Page 175 of Sinful

Mirage’s fist flew out lightning fast just as Bryce grabbed me and pulled me behind him to shield me. I didn’t need to see to know Mirage had connected with Adam’s face. The loud crack and grunt let me know he’d been successful. And if that hadn’t been my first clue, the blood dripping into the snow was the second.

“Get fucking lost,” Mirage snarled at him. “And don’t ever fucking touch her again. I’ve killed pricks for less.”

“Whatever.” Adam stumbled to his feet, holding his bleeding face. “I’ll see you around, Sirena.”

And with that, he tucked tail and retreated. The moment he was out of my sight, I, too, turned and ran in the opposite direction, desperate to be as far from him as I could be, his words on repeat in my head.

Again. Again. Please, god. Not again. Don’t hurt me. Please. Please. PLEASE.

“Sirena! Hey!” Bryce shouted.

I couldn’t stop. I needed to put as much distance between me and Adam as I could. I’d been fine on campus because he hadn’t been around, but now he was definitely making an appearance and torturing me. Testing me. Teasing me.

I ran faster, knowing I’d lost Bryce and Mirage somewhere behind me as I wove my way through alleys and trees.

I looked over my shoulder, taking note I wasn’t being chased. I collided with a hard body, the impact sending me stumbling back. Before I could hit the ground, strong hands caught me at the waist and dragged me into the dark recess between the theater building and the gym.

“It’s me. It’s me,” Mirage’s voice came out as I squirmed in his hold, terrified out of my mind. “Rinny. It’s me.”

I collapsed against him and cried into his chest.

He wound his arms around me. I had no clue how he’d gotten ahead of me, but he had.

“Shh. It’s OK. It’s OK. I’m here. It’s just me and you.” He rocked me in his arms, murmuring over and over that I was OK.

“Breathe. Please breathe. That’s it. You’re fine. Everything is fine now. Just us.”

As much as I wanted to be fine, I couldn’t. My brain wasn’t working.

“You can do this, Sirena. You’re stronger than you think. Let it out. Fuck, let that strength out. It’s not darkness. Not the way you think. It’s what I have. Whatwehave. Come on, baby.Come on.”

I shook my head.

I couldn’t.

“You fucking can,” he growled at me. “Damnit, I need you to, Rinny. Everything depends on it. You’ve overcome so much. Take control.Please.I need you to do this.Weneed you to do this.”

I tuned his voice out, losing myself inside my head. My safe place. The place where I wouldn’t experience pain. The place where it was dark.

Mirage’s voice sounded so far away. Eventually, it gave way to silence, leaving me in a place where no one could hurt me.

Except myself.

Because even though I was safe from everyone else, I wasn’t safe from me.

And that may have been even more terrifying.

SIN

“Ineed you.” Mirage’s voice came over the phone, Bryce’s voice in the background. I was clearly on speaker because I could hear him speaking.

“What’s wrong?” I got up and left my group session without a backward glance. I knew everyone had their own thing going on this evening. Church had talked about skipping, so I had no clue what was happening.

“It’s Sirena. She’s having some trouble. I need help getting into the damn house.”

“What are you talking about?” I broke into a run and headed in the direction of the house. “Fuck. I can take her back to my dorm, but I think I just need to get her warmed up.”

“Bryce, try the back door. Sometimes Stitches forgets to lock it after he smokes,” I said, running as fast as I could get my feet to carry me. “Is she OK?”

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