Page 39 of Intertwined Souls

“But we don’t go to the school anymore,” she says quietly.

I cup her cheek, angling her head towards me. “We do, though. The online program is set up through the school. We could've done sports still, clubs, any school events, graduation, all of it.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh.”

“Is oh your answer?” I ask with a small smile.

Cade grunts from behind her. “I didn’t ask.”

Harley snorts. “I have never been to a school dance before. Or any dance. I don’t know, it sounds…” she trails off, seeming hesitant to want to go.

“Baby girl, do you want to get all done up in a pretty dress and have all three of your boyfriends—”

“Very hot boyfriends,” I tack on, interrupting Cade.

“—put on suits and take you out for the night?” he finishes.

“Yes,” Harley says quietly, biting her lip.

“Then we go. Trust us Harley. All you have to do is decide what to wear. That’s it. Then we will take you out and it’ll be a night to remember.” Grayson says softly.

Harley glances at each of us, that vulnerability she doesn’t show often shining through her eyes. The part of her that wants to let go and be a high school girl for once but feels like she can’t because of the life she has been given.

“Okay. We’re going to prom,” she says, a smile slowly blooming over her gorgeous face as her hazel eyes brighten with excitement.

Chapter Ten

Harley

Brielle, Atlas, Lincoln, and Ryan are planning to be here in about three days, and excitement thrums through me as I get ready.

It’s a new, almost foreign feeling to be happy so often now. More days than not, I feel really good. And even on the days when my demons surface or I am simply struggling, I don’t have to face it alone, and I think I am finally coming around to that.

Brielle and I try to talk on the phone at least a few times a week. With her new nursing job, getting time off has been hard. That, and I have been slammed with schoolwork almost nonstop for months now. Even though it’s been stressful, it’s worth it to know that I’m almost done with it all.

Gabe has been holding everyone off from doing anything involving Tammy or the trafficking ring because he wants to get everyone prepared. He never said it out loud, but I think he also was trying to give me some normalcy to finish out school.

Everything is always on the back of my mind. Some days it really bothers me to think about how many girls could be out there locked away in basements and going through worse things than I did.

I want to save them and show them that there is hope and something better out there even when it feels like you’ll never escape. Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhale, count to five, exhale. Knowing I am about to start spiraling down that rabbit hole, I quickly throw on a t-shirt over my sports bra and leggings before putting on my shoes and heading down to the gym where I am meeting the guys to do our daily workout.

I’m the first one down here, so I wrap my hands and walk over to the speed bag that hangs from a beam on the back wall next to a few other punching bags.

Taking a deep breath, I do my best to clear my mind as I raise my fists up in front of my face, lining them up with the speed bag before I start punching, rotating back and forth between my fists, slowly picking up speed. Making sure I continue to breathe and keep the proper stance, my left foot forward and right foot slightly back.

I soon get into a rhythm and keep going until my biceps start to burn and a sheen of sweat covers my skin.

Tammy’s triumphant smile pops into my mind as I think about all the things she has said and done to me and how she is condemning others to the same fate because she has no fucking soul.

I want to pummel her face in until that smile is long gone and she realizes just how badly she fucked up with me. She should’ve killed me like she originally wanted to.

I don’t want to keep waiting. I want my revenge. I want to stop other girls from having to live with the same scars inside and out as I do.

It’s not fucking fair.

“Harley!” someone yells as my arms are grabbed and ripped back from the bag. “Harley, little flame, fucking breathe and focus on me.”

I gasp and take a shuddering breath, leaning against Ryker as he holds me up. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just—I got lost in my mind again.”

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