Page 58 of Cruel Vows

I fling the door open and rush down the hall, fist banging on Ellie’s door. “What the hell is going on in there, Ellie?”

“Go away!” Her voice is loud, but there’s a gasp that follows the shout that sends a shiver straight down my spine.

There’s something wrong in there.

I twist the knob, but it’s locked. “Open the door. Let me in.”

“I just dropped something.”

“It sounded like you shoved over an entire goddamn cabinet.” I try to twist the knob again, but it still barely budges. “Ellie. If there’s something going on, I want to know. Just open up.”

“No. Just leave me alone, please. I’m fine.”

Except, when there’s a soft gasping breath, a pit opens in the bottom of my stomach, dropping straight to the floor.

I’m done playing nice.

As I storm into my room, I take a second to pull on a pair of basketball shorts before grabbing the master key for the doors from the nightstand.

In a few minutes, I have her door open, but what I see stops me in my tracks.

The door to the terrace is open, cold air filling the room.

Sheets are scattered across the bed and floor, but all of them are stained with blood. Crimson handprints drag along the fabric.

There’s shattered glass and ceramics at the bottom of the bookcases, and through the middle of the room is a bloody trail leading from a chair and some rope to the bathroom.

“Ellie!”

I follow the bloody trail into the bathroom, only to find that door locked too.

Instead of barging right in, I take a breath and lean against the door, but I’m already fearing the worst.

At least she’s not dead.

Yet.

“Ellie, I need you to tell me that everything is okay in there.”

“I told you to leave me alone.” Her voice breaks, a sniffle coming from the other side of the door, followed by a sharp hiss.

Without a second thought, I shove the key in the lock and twist it, pushing the door open.

Ellie is sitting on the edge of the sink, her back to the mirror, her camisole hanging loose around her chest with the straps dangling down.

She’s bloody and bruised, marks on either cheek that make her look like she’s been slapped. “I told you not to come in.”

“What the hell happened in here?” I stand in front of her, reaching for her face to get a better look at her bruises. “Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter, alright? You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine.”

Scoffing, I take her chin gingerly between my fingers. “It does matter. Who the hell hurt you, Ellie?”

I’m trying to stay calm, but right now I want to explode. It’s taking everything I have not to yell, but she doesn’t need that right now.

The last thing I want is for her to toss her walls up any higher—especially if that means that she keeps things like this from me.

Ellie hisses as she shifts away from me, and that’s when I get a look at her back.

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