Page 26 of A Twisted Gift

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not real. You know that.”

“You’re real to me. Don’t you wanna see the rest of the world?”

She glances up at me hopefully. “You’ll keep me safe? From the bears and the strangers?”

“Always. I’ll—”

“Raina!” a harsh voice shouts. “What the hell are you doing?”

Rose gasps, and her fingers tighten around mine. “Erik, you have to go. Father can’t see you!”

But he’s already spotted her, so there’s no chance he’s missed me. I can’t abandon her. Not when he sounds so angry, and not when Rose always avoids talking about him. She doesn’t have to say it—I know he scares her.

“Erik!Go!”Rose tries to push at me through the fence as her father gets closer.

“I’m not leaving you.”

My stomach drops when I get a good look at Rose’s father’s face. He looks angrier than I’ve ever seen my own dad. He’s storming across the yard, his glare fierce.

“Get away from her,” he shouts.

I don’t budge.This is my fault.Ever since the leaves started drooping on the bush, I’ve been worried that someone would spot her. It’s too easy to see through it, and now that it’s cold, she’s forced to wear her bright coat instead of trying to disguise herself in greens and browns like I suggested.

Rose whimpers, trying to squeeze herself through the bars of the fence, but we both know the gap is too small. We tried to fit her through the second time we met so we could play tag.

“Stupid girl.” Rose’s father stoops down and reaches into the bush. He grabs onto the hood of her coat and yanks her back. “What did I tell you?”

“I’m sorry,” she sobs, yelping when he slaps her across the face.

“Rose!” I grasp the bars of the fence, wincing when he grabs her by her hair and drags her toward the house. “Rose, I’m sorry!”

She manages to look back at me as her father opens the door to the house. Tears streak her red cheeks, and she mouths my name, her eyes pleading.

“Don’t ever come back here,” her father snaps at me. “You’ll never see her again, you hear me?”

“I’ll save you.” I mean to shout it, but it comes out as a broken whisper. My throat is tight, my hands trembling as I stare at the door Rose disappeared through.

She’s gone. He took her. Hehurther.

“I’ll save you,” I say again, backing away. I’ll find a way to get her far from that cruel man so he can never hurt her again. So she’s never scared again.

As fast as I can, I run back into the forest and up the hill. When I get to my house, I burst into the kitchen. Mom is standing at the counter chopping up vegetables, and she yelps.

“Erik! You scared me. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Rose!” I’m panting and out of breath, but I can’t waste a single second. “She—she got hurt, Mom. I met her at our normal spot, and I was teaching her how to make paper airplanes, but then her dad came out. He—he hit her, and then he dragged her away. He said I’d never see her again, and then he threw her in the house. Mom, please, we have to help her.”

Frowning, Mom sets down her knife. “We’ve talked about this, sweetie. I know Rose feels real, but she’s not. You don’t have to worry.”

“But Mom, he hurt her. He—”

“That’s enough, Erik. You can’t keep using this as an excuse to not do your schoolwork. You’re already two weeks behind, and we’re not even halfway through the year.”

“No, that’s not—”

“Enough.I don’t want to hear another word of this. Go to your room and work on your math until your father gets home. I’ll talk to him about this then.”

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