Read Online Unravel by Calia Read - Free Book Online
Authors: Calia Read
Tags: Contemporary
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breath becomes electrified.
Max felt it too. I was sure of it. He wasn’t ready to admit the truth out loud. I couldn’t blame him; we were both out of our league.
I closed my eyes, expecting Max to be the first thing I saw. But he wasn’t. It was Lachlan. I groaned in anguish and rubbed my temples, trying to erase the image of him. Not here. Not right now. He wasn’t supposed to ruin this for me.
Get out of my head. Get out. Get out. Get out.
My mind wanted to revert. It wanted to go back to all the memories of Lachlan and stay there. I couldn’t let that happen. The edges of my vision started to become hazy. I pushed away those memories as hard as I could.
I stood up. Talking to Lana would make things better. I would tell her everything that happened with Max. She would listen to me, like a good friend should, and would give me sound advice. I would ask her what she did tonight. She would tell me. Minutes later we would be on a totally different topic, far away from the realities of our worlds.
It was pitch black outside but there were spotlights hidden behind the trimmed shrubs, shining onto the house. Lana’s family’s home was an old Antebellum mansion that had been in the family for centuries. Lana came from old money and it showed. Behind their house was a large red barn where the family’s horses were. When Lana wanted to escape and get away from everything, she would go for a ride and clear her mind.
It made absolutely no sense to see her horse walking free. His hooves crunched on the gravel. He walked right past me. His ears were moving back and forth at a rapid pace. His nostrils were flared. Normally, he was a calm horse. One that took after his master. But his fear and restlessness was apparent.
Alarm bells started to ring in my head. Something wasn’t right.
I looked over my shoulder at the barn. The door was cracked open. I didn’t hear any noise. Everything appeared fine. But unease made the hairs on my arm stand up. Fear trickled through my body and I should’ve turned around and gone back to the safety of my home but I walked forward.
Only a few steps away from the barn, I heard the noises. Something tipped over and crashed. I heard someone gasp or wheeze and then a grunt. It was one of those moments where my mind was screaming for me to stop and not go any further. But I couldn’t not look. I peeked my head inside the barn and I saw Lana pinned against the wooden beam. A large forearm was pressed against her throat, cutting her off from speaking, crying out or even breathing. Her pants and underwear were around her knees. Her blue jean jacket was open. I saw her shirt was torn at the collar.
All of my own problems disappeared and were replaced with terror. Complete, mind numbing terror. This wasn’t two people getting away and acting on lust—that complete obsession to be with each other.
There was nothing consensual about what I was seeing.
Lana’s eyes were squeezed shut as the man grunted like an animal as he moved in and out of her. His free hand gripped her hip and it wasn’t out of love. It was to keep her in place.
I was detached from my body. Watching myself frozen in place. What was I doing? MOVE! One foot in front of the other. How hard was that? But I couldn’t. It was like I was in quicksand and stuck in place, and slowly sinking as I watched the scene unfold.
I’d always assumed, that in a moment of panic, I would react swiftly and rationally. I would use my brain. My emotions would shut down and I would draw from the adrenaline coursing through my body to get through it all.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I glanced around frantically at the house. I need to get my phone, I thought to myself. No. I needed to run to the back door and get help. I couldn’t settle on a single thing to do.
I closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my face. I went to cover my ears, to block out all the noises but the sounds had stopped.
The silence was deafening. I was afraid to
Max felt it too. I was sure of it. He wasn’t ready to admit the truth out loud. I couldn’t blame him; we were both out of our league.
I closed my eyes, expecting Max to be the first thing I saw. But he wasn’t. It was Lachlan. I groaned in anguish and rubbed my temples, trying to erase the image of him. Not here. Not right now. He wasn’t supposed to ruin this for me.
Get out of my head. Get out. Get out. Get out.
My mind wanted to revert. It wanted to go back to all the memories of Lachlan and stay there. I couldn’t let that happen. The edges of my vision started to become hazy. I pushed away those memories as hard as I could.
I stood up. Talking to Lana would make things better. I would tell her everything that happened with Max. She would listen to me, like a good friend should, and would give me sound advice. I would ask her what she did tonight. She would tell me. Minutes later we would be on a totally different topic, far away from the realities of our worlds.
It was pitch black outside but there were spotlights hidden behind the trimmed shrubs, shining onto the house. Lana’s family’s home was an old Antebellum mansion that had been in the family for centuries. Lana came from old money and it showed. Behind their house was a large red barn where the family’s horses were. When Lana wanted to escape and get away from everything, she would go for a ride and clear her mind.
It made absolutely no sense to see her horse walking free. His hooves crunched on the gravel. He walked right past me. His ears were moving back and forth at a rapid pace. His nostrils were flared. Normally, he was a calm horse. One that took after his master. But his fear and restlessness was apparent.
Alarm bells started to ring in my head. Something wasn’t right.
I looked over my shoulder at the barn. The door was cracked open. I didn’t hear any noise. Everything appeared fine. But unease made the hairs on my arm stand up. Fear trickled through my body and I should’ve turned around and gone back to the safety of my home but I walked forward.
Only a few steps away from the barn, I heard the noises. Something tipped over and crashed. I heard someone gasp or wheeze and then a grunt. It was one of those moments where my mind was screaming for me to stop and not go any further. But I couldn’t not look. I peeked my head inside the barn and I saw Lana pinned against the wooden beam. A large forearm was pressed against her throat, cutting her off from speaking, crying out or even breathing. Her pants and underwear were around her knees. Her blue jean jacket was open. I saw her shirt was torn at the collar.
All of my own problems disappeared and were replaced with terror. Complete, mind numbing terror. This wasn’t two people getting away and acting on lust—that complete obsession to be with each other.
There was nothing consensual about what I was seeing.
Lana’s eyes were squeezed shut as the man grunted like an animal as he moved in and out of her. His free hand gripped her hip and it wasn’t out of love. It was to keep her in place.
I was detached from my body. Watching myself frozen in place. What was I doing? MOVE! One foot in front of the other. How hard was that? But I couldn’t. It was like I was in quicksand and stuck in place, and slowly sinking as I watched the scene unfold.
I’d always assumed, that in a moment of panic, I would react swiftly and rationally. I would use my brain. My emotions would shut down and I would draw from the adrenaline coursing through my body to get through it all.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I glanced around frantically at the house. I need to get my phone, I thought to myself. No. I needed to run to the back door and get help. I couldn’t settle on a single thing to do.
I closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my face. I went to cover my ears, to block out all the noises but the sounds had stopped.
The silence was deafening. I was afraid to
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