Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
“Leave me alone.” I’m not sure if I mean the words flying from my mouth because as much as I fear Bryce, a part of me is drawn to his brutality.
His violence against Paul repels, disgusts, and scares me. But I can’t deny that my body reacts in a way it shouldn’t. Bryce’s determination to protect me at such a high cost to himself has my emotions soaring. And I hate myself for it. I hate that I’m intrigued and turned on by such violence. Perhaps all the years of abuse have broken me and twisted my mind into accepting wrongdoing as palatable.
“Isla, please, stop.”
I want to do as Bryce asks, but the little girl whose father beat her needs to run. The woman abused by his son doesn’t want to listen to anything he has to say.
“You can’t leave, Isla. Be reasonable. You don’t have a car, and your phone is in your purse back at the cabin. There’s no cab you can call around here or a bus to take. What are you going to do, crawl into the forest and wait for an animal to attack you?”
I have no options, but I’d rather be eaten by a bear than give him the satisfaction of admitting my situation. “The only animals I’ve seen in this forest are you and Paul.”
The sun is rising. Ironic that the colors marring my skin in ugly bruises are so majestic in the night sky. Orange, red, purple. Being lost out here sends chills down my spine.
Suddenly, I’m tackled to the forest floor. Dirt puffs under my harsh breath as I crawl forward, my fingernails clawing at the cold, hard ground.
Bryce grabs my ankle and yanks me toward him. “You’re fucking crazy. It’s freezing out here, and you’re being dramatic.”
“Let me go!” I scream.
I shiver as his body moves along with mine. He pins my arms over my head like Paul did when he wanted something I didn’t want to give. But my body isn’t shutting down with Bryce the way it did with Paul. My legs spread and cradle his knee. My hips rise, desperate for friction. I can’t think straight. I don’t know what this man’s going to do. “Just don’t hurt me.”
“Damn it, Isla. I won’t hurt you. I’ll never hurt you.”
“Why don’t you feel anything about killing your son?”
A moment of silence. It’s not uncomfortable, but it lingers between us. I asked, and he’s now forced to answer.
“I killed my father, too. Paul was never really my son. As much as I tried to fix him, I couldn’t. You can’t save people like my father and Paul. They hatched straight from hell. Maybe it’s my punishment because I’m a sinner, but my burden in life was putting them down.”
I’m frozen between desire and despair, unsure of what to do or what approach to take. I don’t know this man. I wrapped all my experiences up with his psychotic son, the brutality in Paul’s fist, the venom in his words, and the cruel way he convinced me of my worthlessness. How Paul would crush me into thinking his abuse was care and compassion.
Bryce claims that all he wants is to protect me, to help me, and even though I’ve witnessed the lengths he’ll go to keep me safe, I’m still hesitant to surrender to him fully.
But I also realize it’s not him I’m doubting but myself. How do I know I’m not gonna go from being his son’s prisoner to being his?
I pull myself along, but I can’t get a grip on the solid mud under my fingers. Still, I try. Maybe this is what they mean about not realizing your strength until you’re forced to. So why didn’t I have this strength when I was with Paul? Why did I stay? Why was I so weak? Would I have left if Bryce hadn’t confronted him? Did Bryce give me a choice or an ultimatum?
Shaking my head, I scream, “I don’t need you!”
I’m not sure who my words are meant for. Will anyone other than Bryce and I hear them, or will the forest swallow them up? Maybe they’ll reach the ears of a running fox or a mother bird feeding her chick in her nest.
“You may not want me, but you need me.”
Tears fill my eyes at his words. As much as I want to deny it, they’re laced with the truth. I have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I’m alone, and he knows my only hope is to trust a man I barely know.
My body falls limp at the resounding certainty of my fate. No choice. No options. No hope.
“Look at me, Isla.”
Our eyes connect, and I find a spark of hope in the depths of his dark irises.
Bryce leans in, his lips barely touching mine. “I’m not a good man. I’m a killer. A criminal. My moral compass is skewed at best, and at worst, it’s completely broken. I’m capable of unimaginable depravity, but I promise I’ll never harm you. Back there in the cabin, I wasn’t rejecting you. I was trying to save you.”