UNDER

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hadley

My eyes fluttered open as hushed voices filled the air.

"Why did you bring her here?" whispered an unfamiliar voice.

Who is that?

"She needed help. I didn't know where else to take her," replied Caden.

Pain settled in to the back of my skull and across my lower abdomen. What happened to me? Why do I hurt so much? I closed my eyes and tried to remember the cause of the pain, but failed.

"Caden, she's bleeding. It doesn't look good. Her face is all kinds of messed up. Plus, she has a nasty cut on her skull. You need to take her to a hospital."

Bleeding! I tried to lift my hands to my head to inspect for signs of blood, but my arms refused to cooperate. Panic swirled with confusion as I strained to stay conscious.

"Ah, she, she's scared of doctors," Caden lied.

Where am I? I thought to myself as I gazed at the soft glow of a television positioned on a stand on the opposite side of the room. I frowned. The yellowed wallpaper and brown carpet didn't look familiar. This isn't Pops or Catherine's house. My heart picked up pace and thudded rapidly in my chest. WHERE AM I?

"Look, I know you've gotten yourself into these situations before and I've always helped you out, but this is serious. You said you don't want her to die, right? That this one is special? Well if that's the case, you need to take her to a hospital now."

"Come on, Terrence! You owe me," pleaded Caden. "I had to take care of three bodies after your last mishap. Can't you just give her some medicine? Won't that fix her?"

"Medicine isn't going to fix what she's got. She needs a real doctor, x-rays, and an ultrasound. Plus, I helped you load two of the three bodies into your trunk when you last helped me. That's over half the work!"

Die? I could die? My thoughts refused to register as nausea took root in my stomach. Turning my head slightly, I bile crept up my throat. Unable to keep it down, I got sick. Vomit immediately covered the couch cushions I was laying on and splashed down onto the floor.

"Is she puking? Oh no! No no no! Not in here! Caden! I don't care what you're going to do, but you need to get her the HELL up out of here," demanded the unknown voice. "I can't have her dying on my couch!"

Caden rushed into the room with a look of pure shock on his face. He ran to my side and scooped me up into his arms. To weak to fight, I let him carry my body outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to keep another round of vomit at bay.

"Shhhhh, you need your rest," soothed Caden. "Don't worry that pretty little head of yours. I'm going to take care of you."

Holding me against his chest, he opened up the door of an old truck and eased my body on to the seat. A moment later, he hopped in the door on the driver's side and inserted the key into the ignition.

Starting the truck took several tries.

"Come on," Caden said in a frustrated tone. "Come on, come on!"

Finally, the truck rumbled to life and Caden shifted it into gear.

"It's going to be okay, my love," he assured me as he gently placed his right hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again. I promise."

My body trembled. Is he telling me the truth or is he going to dump my body in a field somewhere?

Caden flicked the blinker with his ring finger and pulled out onto a smooth road.

As the truck picked up pace, I blinked hard. Could this really be it? Am I going to die tonight? After everything he's put me through, is this the end? Unable to keep the icy feelings of dread from spreading throughout my core, I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle.

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Undie Nationers,

See! I told you that would be quick! :)

What did you think of Chapter Twenty-Eight? What do you think Caden plans on doing with Hadley?

Excited to hear your thoughts!

Hearts,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo

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P.S.S. I've been up for over 17 hours... Please let me know if I made any silly errors. I don't think my "proofreading before posting" skills are quite up to par at the moment. I'm sooooo sleepy!

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