Page 49 of Loving the Liar

“Ella Baker.”

I don’t recognize him, but he goes to grab me, and I scream as I step back. Turning around, I sprint, not caring where I’m going.

Each step I take feels like I’m flying, the maze never ending. I’m barefoot, but I can’t even feel the rough ground under my feet any longer.

I finally think I’m going somewhere when I notice some flowers in my path that weren’t there before. I’m sure this is a new corridor.

But someone else is running after me now. He’s taller than the other one, blond when the other had dark hair. This fear is intense, almost paralyzing. For someone who constantly feels like everyday life is a life-or-death situation, this is becoming too much. My chest is tight, heartbeat painful, and I make a decision here and now that I didn’t even think of when I came to this place.

When I walked into the country club, I knew I would become an Aphrodite. I didn’t care as long as it meant my family would be safe. But as I lose the third man who tries to hunt me tonight to make me a whore for the Silent Circle, I realize I can’t do it. A flash of my mother’s state yesterday almost makes me lose my balance. That is what they’ll do to me if I become an Aphrodite. So, I must become a Hera.

I must find Chris before Megan does. Fuck the consequences. I’ll think about those later.

A woman screams near me, and I wipe sweat off my forehead as I run toward the sound. I’m too late when I find her. She’s face down on the floor, her white dress flipped over her hips, and her eyes squint shut as the same man who was running after me enters her in one violent thrust. She grunts, clawing at the floor. I’m frozen in place as I watch him take her like an animal in the dirt. He presses against the back of her head, pushing her harder against the ground, and her groans of pain turn into something new.

My eyes widen, mouth dropping open. She’s moaning. The man turns his head to the side, watching me with a smirk as he thrusts into her over and over again.

“Don’t be jealous,” he pants. “You’re next.”

His eyes flick behind me, and I move just in time to avoid a hand going for me.

“Ella,” a voice sing-songs as I break into yet another sprint. “Imagine all the good grades you’ll get once I can fuck you whenever I want.”

I whimper when my foot catches on a root, and I go crashing to the ground. I try to catch myself on my hands, but the force still has my cheek pressed to the earth. I taste dirt in my mouth, and it mixes with the bitterness of whatever they had us drink earlier. There’s the copper tang of blood too. I must have bitten my tongue or cheek, but I can’t feel any pain. The adrenaline is rushing too harshly through my veins for me to notice my body.

I only need a split second to take a breath and open my eyes. In my position, I can see through the roots of the hedge. It’s almost pitch black in the labyrinth, so the lit-up area I’m seeing is like an oasis in the middle of the desert. I can see feet wearing expensive, polished shoes. Oxfords and Monkstraps. Those are the shoes of the rich men who are waiting for women to throw themselves into their arms.

I’m so close.

The hope sends a new wave of strength through me, but as soon as I try to get up, a hand grabs my ankle.

“No!” I shriek as Professor Reeves drags me through the dirt.

I kick behind me and hear a grunt. I’m only free long enough to flip and crawl backward.

“You’ve been caught, Ella. Surrender.”

I shake my head, feeling crazy as dirty blonde locks slap against my face. “I’m not caught if you haven’t brought me to the center.”

He laughs softly, wiping the blood from his lip as he slowly advances toward me. Red and yellow auras shine around his head from the drugs I’ve taken, and I can’t focus. His face distorts the closer he gets, and I could swear he’s growing horns like the Minotaur that was following me earlier.

I squint my eyes for a split second, and he’s multiple steps closer. “Please,” I whimper as I crawl back.

“Are you scared?” he asks in the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard from him.

Nodding, I pinch my lips to not let out a pathetic sob.

“Good. That’s going to be your life from now on. At the mercy of men you should absolutely be scared of.”

My chest trembles as he lowers himself, grabbing two fistfuls of my dress between my boobs and ripping it in one gesture. The crack resonates through my body, and the right sleeve falls down my shoulder, revealing one of my breasts.

“S-stop,” I panic.

He shakes his head. “Not a word you get to use anymore.”

My body takes over, short-circuiting my brain so it can defend itself. Before I know it, I’ve grabbed a handful of dirt, and I’m throwing it in his face.

He grunts, standing up and stumbling back as his hands come to wipe his eyes. I don’t wait for him to be done. I stand up and go in the direction I saw the light. When I’m not sure where to go anymore, I drop to the floor and look under the hedges again. It takes me what feels like forever to run through the maze and find my destination, but when I do, the weight of the world falls off my shoulders.

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