WIPpet Wednesday: Crash Landing

I’m sorry I missed a few weeks. Between one thing and another, it’s been really busy! We had end-of-year things with the kids, followed by our big family vacation to Cedar Point in Ohio. That was really fun. My 12-year-old has been talking about it for years, and we finally went. When we got there, he saw this excellent t-shirt with 6 of their big roller coasters on it. His goal was to ride all 6, which he did—some twice. I only made it on 4 of the 6 because I refused to ride the one that’s basically one giant vertical drop, and there wasn’t time for the other one. If you go, and if you like roller coasters, my favorite was Gatekeeper.

On to the WIPpet. This is possibly the last I’ll post of Cat for the time being. The novel is done, it’s been beta’d, and I’m doing one last read-through before I send it to my publisher. Provided all goes well, it will be out of my hands before the next WIPpet Wednesday. I’m both happy and sad, but I know I’ll get to revisit Cat next year when I finish the final part of the series.

WIPmath: 29 sentences for the 29th. This is not especially graphic, but there is definitely some violence, and Landon has moved past being creepy into assault. So if that’s something you’re sensitive to, you may wish to skip the excerpt.

“Your friend looks like he’s had a bit too much. Better get him out of here.”

“Right, on my way.”

Landon half-lifted him and sort of carried him to the door, where they slipped out around a few people coming in. It was warmer outside than inside, but the air was fresh, and Cat took a deep breath in a renewed effort to stay coherent. He let Landon guide him out to the parking lot, hardly registering where they were going until they were leaned up against a car. Landon didn’t make a move to unlock it or help Cat inside. Instead, he leaned Cat against the door and pressed up to him. Cat grunted in pain at the contact, but at least Landon was holding him up, and he was a little more clear than he’d been at the bar.

Cat took the opportunity to reach for his phone again, and he hit Zee’s number. While it was still ringing, Landon grasped it and tossed it aside into the dirt, and the sound stopped. He put his face right up against Cat’s.

“Glad I finally got you alone,” Landon murmured in his ear. “Didn’t think you really meant what you said earlier, not after I heard you in the bathroom. So hot. Should have been for me.”

“What?” Cat heard the slur in his own voice.

“I told you, I always get what I want.” He bit Cat’s earlobe, hard.

Cat’s head buzzed, and he pushed at Landon. “Stop…I can’t—”

His protest was muffled by the first blow, which caught him off-guard and knocked him to the ground. His phone lay next to his head, and he turned toward it when he heard Zee’s voice. “Zee?” he said. “Please! I need—”

This time, what cut him off was a foot landing a solid blow on his side. Landon was saying things to him, but none of them made sense—something about it being his fault. Cat gasped, trying to piece together how he’d gotten where he was and what the hell was happening. He never arrived there; something hit his head, and everything went black.

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!