Page 80 of Dare To Fall

He stops and shakes his head. “How many more times do I have to tell you I’m not going to hurt you.”

“How about never, because we both know you’re a liar?” I limp in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you.”

“The cabin is that way.”

I don’t bother to turn and look. “I don’t fucking care.”

“You don’t want to be out here on your own at night. You’ll get lost with no food or shelter. Bears are coming out of hibernation, and they’re going to be hungry.”

I falter at his words. He’d said something about bears earlier. What else lurks in these woods?

Eli or a bear?

Which one would I rather face because both will more than likely kill me?

“It’s warm, safe,” he continues, his voice low and calm. “There’s food and bedrooms.”

And locks on the doors?

Think, Arabella. Use your head.

Whatever game he wants to play, I am not going to take part in it. All I can hope is that there’s a phone or radio at our destination. Something I can use to call for help and get away from this psycho.

I grit my teeth against the pain in my ankle and shuffle around to face him. “Fine.”

“Here.” He holds out a stick. “Something for you to lean on.”

I snatch it out of his hand, and limp in the direction he points. My ankle hurts, not that I’m going to admit that to him, and I move slowly. I’m not going to ask him for help.

Eli keeps pace beside me. “I know you’re angry with me—”

“You tried to strangle me. You wanted to kill me. I think we’re beyond angry at this point. I just want you to leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that.”

I turn my head to stare at him as we walk. “What are we, Eli? In your head?”

He rakes a hand through his hair and sighs. “We’re complicated.”

My stomach clenches at the last word. “Complicated?” My laugh is discordant. “This isn’t complicated! This is toxic. I’m not doing this with you anymore.”

“Ari—”

“No! You’re not making things better by doing this. It just makes it worse. I don’t want you near me anymore. I can’t stand it. Why couldn’t you just let me go? Don’t you see this is just going to make me hate you more?” My voice breaks on the last few words. I blink rapidly, tears threatening.

I will not cry in front of him.

That’s exactly what he wants. This is just another way for him to grind me down and hurt me again.

Chapter 51

Eli

The sun has set by the time we reach the cabin. Arabella hasn’t spoken a single word, refused all offers of help when she stumbled, and bored a hole into the side of my head the entire way. I pat the pockets of my hoodie until I find the keys and unlock the door.

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