Run Like Hell by Elena Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

No sooner does she speak when the door bell rings. Rory looks at me, surprised to have someone ringing the doorbell now. She goes to answer it and I eat the last bite of my dinner. Tiger is tied up in the backyard, barking.
     
    “Morgan,” she calls from the foyer.
     
    I wipe my mouth with my napkin and head towards the door.
     
    Rory is standing in the open doorway, thanking the person on the porch as something is handed to her. I can’t see who she’s talking to because she’s blocking the doorway.
     
    Stepping aside, she says, “Morgan, this nice man dropped off your driver’s license. He said he’d found it in the street. Did you even know your license was missing?”
     
    I don’t hear my aunt talking because I’m staring into the face I’ve been trying to forget since last night. My attacker is standing on the porch. He smiles. All the blood in my body pools in my feet.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
     
     
     
    Rory blocks the door as she rests one hand lightly on the door and her other hand on the frame. “Morgan, you should thank this nice man for returning your license.”
     
    My mouth is dry and chalky. I can’t speak. He silently backs away from the door and waves good-bye.
     
    “Wait, don’t you want a reward or something?” Rory calls after him but he disappears into his old sedan.
     
    Without hesitating, I push past my aunt and run outside to get his license plate number. Rory yells at me for shoving her but I ignore her. I tear across the grassy yard and stare intently at his car while he drives away. Turning back toward to the house, I repeat the number in my head over and over again until I jot it down in the kitchen on a scrap of paper.
     
    “Explain what that was about,” Rory demands, standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. “Is he responsible for your face being cut up?”
     
    She impresses me with her deduction skills.
     
    “You never know what freaks people are. I don’t know him but want to have his plate number in case.” I tack the scrap of paper onto the bulletin board my mother keeps in our kitchen to organize the family’s schedule.
     
    “In case of what?”
     
    In case he comes back.
     
    “Just in case, that’s all,” I answer cryptically.
     
    Rory extends her hand and I take my driver’s license from her. I still don’t want to call the police even though I told myself I would if anything strange happened. Finding my attacker on my porch is strange. Why am I not confiding in Rory or calling the police?
     
    What’s his plan now that he knows where I live? Is he going to stalk me, or was that his warning for me to keep my mouth shut? The whole night is unclear to me. The more I think about it, the more confused I am.
     
    I’d willingly gotten into his car. If he’d pulled me into the car I would be compelled to report him. But I’d gotten into the car so it’s my own stupid mistake. Did I misinterpret his intentions? I trust my instinct, which is why I leapt, but what if he was driving to another gas station down the road? Although, he chased me through the woods and threatened me. And he tried to haul me back to his car before I’d stomped on his foot and gotten away. I don’t know. I just want to forget the whole incident. And I don’t want my parents finding out about it.
     
    We silently clean up the dishes then go into the living room. I choose the Ryan Reynolds movie and we flop on the couch. When the opening credits flash on the screen I realize I’m not in the mood to watch a movie. I pity her. She should have a busy social life rather than babysitting me.
     
    “Do you have a boyfriend, Rory?”
     
    “I don’t think your mother would appreciate me answering that question.” Her smile assures me she has a list of men who would welcome a call from her, any hour of the day.
     
    “You know anything you tell me will stay between us, right? So, tell me—” A fun story told by my aunt