Chapter 214: Becoming Like Chloe

Holly’s POV

The road was nothing but wet black ribbon and smeared streetlights. My hands shook so hard the steering wheel jerked left, then right. I didn’t care.

Tears poured down my face, hot and endless, dripping off my chin onto my lap. I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t see straight. I just needed to get away from that backyard, from his voice, from the way everyone had looked at me like I was trash.

I hate him.

I hate David so much it felt like my chest was cracking open.

I was wild, yeah. I knew that. I chased him like some desperate puppy…crossing the ocean to be near him, showing up wherever he was, laughing too loud the second his eyes landed on me.

I knew my obsession looked crazy from the outside. But that didn’t give him the right to do what he’d just done.

That didn’t give him permission to call me a whore in front of those people like it was the funniest thing he’d ever said. Like I was nothing.

I swiped at my cheeks with the back of my hand, but the tears kept coming faster than I could wipe them away.

My chest hitched with these ugly, ripping sobs. I sounded like a wounded animal, and God help me, I felt like one.

Was that his own way of getting back at me for making him kneel earlier?

I had told myself we were different. I had repeated it a thousand times…that whatever I felt for him wasn’t the same as Chloe throwing herself at Orion in the past like some sad joke.

I had sworn I wasn’t that girl. But tonight, when he said those things and everyone stared, I felt exactly like her.

Cheap. Worthless. Stupid. Like the only thing anyone would ever see when they looked at me was open legs and a desperate smile.

I slammed my palms against the steering wheel over and over realizing the extent of my stupidity.

“It’s my fault!” I screamed at the empty car. My voice cracked in half. “Why the fuck did I fall for him just because he saved me one time? Am I that pathetic? If any random guy pulled me out of danger tomorrow would I just spread my legs for him too? Is that all I am?”

Another sob tore out of me, raw and loud. I hated myself. I hated that I had let him touch me like that in front of people. I hated that I had opened my legs the second he whispered it, like I had no pride at all. I hated that I still wanted him even while he shredded me with words. Even now.

I just want to go home now. Back to L.A, with my head up high like I still had a shred of dignity left. I want to crawl into Ava’s bed, put my head in her lap like a little kid, and cry until I pass out. I want her to stroke my hair and tell me I wasn’t worthless.

I reached for my phone to call her. To hear her voice. I as soon as I reached for it, stretching, fingers brushing the case—

It slipped. Dropped between the seats.

I bent lower…stupid, reckless…eyes off the road for one single second.

Headlights cut through the dark.

White. Huge. Blinding. A truck horn screamed.

I yelled and yanked the wheel hard, trying to avoid the collision. Tires screeched. The world spun and I ran into a tree.

Crash.

The airbag punched me in the face and chest. My head snapped forward, then slammed back into the seat. Pain exploded everywhere…ribs, neck, skull.

The seatbelt sliced deep across my collarbone. My ears rang so loud the world went silent except for that high, endless whine. Blood flooded my mouth. I tasted metal.

The car stopped.

Everything went quiet except my own ragged breathing and the tick-tick-tick of the engine dying.

I collapsed forward onto the airbag. My face pressed into the dusty white fabric. My whole body throbbed. My head felt like it was splitting in two. I tried to lift it and the world tilted, sick and spinning.

Then I smelled it.

Gasoline.

Strong. Sharp. It burned my nose and throat. My brows shot up in confusion as my head throbbed.

What could…

Oh God.

The tank. It must be leaking.

Panic hit me harder than the tree had. My heart pounded so fast I thought it would burst. I had to get out. Right now. Or the car would catch fire and I would burn alive.

I fumbled for the seatbelt. My fingers wouldn’t work…they were slippery with blood and sweat. I pressed the button again and again until it finally clicked. The belt snapped back.

I reached for the door handle. Pulled. Nothing. Locked. I slammed the unlock button with my fist. I tried again and again. The door groaned but barely moved…crushed against the tree, metal twisted.

I shoved my shoulder against it. Once. Twice. Pain shot through my arm. It opened maybe six inches. Cold air rushed in, thick with the sickening reek of gasoline.

I tried to squeeze through. My chest wouldn’t fit. My legs felt like water. My head grew fuzzy, like I was sinking underwater. Blood dripped into my eyes, warm and sticky.

I started crying harder…ugly, choking sobs that tore at my cracked ribs.

Is this how I’ll die?

Trapped in a wrecked car because David had humiliated me? Hating myself for loving a man who thought I was garbage?

I pushed the door again. My arms shook. My vision blurred. The gasoline smell was so strong it made my stomach lurch.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get out.

I rested my forehead against the airbag as reality began settling in. I was doomed.

‘I’m sorry, Ava.’

My fingers went slack on the door handle.

The smell grew stronger. My head felt too heavy.

Everything started going dark around the edges.

The last thing I thought before I blacked out was his voice, loud and cruel in front of everyone…

“Wow, Holly. You open your legs that fast just because I asked?”

And then there was nothing.