Page 94 of The Cruelty of Thorns

I managed to get onto the campus and across the quad without incident, setting Myra down on the floor just inside her dormitory building. I then fished her phone out of her back pocket and scrolled through the contacts until I found the one I was looking for. Luckily, it was answered on the first ring.

“Myra? Where have you–”

“Dorm. Help her.”

I disconnected, cutting off the response, and tucked the phone into her hand before leaving. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t what she deserved, and part of me felt guilty about doing it that way, but the truth was, Christopher was correct when he said it.

I was a monster.

CHAPTER 36

MYRA

A reluctant goodbye

THE SUN COMING through the window hurt my eyes so I shut them tighter and burrowed deeper into the covers.

“Wake up, baby girl,” my father’s voice called.

“Just ten more minutes, Daddy.”

“Now. Your mother’s already down in the car.”

I groaned and opened my eyes. “Why do we have to go?”

“You love the lake. And the Johnsons will be there. You can play with Alyssa.”

“I don’t like Alyssa. She’s mean to me.”

“She’s your best friend.”

“I don’t have a best friend. I don’t have any friends.”

“Well whose fault is that?” my father asked.

“Whose fault is that, Myra?”

“No one likes you, Myra.”

“You need to get out and meet people, Myra.”

“I know it hurts now Myra, but there will be other boys.”

I opened my eyes to shut out the voices and felt a moment of panic. Nothing looked familiar. I scanned the darkened room, taking in the green LED lights from the beeping machines next to the bed.

I was in a hospital?

How did I get here?

I tried to sit up and felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

“That’s probably not wise right now,” a deep, buttery voice said.

My eyes picked him out, standing behind the closed door, his face in shadow thanks to the dark hoodie he wore. My panic increased as the memory of what had happened came back to me.

“Are you here to hurt me?”

He took a step closer, and I felt myself cringe back against the bed. “I would never hurt you, Myra.”

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