Page 91 of Knot Forgotten

A swallow works my throat. “No–”

“Well, the only way you’ll be safe is if he is behind bars.”

“If he is as powerful as you seem to think, I don’t think him being behind bars will make me safe. Maybe he forgot about me…” That makes sense. Why would he care about one single girl when it sounds like Raven helps girls escape all the time?

“Excuse me if I don’t take that chance with my only daughter.” She pulls her eyes away from the road to pin me with a serious look.

My fingers tap my phone screen absently and it lights up beneath my touch. Riley’s response lights up on the screen. I couldn’t decide if he was being supportive or relieved that I am leaving for a few days. Which is stupid and completely unfounded.

“You could have let me say goodbye.”

“You’ll see them again once it is safe.”

Great, I’m going to be a different kind of prisoner. This time, probably longer than five years. It all reminds me of the night we ran. The memories wash over me, pulling me into the past.

The police lights stop flashing on our walls as they pull away from our house, taking my father with them. His threat rings in my ears, and my cheek hurts where he hit me. I want to run to the treehouse and hide there for days or weeks.

My mom sighs, a half-broken sound. When I look at her, she has her hand resting on her stomach, her gaze a million miles away. She focuses on me as if she feels my gaze on her.

“Pack a bag, Erin, we have to go.”

She is halfway down the hallway before I find my words. “Go?”

“He will be released by morning. I don’t think that him sobering up will change anything that he said tonight.”

A sob gets caught in my throat, and I press my fingers against my lips to hold it in. Tears fill my eyes and fall down my cheeks. Still, my feet are rooted to the spot; I can’t move.

My father wants to sell me.

Stomach tumbling like I’m on a rollercoaster, I force my feet to take the stairs up to my room. Once inside, I collapse on the bed, looking around at my room. The walls are still pink, a reminder of a childhood that doesn’t exist. Only this nightmare.

Suddenly, I just want my guys. Cam, Blake, Riley, and Matt will know what to do. They will help protect me.

I ignore the bag at the foot of my bed and find my feet before I’m rushing down the stairs and out the back door. My mom shouts behind me, but I run for Cam’s house.

I only get halfway before my mom reaches out and stops me, pulling me back to our house.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is frantic and scared as she shakes me. “You can’t get the neighbors involved. Pack a bag, Erin.”

“I can’t go without telling Cam,” I say.

My heart feels like it is breaking, and I swear I can hear the audible crack when my mom says, “Your life is more important than some childhood friend. You’ll see him again if it is meant to be.”

I know then when we leave, we aren’t coming back. She won’t let me reach out to any of them. It is a soul-deep knowledge that tears my heart from my chest and stomps on it. Leaving it bleeding on the ground at our feet.

“Erin, listen to me. If we don’t get as far away from this house before your father is released, he will find us, and he will take you to a bad man and sell you to the highest bidder. Do you want to stay here and find out how horrible that future will be?”

Silently, tears streaking my face, I shake my head. Safety is more important than my heart.

The wetness on my face brings me back to myself. I blink away the tears and brush my damp cheeks as I look out at the scenery passing by. The past is repeating itself.

Only this time I’m not a little girl. “I can’t hide anymore, Mom.” The words slip out before I fully decide to say them. But they feel right.

“What?” Her mouth hangs open. She stares at me for a few moments before she forces her attention back to the road.

“Your fear is driving you. And maybe it is right; maybe Valentine will come for me, but if he does…it won’t matter where I am. And I would rather be with my pack. I love them, and they love me. I can’t run again. It broke all of us last time.”

“Honey,” she says, her tone soft and full of emotion.

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