Enjoy!🤍 I am going to be busy with finals all of this week (absolutely DESPISE college) so you get a double update now (edited these last week to save time lol) & an extra one Saturday! I will see you then! Thanks for reading! 🤍

"True friends are those rare people who come to find you in dark places and lead you back to the light." — Anonymous

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Chapter 64
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Maggie

My chest tightened under the panic, first. In every direction, I expected a change, specifically a source of light, but none came. It was all a game, and I didn't have a point in the scoreboard, right now. My father was controlling it, as well as me.

My mind pulled and rearranged around some of the trepidation in order to find a reasonable solution, but not even that, exactly. I'd take anything, right now.

Think.

Think, Maggie.

Just as the demand became more of a torture than a help, the very request was met. My phone buzzed again, producing a quick source of light.

It was quick, but it was one, nonetheless.

I can do this.

My jittery fingers barely helped in turning the phone on, again, but I managed. In my path to the flashlight, I caught glimpse of another message from Luke.

Luke.

Our lessons in the dark came full swing.

Wall. I need to feel a wall.

I pulled in a breath, then pushed it out so hard, I became lightheaded.

I'm untouchable.

Slowly, so slowly that it barely felt like moving at all, my feet shuffled across the slick floors. Every step I took nearly had my figure crumbling.

Nonetheless, I recognized the cool, hard wall under my palm. It cracked through the barrier of hot, burning fear the dark had burnt me with.

"There's a wall," I breathed out, the relief biting at me until I had to swipe at my forehead. My skin was beginning to clam up. "You're okay, Maggie."

In the trek, I  managed to turn on the flashlight from my phone, thankfully. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to sustain me until I could figure something else out.

A hand remained against the cool wall for a sense of sereneness. It did enough.

In my case of a shattered mind, I managed to recover my grounding before all others: Luke. His voice. His comfort and encouragement. How he'd reassure me that there was nothing to be afraid of, then prove it to me. How we would see proof of it, together.

Thinking about Luke, the one I cared for most of all, had me returning to the others. My family. My friends.

My friends.

The messages. The lights. The threat.

My father's goons were watching me. Us. And, they were here. And, Kimberly and Raven were out there, possibly with the danger. Whoever was behind that unknown number...they turned off the lights to distract me in order to reach them, easier.

No. Fuck no.

My father would have to shoot me dead before I ever let him hurt them.

I jerked around with a newfound quickness. Just as I made the move, I was being slammed back into the wall by one quick, hard shove.

My head thumped against the solid surface so hard, I thought it impossible to come back from it. The spots in my vision helped aid that belief.

From the shove, my phone had been knocked out of my hand. I could still see its flashlight, barely, but surely illuminating enough of the room to give me a view.

A dark figure stood only inches away from me. I could see the dark clothing on them, as well. It was barely decipherable, but from the flashlight, I could see his tall, lanky build.

I knew it was impossible for it to be my father, but the threat was just as big, regardless. His goons were made up of men who had also been charged from my case. Either that, or he had bribed them with things he didn't even have just to have a better chance at getting to me.

A single step took to the floor. At it, that familiar fight or flight tried to make an appearance, but with how hard my head hit the wall, I was barely capable of using it.

"I must say, you are a real nice sight for sore eyes, Maggie," the southern drawl of his voice taunted my acting head in its use. "You are just as pretty as I remember."

It didn't take much to make the correlation, then. He was one of the men from all of those years ago. I couldn't recognize all of them individually, but I did know one single, deadly fact: they hurt me, and they wanted to hurt me, again.

A bit of the fight sprang through me at the agonizing reminder. My hand fell to my waistband until I recalled the most treacherous reminder I'd ever experienced: I left the gun in the car.

I didn't want to bring it inside of a public place with children inside. I hadn't thought that anything would occur in such a wide space, but now...fuck.

The only relief I found in it all was that I did have a blade. It was in my pocket.

I hadn't realized how close he'd gotten until I smelled the putrid excuse of air he called his breath. It was nearing my forehead, leaving the skin itchy and irritated. 

