Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 31

 

“Give me your phone,” Zion ordered while brandishing the pistol.

His eyes were fierce and his expression was angrier than Marley had ever seen before. Even his platinum hair seemed more sinister than the cute she’d always thought it to be. It was like he was someone completely different. And seeing him like this terrified her beyond description.

The terror was utterly crippling. She short-circuited beneath its weight. Even though Zion had just given her instructions, her brain hadn’t registered them at all, and she just kept staring at him.

“I said-” Scowling, Zion moved closer to her. “- give me your phone.”

Even with the gun just a few inches from her heart, she couldn’t react. She couldn’t take a step back. She couldn’t scream. She couldn’t hand over her phone. Her limbs had frozen in terror. All she could do was lower her gaze to the gun then back up to meet Zion’s eyes.

“Ugh!” Zion lurched forward and snatched the phone out of her hand.

The phone was actually ringing; something that Marley’s strained senses had completely forgotten to take note of. As Zion threw the phone to the ground, she caught Sebastian’s name flashing on the screen. But that name disappeared beneath Zion’s shoe. Ringing turned to shattering glass as Zion stomped on the gadget repeatedly and forcefully.

However, just seeing Sebastian’s name changed something in Marley. It didn’t get rid of the fear, but it jolted her brain out of the fog that was consuming it.

I have to run, Marley thought as soon as she began to function again. However, just as she took a step back, Zion turned his attention from the broken phone at his feet to her.

“Don’t even think about it,” he barked, re-aiming the gun at her.

What do I do? What do I do? Marley frantically racked her brain for a way to escape him. Obviously, the only way to get out of here was through the exit door. Her gaze darted to the door. Getting there would take less than ten seconds. But he had a gun, and bullets were faster than feet.

“Sit there,” Zion ordered. He was pointing to the wooden table and the benches along it.

I shouldn’t sit, Marley immediately thought. That could be where he shoots me.

But he had a gun, and she had none.

She started to move. Though it felt like her legs were about to buckle beneath her, she somehow made it to the table. She sat, and Zion came behind her with the gun. He pressed the barrel to the back of her head.

Fresh terror seared through Marley and a cold chill raced down her spine. Is this it? Is this how it ends? Is this how I go out?

She began to shiver violently and her breathing turned to panting. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the inevitable.

Only, the inevitable didn’t happen. Instead, she heard the slap of something on the table.

“Write,” Zion demanded.

Marley opened her eyes to find the notebook Zion had carried from her desk in front of her. He put a pen on top of the notebook.

“Wr- wr- write what?” Marley asked. The sound of her own voice surprised her. Given her fear, how was her voice box still functioning?

“What I tell you.” Zion growled. He moved from behind her to stand beside her. The gun moved too; from the back of her head to her temple. “Open the book.”

Her fingers trembling, she obeyed the order.

“Write,” he commanded.

She took the pen then looked up at him for further instructions.

“The headline is-” Zion paused as if for dramatic effect. Then he smiled. The smile was so menacing that the hairs at her nape stood at attention. He finished, “- My Suicide Note.”

The pen fell from Marley’s fingers as utter shock swept her. Are you serious?

Zion’s smile dropped and was replaced by a scowl. The gun moved to her forehead. “Pick up the pen.”

But her hand refused to obey the command. Marley had never claimed to be the smartest crayon in the box. However, even she was smart enough to figure out that he was planning to kill her then make it seem like it was a suicide. In his warped mind, he’d figured that once the cops saw her suicide note, he’d just walk away scot-free.

That wouldn’t happen.

If Marley was going to die, then she had no plans of helping with her killer’s escape plan.

Zion ordered, “Write.”

“N- n- no,” she stuttered, surprising even herself.

“What do you mean no?” Zion was similarly stunned by her refusal to obey orders. “Pick up the pen or I’ll shoot you.”

“You- you can’t do this, Zion,” she tried to reason with him. “It- it won’t work. No one- no one will believe that I k-killed myself.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” he retorted. “You’ve tried to kill yourself many times. They’ll just assume that this time it took.”

She gasped. “How do- how do you know th- that?”

“How do I know about your previous suicide attempts?” He smirked. “I know a lot about you, Marley. A lot. Now, pick up that pen.”

His non-answer left her with more questions. How did he know so much about her? Why was he trying to kill her? How was she supposed to commit suicide? Would he force her to shoot herself or would she have to jump off the rooftop?

Rather than ask all those question, she tried to dissuade him from his crazy plan.

“A sui- suici- A note won’t help. They’ll know it was you,” she said. “We- we have cameras everywhere and- and the guards saw us coming up.”

“There are no cameras up here. I checked,” he noted with a smug grin. “And I’ll just tell the guards that I tried to stop you but you just did it anyway.”

“They- they won’t believe you.”

“We’ll see… Oh, I guess you won’t be here to find out. Sorry.” He winced. An instant later, his expression changed and malevolence filled his features. “Now, pick up the pen and write.”

It was obvious that he was determined to do this. Nothing she said would change his mind. Oh God. She was going to die. Breathing became harder in that moment. Instead of speeding up because of fear, her heart-rate slowed down as if it was heading towards stopping. Her brain filled up with fog and her eyes became heavier.

“Pick up the pen,” Zion yelled.

“Zi- Zion, you- you- c- c- can’t- d- d-” The sounds coming from her lips became less audible as the fog overwhelmed her. In seconds, she went from staring up at him to her head flopping heavily onto the table.

The last thing she heard before she blacked out was Zion cussing loudly. “What the hell?”

 

* * * * *

 

SEBASTIAN BROUGHT HIS car to a stop in the company’s parking lot. He should’ve been annoyed that Marley had made him come back all the way here, but he wasn’t. He was worried, very worried. A couple of minutes ago, he’d tried to call her again. The phone rang several times, then changed to an automated message asking him to leave a voicemail. As if she’d turned off her phone.

Now, usually he’d assume that she was busy and really didn’t want him bothering her. But something inside him just refused to accept that hypothesis. That something kept asking, ‘what if something is wrong?’. Along with that voice, came a desperation that was as foreign as it was intense.

He needed to see Marley’s face and make sure she was okay to ease that desperation.

“Hi, Sebastian,” one of the guards greeted as he crossed the lobby. “Did you forget something in the office?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian answered shortly then strode away.

Though he was desperate to find Marley, he was still keenly aware of the rumors that could start if people found out that he was looking for her at this time of the night. Hopefully, she was still at her desk. If she was, then he’d just walk past her, go up to his office and pretend to grab something. That way, he could ease his anxiety without stirring the gossips.

But Marley wasn’t at her desk.

Her computer was still on and her purse was still there though, which meant she was in the building. But where? Unfortunately, there was no one to ask in the main floor since all the other desks had been deserted. Even Zion, who she’d said she was helping out, was nowhere to be seen.

Break-room? No one.

Meeting rooms? No one.

Sebastian got more anxious by the second. He even peeked in the ladies’ bathroom but she wasn’t there. He checked the men’s bathroom to see if he could find Zion, but got no results there either.

Where was Marley?

Had that person got to her? Up to now, Sebastian had been actively avoiding thoughts about the person who was targeting Marley. He’d been telling himself that no one was stupid or crazy enough to come after Marley for the third time in the same location. But now that he couldn’t find her, fear that that was exactly what had happened was slowly but surely creeping in.

No, no, no,calm down! He tried to reassure herself. She’s just somewhere taking a breather.

But his instincts refused to accept that explanation. Instead, they pumped more panic into in his bloodstream. You need to find her NOW.

In the end, he decided that starting a rumor was a small price for his peace of mind. He rushed to the security desk.