Page 39 of Where We Ended

“Just wait…Silas, no…Fuckkkkkkkkk.”

Alec’s words faded into a soul-shattering scream along with a loud thump and the sound of metal clattering to the counter.

There was so much screaming.

I knew Silas had removed Alec’s hand, and with there no longer being any resistance when I tried to pull my arm, I covered my chest and took a few steps back. Alec continued to scream obscenities behind me, but I refused to look.

I heard Silas speak over the yelling, “Do not ever touch her again. She does not belong to you; she is not your toy, and she certainly will never be your girl. Next time, I’ll take your heart.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alec holding his bleeding stub to his side, seething in anger.

“Fuck you, brother.”

I felt numb as I watched, completely detached from the moment. I knew Alec had lost a hand, and that should have bothered me, but all I could think about was leaving this house. I wanted to go home, back to my room in the Stone Riders club. I wanted to wake up, have this all be a dream, and go back to how things were.

Silas tossed something and bent down into a squat in front of Alec. With his finger, he pushed against the tattoo on Alec’s arm, making him seethe in pain. “She was never a huntress or a goddess. She was none of those things.”

Alec tried to stand; his teeth were clenched so tight, and he was starting to grow pale. His gaze clashed with mine and I wanted to cry. Not for him, or what had been done to him, but because of the friend he used to be to me.

“She is to me.”

Silas turned toward me, his focus on where I was watching. I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes from Alec or push out what he’d said. I wanted to scream all the pain that was locked in my chest. All the agony and anger, but nothing would come out. Instead, Silas stood and his hand came to my hip, guiding me away from the scene and toward the open door.

Giving one last glance to his brother, he said. “You locked her up, thinking you could make her love you…but you can’t force the sun to shine, just like you can’t stop it from setting. I hope betraying her trust was worth it, Alec.”

A void seemed to catch me on the cusp of his words, and the word betrayal seemed to stick around my heart like a thick stone. Swinging, hitting my sternum with each pass.

Alec had betrayed me. He’d hurt me.

Silas pulled my hand, and I realized we were walking out of the house.

We stepped outside, my bare feet pressed into the dirt right as Silas pulled me into his arms, bridal style. I winced as the light hit my eyes, my days inside making it nearly impossible not to recoil. Instead, I allowed my head to be tucked under Silas’s chin as he walked us to safety.

I felt dazed as we hiked, the bright sun making my eyes slide shut, but my heart hadn’t stopped hammering in my chest. I had no concept of time, of how long we walked, only the loud pounding in my head that seemed to go on and on and on.

“You need to wear these.”

I was set back on my feet, which had my eyes cracking. Suddenly a pair of sunglasses landed on my face, and I saw Silas standing next to his bike, holding his leather jacket out to me. I lifted my hand to accept it and saw the blood-stained manacle dangling from my wrist. My stomach tilted, but I pushed past it so that I could get the hell away from this place.

Slipping into his jacket, there was a comfort that came seeing his name cover my chest. His coat was too big for me, so it covered the oversized t-shirt I was in, and most of my upper thighs. I inspected the bike with a recoil tightening in my chest.

I did not want to get on that. As often as I had hoped for Silas to come for me, now with the bloodied cuff, and not wearing any pants, I just wanted to curl into one of the bushes and sleep until the pain around this entire situation lessened.

Kidnapped.

I’d been abducted by someone I thought cared for me.

Someone I once sought as a refuge.

“We’re going to ride like we used to, Caelum…come crawl into my lap.” That deep voice was a rope catching around my frayed mind, pulling me back to shore.

He straddled the leather seat of his bike, one hand going to the handle, as the other was held out for me. I approached him, my hands still shaking. My mind going back to bullfrogs and peaceful creeks. I wanted to go back in time and erase.

Erase.

Erase.

Erase.

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