I pushed past the ache in my head, which was coming in an agonizing throb. I couldn't cry about it right now, though.

The man was crouched in front of me, now, eyes ablaze with excitement at whatever he had planned for me. A dirt stained finger reached up to tuck a strand of hair away from my face.

I used one hand to shove at him, while the other tended to my pocket. I could use his disgusting desires to save my life if I played it right.

"Get the fuck away from me," I hissed at him, my finger stroking the lining of the blade. It wasn't large, but if I aimed it right, it could give me enough time to get away.

"Don't do that, Maggie." He tsked his tongue, appearing offended by my reaction. "Don't try to act all innocent." His jaw clenched down, his gaze shifting into a glare. "You send me to jail for nearly a decade. You make me lose my wife, my children. You ruin my life, yet you try to make me the bad guy—"

My hand swung with the blade in it. I wasn't aiming for anything in particular, but with the way he was aimed down at me, the blade went for his neck. Before it got there, he caught my wrist.

His deranged eyes whipped toward it in shock, then back to me. I saw his nostrils flare the longer he kept it up. Instead of shock, was now rage.

And, it was all for me.

"You little—" He shoved my chest until the air flew from my lungs in a painful gasp. Twisting at my hand, he didn't stop until it had no other choice but to unlock, and drop the blade. It clattered, the sound so devastating, I knew I'd never forget it.

Past the rage, a look of humor crossed his expression. "So, you wanna fight?"

Without much left, I managed to recall a quick move Luke had shown me. I already knew a couple of self defense moves, but Luke had shown me this one he taught Kade and Levi.

The man was beginning to lean in, again, continuing to spew his bullshit. The position wasn't ideal, but it was still close enough.

I swung my head back, not even bothering to protect myself from the impact. By the time I brought my forehead to his nose, it was too late for him to catch himself.

The collision came with a loud pop. Despite the spring of pain through my skull, I didn't let it hold me back.

The man stumbled back with a cry, cradling his nose. Blood was already beginning to drip from it.

With my foot, I launched it into his stomach, sending him back enough to give me room for an escape. I heard his gasp before he bellowed over, face red from the impact.

It was difficult to jump up so quickly from the pain, but I forced myself to. I couldn't waste a second more.

One hand unlocked the bathroom door. I contemplated on going for my phone, but I didn't want to risk another attack. I could find help on the outside after—

"Did you really think it'd be that easy?" I heard him hiss from behind me. "Your father warned me you'd be stubborn. I guess I should have listened."

A hand clamped down on my ankle. Over the slippery floors, I went crashing all over again, but I managed to miss another risk of concussion. That same hand tighten around my foot, then yank me back down to him.

No.

His figure covered mine in a matter of seconds. I brought what little energy I had left through my fists, knocking him in the side of the head so hard, it nearly sent him into the sink until he shook himself out of it.

I did it again, with as much strength as I could muster. His eyes fluttered from the impact, but with his rage, he held up.

One hand trapped my wrists above my head as he  returned to his position atop me, again. His face hovered over mine, that same grimy smile back in place.

Brown, greasy strands fell from his hoodie cap as he leaned in. The smallest bit of him was enough to make my stomach hurl.

"Get away from her!"

His eyes snapped up at the demand, and my own followed. Just as quickly, he was thrown off of me, and ended at the wall with a thump.

I had to blink over the situation a number of times to make realization of what had happened. Through the panic, I managed to hold onto the relief long enough to do so.

Kimberly stood only a few feet away, a baseball bat in her hands. It was the one Raven bought for Levi, but it was being used for a experience none of us had expected. Raven was right behind her, her bag lifted and ready to use as a weapon. In her free hand was a taser.

Before I could correlate anything else of the situation, Kimberly was edging closer, face taut with anger. I thought that she was coming for me, but instead, she continued on.

Once I turned my head, I realized why. The man was getting up.

Kimberly pulled the baseball bat behind her shoulder, and swung forward so hard, the sound echoed through the room even seconds after it was landed. It went into the man's stomach, sending him into a heaving pile of rubble.

