Page 95 of Pretty Heartache

He focuses back on Adeline’s reflection. “Mommy was more than willing to tell me all about how he opened his doors and offered to take care of you. It was so easy for you to move on, wasn’t it?”

“You hurt me, Maddox,” Adeline forces out. I can tell she’s holding back her sobs, and I take another step closer.

I’m moving toward her when I see movement in the reflection of the mirror. Down the hallway, I catch the quick flash of Lennon’s watch. I’m guessing he’s sticking close to the wall, not wanting to give Maddox any hint of his presence, but knowing Lennon is close by gives me strength to make a move soon.

“I didn’t hurt you,” Maddox tells Adeline as he grips her cheek. “Youhurtme.” With his knife, he drags it along her cheek once again. “I lost all my clients the second you decided to leave. My entire career has been destroyed because of what you’ve done. Now I’m returning the favor.” He smiles at his handiworkon Adeline’s face. “And now, I’ll make sure you never seduce anyone else with this pretty face of yours.”

He starts digging the tip of his knife deeper into Adeline’s cut. She cries out in pain, and I decide to take my chance. I can’t wait any longer. Adeline’s pain tears into me, pumping me with adrenaline. I fought with others in prison. I know men like Maddox. They beat women because they’re weak on the inside.

I lunge at Maddox. Pulling the hammer from behind my back, I slam it as hard as possible on the back of his arm—the one he’s holding to Adeline’s cheek. A loud bellowing scream leaves him as he stiffens. When he doubles over in pain, Adeline takes her chance and slinks out from his hold. She falls to the floor and crawls backward on her elbows, scrambling to get away.

Maddox spins around, eyes wildly fixed on me.

He’s holding the back of his arm, groaning in pain when I switch the hammer to my left hand and rear my arm back to deliver a blow to his temple with my fist. He falls back onto the broken pieces of glass littering the floor in front of the mirror. The bones in his face crunch and crack under my fist.

He takes a second to catch his breath.

“Come on, asshole,” he spits up at me while on his knees. “Do it. I dare you. I dare you to kill me. Kill me and you’ll go straight back to prison, but this time you’ll fucking rot. Right where you belong.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I growl and deliver another blow, and this time he flies onto his back on the floor. It doesn’t take him long to try to roll to his side, but I’m quickly on him, holding the handle of the hammer over his chest, below the base of his throat, to keep him down.

He gasps for air, his eyes widening in shock.

My vision turns red, and the claws that once haunted my mind have returned. Every cut that’s healed over the past fewmonths reopens the second the claws expand. They slice into my mind, telling me I’m this person. The one full of vitriol and anger and resentment. The one who has a record and ruins the lives of those who care for him. The one who tells himself he’s worthless and everything is lost. The one who swore he would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it cost him his own life.

I slide the hammer farther up Maddox’s chest. Sweat drips down his face and neck, making it easier to hold against him.

His face turns purple, the veins bulging under his skin.

Seconds go by, and my vision turns black. I’m straddling Maddox while he struggles underneath me, and I add pressure on the hammer, leaning into it. His legs violently kick across the floor, and he grasps for the hammer. With gritted teeth, he stares into my eyes, challenging me, taunting me.

“Micah!” Adeline cries behind me. “Stop.” I catch her reflection in the mirror, but she isn’t looking at me through that anymore. Now, she’s looking atme.

Her shaking hand lands on my back, and I’m thrusted back to the day I saved her from the water, thinking she was drowning.

Her eyes are wide, even as the blood spills from her cheek. Dark strands of brown hair saturated in rain and dirt frame her face. She’s still gorgeous, and the claws in my mind that tell me I’m like him, that I’m worthless like my father, that I’ll die just as vile of a human being as him, pull back. The more I concentrate on her hand on my body, the more I slip back into reality. I look down at Maddox and immediately pull away, dropping the hammer and crawling off him before moving to Adeline.

“Addy.” I say her name in a tight voice, not fully realizing I have tears streaming down my face now. My chin quivers, and my throat swells.

“It’s okay.” She presses her hands to my cheeks, staring straight into my eyes. “We’re okay.”

I nod and look over my shoulder at Maddox. He’s coughing, his body wracking and trying to recover. He’s rolled on his side, clutching his neck just when the police barge into my bedroom.

It’s soon chaotic, and panic settles in. Countless police officers enter with their guns pointed and their voices raised. I stare at the floor, afraid to look up. I hear Lennon’s voice on one side of me, Adeline’s on the other.

My body is tense, though, my muscles hardened and my breaths shallower. I feel myself inching closer to the edge of panic, remembering the feel of the cold, metal handcuffs locking around my wrists.

I hear the familiar click, and I swallow, trying to catch my bearings as I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the memories to disappear.

But a soft hand presses against my face once more, urging me to look the other way. I crack my eyes open and see Adeline, and my heart splinters at the sight of her.

“Addy,” I whisper, but I’m unsure if she hears it.

Her eyes search my face before finally meeting mine.

A mixture of caramel and brown with flecks of sage green.

The breath is knocked from my chest when she leans forward and presses her forehead to mine.

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