grabs my feet and rough hands drag me out from under the bed. I let out a loud shriek as I'm flipped onto my back.
"Did you really think you could hide from me?" Royce asks, chuckling darkly.
Would you mind making a girl happy (like many of you already have ❤️) and hit the review or follow/favourite button? Thanks, you're the best! I'm sorry for the cliffhanger! *Runs away from angry readers.*