As soon as he doubled over, Kimberly stepped back for better aim, then swung it into his backside. His groan sounded out as he fell to the bathroom floor.

"Maggie!" Raven rushed to my side, her expression alert with panic. "Are you okay?"

I couldn't provide a sensible response, right now. All I could manage was a couple of loose blinks at her.

Her hands turned and twisted me in all sorts of directions, worried eyes searching me over for injuries. "Fuck, Maggie. You're bleeding—"

I heard the bat come down a fourth time, but it didn't connect to flesh. Instead, it clattered to the floor, causing all of our heads to whip in that direction.

The man had snatched the bat from Kimberly, but with the distance she put between them, it would take him a moment to reach her with his injuries.

With his anger, though, he managed to take the steps to crowd her shocked figure into the sink. His cap was now off, so I caught sight of his wretched face.

"You little bitch!" he sneered, making a reach for her.

Kimberly's face went ghost white with alert before she let it pass. Reality caught up. Curling her hand into a fist that I'd seen Kade use plenty of times in his fights, she swung.

From the strength of it, I knew for a fact that she had learned it from Kade. I knew she had mentioned him teaching her the things he knew, and I could see it worked. The strength of the hit was more than effective.

The man stumbled back from the injury to his jaw, giving Kimberly a clear exit, but the moment he attempted to grab her again, we all jumped into action.

The man was so caught up in the injuries Kimberly gave him, he didn't notice Raven coming from the side. When she was close enough, she aimed at the man's rib cage with the taser.

His scream sounded out through the space, causing him to stumble back into the sink before he slumped down to the floor. Raven swung the bag on her arm, clocking him anywhere she could until he was in a ball, body shaken and torn from that, as well as all else.

With everything Raven bought today, the bag wasn't just space. It was full of hard and soft things alike, but from the man's pained expression, I knew the bigger items were getting the best of him. I had complained about Raven's shopping habit, but it ended up being a helpful contribution.

"Get him!" Raven shouted, still swinging the bag. The man yelped as she tased him again, his body curling into itself.

Kimberly had already grabbed the baseball bat, again. With the same ambition from earlier, she swung it down into the man's injured figure. Raven continued on with her hits with the bag until the surface of the man's skin cracked, leaving blood in its wake.

Neither girl stopped until the man was still. His groans had fallen into whimpers, then into nothing at all. With the beating he received, he wasn't going anywhere.

"Is he..." Kimberly's chest heaved, widened eyes reaching over either of us. "Is he dead?"

Raven kicked his slumped figure, her breathing lacked. "I-I hope so." They knocked him out cold.

Kimberly dropped her bloodied baseball bat, her eyes snapping up to me. They widened as she rushed to me. Raven was by my side a second later with her.

Kimberly cradled my face. "Maggie, are you okay?" Her words were rushed, her face full of worry. "What happened?"

Raven disappeared for a moment, then came back with my phone, her expression spilling over with concern and leftover adrenaline.

"I...he tried to..." I shook my head, my chest weaving in and out in an abnormal pace. "He came in once the lights went off and attacked me." I didn't put the originality behind the attack, but I was too shaken to care if they pieced it together, right now.

"Oh, Maggie." Kimberly pulled me in for a hug. Her own body was shaking as she held me in a hug; I knew my own matched it to the last detail. "You're okay, now. I promise you're okay."

Raven swung a disgusted gaze over the attacker before following up to me. It softened. "Let's get you out of here, okay?"

I nodded, but to save my weak legs a Luke time, I forced out, "H-how did you guys know to look for me?"

"When the lights went out, we started looking for you," Kimberly explained. "We didn't know if you were back on your way to us when they did, so that's why it took us so long until we circled to the bathroom, again."

Raven squeezed my other hand, a look of apology crossing her expression. "You wouldn't pick up your phone so we figured something was going on. I'm so sorry we didn't get here sooner—"

I shook my head, immediately. "Don't. You guys saved my life." They had no idea how far that statement truly went.

