Completely Consumed (Addicted To You, Book Eight) by Lucy Covington Page A
Authors: Lucy Covington
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a moment and shook her head, trying to force her mind to clear, focus on the present.
One of her knees was scraped raw, and it hurt.
Her low-cut top was stretched and misshapen from being yanked and pulled. But none of those things bothered Caelyn as much as the ache in her stomach and the burning between her thighs.
She bit her lip, wanting to scream. Her eyes were starting to fill up with tears, causing the road in front of her to double and triple in her field of vision.
Why was this happening, now, on top of everything else? Why was her stupid car betraying her too?
She pounded the steering wheel with the palm of her hand.
The car was clunking and grinding worse than ever and she was forced to slowly pull off to the shoulder. As she did so, the sound of tires rolling over gravel and sticks was an eerie reminder that, other than the sounds from her self-destructing car, the highway was almost completely silent at this time of night.
Caelyn put the car in park, killed the struggling engine and grabbed her purse. All she’d brought on her trip was one small overnight bag with some clothes and other necessities hastily thrown inside.
Sticking out of the top of her purse was the postcard that had given her the crazy idea for this trip. “Greetings from Florida” was still visible at the upper edge of the card.
She pulled the card out of her purse and tossed it on the passenger seat as she dug into the bag and grabbed her cell phone. She needed to call for help—not Triple A, since she didn’t have it.
Maybe a cab…but that would be beyond expensive on her incredibly limited budget.
The truth was, she didn’t have anyone she wanted to call.
Certainly not her parents. How could she explain the fact that she’d left the dorms in the middle of the night and was now en route to Florida?
Sorry, Mom, but can you send someone to pick me up? I broke down on my way out of state. Oh, and by the way, sorry about the fact that I’m planning on leaving and flunking my freshman year of college. I just needed to get away from it all.
Sure, that would work.
But now she had a different problem to deal with, and that was the fact that she wasn’t getting any reception on her phone. It literally said no service. It wasn’t a one bar situation—it was a no bar situation, which meant that she might as well not have a phone at all.
And it was very, very dark outside. On either side of the wide interstate were only woods and more woods, as far as the eye could see.
Her heart was beating fast. Especially after the night she’d had. The terror she’d experienced mere hours ago hadn’t even dimmed yet--she’d just managed to push the thoughts and memories out of her head. But now that she’d stopped moving, flashes from earlier in the night were coming back to her. Invading her mind.
Jayson, smiling.
The smell of pepperoni pizza sitting on the coffee table.
Her own voice, as if from a distance, screaming.
Caelyn suddenly threw the car door open and stumbled out, falling into the breakdown lane, her purse hitting the pavement as her hands and knees struck the ground, sending bolts of pain into her palms and up her legs.
Now she was crying, sobbing. There was the sound of an engine approaching in the distance, and then headlights clearing the rise. They were coming towards her.
Caelyn stood, picking up her purse and phone and backing out of the street as the oncoming vehicle sped towards her. In moments, it would be passing by.
Did she want to be seen?
It depended by whom. Out here, she was a sitting duck, and as bad as things had been earlier in the evening—her jangling nerves told her that things could get far worse.
If the wrong person stopped and saw a lone girl dressed scantily, with no means of transportation and no cell service in the middle of the night, on a deserted road…
The headlights belonged to a large truck. As it got closer, the truck seemed to slow almost imperceptibly. Caelyn shrunk
One of her knees was scraped raw, and it hurt.
Her low-cut top was stretched and misshapen from being yanked and pulled. But none of those things bothered Caelyn as much as the ache in her stomach and the burning between her thighs.
She bit her lip, wanting to scream. Her eyes were starting to fill up with tears, causing the road in front of her to double and triple in her field of vision.
Why was this happening, now, on top of everything else? Why was her stupid car betraying her too?
She pounded the steering wheel with the palm of her hand.
The car was clunking and grinding worse than ever and she was forced to slowly pull off to the shoulder. As she did so, the sound of tires rolling over gravel and sticks was an eerie reminder that, other than the sounds from her self-destructing car, the highway was almost completely silent at this time of night.
Caelyn put the car in park, killed the struggling engine and grabbed her purse. All she’d brought on her trip was one small overnight bag with some clothes and other necessities hastily thrown inside.
Sticking out of the top of her purse was the postcard that had given her the crazy idea for this trip. “Greetings from Florida” was still visible at the upper edge of the card.
She pulled the card out of her purse and tossed it on the passenger seat as she dug into the bag and grabbed her cell phone. She needed to call for help—not Triple A, since she didn’t have it.
Maybe a cab…but that would be beyond expensive on her incredibly limited budget.
The truth was, she didn’t have anyone she wanted to call.
Certainly not her parents. How could she explain the fact that she’d left the dorms in the middle of the night and was now en route to Florida?
Sorry, Mom, but can you send someone to pick me up? I broke down on my way out of state. Oh, and by the way, sorry about the fact that I’m planning on leaving and flunking my freshman year of college. I just needed to get away from it all.
Sure, that would work.
But now she had a different problem to deal with, and that was the fact that she wasn’t getting any reception on her phone. It literally said no service. It wasn’t a one bar situation—it was a no bar situation, which meant that she might as well not have a phone at all.
And it was very, very dark outside. On either side of the wide interstate were only woods and more woods, as far as the eye could see.
Her heart was beating fast. Especially after the night she’d had. The terror she’d experienced mere hours ago hadn’t even dimmed yet--she’d just managed to push the thoughts and memories out of her head. But now that she’d stopped moving, flashes from earlier in the night were coming back to her. Invading her mind.
Jayson, smiling.
The smell of pepperoni pizza sitting on the coffee table.
Her own voice, as if from a distance, screaming.
Caelyn suddenly threw the car door open and stumbled out, falling into the breakdown lane, her purse hitting the pavement as her hands and knees struck the ground, sending bolts of pain into her palms and up her legs.
Now she was crying, sobbing. There was the sound of an engine approaching in the distance, and then headlights clearing the rise. They were coming towards her.
Caelyn stood, picking up her purse and phone and backing out of the street as the oncoming vehicle sped towards her. In moments, it would be passing by.
Did she want to be seen?
It depended by whom. Out here, she was a sitting duck, and as bad as things had been earlier in the evening—her jangling nerves told her that things could get far worse.
If the wrong person stopped and saw a lone girl dressed scantily, with no means of transportation and no cell service in the middle of the night, on a deserted road…
The headlights belonged to a large truck. As it got closer, the truck seemed to slow almost imperceptibly. Caelyn shrunk
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