Page 69 of Dare To Take

“Oh?”

“The weekly therapy sessions like originally discussed. While he accepts that you can’t completely avoid Arabella, he expects you not to interact with her at any time. He still doesn’t believe you’re innocent but is willing to concede that there is a small possibility that someone else is trying to put the blame on you. But until there is proof either way, he wants to limit your contact with her.”

“Why are you helping me and not her?”

She doesn’t answer for a few seconds, plucking at the sheet on the bed, then she turns her head to look at me. “I am helping her. When you came back from Christmas shopping, she was different. Whenever you looked at her, she lit up. I don’t know what happened between you, and I don’t want to know. But something did. Something good.” She bites her lip, and it’s so reminiscent of Arabella that it hits me right in the gut.

“She’s alone in that place right now, Eli. And I remember how cruel kids were at school. God knows, I was the focus of their nastiness a lot of the time. I was called names, mocked, and bullied. I’ve sent her back to a place where everyone is out to get her. I’ve messed up being her mom, so I’m doing what I can now.”

She rises to her feet and walks to the door. “And I know one thing for certain, Eli. You’ll protect her, even when she doesn’t want you to.” She turns and leans her shoulder against the doorframe. “You’re to stay home for one more week, and then you can go back. You can go back on Saturday, so you have the weekend to settle back in.”

She steps out into the hallway, then turns back. “Oh, and Eli?”

“Yeah?”

Her smile is brittle and cold. “I want you to find who did release those images of my daughter and deal with them.”

My smile is as cool as hers. “You got it.”

Chapter 44

Arabella

My breath is visible in the cold wintry air every time I exhale. Huddled in the warmth of my coat, I keep on walking to stop the chill from seeping into my bones. I passed the cemetery a while ago and veered off the path to the left of it, weaving my way through the trees. It’s Saturday, and nearly everyone has kept to the warmth of the dorms and common areas. I’m bored of being stuck in my room, and instead decided to face the freezing weather beyond the walls of the dorm, just to get a change of scenery.

It’s been six days since I returned to school. Miles hasn’t spoken to me since that first day, but I can’t seem to get rid of Kellan. Everywhere I turn, he’s nearby. Not always watching me, but there. It’s like he’s become my permanent shadow. It makes me uneasy. I’m sure Eli is using him to watch me.

Hasn’t he done enough to me already? Hasn’t he taken enough from me?

I feel like I’m trapped in an alternate universe where everything is upside down. I’ve gone from being a princess to a villain in everyone’s eyes. I no longer know who to trust.

The condoms in my locker were only the start of the pranks. I’ve found lurid notes left on my desk, a dildo, and dick pics have been sent to my phone. I came back from classes on Wednesday to find a crude dick spray painted on the door to my room. Whoever is behind it is out to humiliate me. They don’t want me to forget what has happened. I wonder if it’s Kellan following Eli’s instructions, but the idea of him sneaking around doesn’t seem to fit. Kellan doesn’t hide who he is or the things he does. If he was going to torment me, like Eli, he’d do it where I can see.

I scan the trees around me, and my attention latches onto dark gray stone further up ahead. My feet move in the direction before I give it any thought. I’ve not been out this far into the woods before, always stuck to the path around the cemetery. The gothic-looking structure that comes into view looks like it hasn’t been in use for a long time. It’s surrounded by wild, tangled bushes, and the path is overgrown with roots. Two steps lead up to a solid wooden door, which has a column either side of it with angels carved into the stone. They stand, frozen in time, guarding whatever lies within.

Another tomb?

The door opens easily under my touch, and I peek inside. The interior is dipped in gloom but broken up by pools of sunlight pouring in through stained-glass windows. It’s discolored, distorted, and gorgeous. Spiderwebs shimmer in the light like silver threads draped across wooden pews. Right at the front, there’s a stone altar, that looks worn and weathered with time.

A chapel.

It’s musty and dry inside, the air stale. Nothing an open door can’t solve, so I leave it ajar, and venture past the first set of pews, soaking in the silence. The walls stand firm, and none of the windows show damage. Raising my head, I check the roof, but that’s just as untouched as the rest of the chapel.

When I run my fingers along the wood of a pew, it comes away coated in a thick layer of dust. The place looks like it’s been abandoned. I wonder how many people know that it’s here.

I make my way up to the altar, then spin in a circle, absorbing the beauty of the stained-glass windows. Angels are in all the designs. Some are covering their faces with their hands while they weep. Others have their arms raised, holding swords. Below them, red flames lick upwards, grotesque demons clawing upward from the fire.

“Stunning, isn’t it?”

My heart slams against my ribs and I jump. Kellan is leaning against the doorframe.

“Old Churchill commissioned a famous artisan to make the piece for him. Eli could probably give you their name.” His attention doesn’t move from the stained glass. “Zoey used to like coming here a lot.”

I swallow nervously, aware that he’s blocked the only exit. “You used to stalk her, too?”

His gaze shifts my way, and he scratches his jaw. “Yeah. Sure. We can call it stalking if you like.”

“Why do you keep following me?”

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