Page 93 of Selling Innocence

He blew out a harsh breath, as if fed up with me. “Go get some sleep.”

“But…”

He shook his head, pulling his hand back. Yet another rejection. “We’ve all had a long day, and if we don’t stop this now, we’re going to say or do something we can’t take back. We should sleep and come back to it tomorrow.”

“Don’t treat me like a kid,” I whispered.

“You are a kid, sweetheart. Compared to me, you’re a child. You’re smart and you’re tough and you’re far too kind, but you’re still a kid.”

I blinked quickly, the burning in my eyes worsening. I had little I could give them, little I could do for them, but they kept rejecting what I had.

They saw me as useless, just like everyone else.

Just a burden.

I sniffled, unable to help it when it hurt too much.

“Kenz…” Hayden said, his voice softening. That made it worse, though. I didn’t need pity, couldn’t stand that was the only thing he would give me.

I rushed past him, flinging his arm off when he tried to grab me. I didn’t stop until I reached my room and locked the door for the first time.

I sank to my knees in front of the closed door, then leaned my forehead against the wood.

A knock came a moment later, but I didn’t answer it.

“Open the door, Kenz.” Hayden’s voice floated through the door, and it squeezed at my heart. I wanted to open it, but what was the point?

It would be no different than before. He’d followed me because he felt bad about having upset me, not because he’d changed his mind. Hair of the dog wouldn’t make me feel any better in the long run.

“Go away,” I whispered.

“I don’t want you to cry alone.”

I wished I were stronger, that I could have said I wasn’t crying, but we both knew the truth. Lying would have been pointless. “Just leave me alone. I’ve gone along with everything you all want, haven’t fought you on anything, so please, just this once, let me have this. Let me have my pride and just let me be.”

His breath was heavy, and a soft thud echoed against the door, then a sliding sound. “I won’t make you open this door,” he said, “but I’ll stay right here in case you change your mind.”

I shifted, placing my back against the door, mirroring his position. The tears fell until exhaustion pulled me under, until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

And through it all, I knew he was there, that he wouldn’t leave. That was why no matter what they said, what they wanted, I had to make things right.I’d been protected my whole life, had others throw themselves between me and any threat, and I’d just obeyed. I’d followed what they said, let them protect me, but no more. I wouldn’t let anyone else suffer for me.

I couldn’t let these men who had become such a big part of my life get hurt because I was too afraid to do what was right.

For once, I’d do whatever it took to protect the people I loved.

* * * *

Kenz

My eyes ached but crying all night did that to a person. No doubt I looked like ‘fresh hell warmed over,’ as Rune would have said.

A pair of dark sunglasses helped keep me from squinting at the bright sun.

Getting out of the house hadn’t been that difficult. It might have been for a normal person, but I hadn’t grown up normal. I didn’t know what normal was, even if I’d tried to live like it the last year.

All those lessons I’d gotten had repeated in my head as I’d disconnected the alarms on the windows, as I’d picked the locks. I’d packed a bag with my insulin, my glucose reader and some clothing. I’d left the phone back at the house, since I had no doubt they could track it, that they would the moment they found me missing.I’d left my sketchbook behind, because somehow I couldn’t imagine wanting to draw when I got where I was headed.

I forced one foot in front of the other, heading toward the hotel Lorien had told me about.

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