Page 208 of A Love Like Venom

The men shove me to the floor where I’m left on my knees before her. Blood spills from all my wounds. My mind starts to drift in and out of consciousness.

“But I believe in you, Reed Carter.” Her voice calls out to me and demands me to focus solely on her. And I do. “I believe in you. In me. In us. I see you. I see you, all of you and I believe in you.”

She believes in me. Even now.

As the words fill my heart with hope why does the world around me begin to go black?

Alice

The strings of my heart are frayed, barely holding on. I can feel it splintering. Tiny pieces of my heart bleeding as I cry out silently in agony.

Blinking back the tears that are bound to fall just like the ones before them I’m paralyzed by the sight of him.

Blood coats his entire body. There isn’t an inch of skin that is untouched. Gashes, varying in size from large to small are everywhere. Massive bruises and swelling follow it’s path. I lose count of how many lacerations I see. I lose my breath when his blood continues to spill from the gaping wounds.

His body once a strong vessel built to protect and defend is now battered and fragile. He can barely move. And when he does it’s with great effort. As if a thousand pounds are weighing him down. One wrong move could be his last. Breathing proves to be difficult for him.

He whimpers.

The first time I have ever heard a sound of pain escaping his lips. Lips that are busted and stained with blood. Lips that are trembling.

Another tear falls from my eyes.

Reed.

I feel myself breaking.

I break for what they have done.

I break for all the agony he’s suffered.

I break for the unimaginable pain they inflicted upon him.

Most of all I break for the man who wouldn’t allow to be broken himself.

My heart shatters into millions of pieces. My lungs burn with each breath of air that I take.

“Alice.” His voice is weak and strained. Lifting his eyes they meet mine. And it’s then that I feel it everywhere. His hazel eyes are dark with torment. Filled with unbearable pain. Etched with sorrow. Losing the magic they once held.

For only a fraction of a second that feels like an eternity his eyes tell me everything.

He breaks for only me to see.

And it shatters my soul.

“Reed,” I say his name in a heartbroken plea. Instinctively I go to move towards him. So I can pull him in my embrace where we can find solace in one another.

I make one step before the arms that bind me pull me back harshly. The tip of the knife penetrates my chest. A trickle of blood falls.

The warning is alarmingly clear. Make one more move and the knife will only go deeper. Landing straight in my heart that is already profusely bleeding out.

A scream erupts from Reed. It wracks his entire body. The power behind it, the raw emotion is enough to shake the foundation we stand upon.

His eyes turn dangerously dark to the point where I see no light. And I allow him to submerge in the darkness. I allow for his demons to take control. For the rage to consume him.

There was one other time I have seen him let the demons play. One other time where he let the darkness win.

And I was right there besides him.

---