Kimberly squeezed my hand again, and started to tug me toward the door, but at my hesitation, she paused, sweeping me over. "What is it?" I could feel Raven's questionable look digging into the side of my face just as well.

My head fell, and my eyes went with it. Even with my flashlight, I knew I couldn't make it out there. The entire mall was still pitch dark.

"I can't," I whispered out.

"What?" Raven questioned, stepping up until she was in front of me. "Why not?"

I breathed in a patch of air for luck. "I'm afraid of the dark." Saying it aloud nearly had me tucking back into my shell to save myself the embarrassment. "That's why I freaked out so bad at the lake-house. I woke up with the lights off, and it reminded me of..." I shook my head, feeling my skin crawl with humiliation.

I knew they were shocked. We had been friends for nearly three years, now, and they'd never heard me voice a single fear of mine, because I didn't have one that hit as hard as this one.

"Maggie," Kimberly said softly, stepping closer to me. "How scared are you of it?"

"I couldn't even go in a dark room alone a month ago. Luke's been teaching me. That's the only reason I was able to handle this...." I paused to motion around the dark room. "And, that was because of the flashlight from my phone."

Silence swelled the room. My glare remained on my shoes. As if they could take me away from everything.

They couldn't, though. I was stuck in it, so all I could do was brace myself.

I waited for the laughter, the jokes, the teasing. I waited and prepared for it all, despite how hurt I'd be in the end.

Yet, none came.

Instead, Kimberly nodded once, face locked up with determination as she glanced up to Raven, who nodded with the same thoughtful mold on.

"Here's what we're gonna do, okay?" Kimberly started, tipping my head back up to hers. Even through the dark, I saw the warm care in her eyes. "Raven and I will turn our flashlights for you. We'll have three all together with yours. That, and the people who have theirs outside will only add to that."

Raven nodded in agreement, tugging her phone out of her pocket. A second later, her flashlight illuminated the room, set to the highest level it could go.

My breath caught in my throat. "What..."

"There's a quicker way to the exit that I know, and that's what we're going to use to make it easier on you," Raven added, earning Kimberly's agreeing nod, before she said, "We're going to hold hands. We can link arms, or you can lean into us and let us lead you through the mall, if that'll help—"

"Wait, what..." My voice broke off with confusion as I glanced between the two. "You...you don't think it's...strange?"

Kimberly tilted her head, confusion ringing through her face. "Why would we?"

"Because it's..." My eyes fell again, the heat spreading all the way to my toes. "It's definitely not an ordinary thing from a twenty year old."

"It is today. And we're going to treat it just the same as anything else," she said, squeezing my hand. "If it's big to you, then it's huge for us."

Raven nodded in agreement, her hand going to my cheek to force my hesitant eyes to her. "You don't have any reason to be embarrassed about this or anything else, Maggie. Everyone has their fears, and yours are just as important as anyone else's. I promise you that."

My heart nearly caved in at their reassurances. All along, I had doubted it, and even begged the universe for it when the time came, and all along, it had been listening.

They were going to do their best to make sure I made it out with them. They found the solutions in it instead of the problems.

"You're our sister, and not a thing changes that. Especially this." Raven kissed my head, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. Her free one held her lit phone.

I nodded through my tears. They had no idea how much it meant to me.

Quickly, we all shot one last glance over the man behind us, but he was in the same position as before. Caked with blood, and knocked out. Good.

"Ready?" Kimberly turned her flashlight to the highest setting. "We need to get you to the hospital as soon as possible."

I nodded, sucking in a breath of encouragement through my nostrils. I can do this. "Let's go."

Both girls hung to my sides, constantly squeezing my hand to remind me of their presence. Even though my body was rattled with nerves from the attack, the subtle gestures did help.

Just as expected, the entire mall was dark. Some of the shoppers had left, but some still remained. It was a bit harder to see them until we flashed the light in their direction, but I could hear their chatter amongst each other. As Kimberly said, some of them had their flashlights on, which helped.

