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)
“I’m not leaving you,” she says quietly beneath her breath, her eyes wide with both fear and disbelief. Jay’s voice echoes in my head as he screams, but I don’t listen.
“Get out,” I say calmly, all the rage just beneath the surface. She tries to turn, to run back to her room, but I’m faster than her. I close the door and slam it shut before she can run. I cage her small body in, loving the heat and the feel.
I fucking love her, and that makes the pain in my chest only splinter deeper.
“Get out,” I repeat again, feeling her hair in my face and resisting the urge to touch her, to comfort her as she trembles beneath me.
“I can help,” she barely gets out as she turns in the small space between us.
“That’s why I’m here,” she pleads with me, chancing a moment to reach out to me. Her small hands reach up to my chest and I feel Jay inside of me. I feel him cower in pain and agony.
I’m a monster. “He never should have brought you here,” I tell her and grab her wrists.
Her breath shudders as I tug her away.
“No!” she yells as she kicks me and runs to the living room.
I grind my teeth and follow her in, right on her heels. She grabs onto the first thing she sees, the sofa, and grips it as if it will protect her.
“John, no,” she pleads with me, but she doesn’t turn.
My breath stills and I feel Jay pace inside, hating me and wanting to kill me as I pry her fingers from the edge of the sofa.
She can’t stay. I won’t let her see this.
Jay’s quiet as I fight her, holding her small body against mine and force her from the house. She kicks and begs me over and over, but I ignore her.
As I toss her outside, careful to keep her from falling too much, I know how this needs to end.
Chapter 29
Robin
Fear laces my blood and the night air is bitter cold, making my hands shake as I reach into my pocket for his phone I took from him as he forced me out. I’m glad I had the presence of mind to put on my shoes when I went back to my room. I did it to avoid being cut by the broken glass in the bathroom but I should have realized this would be a possibility as well.
My shoes slam down on the porch steps, one after the other as I run forward. I look behind me, over my shoulder, breathing heavily from the terror screaming in my blood.
I knew there was a chance he’d break. Every moment with John I waited for him to remember. It fucking killed me for him to look at me with new eyes. No memory of everything we’d gone through. It was selfish of me, but I needed to know if he'd still love me even if I kept the truth at bay. That selfish desire stayed my hand. That, and the fear of how he’d handle it once he learned the truth.
Once he’s learned who he truly is.
My Jay. The tortured boy and my savior in every way. But he doesn’t see it as that. He never could.
My shoulder brushes against the bark of a tree as I try to catch my breath, breathing in the cold night air that makes my lungs feel like they’ve frozen. My muscles scream from running as fast as I did, but this is as far as I’ll go.
I lean my body against the thick oak tree and look back at the house. The sounds of him yell, pull more pain from my heart. The sob is suppressed as the light from the phone brightens the dark night and tears my eyes away from the lit windows in John’s house.
There’s no one for miles. No help can come soon enough.
There’s no fucking way I’m leaving him. He’s a danger to himself.
I stare at the screen, looking at the numbers to press to unlock it.
A password.
Fuck! I chew the inside of my cheek, looking back up at the house. I don’t know his fucking number! In a moment of panic, I almost forget that there’s an emergency call option at the bottom. I silence the sob that tears its way out from my lips and quickly call the police.
I clench my teeth. No rings. Pick up. Pick up!
A loud bang, like a crash from inside the house makes my heart leap in my chest and my body turns to ice as I look up. Nothing to see, nothing to hear but Toby's barking, over and over.
The click is loud as a calm female voice speaks clearly, “Emergency operator, what-”
“I need help!” I scream into the phone.
“What’s your address, ma'am?” the woman asks me, and I freeze. Fuck! I look around, I look everywhere for a mailbox or a number. There’s only a dirt road.