Page 76 of Cedarwood Cabin

He suddenly looks up, his eyes filled with anger. “What do you mean?”

I love getting a rise out of him and I know I’ve got to him. Payback time. Asshole!

“Well…Marty, my father's friend—”

“What the fuck about him?!” he growls.

Haha! You don't like it, do you?

Dax rushes towards me with fury in his eyes. Before I can react, he pins me up against the shed. His body presses against mine as he holds the ax blade to my throat.

“Fucking tell me now!” he seethes.

Fear and defiance overtake my body. We are frozen in the moment as the sharp edge of the ax holds me in place. I take a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure.

The memory of Marty was buried deep in my mind and I hated thinking about it.

However, I know this provokes Dax so I tell him with tears in my eyes.

“We kissed…then he got on top of me. I thought I was going to lose my virginity to him.”

Dax's grip on the ax tightens as he grits down on his bottom teeth. “Then what?”

I swallow hard and tremble. “I screamed and he stopped. I felt fearful and helpless.”

Dax's eyes search mine for the truth and his breathing becomes harsh.

“Why? Why are you telling me this?”

“Because. I want you to know you can’t break me. I’m not afraid of you,” I say, looking at him dead in his eyes.

He falters for a moment, then he lets out a growl as he pushes away from me. I stand my ground as he stares at me, trying to intimidate me. He walks back to the wooden block and resumes chopping wood.

I feel shaken up, but I refuse to let him see it. I return to splitting logs, trying to focus on the task.

A few moments passed between us. “You kissed…Did you do anything else?” he asks in a low tone.

I hesitate for a moment, then shake my head. “Nothing else. I backed out when he said I looked like my mother.”

“I wanna kill him for even trying. You’re mine.”

With all his anger, he lifts the ax and hits the chopping block. He lets out a loud grunt.

“I wanna kill him…I wanna kill him,” Dax repeats over and over as he continually swings the ax down.

He looks up at me, his eyes searching mine for something. I see a different side to Dax.

And it’s dark.

NINETEEN

FLORA

Days have dragged by, each one blending into the next. I have planned many ways to escape, each of them seeming impossible when I’m chained up like a dog.

We are outside on the balcony. They both smoke their cigarettes while I sit on the bench.

I look down at the chain wrapped around the leg of the bench, a stark reminder of my situation.

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