"Maggie," Kimberly called out to me, passing over me with a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, forcing a half-honest smile. I wasn't exactly perfect, but with the lights, I was doing a whole lot better than what I expected.

Raven's bag rattled along her wrist, causing me to glance in the direction. In the attack, I hadn't thought about it, but now that the situation had shifted, I did.

"Where are all of the bags?" I questioned, glancing between them both.

Kimberly stepped past the scattered chairs. "We dropped them off with one of the employees at the food court. We didn't want anything to slow us down when it came to finding you."

I whipped my head at her. "What?" I glanced between the both of them. "Why don't we go and get them?"

Raven shook her head, immediately. "We want to get you out of here first."

I paused in my tracks, and they did the same. Either girl glanced at me with confusion.

"Guys," I sighed out. "With the lights, I'll be fine, I promise. The food court is only a minute from here." I nodded in that direction. "Let's go and get our things. Don't leave them because of me."

So far, my father hadn't hired more than one attacker at a time, and he was down. Now that we were out in the public again, there wouldn't be another attack so soon.

"Maggie, it's material." Raven shook her head. "It means nothing to us if you're uncomfortable."

I rolled my eyes, linking arms with either girl, and swiveled. "Come on."

Either girl continued on with their argument, but it was short-lived. The food court was in our view before we knew it.

By the time we got our bags, my body was practically a shaky ball of nerves, but I didn't care. I wasn't doing that to them. I had done enough, already.

Kimberly tipped the employee for her act, then turned around to face us. Just as her lips parted, a click sounded out through the space. It was the same sound from earlier.

It started off from the opposite side of the building first, but by the time it got to us, I realized it for what it was. The lights were back on, again.

The mall erupted with cheers and applause of relief, and I probably would have joined them if I thought myself capable. They had no idea.

Both girls' faces lit up with smiles at me before they fell at whatever injuries they found on me. I couldn't recall the attacker hitting me in the face, but I figured there were traces of blood In my hair from the fall.

"Shit," Raven hissed, her brows slanting in concern. "We need to get you to the hospital. Now."

"I'll text Kade to tell him that we're headed there, now," Kimberly informed us, already moving her fingers across the screen of her phone.

Before she pressed send, she raised her eyes to mine, again. "Did you know who the attacker was? Was it random or—"

Immediately, I shook my head. "No, uh..." My voice dipped before I cleared my throat. "He was random. I guess he decided to take advantage of the blackout."

Kimberly paused from her typing, her eyes running me over, carefully. I wasn't sure if she managed to find anything out of the ordinary, but if she did, she didn't voice it. The same comprehension remained as she returned to her texting.

"Hey, guys," Raven called out.

We both looked at her.

Her glossed lips were lifted into a large grin that she usually wore before trouble. Inky eyes ran us both over. "What do you say to a nice, fresh slice of pizza?"

At that, I nearly stumbled back out of shock.

Kimberly did the same, squinting her eyes at our friend. "Raven, this is literally the worst time for food."

At this, Raven's eyes widened to an abnormal size. "It's always a good time for food," she chuckled, but the sound...

I had heard Raven and Kimberly laugh so much, I knew them by heart. This, though...it wasn't it.

Either way, I couldn't place if it were just her edginess from the bathroom or the leftover adrenaline, but I wasn't sure of anything. My head was starting to swim from the ache of the hit it took.

Kimberly dropped her phone a bit to fully anchor her attention to Raven. "This isn't funny, Raven. Maggie needs a hospital, now—"

"Kimberly," Raven chuckled to that same eerie tone from earlier. Her smile widened into one that left me questioning my sanity. "Let's. Get. Pizza."

Kimberly got it, then. Her head tilted at our friend, eyes flickering between the both of us until she matched my befuddlement.

Confused, we followed up to her request, letting her lead us toward the small pizza station of the food court. By the time we reached it, the employees on this half of the mall were still scrambling to get everything back on after the blackout.

"Raven," Kimberly said slowly, darting her eyes over our friend for a hint of an answer. "Did you drag us here to just watch the employees or..."

