Page 55 of Burning for You

“No… no! Levi, please, don’t leave me here. Please!”

The way she says my name claws at my heart and leaves it bleeding with regret. I take off my rain jacket and roll it up.

“I’ll be back, I promise,” I say, grabbing her face between my hands and gently inserting my rolled-up jacket under, cushioning her cheek. That way her nose will stay above water, at least until I return.

I slosh my way through the flood to the house. Once inside, I zero in on Jesse and bring him to the floor. I swing my fist hard, hitting his jaw.

“Key, Jesse!” I bark.

Jesse laughs. “See, you did fall for her.”

“The fucking key!” I punch him again.

“My room,” he says.

“You wanna get stoned, get stoned. Kill yourself, go right fucking ahead. But you stay away from her!” I say, squeezing his bruising jaw.

I let Jesse fall against the floor planks with a thud. I then dash to his room and grab the lone key on his desk.

Back in the cabin, Carolyn’s lips have turned another color. It’s dark here, but I’m pretty sure it’s close to purple.

“Carolyn!” I tap her cheek. “Stay with me.”

I flick the padlock open, and with every chain link I loosen, she draws herself closer to me. She shivers violently as I take her out of the water.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, sheltering her as much as I can as we brace against the torrential rain. She cries in my arms. My body hurts seeing her like this, and it disturbs me that my brother was capable of putting her under such torture. “You’ll be okay, I promise.”

Arriving back at the house, I’m greeted by Jesse’s hopeless stare from the couch. “Where’re you going to put that sodden bitch?”

Hearing Jesse’s voice, Carolyn convulses. She squeezes my shoulders and I hold her tighter, silently telling her she’s safe with me.

“Just walk away, Jesse. Or I’ll kill you myself,” I say. “You’re out of this. Do you understand? You chained her up like animal? God! Where did you learn that from? Dad never treated Mom like that.”

“Don’t you mention him!” For a moment he snaps out of his inebriated state, but his body seems to refuse to do anything physical at this stage. He stays seated.

With Carolyn still firmly in my embrace, I rush to the main bathroom.

I don’t know where he suddenly finds his strength, but Jesse follows me. “Fuck, you’re so stupid! She’s a manipulative bitch. Can’t you see?”

“Get out of my way,” I say to Jesse when he stands in front of the bathroom door. Carolyn may be trying to manipulate me, but I’ll never let her suffer like that. Not even if she did try to kill me.

Jesse doesn’t budge. I charge him aside with my shoulder while still carrying Carolyn.

My brother laughs. “I don’t really know what goes on in your head. You want to bring Dad into this conversation? Well, listen to this: Dad never taught any of us to abandon our family over a fucking cunt.”

I lay Carolyn inside the bath. With both arms I push my brother away, closing the door. Much as I don’t want to handle my captive, I’ve got to get rid of her wet shirt and clinging skirt. I tear them apart.

“You dirty boy!” Jesse lets himself back in with a chuckle.

I thank the Lord that Carolyn is wearing a bra. The last thing I want is for my brother to see her naked.

“Go away, Jesse!” I say, pushing him out of the bathroom. There’s no lock, but this time I place a mop under the handle.

Carolyn sits up, gasping for air. “No, please…”

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” I say, squeezing her trembling hand.

Her terrified gaze is aimed straight at the door.

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