Page 6 of Borden 3

“Nothing.”

He pulled back, his lips hovering close to mine as he peered at me through lust-filled eyes. “What’s troubling you, Doll?”

“I don’t like when you go away,” I said, throat tight.

“I’m right here now.”

“I wish you’d stop.”

“ I don’t like it, either.”

That was his way of saying he wouldn’t stop. Trapped in his arms, it felt so good to be like this, loved by him, though he didn’t say those words often. At that moment, I wished he would. I wished he was more vulnerable. It took so long to get him to loosen up, and just when he began to, he was off again.

“Truthfully, I didn’t think you’d make it in time.”

He hummed in response.

“I have your clothes ready for tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Doll.”

“I’m keeping Link with Granny for the day.”

“I understand.”

“Are we…Do you think we can do more for his family?”

“Hector and I took care of it. She just needs to be handed the paperwork. ”

“Okay.”

I traced his lips, kissed them softly. His eyes were shut. He was trying to sleep, but I couldn’t help myself. I held him so tightly, holding back my emotion. What if I lost him? What if one day they finally got to him? I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to shut my eyes.

But I didn’t want to sleep.

Sleep wasn’t an escape.

It was a gateway to wounds that kept festering.

Chapter Three

Emma

Past

After he’d told me he was also lonely, I asked, “What happened to your back?”

The blood had just begun to dry when light rain began to fall. The marks on his back looked angry all over again.

He finished his joint, taking his time before responding. I looked him over. He was young. A teenager, older than me, but not yet an adult. His face was boyish, but his body looked bulkier than boys his age.

“I got into it with someone,” he grumbled, throwing what was left of the joint down on the ground.

“With knives?”

He smirked. “He had the blade. Didn’t stop me.”

My gasp was audible. He chuckled in response. My mind spun at the sound. “Weren’t you scared?”

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