Raven's cheeks had gone pale, so pale that they appeared cool to the touch. Instead of responding, she swept around to face us, a frown slipping over her smile.

"Shit," she sighed out. "Guess we're not getting any pizza, then. How sad." At Kimberly and I's collective confusion, Raven's frown deepened. "You know what would make me feel better, though?"

My headache was worsening at her lack of help. "What?"

Her arms stretched wide to us, the bags dangling from her wrists. A grin lifted her lips. "A group hug."

"Raven, Maggie needs a—"

Her eyes squinted at the both of us. Something behind them made my stomach turn.

"Kimberly," she said through clenched teeth, chuckling. "I want a group hug." Her eyes darted over to me, hands waving us in. "Give me a tight, tight group hug."

Kimberly and I shared another look of befuddlement before slowly stepping closer to her. Raven's arms drew us into her body until all three of us were flush together.

I began to lean back from the hug. "Raven, is—"

Her hand pressed at my backside, tugging me back into the hug until we were locked together, again. She did the same to Kimberly.

Her eyes jumped between the both of us. "I need you both to play along," she whispered into the space. "Just do what I say, okay?"

My lips parted, but nothing followed. Whatever had invaded her mood had done it for a reason.

Her eyes darted between us with a forewarned event behind them. "Don't move until I tell you to, and don't make any of this shit too obvious," she warned in a whisper. "When I let you guys go, we head straight for the exit. The moment we get to the parking lot, we book it for the car."

Kimberly matched my startled expression. Despite it, she kept her voice neutral, asking, "What's going on?"

"Two men in all black have been following us ever since we left the bathroom," she rushed out. "I thought it was a coincidence at first, and that they were trying to get to the exit too, but when we turned around for the food court, they kept on following us. Then, when we came here, too. I may be overreacting, but I'm not willing to risk it."

"What?" I nearly jerked around before Raven stopped me.

A firm, serious attitude washed over her features. "Don't move."

"What are they doing, now?" Kimberly whispered into the mix. "And, where are they, exactly?"

"Last time I looked, they were at the end of the food court, but they're sitting at one of the tables," she responded. "They're acting like they're on their phone, but I think they're taking pictures of you, Maggie. They've been watching you more than us."

Fuck.

They were sent from my dad.

"Okay," Raven breathed out, looking between us both. "We could just sit here, wait, and call the boys to come, but I don't want to risk waiting with Maggie's injuries. Or, we can make a run for the car. There's two of them, so there's a chance of them catching up to us, but—"

"They won't," Kimberly decided, shaking her head. Her nose wrinkled in concentration as she stared over the mall floor. "I have a plan."

Raven nodded. "Tell us."

"We need to make it all look as natural as possible," she explained, chewing on her lip in thought. "I'll go to one of the food courts they're close to, the one they might try to trail us from." She glanced up quickly, before returning to us with a nod. "The right side of the mall is the busiest right now, since they've already got their machines back on and running. They'll try to follow us through the left to get to us quicker. While I slow them down, you both start heading for the exit."

"What?" I exclaimed before lowering my voice, again. My widened eyes shot to her. "We're not letting you put yourself in danger and we're sure as hell not leaving you, Kimberly."

"You're not leaving me." She shook her head. "I'm the only one who can get the measurements of the accident right. They won't do anything in plain sight, and they'll have to slow themselves down from the mustard, too."

"Mustard?" Raven repeated before shaking her head in argument. "No. I want to be close to you, just in case—"

"Raven—" Kimberly began to sigh, to which Raven argued, "No. We're in this together, and—"

"Okay, fine," Kimberly huffed. "When you see me take the food, come over and act like you're helping me carry it all back to Maggie." From her determined expression, I knew she had her mind made up. "When I spill everything, you do the same then head straight for Maggie, so that you can both start heading for the car, okay? I promise I'll be right behind you."

My head continued to shake. She shouldn't have to do this, nor should she have to risk her life like this, either.

Her arms fell from us. "You both stay here, and act like you're interested in literally anything else, okay?" By her tone, I knew that she wasn't listening to anything except her plan.

