Page 55 of Little Liar
Thanks to Mom, I’ve never had a choice in my future. It’s inevitable that I’ll become who she raised me to be. Wife to a rich man. Silent. Compliant. The perfect daughter. The worst sister.
At least with me burning my final bridge to my brother, I can protect him from ever being poisoned by me again.
PART TWO
14
Malachi - Present day
My back presses to the tree as I drag in heavy breaths to my starved lungs.
Sweat clings to my body like a second skin, dirt splattered all over my legs and ruining my shoes from how fast I’ve been running in the rain. Clearing my head and drowning out the voices only works when I’m exercising or when I’m wrapped up with Olivia, but something wasn’t right when I woke up. I had to detangle myself and slide out from under the covers.
That was hours ago. I think I’ve been running all morning.
My mind is in overdrive. I’m not sure why.
Anxiety has been eating away at me—the kind that wakes you through the night as if you’ve been strangled. The kind where you can’t find your appetite. The kind that makes you think you’re losing your mind.
To be honest, the third point is most likely true.
I roll my neck, savoring the cracking sensation, and pull out my earphone, listening to the woodland’s noises, then hold in asmile when I hear the rushed footfalls of my girlfriend hunting for me.
I told her to wait twenty minutes before she came looking for me when she called and asked where I was. She managed a whole five minutes.
I didn’t want to wake her when I snuck out, but I also wanted to drag her from our bed and demand she deal with the rock-solid cock I’d woken up with after she’d rubbed herself all over it for hours, keeping me awake.
I almost slid inside her while she was lightly snoring.
Almost.
It would’ve helped with how I’m feeling. Maybe it would’ve eased everything, even for an hour.
Fucking her again while she’s not aware is apparently off the table—she’s given me strict rules not to touch her while she’s passed out unless she gives me prior consent.
As boring as I find the restriction she made since coming back to me last week, I’m listening—I even covered her naked body before I went to work out though the voice on my shoulder yelled at me to ravage her.
See? I can be nice.
Olivia doesn’t know it yet, but I’m starting to—
Whack.
“Fuck!”
Something hard hits the side of my head, then there’s a burst of pain and warmth trickling down my face as I pull away from the tree and turn to see Olivia hauling off my gas mask and dropping the baseball bat to the forest floor.
“I’m sorry!” she yells, her eyes wide. “I was supposed to hit the tree, not you!”
I wipe blood from my wound then stare at my red fingers before letting my eyes slowly lift to her. She gulps, taking a step back, but I shake my head and she stops.
“It was an accident.”
Put the mask back on, I sign, because I’m still more comfortable using sign language than speaking. She picks it up and slides it on while I ignore the trail of blood reaching my shoulder and most likely staining my skin.Now pick up the bat.
She lowers to grab it, her movements slow, calculated, as if she’s ready to run any moment.
“What now?”
