Page 83 of The Sinner: James

It takes a second before I sob so hard I almost choke on my tears, and then his arms close around me, and he holds me to his chest as I squeal and whimper, grieving over my shattered world.

* * *

JAMES

She calmsdown as I stroke her hair, tears still staining her cheeks.

Her pain flows through me as I see her heart butchered by the harsh reality of life.

“I want to go home, please,” she says.

“Okay.”

“No. Not my home... Take me anywhere else––I don’t care where. All I know is that I don’t want to be here. And I don’t want to be in the space I share with my family either.”

I text Lex before walking her out through the back door.

The night is pitch dark and quiet. I fill my lungs with fresh air and glance up at the sky. There are no stars, no moon, only a soft breeze pushing quick-moving clouds of rain across.

I show her to my car.

She slides into her seat, wiping away her tears with her fingers.

I turn the ignition on, slowly back away, and swerve my ride onto the road.

We drive in silence, her gaze wandering outside.

The wind blows strands of long blonde hair over her face as she leans against the doorframe.

What she feels is not new to me.

I always knew we lived in a cruel world. Some are lucky not to see it. Others, like me, not so much.

I learned it when my mother left my father for a man half her age. I was a boy back then. And then I learned it from my dad, who’d never opened up to me.

He taught me to be ruthless in business and never trust a woman in my private life.

To me, cruelty is a fact of life, and I see it every day.

It’s like mold, sticking out and growing where you expect it the least, but you can’t fully understand how evil and destructive it is until you see the writhing of a bludgeoned heart.

A few more minutes pass before we pull up in front of my house.

We leave my car and slip through the main door in perfect silence.

Moments later, we enter my bedroom. She follows me quietly, her eyes vacant, her mind adrift.

“You can sleep here,” I say, motioning to my bed. “The staff is downstairs if you need anything.”

She shifts her eyes to me.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I ask.

She nods.

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning,” I say, pivoting and heading to the door.

She grabs my arm.

---