Raven nodded, her worry weighing in. I knew she held my same apprehension, but her faith in Kimberly's plan beat it. "Okay, but please be careful, and I'm not kidding. Kade might burn this entire mall to the ground if you even slip." Even though her tone was teasing, we all knew it to be true. "Be quick on the way back. We should all end up at the exit at the same time."

Kimberly nodded in agreement. The nervousness blended right in with the determination, but the second was much more evident. With a breath for good luck, she turned away from us.

As she suggested, Raven and I both pretended to be interested in our shopping bags.

Glaring down, I whispered out, "What was the guy wearing, again?"

"Both have black pants and hoodies with their caps on, like the guy in the bathroom," she responded, risking curt side glances to Kimberly. "I don't care what she says. There's no way we're leaving this spot without her."

I breathed out a sigh of relief that we both agreed on that. I wasn't leaving her. From the moves Kade had taught her, I now saw how capable she was physically, but it wasn't fair to push my shit on her.

I glanced up to search for the men, and it wasn't too hard to find them. They were far away, but secluded just enough to pass it off as normal. Both were seated at a table. One had sunglasses on, but both wore black apparel.

The other's eyes were on Kimberly, who was at one of the restaurants, and pretending to be interested in the menu options. His eyes raked over her figure with a sly grin, lingering on her ass before he made a comment to his friend, who lowered his sunglasses to get the same view at her body. Either man leaned in to share a crude comment most likely, then a suggestive action, chuckling afterwards.

My stomach rolled in disgust. I felt my jaw nearly shatter from how hard I clenched it. I knew how disgusting they could be, and they had no shame in displaying it publicly, either.

Kimberly pulled out a card, maintaining a neutral expression at the employee as she handed it over. Luckily, the men weren't too close to be able to reach out and grab her.

The worker handed Kimberly a large bag of peanuts, a pretzel, a couple cups of mustard, two large cups of hot cheese, as well as three supersized drinks. Kimberly, playing the role amazingly, slipped her card back into her pocket, then turned to us with a happy smile.

Raven caught up to her side of the plan, making her steps as casual as possible over to Kimberly. Both of the men had lowered their eyes to their phones, again, which was aimed at me.

Kimberly caught their distraction, while handing some of the items to Raven. I saw her eyes flicker up to Raven as a signal, to which she took.

Then, she dropped nearly everything to the ground. She was supposed to leave when she was done with her part, but she remained in place, causing Kimberly's glare to grow before she dropped her items, as well.

The food scattered all over the floor, as well as the drinks, and the peanuts. It was the perfect mix for an accident, especially the liquids. It covered enough space to hold anyone on that side back, so if they wanted to get to us from the busy side, it would be a challenge, just as we hoped. As expected, Kimberly had measured it enough to give the both of them a quick exit, too.

I didn't expect Raven's next move, though.

As soon as one of the men glanced over the mess, Raven—who had maintained her grip around one of the cups of the cheese sauce—moved close enough for the perfect aim. To the man who wasn't looking, Raven took the chance to launch her arm back, then toss the hot cheese into his eyes.

Oh. My—

The people around stumbled back in shock, but no one tried to help the man. His scream came from the pit of his tummy as he shot up from his seat. As soon as he tried to take a step back, he tumbled right into the liquids, slipping and landing onto his backside with a thud.

Oh, shit.

Kimberly and I swapped shocked glances from afar, before they were both rushing in my direction.

As soon as they were in reaching distance, I grasped them by their wrists to tug them closer. When we turned, we moved with a quickness that felt like floating.

I didn't risk another glance at the men. If I did, I'd trip myself out, then slow myself down. Instead, I focused on what was in front of me: the exit.

Kimberly threw a glance over her shoulder. "It's working, but it won't last forever. Come on."

Tightening our hands, we turned our walk into a jog with our speed. In no time, we were to the exit.

As soon as we pushed the doors open, I nearly fell out with relief, but we didn't have time for it. We needed to put distance between us and them before anything else.

