Page 101 of Bound By Threads
“You think you can hide behind that mask? Or is it glitter and lights? Behind Siren? But I know you,Scarlett.” His words come out like a slow drip of poison, each one more venomous than the last. “I know what you are, and I’m done pretending like everyone should walk on glass around you. Though you like that, don’t you? People bleeding for you?”
“Fuck off Roman.” I sneer, pushing him back.
My heartbeat pounds in my ears, drowning everything out.
Roman pushes against my hand, his breath hot on my face. “You think you can push me and I’ll just leave it? You owe me for picking up the pieces after your corpse, and I refuse to watch my brother fall apart again after you’re done with your games.”
My chest tightens, and I back up a step, desperate to put space between us, but the bookshelves are right there, pressing into my back.
There’s nowhere to go, and I feel trapped all over again.
His lip curls into a cruel smile. “You’re just a little bird, aren’t you? Too fragile to face the truth.”
I freeze.
The words hit me like a freight train, knocking the air from my lungs.
“You like that little bird, don’t you?”
Shadows.
Pain.
That nickname.
It’s the last thing I want to hear right now, the last thing I need. But it’s like a switch has been flipped in my brain, and suddenly I’m back there, in that room, the door locked… with them.
I close my eyes, trying to block it out, pressing desperately at Roman’s chest to get him to back up and give me air, but it’s no use.
The memories flood my mind, the hands, the voices.
The fear.
“We like broken little birds.”
“Don’t!” I shout, but it’s too late.
“What’s wrong, Scarlett?” Roman tilts his head mockingly. “You faking again? Like you faked your death?”
“I’m Lottie,” I grind out. “Scarlett’s dead. Lottie means survival.”
Roman’s lips curl into a mocking smile, his gaze turning hard. “Survival? You had nothing to survive.”
I take a deep breath, trying to push the memories back, each fragment my mind made me forget becoming clearer. “What do you want, Roman?” I try to sound defiant, but the tremor in my voice betrays me.
“I want an explanation. You owe mesomething.You’ve been running for so long, hiding behind your shiny new name and family, but I’m done with the half answers.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
Roman’s eyes flash with something dark…just like him.
“Don’t you?” he steps even closer, crowding me against the shelf. “You think I don’t see through the act? Through Siren?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I back up, but there’s nowhere to go. My breath comes in shallow gasps, and I know he’s enjoying watching me break.
“You don’t know anything,” I bite out, but it sounds weak, even to me.
Roman smirks. “I know more than you think. I know you’re just a broken girl pretending to be someone else.” He leans in further, his voice low and mocking. “You know, ‘little bird’ suits you, don’t you think? Always so fragile… so easy to break.”
