Page 137 of Imogen

I spin around to face Zach. At first, I think my brain is playing tricks on me. But he’s real, standing in front of me. I jerk at the sight of him, and my hand squeezes Ben’s out of fear.

What is he doing here?

How did he get here?

My gaze falls to the knife handle tucked into Zach’s jeans, and then to the nearly empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

“Zach? What are you doing here?” I ask, as Ben pulls me back to get me to stand a little behind him.

“Stop!” Ben warns when Zach takes a step closer.

Zach laughs, but there’s no humour to it. “You think I forgot you were coming here this week? I knew you would come even though I told you not to,” he starts. “I overheard the others at the lodge saying you were here.With him.”

“Zach, you’re drunk. Let us walk back down and talk about this,” I begin, hating how unstable he is as he stumbles across the platform. One wrong move, and he could end up going over the bluff behind him.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” he spits out through gritted teeth.

“Imogen? Run!” Ben orders, and I startle.

“What?”

He grips my hand tighter and meets my gaze. Uncertainty and fear shine back at me in those wide eyes. “Run!”

Knowing the promise I made, I lean up and kiss his cheek. “Come back to me,” I plead on a whisper.

I run, tears gathering in my eyes as I hear Zach yelling at me to stop. As I hit where the path begins, I look back, my breath hitching when I see the knife now in Zach’s hand.

This can’t be happening.

Pain like nothing I’ve ever felt before rattles through my chest. I don’t want to keep moving, but I remember Ben’s words. He wanted me gone so he didn’t have to worry about me. He wanted me free to get help.

I pick up speed, moving quicker than I ever thought possible. When I reach the wooded area of the hill, things begin to darken, and rain starts to splatter. I don’t let it stop me, and a sob catches in my throat when I pass the bench we sat on not too long ago.

Wind bites into my cheeks, but I pick up my speed regardless. I move so quickly, my legs and the downhill slope fall out of sync and I don’t land right on my ankle. I scream as I tumble, falling down the embankment. I cry out when my wrist snaps back trying to break my fall. Instead of stopping, I keep rolling, and dirt, stones and sticks cut into my flesh, tearing at the clothes I’m wearing. I try to grab onto something, but everything I touch just tears into the palms of my hands.

My head smacks into stone, and before I have the chance to absorb the pain, light flashes behind my eyelids and everything goes black.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Ben

Seeing Imogen disappear, I relax a little, yet stay vigilant as I give Zach my full attention. He hasn’t shaved in a few days. His pupils are huge, and the rims of his eyes are stained red. This is a side of him I’ve never seen. It’s like he’s been split into two and this person in front of me is the dishevelled side of him. No longer is he wearing clean, ironed clothes. His hair isn’t perfectly styled, and his posture is no longer straight. He has to be freezing up here because he only has a thin jacket.

“Zach, what are you doing here?” I ask calmly, as rain begins to splatter.

I’m anything but calm though. I want to rip the knife from his hand and restrain him. I want to tear into him for scaring her like this. I saw how panicked she was at the sight of him. The quiver in her lips and the shake of her hand. She didn’t even try to mask it. And I know I’ve probably broken a part inside of her for making her run. I just couldn’t risk her being here. Not when he’s drunk. And as confident as I am that I can restrain him, I thought that once before and I ended up in a pantry, blood draining from my body.

“What am I doing here?”

“Yes.”

“I came to see my girlfriend,” he taunts before taking a hefty swig from the bottle he’s holding.

“She’s not your girlfriend, and I don’t think you want her to be.”

He laughs. “No. I fucking don’t. She’s ruined my life.”

“This again? Really?”

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