Page 87 of Mending Scars

I wasn’t going to give up, though. The chances of someone coming out here to rescue me were slim, so I needed to figure out how to get out of here and back home.

Fumbling with the rope around my wrists, I attempted to loosen it but was interrupted.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Bryce spoke, drawing my eyes to the doorway where he stood.

I stilled as he approached me, not wanting him to see what I was doing. “Why are you doing this, Bryce?” My voice was muffled by the tape as I questioned him.

He circled around me. “Why am I doing this?” He responded rhetorically.

I tried to turn and follow his movement as he rounded my back, but I couldn’t because of the way he had tied me to the chair.

His warm breath hit my neck, sending a chill over me as he spoke. “Because I’m finally taking what’s mine.”

Was he always this crazy?

No, you make people that way, just like Kaleb.

The pain of him ripping the tape off my mouth snapped me out of my thoughts. I screamed for help, but Bryce silenced me when he clutched my throat.

My heart started to pound as panic began to weave through me. I jerked my head back, but Bryce kept his grip on my skin. He wasn’t applying enough pressure to block my air supply, but it was still uncomfortable.

“Bryce, please stop.” I begged as tears formed at the corners of my eyes.

The pressure intensified for a few seconds before he let go and came around to face me. “I forgot that you hate to have your neck touched.” His tone was mocking as he ran his finger over the scar on my throat.

My breaths were labored as panic ate at me and adrenaline rushed through my veins. Then, worry over Hayden’s safety compounded my anxiety. I hadn’t felt him move since back at the apartment. I knew the stress I was subjected to wasn’t good for him, and I didn’t want to go into early labor. I needed to calm down and find a way to get out of there.

I resumed messing with the ropes and locked eyes with Bryce. “Let me go, Bryce, please. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Not even that meathead?” he replied snidely, his distaste for Ryker evident in his voice.

“I won’t, I promise—he probably doesn’t even know I’m gone. We had a fight and he left. He’s probably not even home yet.”

Bryce seemed to consider that for a moment as his eyes scanned my face. He looked like my old Bryce for a moment before his face shifted darkly, the way Kaleb’s used to. His eyes narrowed menacingly at me. “I don’t think so.”

The tiny shred of hope I had evaporated. I knew that look—the one there was no reasoning with. I wasn’t going to be able to convince Bryce to let me go.

The knots in the ropes loosened a little. I needed to keep Bryce distracted so I could finish untying the rope enough to escape. A few tears trickled down my cheeks as I held his gaze. “I’m sorry, Bryce. I never meant to hurt you.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “I was there for you whenever you needed me. And how did you repay me?” He clenched his fists and raised his voice. “By kicking me to the curb for some asshole you had just met!”

“I’m sorry!” A sob broke through my throat as I looked into his wounded eyes. I felt bad for him for a split second, but pushed away the guilt and sadness, reminding myself of what he was doing to me. I tore my eyes away and steeled my voice. “I told you not to get involved with me, but you didn’t listen.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault?” he replied incredulously. My eyes darted back to him as I heard his footsteps quickly approaching me, causing my body to tense in fear.

He lowered his face to my eye level. “You made me do this. I tried to make you see that I was the one for you. I tried to be patient. But after everything, I finally realized that when you want something, you have to take it.”

I had almost unknotted the rope, but I didn’t want to finish while Bryce was still in the room with me. I was in no shape to fight him off, and I wanted to escape with the least amount of confrontation as possible, preferably without him knowing.

He cupped my cheek, but I turned my face away, repulsed by his touch. Big mistake.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him rear his hand back. I flinched in anticipation before he backhanded me and bellowed in my face. “Look what you’ve done to us! I loved you!” His voice softened as he forced me to look at him by gripping my chin. His eyes were glazed with tears as he stared into mine. “I would’ve loved you forever, Ky.”

I trembled as my gaze ran over his face. A face that used to be a source of comfort for me, but was now lost. He still looked the same, but the man I knew and loved was gone. I may not have loved him like he’d wanted, but I had loved him. And now I’d destroyed him, just like everyone else important in my life—Mom. Dad. Kaleb. Kamden… Ryker. Bryce had been one of my only friends, and I’d treated him like shit.

All I do is cause pain and ruin everything around me.

“You’re right,” I replied in a cracked whisper. “This is all my fault.”

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