Page 131 of Encounter

Gasping, I jumped awayfrom Galen—realizing we were still touching—and watched Richard De Clare march toward us. Speechless, I tried to process the mess I got us into. Got Galen into.I should’ve stopped further away. I should’ve—

“Get the hell away from my son,” Richard barked at me, voice sharp enough to make Galen twitch, draining all the color from his face.

“Wh-What...”

“You have completely lost your damn mind!” He turned his baffled fury to Galen. “Isthiswho you’ve been killing your time with?!”

For a second, I almost felt bad for the man. I imagined many times what a complete fucking disaster it would have been if we were found out, but even my best imagination wasn’t close to the shock he must have felt.

Galen’s eyes widened, chest lifting with powerful, shaky breaths. “How did you know we were here?”

“I tolerated you lying to me, spending your time in the most bizarre places, but this—”

“Wait, what?! You-you had me followed?” Stepping back, Galen darted his eyes around until he looked to his pocket, gasping. “M-My phone, you— You’re tracking my phone?!”

“Did you expect me to let you wander around without knowing where you are after the kidnapping?!”

The tips of my fingers buzzed, and muscles twitched with each and every shout, sending a rattling sensation down my spine. The volume of the screams, and the rage coming from his voice, was all too familiar, pushing my body into fight or flight mode.

“I am the one who bought you the phone, and who pays for it! Don’t youdaresnap at me for doing as I see fit as a parent!”

Galen opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then, Richard’s eyes honed in on me again. “You,” he pushed through his teeth, lifting his finger to my face. “I don’t know how or why in the world you latched onto my son, you sick bastard, but you'd better walk awayrightnow before I call the police!”

My body wouldn’t listen to me; it kept slipping out of my control.I parted my lips, desperately trying to think of anything to say that would fix this, but Richard’s voice kept echoing in my mind, together with the images of finding Kitty. Blinking, I glanced at Galen next to me, who seemed as stunned, hopeless, but... the longer I looked into his eyes, the more everything inside me tightened. I knew there was only one way to end this that would benefit him.

“Get inside the house, now!” Richard barked at Galen, but he snapped out of the trance and scoffed.

“I don’t have to do what you tell me anymore. I—”

“You’re not an adult, goddammit!” Again, the man’s scream carved into me, pushed me to face the reality of being unable to do nothing but obey if I wanted things to end well. No brute force was going to help me, no violence was going to fix this. “You’re achild!Stupid, naive child, that got manipulated by some freak who—”

Finally, some words came out of me, though they were nowhere near as firm as I wanted them to be. “It isn’t like that.”

Snorting in disgust, Richard stepped closer to me, making my body prepare for any possible incoming attack. His fists shook, clenched so hard his knuckles were turning white. “I’ll say this one more time,” he murmured, burning through me with his eyes, “I knew you were a twisted, wicked murderer when I hired you, but wouldn’t imagine you had a taste for grooming young boys, you—”

“Dad, what the fuck?!” Galen jumped between us, pushing Richard out of my space.

What’s happening to me?My head spun, thoughts jumbled into an incoherent mess.

The disgust in his eyes was so vivid that my already weakened mind began to doubt everything. He was right—I am a killer. Twisted. Messed up.That was why Kit ended up gutted, hung on the wall and used as a message instead of passing away in my arms, content and happy. That was why my life was only marked by death, violence, blood, and pain. There was nothing glorious or right about it.

When I looked at Galen, I understood he didn’t fit into that ugly place at all.What if Ididtake advantage of him? What if the naive images of the life we could have together—of a normal, loving relationship, a new chapter—were nothing but futile whims? Doomed to fail from the start.

If I stay with him, is he going to end up the same way as Lydy? In the end, am I not destined to die alone, as violently as I’ve lived?

“Chast!” Galen’s hands squeezed mine, but I barely paid attention to him. I was filled with a heavy, suffocating sense of grief.How stupid could you be? He could never be safe with you.“Why aren’t you saying anything?!”

A punch landed somewhere on my face. By the time I got my shit together, I was on the ground, watching Galen as he tried to stop his father from continuing.

“Get the hell out, I said!” Richard screamed.

“I love him, Dad! Stop!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he barked back at Galen. “You have no idea what love is. Don’t be stupid!”

Instead of feeling happy hearing that, my heart sank even further. I gave this kid hope. I gave him a promise of something unattainable. I became attached to him, selfishly, without thinking what would happen.

“He’s right,” I whispered, slowly standing up. They both stared at me, but I faced away. “You... You don’t love me.”

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