Page 78 of Ethereally Redeemed

Camila shifts her gaze from me to Grey, eyes softened at the edge. “Not at this moment. You and I will continue our sessions here. Naya’s situation is different—”

I can’t hear the rest of her sentence as the room spins out of control, blurring the lines between what’s real and what isn’t. All I can do is stare at Camila with an open mouth as she patiently waits for my response, the unsettling hope in her eyes shining through like the sun on a warm summer day. The urge to sink into the armchair and hide forever makes my nails dig into my palms once again—screw the ball, it can’t satisfy the itching need inside me.

“Y-you want to strip me of my freedom,” I say, my voice as dead as I feel on the inside with the panic surfacing.

Camila frowns, shaking her head. “That’s not it at all. This is a chance for you to properly heal from everything you have been through.”

My head won’t resonate with anything she says as I scramble out of my seat, backing toward the door. “You want to lock me up—just like they did at Grimhill Manor. Just like DankworthInstitute.” My voice comes out flat, emotionless.

Camila turns to protest, but I’m already out of the door, panic washing over me until I don’t know what to do anymore. All I know is that I need to get out of here before I’m locked up once again, stolen from life once more.

I don’t think—I only sprint up to the room Grey and I share before I grab our backpack, throwing all of my belongings inside of it. Survival instinct has taken over me, a desperate need to escape this house that’s slowly suffocating me.

“What are you doing?” Grey comes up from behind me, startling me. His skin has regained some color as he grabs my wrist in his stronger hands, looking down at me with a lethal look.

“I’m getting out of here,” I say, trying to wrench free from Grey. “Let go of me!” I scream at him in frustration, the walls slowly closing in on me.

Soon, I won’t be able to breathe at all.

“Not going to happen,” he hisses. His eyes burn with a seriousness that makes me unable to meet them.

I turn around, finally managing to wrench my wrist free from his grip as I look at him with despair swirling in my irises. I’m on the verge of crying, but I won’t allow myself to spill the tears that desperately want to fall. I’m much stronger now than I was before.

“They want to take me from you!” My voice is loud and clear, echoing through the wooden walls as if they are made of a bumpy material. “She wants to lock me up again, take away my freedom! I can’t just do nothing. I can’t fucking be trapped again.You,out of everyone, should know that.”

Rage simmers in his eyes before he manages to calm himself. He presses me closer to his muscular chest, the dark and earthly scent of his perfume washing over me soothingly as he holds me in his thick arms.

“I know, darling. I know,” he murmurs.

This time, I can’t help but let the tears fall down my cheeks, each one spilling like a brick from a collapsing house. Everything crumbles, and there’s nothing I can do to glue the house back.

“Please, Grey. Don’t let them take me.” My voice is nearly inaudible.

I clutch his shirt, letting the tears soak the fabric as his strong hands stroke my hair.

“I will never let anyone take you from me. It’s you and I ‘til the end, remember?” He continues stroking my hair until the sobs ease, the tears not falling as rapidly anymore. “There has to be another way.”

A voice from the doorway makes my body stiffen as Everlee enters the room, looking hesitant as she takes in my appearance.

“It sounds like you need a hug?” she asks, smiling at me, and I immediately walk into her embrace as she opens her arms.

Shortly thereafter, Grey leaves us two alone in the room, and Everlee eventually breaks the hug.

“That therapy shit is hard,” she laughs, looking at me with a gaze I cannot decipher. “You have a choice if you want to go to Rosewood or not. No one can force you. Okay?”

I nod, sniffing as I wipe away the tears from my cheeks. “What if they try?”

“I will make another proposal to Camila. She can treat you from here. I will talk with Draven and make sure he agrees on it.”

“Thank you, Everlee. I don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for you.”

Her smile widens. “I’m the one who should thank you. You saved my sanity back at Grimhill.”

“I got your note. It helped me find peace at Dankworth,” I tellher truthfully, and the smile she gives me is beaming.

For a moment, we share a silent understanding, but then the tension thickens the air. There are still so many words left unspoken between us—how we move from here. “You know we can’t stay here forever,” I admit, my mood souring. “Eventually, the police will find us. I can’t drag you down with me when that happens. I think our only option is to leave the country.”

I brace myself for disappointment to cloud her features, but instead, she looks at me with a calm sense of clarity and pride, as though she’s proud of me.

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