Take Me Away novel Chapter 39

M City didn’t see a whole lot of showers during the summer, but now the autumn rains had been endless. The torrential rain went on and poured heavily until the next morning,

its sound muting everything else’s.

Fiona woke up to the storm. She stifled a groan as she tried to move her stiff and sore body from under the thin quilt. Before she could, she felt a heavy arm wrap around her.

Spencer was unceremoniously awakened by the ruckus, and as he opened his eyes sharply, he quickly scanned the whole room and immediately happened upon Fiona.

In a futile attempt to get out of bed quietly, she grabbed her clothes to cover herself up and tiptoed away as her legs trembled. Waking up from last night did not elicit shyness, only hatred and humiliation.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Spencer sat up on the bed slowly and lifted his eyes inadvertently to take in her features. Instead, he became slack-jawed as he saw the two scars running along her otherwise smooth back.

As she heard his deep, booming voice, Fiona stopped for a moment, only to remain quiet. Instead, she continued walking.

"Where did you get those scars?" he blurted out before he could restrain himself.

Fiona stopped on her tracks and reflexively turned around, trying to cover her back. She met his doubtful eyes with a sad smile. "Don’t you remember asking me why I was still alive the first time we met? I almost died once. The scars, of course, were left on the day of the car accident. There you go. Satisfied?"

His eyes darkened as he stared at Fiona. Ten years ago, when he rushed to the hospital and witnessed his mother die, there had been a little girl in the next room, fighting for her life.

"Are you satisfied now, with what happened last night? Are you happy you finally took you revenge on me?" she asked him without a hint of emotion.

Spencer finally came to his senses a moment after and looked back at her mocking expression. As he stood up and lifted the quilt, he saw the bloodstain on the sheet. His heart clenched, but he wore a cold smile. "No. I need to teach you how to satisfy me more."

She took notice of the blood on the messy bed and her eyes started to sting. She turned away and clenched her fists.

In the midst of what felt like a never-ending standstill, Spencer’s phone rang over the tense silence. "Hello. Grandpa, what’s up?"

On the other end of the line, Wayne could hear that Spencer spoke differently from his usual harsh tone. In shock, he asked, "Did you just get up?"

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at home." He quickly added, "In the Four Seasons Scenery."

"Where is Fiona?" Wayne couldn’t help but sound surprised.

"She's beside me." He cast a glance at her.

‘Beside her?’ "Last night you two...?" Wayne probed.

"Yes." Having understood immediately, Wayne said happily, "Take Fiona here this noon. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Grandpa."

"Put her on the phone!"

Fiona’s hand paused on the doorknob as she heard the deep voice on the other end of the line. She could feel Spencer’s presence slowly creep up from behind her.

"Grandpa wants to talk to you." He handed her the phone, and as his eyes raked her whole image from top to bottom, he felt a tinge of nervousness. And so, seemingly annoyed, he excused himself and went to the bathroom.

Fiona pursed her lips as she held the phone to her ear. "Grandpa..."

"Hey, Fiona." Wayne was overjoyed but stopped himself from overreacting. "Today’s the weekend. Come home and see me, all right? Take Spencer with you. I’ll ask the cook to prepare a delicious meal for you both to enjoy!"

"Of course," she replied.

"Okay. By the way, remind Spencer to drive carefully. It’s raining quite hard today. I’m looking forward to having lunch with you together!"

After ten minutes passed, the pair managed to pack up their stuff and go to the garage, driving straight ahead to the Cheng family residence.

The air inside the car felt stuffy and sticky. Fiona couldn’t help but frown.

Spencer stepped on the gas and drove the car to an empty road, away from the direction of their supposed destination.

Aside from a tiny squeak,

they continued on looking down the road wordlessly until they finally stopped at a high-speed intersection. Spencer stepped hard on the brake as puddles splashed on the roadside and the tires screeched violently against the cement.

Fiona sucked in a deep breath but managed to pull herself together quickly. She propped up against the door and looked out the window.

"Do you remember where we are, Fiona?" Spencer said, looking blankly ahead.

Fiona's heart beat faster.

The rain obstructed her view, but of all people, she could recognize that road sign from miles away—River Road.

Like a virus, the decade-old nightmare started to invade her body, spreading quickly into her cold limbs and heavy chest. And yet, her mind was most affected. Her breathing became even more labored as she started to touch the temples on her head, which suddenly hurt like hell.

Bang! Bang!

"Help! A car accident!"

"Please, help! Help!"

"Hello, is this the police? There’s been a car accident in River Road."