Read Scars: Book One for Free Online Page A

edging. It felt heavy and expensive in my hands.
A yellow Post-It note stuck out the top, and I opened it to that page. A date
was written at the top in a careful script.
    “See,
Rachel, this is reading time. Read me the entry.”
    The
psycho lounged in the armchair; feet up on a stool and casual like we were
somewhere else. I took a breath and scanned the words quickly. Something inside
me began to twist, cold and unsettling. My eyes widened slightly as my heart
began to thump. I thought about throwing the book down and running out of the
room, but that noose memory wasn’t going anywhere fast. I began to read, doing
my utmost to make sure that my voice came out smooth and strong, betraying
nothing of the tremors inside me.
    “Today,
I feel like my life is renewed, spring has arrived in the form of Hannah. Her
hair is yellow like the spring daffodils and her eyes green like new shoots. I
know I sound like a romantic fool, but this one meeting has given me a sense of
hope. It’s like all those bad things can be put to rest now and I get to start
anew.
    I
was sitting in Harriett’s Café, drinking my coffee and reading the newspaper,
when she came up to me. She’d been crying; her eyes were red-rimmed but she
looked beautiful anyway. She’s not one of those women whose nose goes red, and
eyes puffy when they sob. No, distress and pain looked beautiful on her.
    She’d
had her wallet stolen, and she was asking for a few dollars for bus fare to
make it home. I told her to sit down, and I’d buy her a coffee to calm herself
down. She gave me a shy smile and thanked me.
    ‘Hannah,’
she introduced herself, holding out a hand, and then she motioned to a girl
sitting by the counter to come over. The girl couldn’t have been more than
fifteen or sixteen, and she was the spitting image of her mother. Her name is
Rachel, and she is shy and demure, not like those wild, rude teenagers that you
meet now days. I bought us all drinks and cake, and I must admit, Hannah is the
most charming woman I’ve met in a long time. So much so, that I offered them a
lift home. They live in one of the poorer neighborhoods, and the house is
pretty modest. Hannah told me it was a rental, and that she’d left an abusive
husband, and that’s why they were hiding out here until she could get a divorce
and get her fair share of the house sale.
    I
gave her a polite kiss goodbye on the cheek, itching to ask for her phone
number but somehow I stopped myself. I knew getting involved with her would
bring a world of trouble. Besides, my lawyers had told me I probably wouldn’t
be so lucky if there were a next time. She asked me in for a drink, but I said
no. The look on her face was of disappointment, and that expression is what I
keep seeing every time I close my eyes and try to sleep. I might swing by
tomorrow, though, maybe just to keep an eye on them. Who knows what kind of
asshole her ex is. Hannah is so sweet; she probably couldn’t fight off a fly.”
    The
entry ended, and I had no desire to turn the page and read anymore. I lifted my
eyes to meet the dark, wolf-like ones of the psycho.
    “You
figured out why you’re here now?”
    I
swallowed. “No, I don’t know what any of this has to do with me. Please just let
me go. You think I’m this Rachel girl? I’m not, I’m Paige. Just Paige.”
    He
smiled slightly. “You’re a liar, Rachel.”
    “Paige.
My name is Paige! I haven’t done anything wrong.” I hurled that book at him
with all my might; he caught it easily and placed it on the small table beside
him. “I don’t want to be here. I want my clothes. I want to go home!” Those
fear inspired words rushed out of me as I trembled, adrenalin causing a spike
of warmth to go through me and I nearly forgot that I was naked. I stood there
after my outburst, breathing heavily and watching him as closely as he watched
me. When he finally made a movement, I spurred into action and sprinted for the
doorway, and down the hall, finally