Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“It’s okay, I won’t let Jay hurt you,” I tell her, again raising my hands palms outward as though she's a wounded animal.
Her eyes fall to the sheet and then look back to me before she sits up to look at me, her gaze searching my face for something. She finally asks, “Does Jay want to hurt me?” Her eyes flicker to the door again and then back to my eyes.
The dim light in the room reflects in her eyes. Swirls of forest greens and flecks of gold. She has the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen, but they're riddled with questions and fear.
“No,” I answer her immediately. “He wants to help you.”
She nods once and then the fear seems to dim although she unconsciously picks at the blanket on the bed.
“Are you alright?” I ask her, feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach that there’s more between her and Jay than I realize. She’s more afraid of me than him. I can feel it. “I promise, I have no intention of hurting you,” I tell her and slow my movements to make it obvious I’m going to sit on the edge of the bed. I can’t have her being afraid of me.
“I’m not well, no,” she says softly, shaking her head just slightly but her eyes stay on mine, brimming with curiosity now. “Are you alright?” she asks me.
It throws me off. “No,” I say after a moment. “This isn’t alright with me,” I add with my throat tight. “I didn’t know,” I explain, and I tell her more as a plea for forgiveness. I swallow hard and glance at the door. I should take her away. I can leave with her right now.
All the evidence will point to me though and if she presses charges, I’m fucked. But what other choice do I have?
“If you want to leave-” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“What didn’t you know?” she asks me, licking her lips and tilting her head to the right. Her eyes are wide with curiosity more than anything else.
“I didn’t know he’d taken you,” I admit to her in a low voice that’s barely audible. She nods her head once.
“So you’d let me leave?” she asks in a small voice. Her eyes travel to the door as if watching herself simply walk away, but when her gaze stops, the lights turn on and Jay stands in the doorway. My eyes adjust to the light slowly, but they only focus on her and her reaction to seeing Jay. She hesitates a moment, her grip on the blanket tightening as she takes him in.
“Jay?” She whispers his name as if it’s a question. As if it can’t really be him.
My gaze turns to Jay, and I watch as his lips twitch up into a smile and his expression softens. He opens his mouth to say something, but instead he licks his lips and reaches behind him to close the door. A foreboding click echoes off the walls as he walks closer to her.
“How’s your head?” he asks her.
“Jay, are you alright?” she asks and then crawls to the edge of the bed slowly, moving away from me and closer to him. Her eyes brim with tears, and she bites down on her bottom lip to keep them from spilling over.
He walks slowly toward her, and the sound of his boots smacking softly on the wooden floor is the only thing I can hear other than my racing heart.
He cups her chin in his hand and brushes his thumb along her lips, and she seems to lean into him. She reaches up and wraps her small hands around his wrist. “I know it’s scary, but I thought you’d understand.”
“You can’t do this, Jay,” she pleads with him as a tear slips down her cheek. The way she’s talking to him, the way she pleads with him and ignores me completely shifts something deep inside of me. She cares for him. It’s so fucking obvious.
“It’s not just for me, little bird,” Jay says in a pained voice. “I would have left you alone forever, I promise you I would have.”
She shakes her head, rising on her knees to interrupt him. As the bed creaks with her shifting weight, he presses a finger to her lips, hushing her. “You wanted to hurt yourself,” he tells her and her strength vanishes. She moves her cheek from his hand and seems to back away from him.
“Jay, you need help,” she whimpers.
“Ah,” Jay says. “And so do you, my little bird.”
Chapter 7
Robin
I’m practically shaking. My legs feel wobbly and my head is pounding, but I’ve never felt so aware.
It’s him. It’s really him. After all this time, he’s finally come back to me. But this is a nightmare even I never dared to have. An outcome I couldn’t have predicted.