Page 16 of A Wilder Wedding

“Don’t let it get infected.”

“Like I said, why do you care? We’ll take care of it. Nancy’s good at it.”

I still didn’t know what his wife saw in him, but it wasn’t my place. It wasn’t like they would listen to me anyway.

“Well, just make sure they clean it out, though I suppose Nancy has it.”

“Of course she does. She knows family responsibility.”

And with that he hung up without a thank you, without letting me know how things were.

Why would I ever want to go back there?

Nobody appreciated me and I was the family doormat.

I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again, and while Amos was nothing like my family, he still didn’t want me. He didn’t love me.

I slid my phone in my pocket, and stopped where I was, closing my eyes to take a breath.

“I am worthy. I deserve to be loved.”

And maybe if I kept saying that out loud, somebody would hear me and it would become truth.

I let out another breath, and then fell to my knees as somebody slammed something into my shoulder.

Red-hot pain seared through me and I sucked in a shocked breath, turning to cover my face as another blow came.

And then someone big and bulky was on top of me, pinning my arms above my head.

“What the hell?”

The man slapped me, and it was a man, but I couldn’t see his features. He had on a mask, and pinned my arms with one hand, hitting me again with the other, and sat on my hips, keeping me down on the ground. I screamed, kicking my feet.

“Shut up, bitch. Shut up. I’ll show you what you’ve been missing. Do you think you can look at me like that and get away with this? You’ve been teasing me. Moving those hips like you want me to fuck you, and then leaving me bone dry? Fuck that. I’m going to make sure you remember exactly who you are and who you belong to.”

Alarm shot through me, and I kicked, screaming again as he hovered over me, glaring through the mask. I didn’t know what this man wanted from me other than the fear running through me. I didn’t knowhowhe knew me or what I’d done inadvertently to catch his attention. But he knew me. And he wanted to hurt me.

And I couldn’t get away.

Someone had to hear me. The vines weren’t that big. Someone had to be out here.

“Stop, stop!”

Then the man was pulled back off me and I rolled to my knees, shaking as I stood up.

“Amos!” I called out as I ran towards him. He had the other man down on the ground, but then Amos fell back. The other man got back to his feet and began to run through the vines, and I realized that he had tased him. Just a small taser, not ones with the prongs or anything like that, but enough that Amos had been shocked back, and hit the ground.

I ran to him, ignoring the man, and cupped his face.

“Are you okay?”

Amos cursed and cupped my bruised cheek. I flinched, and so did he. “Areyouokay? Baby. He hurt you.”

And then as the others came running, asking what had happened, I fell into his arms, shaking, and let the tears come.

Because I had just been attacked in my own home, in my own vines.

And yet seeing Amos on the ground like that?

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