Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
Hazel shakes her head. “He said we’d better all be there. He said we have to bring her and to leave now. He’s sending a car.”
“Fuck ” River says. “But did you tell him”
“I told him, Riv. I told him over and over and over. He doesn’t care. Teagan ” Hazel looks at me and shakes her head. “I don’t know what you did to him, but don’t do it again.”
I don’t bother telling them that I didn’t do anything to himhe was the one who did something to me. He lied to me, he manipulated me, and then he hurt me and left me bloody and unconscious on the bathroom floor.
“Did he even” I start.
Did he even check on me? Was he worried about me? Does he even care? I’m scared to hear the answers, so I don’t bother asking. As if she knows what I’m thinking, River takes my hand in hers and offers me a sad smile.
No. He doesn’t care.
“We need to get her dressed and downstairs,” Hazel says.
“How the fuck are we going to”
Hazel cuts her off. “I don’t know. I don’t know, okay? But we need to figure it out. You should have heard him on the phonehe was fucking furious. He said we’re both going to lose a lot of blood if we don’t get her down there.”
“He’s furious?! He did it!”
“River shhh. Don’t okay?”
She scolds her as if she worries that he’ll hear them even though we all know he’s not even in the same building. It makes me wonder if she knows something I don’t.
It’s eerie.
River sighs. “Find something that won’t rub up against her cuts.”
Hazel begins digging through my suitcase and eventually pulls out a pair of jeans and a low-cut cropped cami I normally sleep in.
“That should work,” Riv tells her. “I’m going to take this out now, Teagan. Are you ready?”
I nod, and she removes my IV before the two of them help me into my clothes. Then, River brushes out my hair and starts braiding it.
“There’s blood in it,” Hazel says.
“He wants her therehe gets what he gets. I cleaned up the rest of her; I don’t have time to wash her hair.”
“River, I don’t feel good,” I tell her. “I think I need to eat something.”
“I can’t give you any food yet, Teagan. I’m sorry,” River says. “We’re going to pull you up and take you to the elevator now, okay? Are you ready? Stand up.”
With one arm over each of the girls’ shoulders, I bring myself to stand. On weak, unsteady legs, I move with them through the door, into the elevator, and through the first floor of the hotel.
“How are you doing, Teagan?” Hazel asks me.
“I’m cold,” I tell her. “I’m really fucking cold.”
“It’s normal,” River says. “It’s not great, but it’s normal.”
“That’s the car,” Hazel tells us, pointing at a black Cadillac SUV. She opens the door and climbs in first, and then helps pull me into the vehicle.
“I want her lying down,” River says. “Her feet really shouldn’t be below her heart right now.”
I lie across the bench seat with my head in Hazel’s lap, holding my arms against my chest while I shiver.
“What’s all of this?” the driver asks. “Is she on drugs?”
“No, she’s not on drugs,” River replies. “She’s she’s hurt. We’re taking her to the doctor.”
“The doctor?” he asks. “This address is a concert venue. What the hell is going on here? Girls, I’m not trying to lose my fucking job.”
“The doctor is meeting us there. Just drive, okay? We’ll make it worth your time,” Hazel says. To us, she adds, “I’m texting Luca now.”
“I don’t feel good,” I say through chattering teeth.
“She better not throw up in here,” he says.
But unfortunately, I have no control over that. I manage to get my head up just enough that when I vomit, I do it on the floor and not all over Hazel.
“God damn it!” the driver says. “I’m pulling over, and you’re getting the fuck out of my car.”
“No, she can’t!” River says.
“Sir or um Carl?” Hazel starts. “You don’t want to fucking do that, Carl. Trust me.” She leans forward and wraps her arm around Carl’s neck, pressing a knife into his throat.
“Jesus Christ, lady! You’re insane!”
“That’s right, I am. And my friendsthey’re even worse. Get us to the address and take your money or you’re going to lose a lot more than your fucking job, Carl. And for fuck’s sake, take the corners slower. We’ve got a sick girl back here, and besides, you don’t want my hand to slip. And if one of your hands leaves the steering wheel even a little bit, my hand is going to slip.”
“Okay, just take it easy,” Carl says.
“God, you’re so fucking sexy, baby,” River says. “I’m so fucking wet right now.”
“Yeah?” Hazel asks. “Show me.”
River hikes her dress up around her hips and spreads her legs wide.
“Hey!” Hazel snaps at the driver. “Eyes on the road, mother fucker. Don’t fucking look at my wife.”
A few minutes later, the car pulls to a stop on the side of the street.
“Not here,” Hazel says. “Pull around to the alley in the back.”
He sighs, then pulls back out into traffic. The car turns twice more before he parks in a small, dark alley.
“We’re here,” Carl says. “Now get the fuck out of my car!”
“Don’t. Get. Mouthy. Carl,” Hazel grits.
Before he can reply, the passenger side door opens, and Luca hops in, removing his wallet from his back pocket. “All right, you can put the knife down, Haze,” he says.
She does what he says and leans back in her seat.
“He was going to throw Teagan out on the sidewalk,” River tells him.
“River,” Hazel laughs, shaking her hand. “You really want to see this man bleed, don’t you?”
Luca hands Carl a wad of cash. “You’re fucking lucky nothing happened to my girlfriend. You mention this to anyone, and I’ll give her what she wants, Carl, who lives on South Green Street.”
He climbs out of the car and opens the back door. “All right, come here, Teag.”
River guides me toward Luca, who takes me into his arms and carries me through the back entrance of the building.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.