Her Only Hero

Chapter 21

I take the stairs three at a time. It's surprisingly hard with my hands bound behind me and the injuries I've sustained, and for a split second, halfway up, I panic that I'm about to face plant but I'm able to keep moving. I make it to the top at the same time I hear my chaser begin to climb the staircase.

The cut on my hip from the car crash throbs, and the ache surrounding my ribs worsens with each harsh breath I take. My head pounds and I wish I could hold my stomach with my arm to stop the radiating pain.

I glance around and quickly decide where to go. A room that already has an open door. Dashing around the double-sized bed, I realised I've blocked myself in with nowhere left to escape to.

I squint through the darkness, looking around for a place to go, but I find nothing. Nowhere I could get to and nowhere they wouldn't find me. Hearing the double set of footsteps approaching the top of the stairs, I face the door, waiting to see if they choose this room first or give me a chance to escape by running into another room.

They glance into my room and upon spotting me standing in the shadows, they step in. Nathan first, and Chris followed behind. While Nathan stands in the doorway, Chris steps past him, walking around the bed, moving towards me.

His head tilts down, making his eyes appear darker and his stare more intense. "You've got a lot of regret coming your way," he snarls at me. Standing in front of me, he reaches out and grabs the back of my neck with a powerful grip.

Pulling me forward, he drags me with him out of the room. Nathan moves aside to let us pass. His nails bite into my neck and dig in further with every movement he forces me to make.

At the top of the staircase, he pulls me to a stop. We stare down them. The moonlight coming through the front door we left open illuminates the bottom half of the stairs.

"This is where it gets fun," he says, digging his fingers in more. I glance out of the side of my eyes to see the nasty smirk he wears, staring at me with a vicious look in his eyes.

Before I can wonder what he means, he releases me and shoves me forward.

My stomach drops. My heart stops. The foot that flies forward to save myself slips over the edge of the stair and my body plummets downwards.

Pain. Pain. And more pain. In my shoulder. On my head. My hip. My shins. Everything hits something.

By the time I reach the bottom half of the stairs, and ache covers my entire body.

A swirl of shadows and light fill my vision until a complete darkness takes over, and when my eyes open again, I'm staring at the wooden floor.

My wrists ache and burn from pulling against the rope. I wonder if they're bleeding yet.

I groan and writhe as Chris walks down the stairs, taking his time, smiling. And Nathan trails behind him.

The cut in my hip now burns with an unbearable intensity, and the two slices on my arm give a fierce sting.

While I lie on my side, curling up and moaning, a foot rests down on my side and pushes me to roll over onto my back, crushing my hands, and keeps pushing me until I'm on my stomach.

The same hand that pushed me down the stairs, picks me up; yanking my arms upwards from behind me. I groan in protest.

I struggle to stay on my feet and Chris's erratic movements don't help, but he makes sure I stay standing, holding me up by the back of my shirt.

My head reels and spins. A pounding comes from deep within, bouncing off every part of my skull. I blink hard, over and over, trying to rid my vision of the black dots that swim in front of my eyes.

My knees fail to hold me up and continue to buckle no matter home many times Chris pulls me up to stand. This earns me a punch to the gut. After I double over, I'm yanked backwards, causing my head to flop back to look at Chris and his menacing grin.

"Stay with me now," he says, giving me a little shake. "The fun's not over yet."

With his grip removed, I fall and crash to the floor. I'm gripped by my collar and dragged across the floor into the room before I've had a chance to recover.

We reach the doorway and that's where I'm thrown down. He steps into the room without me and screams.

I discover why when I pull my head off the floor and look into the empty room. 

I'm unable to stop the sigh of relief from escaping, but I am able to wipe the slight smile from my face before Chris can see it as he whips around to face me.

He storms over. Jaw tense. Fists clenched. Nostrils flaring. His foot makes contact with my cheek bone.

A pain explodes through my head. My body flies to the side until I slam into the door frame, forcing a long groan from me.

"You lied to me!" He steps around me and stomps down as hard as he can on my ankle.

My cries echo around the entire house.

"Where are they?!" He doesn't give me a second to answer before he kicks my leg back, a splitting pain exploding through my shin. "Tell me!" A kick to my lower back sends a shockwave of pain up my spine to my head and down my legs to the end of my toes.

"I—don't—know," I get out between desperate gasps of air.

Another kick sends a crippling pain through me from my side. "That's what you told me before!"

The sound of a car rumbling to a start catches the attention of all three of us, and it stops the attacks.

Chris looks back at the front door, then flicks his head back around to look at Nathan. "Go!" he orders, and Nathan runs over to the front door, stopping in the doorway.

"They're leaving!" he shouts back at us.

"Well, get them!" Chris moves away from me and follows Nathan out the door, taking one last look at me before he disappears into the dark.

I'm not going anywhere, and he knows it. I curl up and shut my eyes. Waves of pain wash over my body.

I don't hear the returning footsteps, I only realise I'm not alone anymore when a hand clamps down over my mouth, stopping the scream that comes along with the jump I give. My eyes spring open.

Jonah holds his finger to his lips.

I relax.

***