Page 47 of Betraying Family Vows
I sit up slowly, pushing my hair from my face.
My heart kicks up when I remember what I told myself.
As soon as I woke, I'd leave.
Before I could get pulled in deeper.
Before this twisted thing between us became something I couldn't walk away from.
The longer I stay with him, the more confused I become. The more I see him as something other than a monster.
My heart hammers against my ribs as I slowly push myself up, careful not to make a sound. The oversized clothes Dimitri gave me rustle softly. I freeze, watching him. He stirs slightly, his fingers tightening on the gun, but his eyes don't open completely. His body relaxes again.
I take a breath and rise to my feet.
If I don't leave now, I never will.
The thought terrifies me more than the prospect of being alone in the dark. Because I know it's true. Something is happening between us, something that makes no sense given who we are, what he's done, what I tried to do to him.
At least this is how I feel, and right now, I need to protect that.
I take one step, then another, trying to be as quiet as possible. I pause at the entrance to our little shelter.
Go, Athena. Now.
I don't look back as I slip through the doorway. I can't. If I see him again, I might change my mind.
The ruins spread out before me, a maze of fallen columns, others reaching for the sky, and half-standing walls.
Vines grow across the marble, and it's eerily beautiful, seeing what was once a solid, glorious structure now crumbled. Just like my need for revenge.
I take a deep breath and I go. I move fast, running toward God knows where. That's something that has fallen apart—my desire to run despite knowing where I'm going.
My feet find their way as I move between stones, columns, and deteriorating walls. The moon is bright enough to light my path but offers enough darkness to conceal me.
The adrenaline races through my veins, and my breath comes in small, controlled gasps as I navigate through Plato's home.
I smile at that thought.
Ugh. Why does this feel different than before?
It's like I'm not running from him this time.
I'm running from me. Self-sabotage at it's finest.
The last time I ran from him, it was pure fear driving me. This time, it's something else. Something more complicated. I'm still afraid, but not of him. I'm afraid of what's happening to me. Of how I feel when he looks at me. Of the way my skin burned when I tended his wounds.
I pause behind a tall section of wall, pressing my back against the stone. The night is silent except for wind winding through the ruins and the distant call of an owl. I strain my ears for footsteps, for any sign that Dimitri is following me.
Nothing.
I should be happy, but disappointment floods through me instead.
Why do I want him to catch me?
This is insane. I should be grateful he's still asleep, that I have a chance to escape.
Yet here I am, part of me hoping to hear his footsteps. To see his silhouette cutting through the moonlight. To feel his hands on me again.