Our jog turned into a run as we sprinted across the parking lot.

We had driven Raven's car, today. As much as I loved her BMW, I wished that Kimberly or I had brought our own, considering they were sports cars. It would have made our getaway much quicker, but I was fine with anything at this point.

"Keys, keys, keys..." Raven continued to murmur to herself in a panic until she finally grabbed hold of them.

Her eyes darted between us before finally shoving them to Kimberly, who shot her a look of confusion. "It's your car."

"Kimberly, you won a race on your first try for nearly one hundred-thousand dollars," Raven threw back, thrusting them into her hands. "You're getting us the hell out of here."

"Yeah, but—" Her words ceased as she considered the situation over. "You know what? We don't time for this. Both of you get in."

I'd never seen someone start, then put a car in drive so quickly until now. In record time, she had us half way across the lot. I could hear several car honks and profanities from behind us as she whipped the car onto the public road.

"Okay," she breathed out, glancing over at me. "Maggie, you relax and just try to stay awake. I'm heading straight for the hospital." Her chin tipped up to the mirror to look at Raven. "Raven, you text the guys. Tell them about the mall, turn on your location, and tell them we're headed to the hospital."

"On it."

"Good," Kimberly breathed out, barely glancing in her mirror as she jumped lanes. The engine roared from under her foot. "I need you to help me look out for any suspicious shit, too, okay? Those guys could have caught up to us by now."

Past the click of her nails on the screen, I heard Raven mumble, "Okay, I'm texting Levi, now."

Kimberly nodded, biting into her lip as she searched for anything else to add, before directing her attention to me.

The worry was at its highest level in her face, but she held it back for me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, attempting the same smile to reassure her. I couldn't lie, though, the hits were slowly getting to me. My vision was beginning to blur a bit, and that pounding in the back of my head was nearly impossible to comprehend.

Kimberly reached over to grab my hand. I could see the unsettling turn building in her expression, but she shielded it with encouragement.

"You're going to be okay, Maggie," she promised. "We're going to be at the hospital in no time."

"Shit," Raven hissed, earning our attention. "My phone died before I got to send the message."

Kimberly reached for hers, but when she pressed at the power button, all that followed was a dead battery icon. A curse spilled from her lips.

I ran the back of my hand over my eyes. "My location is on, so Luke has it."

Kimberly blew out a sigh of relief, nodding. "Thank God."

I stretched my phone behind my head for Raven. "Put all three boys in a group chat, then text them."

I glanced in my mirror to take over Raven's part, searching for any unusual scenes. There were a number of vehicles to watch over, but none seemed out of the ordinary. "I think we're fine for now."

Kimberly nodded, jumping past a number of cars to get ahead. I wasn't even sure how she managed to drive so safely, yet so quickly and swiftly at the same time, but I guess she learned the day of the race.

With the speed we were going through, the smallest turn or swerve could end in a disaster. But, for right now, I didn't care as long as we got to safety.

Sighing, I squeezed Kimberly's hand, then lifted my free one to offer to Raven.

I gave a smile of encouragement. "We're going to be—"

Before the words could fully leave my mouth, the car jerked forward so hard, I nearly slammed my head against the dashboard from the impact. My body jolted forward until my back slammed back into the seat.

Another came, this time harder than the last. I caught Kimberly's shocked eyes, which I was sure my own matched to the last detail.

Just when the strike from the rear of the car stopped, another followed up but from a different direction. They slammed into Kimberly's side so hard, she had no other choice, but to lose her grip on the wheel.

That was enough. It was the final blow. Everything fell in slow motion from that point.

Tires were skidding. We were flipping, screaming, and moving, but not moving at all, either. The oxygen was being ripped from my lungs so painfully, the knowledge of it originally being there seemed wrong. Parts of the car were being scraped, stretched, and yanked from their original places. Glass was being broken and shattered until I felt the shards dig into our skin.

And, finally, just as the pain began to wring me out in every way possible, it all stopped. Everything stopped. Before I could register another event, my vision faded until it all went black.