The Light I Buried for You Was My Biggest Mistake Chapter 03
When I collapsed, the chat erupted.
[She’s down!]
[Told you! Pay up!]
Sophie popped her head out. After a beat, she feigned panic. “Derek, I think she has heatstroke!”
Derek frowned. “Really?”
“Yes!” Her voice was urgent now. “My grandmother always said you have to cool someone down with cold water right away, or they could die!”
Derek looked at her tenderly. “Sophie, you’re so kind. After how she treated you, you’re still worried.”
She bit her lip. “She’s still older than me, in a way. I can’t just let her die.”
He squeezed her hand and turned to the security. “Get the pressure washer from the trunk.”
They hooked it to the car’s water tank. Derek held the nozzle, Sophie beside him.
“Ready?” he asked in a light tone, like it was a game.
Sophie nodded. “Derek, don’t make the pressure too high. I’m worried about her.”
“You’re too soft,” he laughed. “High pressure works faster.”
It wasn’t cooling, it was a battering ram. It tore at my raw wounds. I couldn’t even scream; I just convulsed.
The water filled my nose and mouth, and my lungs burned.
I thrashed on the ground, my head slamming against the asphalt.
Derek laughed. Sophie yelled, “Lauren, stop moving! It hurts more if you fight it!”, her voice dripping with fake concern.
The chat went wild with excitement.
[This is better than an apology.]
[Derek knows how to have fun.]
[That pressure must be extreme.]
[Sophie’s so sweet to worry.]
The water stopped. I lay there, shaking.
My wounds were white and raw. Blood and water pooled beneath me.
Derek crouched, grabbed my hair, and lifted my head. “So, Lauren? Made up your mind?”
Blood bubbled from my mouth.
He shook me like a ragdoll. “Just say you’re sorry. That’s all. Apologize to Sophie, and you can get in the car.”
Sophie peered over his shoulder. “Lauren, please. Just admit you were wrong. I won’t hold a grudge.”
She leaned in closer, whispering for only us. “Just do it. I’m nobody. You don’t need to be so proud. You’re just hurting yourself.”
I looked at her face, so close. Concern written all over it, tears in her eyes. I gathered the blood in my mouth and spat it directly into her face.
Sophie shrieked and stumbled backward, smearing the blood across her cheeks as she tried to wipe it off.
Derek kicked me in the shoulder, and I flipped over onto the hot asphalt, my head cracking against the ground.
“Ungrateful bitch!” He crouched down, his voice low and cold. “Still putting on a show? You think I won’t end you?”
Sophie tugged at his sleeve, putting on a teary act. “Derek, stop. She didn’t mean it. She’s just in pain.”
He pushed her behind him and pointed at my face. “Fine. You want to play hardball? We’ll play hardball.”
