Page 39 of Forbidden Knots

Christian looked at me, and I could tell he knew what I was thinking. I knew Sophie must have told him her thoughts; otherwise, a big bad guy like him wouldn't knock at the door to face me. His pale face showed he truly cared for her, and that gave me hope that maybe all was good. But my gut feeling, while my intestines were spinning in circles, knew something happened. Something bad. Something I couldn't control.

"She went this way," Chiara pointed as we walked towards the town. "Tristan, what's going on?" she asked, but I couldn't answer her.

Christian shook his head, and we walked, our steps becoming faster as we headed towards the woods of pine trees.

"Sophie," I shouted.

"Amore," Christian shouted after me.

My gut now almost reached my throat, making me want to puke after I heard him call her his love.

"Can we cut the bullshit and you call her by her name, S-O-P-H-I-E," I spelled it for him.

"Fuck off, Tristan," he brushed past me and walked deeper into the woods.

"What the fuck is your issue?" Chiara said. "He is worried sick."

"Sorry," I said, gesturing with my hand for her to walk in front of me.

"Sophie," I heard Christian shouting in the distance.

Then, silent steps behind us, and the crunch of branches. Chiara jumped behind me, stifling a scream. "Show your face."

But no one did—just a small rat walking its way.

I could hear her heart beating, her eyes wide open, and for the first time, I saw her like this. I turned around, her arms wrapped against my body, and her head now on my chest. "I'm scared," she whispered.

My eyes closed, my mind racing with thoughts of how Sophie must have felt. How scared she was, and I wasn't able to help her. I let my ego and my fear of losing Thalia cloud my judgment, and in the fear of losing Thalia, I lost Sophie. And she was nowhere to be found.

In the woods, in this darkness, the only source of light was the moonlight and our frantic echoes with Sophie's name on our lips.

"Where are you, Sophie?" I mumbled, "Where are you?"

TWENTY TWO

Storm

There was still music from the woods echoing in my mind, Sophie's lifeless eyes haunting my sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her, and my lips began to scream. I sat down in the corner of the basement floor, enveloped in darkness. Fear was under my skin, carved deeply, and I didn't know if I would ever escape this feeling. My legs and body felt paralyzed, held in place, and then my body started to sway up and down while my eyes followed the same directions.

Tears no longer fell; it felt like there were no tears left in my body. Just as I tried to move, footsteps grew closer. But no one was inside the room; I was alone in the dark. I closed my eyes and placed my palms over my ears. The music inside my mind grew louder, and my breathing quickened. My heart now beat so fast that I feared it might burst from sheer terror.

For a moment, I tried to calm myself, thinking there must be a reasonable explanation for the sounds, but then I heard breaths—loud breaths against my ears.

"No," I shouted, getting up, and with closed eyes, I ran across the basement, stumbling and falling to the ground.

A strong hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. I screamed, my nails digging into the concrete of the floor. As I kicked, I turned around, my eyes now wide open. I saw a woman in the shadow, and as she came closer to the moonlight, her face full of scars and cuts stared back at me. Her hair was black as the dark in the basement, and her body pale, skin and bones.

She placed her finger to her lips, saying, "Shhh," but I screamed again, kicking her in the chest and crawling back to the mattress.

"Go away," I shouted, "Get the fuck away."

"I live here," she said, standing up. Her white dress was oversized for her skinny body. "Is this how you behave when you come to someone's house?"

She turned again, laughing, her teeth yellow, her breath reeking of death. "Peekaboo, I can still see you," she said, laughing, placing her hands over her face as she came closer.

I shouted, I screamed, I kicked towards her. But she still came closer.

"I just want to play," she said, "Do you want to play?"

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