Hurt

Prologue

CHARLOTTE

...

"C'mon, Char!" He practically begs. "One night. Just you and me,"

I smile and look away from his piercing blue eyes. "No, I already told you."

I can practically hear his heart drop once he moves his hands back to his side. "Fine," Dustin huffs.

"I want to, trust me, I do. But my parents are home. They'd kill me if they found out I was still with you. You know they aren't too.. fond of you." I snap my head back to him, avoiding eye contact as I reach for his hands and intertwine our fingers.

"They fucking hate me," he laughs but I can tell there's a little bit more edge on it.

"They don't hate you."

"They certainly don't like me," Rolling my eyes, I sigh. His grin doesn't go away. "Look, I'm only playing. I get that they don't like me, I'm not exactly the best person. But it's cool, really."

"Thank you," I say. "I love you."

He leans in and presses his lips against my forehead, instantly igniting me. "I love you as well."

I can't help the smile that creeps onto my lips when he pulls away, leaning over into a bow. He kisses the top of my hand and I laugh.

"Dork," I choke.

"For you, my lady."

He waves once and turns on his heel, strutting back to his black pickup truck. I laugh silently to myself as he rolls out of the gravel driveway and decide to walk inside.

...

DUSTIN

Once I'm home, I drop my keys in the key bowl and race upstairs to my room. My parents are already asleep, I assume. Meaning my annoying ass sister, Jessica, is out with her goddamn boyfriend. Great.

I flash my phone on to check the time and see if I have any texts, which I don't. When I realize it's 9:34 PM, I collapse onto my bed without even taking off my shoes.

...

*Beep*

*Beep*

With a groan, I roll over onto my side to pick up the tiny device. The screen turns on and momentarily blinds me. I have a text from Charlotte. At two in the morning?

Charlotte: Goodbye, I love you.

Confusion takes over my senses and worry runs through my veins once I finally comprehend what that message meant. I jump off of the bed and slide the phone into my back pocket, my hand tightening around the door handle before opening it and slamming it shut. I race out of my room and down the stairs, taking two at a time. My keys are already in my hand by the time I close the front door, my car unlocked. I run to my truck and swing the door open.

Once I'm in the car with it turned on, I shut the door and begin to do 20 over the speed limit.

...

I arrive at her house and, with shaky hands, search under the door mat for her spare key. The door is opened within seconds of me getting a hold of the small piece of metal. I dart down the hall into her room.

She's not here.

I begin to panic and run through the entire hallway, swinging doors open without a care as to who wakes up. I come upon the bathroom and rush into it, spotting something in the bathtub. Her.

A tear comes trickling out of my eye and I stand there in shock, staring at her lifeless body. I eventually cover my open mouth with more tears spilling onto my cheeks.

No, I tell myself. This isn't happening.

"No," I yell out and walk into the bathroom slowly. "No!"

I lift her head from under the water and scoot her blood-soaked body forward, creating just enough room to sink myself in the water. I grab onto her shoulders and pull her against me, my head leaning onto the back of the tub.

"No, no, no," I repeat under my breath.

The mixture of my words and tears causes me to choke, coughing a bit. I refuse, certainly refuse, to believe that this is happening; this is not my Charlotte. But when my eyes travel to her blooded wrists, I know that it's true.

I close my eyes and hold her closer to my chest, not caring about the bloody water that's soaking my clothes.

...