Page 40 of Ravage

"He's a piece of shit," Grey murmurs quietly to me. "We can't trust him."

"I know," I answer, surprised at how little I feel. "But I want that fucker to look me straight in the face, to own up to what he's done."

Grey doesn't look pleased, tightening his hold on my hand almost painfully.

"No."

Before I can open my mouth to reply, Damon cuts me off.

"Let her go."

A look of betrayal crosses Grey's face as he snaps his neck to turn to him. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Despite the intense stare coming his way, Damon doesn't flinch, or even look at Grey. He's still watching me, face a perfect mixture of calm and detachment.

"We'll wait in the hallway," he tells Grey. "Let her do this."

"No fucking way. Theo, back me up here."

Theo stays silent, taking all of us in. Moving his eyes to the guard, he tilts his head downwards, and I don't see what he does but the guard suddenly takes two large steps back in fear.

Finally, Theo turns to Grey, nodding. "I agree with Grey."

"Thank you! At leastsomeonehas their sense about them."

I don't know what possesses me to do it, but I let go of their hands, gliding toward Damon.

"I'm not weak," I whisper to him. "I won't let them break me—break us. If I run, they will know they have won and keep coming after me. If we're going to take them down, we need to fight back."

Damon doesn't move, but I notice the change in his demeanor. "I'll wait outside the door. You just need to call out to us."

"Deadman!" Grey snaps, listening in on the conversation.

"Enough. Avery is going. You can either follow or you can go make yourself useful doing something else."

The silence is deafening as they stare at each other in some kind of power struggle.

Feeling the tension rise, I spin around, facing Grey and Theo. "It's okay," I smile. "I'm okay. You'll be right there and I want to prove that motherfucker wrong." Taking a deep breath, I gather my wits and courage. "Ineedto prove him wrong."

My head is high as I stroll into Dr. Elsher's office. Without a doubt in my mind, I know he's guilty of co-conspiring with Whittingham.

From the moment he arrived in Lilydale, taking over from Dr. Smith, he's hated me. At first, I had no idea why—wondering if it was just me. Was I that unlikeable?

It felt like he was trying to use my weaknesses against me, triggering all the issues that I was trying hard to overcome. He played on my self-loathing, treating me as if I was a lost cause.

It's just now that I realize how vastly different he is to Dr. Smith. I'm still mad at Smith—especially knowing he's tied up in Lilydale as part of Damon's family—but during my sessions, he never made me feel subpar or disposable.

Whenever he spoke about my mental state, he tried to make a point that I could overcome it—that I didn't have to be this way forever. It was never my fault, despite what I had been made to believe.

He tried to give me blind hope, even when I refused to listen. If I didn't want to communicate, we would sit in silence. I was never pressed or pushed, taunted or teased.

I don't know if I'll ever forgive him for his actions in leaking my file and betraying my trust, but I do know that in comparison to this colossal asshole, he's nowhere near as evil.

"Ms. White. How lovely to see you have returned."

A sneer crosses my face, but I don't bother hiding it. Instead, I raise an eyebrow, sitting down on the patient seat. "I'm sure you're sothrilled."

I match his tone and energy effortlessly—if he wants to treat me like a dog, then I'll act like a bitch.

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