Page 28 of Wanted

Then he finally looks down and sees all the blood staining my sheets.

His flushed expression suddenly pales.

“What is this?!” he practically shouts in my face before he rears back.

Finding his feet, he stumbles away from my bed.

His look of horror mirroring my own.

I was so worried about what he was about to do to me, my unexpected period slipped my mind.

Thinking fast, I decide to play dumb and hope he buys it. “I must have hurt myself in my sleep.”

His eyes grow wider with more shock. “You hurt yourselfthere? How?”

I open my mouth to try to explain it, but I can’t think of anything believable that won’t make the whole situation even worse.

Jeffrey takes a stumbling step back, and the way his expression changes, the way he looks at me, makes me feel as low as a worm squirming in the dirt.

I can just imagine the things running through his head. All the evil things they’ve convinced him I’m capable of doing.

My bottom lip trembles in earnest as I sit up and plead, “Please, Jeffrey… Don’t tell Sister Agatha. I don’t know how it happened. It happened in my sleep.”

Something close to compassion flashes across his face, as if he actually pities my plight, but then he slowly shakes his head.

Sensing this is my last chance before he fully turns on me, I plead again. “Please, Jeffrey. Please. I’ll never ask you for anything ever again.”

Jeffrey shakes his head harder then his jaw clenches.

“No,” he says, taking another step back. “No. I will not lie for you.”

Turning away, he stomps toward my door, and desperation seizes me by the throat. Scrambling forward, I chase after him.

Dignity be damned.

“It’s not what it looks like! I swear!” I lie, half-believing it myself. “You know what she’ll do to me!”

Jeffrey continues to march to the door with steely determination.

I manage to grab his arm just as he yanks the door open.

My fingers dig into his firm biceps as I sob, “Just this once, Jeffrey. This once. Please.”

I watch his nostrils flare as he sucks in a sharp breath. Then he slowly turns his head to look at me.

Tears filling my eyes, I stare hard into his, silently begging him to spare me from what’s to come next.

It wouldn’t be a lie or a sin for him to keep this secret.

Jeffrey’s face actually softens as he takes in my tears, and my heart flutters with a brief moment of hope.

Only to crack in half when he looks down at my hand on his arm.

All traces of sympathy on his face melts into anger.

Ripping his arm out of my grip, he shoves me away with his other hand. “I will not lie for you, harlot! I will not let you turn me from God!”

Tripping up on my nightgown, I fall to the stone floor. A choked sob escapes my throat as Jeffrey stomps through the door and slams it shut behind him.

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