Spellbound - Cara Lynn Shultz [107]
I pounded my palms on the thick metal door, calling her name even though I knew it was futile.
“Fine, you made your point, now let me out!”
I pounded again, screaming, “It’s freezing in here, let me out!” But I couldn’t hear anything on the other side of the door—just the deep bass that pulsated from Brendan’s speakers and made the door vibrate underneath my fingers.
“Crap,” I moaned, folding my arms and covering my chest with my clutch in a pathetic effort to keep warm.
Then I looked down at my clutch. “Emma, you fool. Remember, you have a phone,” I chastised myself. I stepped away from the door and went back down the steps into the quieter basement. I pulled off my gloves to dial the cell phone and texted both Ashley and Brendan.
Kristin locked me in the basement. Pls get me!
The pain in my ankle was now pulsating, so I kicked off the heels and put them in my locker, slipping the flats on as I first called Ashley, whose phone went straight to voice mail.
“Hey, Ash, it’s Emma. Are you at the dance yet? Kristin has locked me in the basement. Can you please come get me?”
I tried Brendan next, hoping he had his phone on vibrate. Frustrated, I slammed my locker door shut, hooking my lock back on but leaving it dangling open. I rested my back against the lockers, getting more annoyed with each ring of the phone. Eventually, his voice mail also picked up.
“Brendan, it’s Emma. Kristin locked me in the basement. Can you come let me out please? I’m trapped in here and it’s freezing and I’m all alone….”
I turned my head—and that’s when I saw why it was so cold in the basement. The fire exit door, right next to the entrance to the chemistry lab, was propped open.
“Oh, you’re not alone.” I spun around when I heard the voice. The only sound I could make was a gasp before the hands closed around my neck, slamming me into the lockers.
Chapter 20
I scratched at the hands that held me pinned against the lockers by my throat, dropping my phone to the floor with a metallic clack.
“Where’s your savior now?” Anthony snarled, his bloodshot blue eyes just inches from mine. The alcohol on his hot breath made my stomach churn.
“Hey, tough girl, I asked you a question,” he growled, slamming me against the lockers again as his hands tightened around my neck. I felt a blunt pain in the back of my head where I’d hit the raised metal vents on the locker. I let out a choked scream, gasping for air as I tried to pry his meaty hands off my throat.
And then his chapped lips were on mine, invading my mouth as I coughed and grunted out feeble screams, trying to breathe. I twisted my head from side to side, pressing my lips shut as tightly as I could. My aching head was filled with the stale, sour smell of alcohol and body odor. My feet kicked, my hands frantically scratched his face, my nails dug into his cheek as I tried to cause him pain, distract him, something to get him away from me. Blindly, I clawed at his eyes, tearing a gash near his left eye. For a moment, he flinched, releasing my neck as he clutched his bleeding face. I took my chance, raising my knee with a sharp jerk and connecting with Anthony’s crotch. He doubled over with a grunt, and I shoved him in the chest, pushing him off me.
“You stupid bitch,” he groaned, lunging forward with one thick hand that grabbed a fistful of my hair as I tried to run for the fire exit. My head snapped backward as he sharply yanked on my hair. My ankle wobbled and I fell to the floor, sprawled out at his feet as I gasped for air.
“You ruined my life,” he bellowed, towering over me and blocking my path in the hallway, his palms spread out to touch the lockers and the opposite wall. I noticed a smear of blood—my blood—against the metal slots next to his thumb, and my stomach twisted.
“You did it to yourself,” I choked out, reaching a hand to the back of my head and feeling a wet spot where my hair was matted with blood. My eyes scanned the narrow, empty hall way for a weapon—any kind of weapon. My gaze fell on my lock, dangling there unlocked. If I could unhook it quickly,