Shaping Destiny Read Free

night. We’ve got this.”
    “Sounds like a plan. You
want to come over again tomorrow?”
    “Yup, I wouldn’t miss it.”
He picked up his jacket off my bed and then held his arms out for
me to slide into.
    “I’ll walk you to the
door.”
    I opened the front door
for him and reached to touch his arm as he passed. He turned and
gave me a kiss that left me breathless.
    “Okay you two, that’s
enough,” Melissa said from the living room. I blushed at the same
time and looked down at the ground.
    “All right, I’ll see you
girls later,” he shouted past me. He looked down at me. “Sweet
dreams, cutie,” he whispered and turned to shut the door behind
him.
     

CHAPTER THREE
    The first week was over.
Classes came and went, and school books were pilling up on my desk
next to my computer.
    “Gretchen, I’m going to
head out. Take a walk or something. These books are making me
cross-eyed.” I shut my books and grabbed my grey coat. “I won’t be
long.”
    “Kay, see you in a bit.”
She barely looked up from typing frantically on the
computer.
    I walked out of the dorm
and crossed the street to walk on campus. A light dusting of snow
drifted from the sky, but it didn’t stick to the ground. The roads
were slushy and wet. It wasn’t too cold, and to my skin, overheated
from the warm dorm rooms, it felt good.
    Although it was Saturday,
I wasn’t expecting things to be so quiet. I guess the normal person
wouldn’t spend their weekend walking through school, but part of me
was still expecting to see the determined students anxiously
bustling. I kept my arms across my chest to keep the extra breeze
out while walking to clear my head. Finding it hard to feel relaxed
I looked up to find the reason why. A shiver ran through my body,
and my arms drop to my side.
    Move, Leah,
move . The more I told myself to turn and
run, the more my body couldn’t react. The mystery man started to
get closer and closer, running so fast he looked as if he were
floating. He was still far off; I could easily get away, but like a
stupid girl I froze. Just like a slow-motion nightmare, I took a
few steps backward only to back up against someone else. A thick
arm enveloped me, just under my bosom, and a hand covered my mouth.
My hands darted to my face, pulling at the hand that prevented me
from breathing properly. Gasping for air enough to keep up with my
erratic heartbeats started to make me light-headed.
    I took one last glace at
my mystery man, who was still making his way toward me. Knowing he
was just a backup in case I put up a fight, I didn’t have much
hope. I bit down hard on my captor’s hand.
    “What do you want from
me?” Kicking and screaming was getting me nowhere. He was much too
big of a man.
    “Shut up, devil!” He began
dragging me toward a white SUV while I stumbled to find my
feet.
    He was a large man, and
his bicep bulged beneath his tight, brown shirt. Boots covered his
feet, which he slushed in the street. Blond hair was buzzed on his
scalp, and thin lips pushed together tightly at his
mouth.
    “Let her go!”
    I didn’t dare look behind
me to see who it was, but part of me knew already. But why? My
captor slowly turned with fire in his eyes. “Move along,
punk.”
    “I said, let her go.” More
intensity sounded in his voice this time.
    My head pounded as my
captor threw me into the side of his vehicle. “Is that what you
want, hero?” He took a step forward. “I’ll let her go for
you.”
    Thunder filled the sky, or
at least I thought it was thunder. With my head spinning from the
blow it was hard to be certain. Through glossy eyes I noticed what
the mystery man’s expression bespoke. Pure anger and hatred filled
his soul. I closed my eyes, not able to focus any longer. A moment
later all was silent, and at another I was being lifted, cradled in
someone’s embrace.
    “Leah? Wake up,” his voice
pleaded. “You can’t fall asleep. You may have a concussion.” He
held me up with only one arm,