Chapter 2

The drive home from Ryan' s party was a blur. The city lights smeared past the window of the town car he' d sent for me. The cash in my purse felt heavy, dirty. It wasn' t enough. It was never enough.

My phone buzzed. A text from a blocked number.

He' s just using you. He' ll never help you with your father.

Ethan. It had to be. I deleted it without replying.

The next day, the real world came crashing back in. My phone rang, and the caller ID just said "Sledge." My blood ran cold.

"Maddy-girl," his greasy voice oozed through the speaker. "Time' s up. The boss wants his money. Five thousand. By tonight."

"I don' t have it," I said, my voice shaking. "I just paid for my mom' s medication. I need another week."

"A week?" He laughed, a horrible, rattling sound. "Your mom' s a tough old bird, but stress ain' t good for that heart of hers. I' d hate for something to happen. I' m at the hospital now. She looks so peaceful when she' s sleeping."

Panic seized me. "Don' t you touch her. I' ll get the money. Just give me a few hours."

"You got one hour, Maddy-girl. Clock' s ticking."

He hung up.

I called Ryan. It went to voicemail. I called again. Voicemail. My hands were trembling so badly I could barely dial. I had no one else. I had no other options.

I grabbed my keys and raced to the hospital, praying I wouldn' t be too late. When I burst into my mother' s room, my worst fears were realized.

Sledge was there, along with two of his thugs. My mother was awake, her face pale with terror, her breathing ragged on the oxygen machine. One of the thugs was holding her arm, his fingers digging into her frail skin.

"Look who it is," Sledge grinned, showing a row of yellow teeth. "Came to pay your respects?"

"Get away from her," I snarled, my voice shaking with rage and fear.

"Pay me, and we' ll go," he said simply.

"I told you, I need more time!"

"Time' s up." He nodded to the thug holding my mother. The man tightened his grip. My mother cried out, a thin, weak sound that tore my heart out.

"Stop! Please!" I begged, tears streaming down my face. I fumbled for my phone, my fingers slipping on the screen. I hit Ryan' s number on redial, putting it on speaker.

"Leave a message," his automated voice said.

"Ryan, please!" I screamed into the phone, my voice cracking with desperation. "He' s hurting my mother! At the hospital! Please, Ryan, help me!"

Sledge laughed. "Your rich boyfriend ain' t coming, sweetheart."

He backhanded me across the face. The world exploded in a flash of white-hot pain. I fell to the floor, my head hitting the linoleum with a sickening crack.

The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was Sledge' s boot coming towards my face, and the faint, hazy image of Ethan, standing under the stars, smiling at me.