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Chapter 18
Shay
“Keep her straight!” yells a voice I’m not familiar with.
Every part of my body feels battered and bruised. I don’t think I’ve ever felt pain like this before. A punch lands on my stomach and I fall over into a heap.
“You were told to rough her up, bro. I think she’s had enough.”
I have. I have had enough. Please, no more, I yell in my head.
I don’t think I’d have any energy to scream out loud, and it would be pointless anyway, because my voice is inaudible to everyone here. I’m just a nobody.
I cough and splutter, finding it extremely hard to inhale air through the pain. Every breath feels like I’m trying to breathe through an airtight container; the only air available is what I’ve exhaled, and every time I try to breathe it in, the oxygen gets less and less. I won’t be able to last for long like this.
“Our job here is done. Let them get her to the hospital.”
The hospital sounds good, but I don’t know where I am, or if I’m even dreaming this whole thing. Surely they haven’t beaten me to within an inch of my life to get me help, right?
My head is yanked off the ground and his rancid breath makes me retract further. The smell is enough to make me gag.
“Breathe a word of what has happened here, and this will be nothing compared to what you receive next time. What your family will receive.”
He pushes my head into the ground hard. I feel like my brain is banging back and forth inside my skull. The pain is terrible and the darkness creeps over me again, but this time, I relish the thought of going under and never waking up again. I can’t take this pain anymore.
I jump forward, holding my hand over my chest, breathing heavily. My head is spinning, my sight is fuzzy, and my heart is pounding in my chest. I feel like I’m not getting enough oxygen in my body.
“Hey.”
I hear Clay’s voice and I calm slightly. I was just dreaming.
I’m safe. I’m alive. It’s all over with.
“It’s just a nightmare, babe. I’ve got you. I’ll let nothing ever happen to you again.”
Clay sits on the side of my bed and strokes my hands. He’s gentle with me, something I love about Clay. It’s so easy to love him. He’s the opposite of most men that walk this Earth.
“I love you, Clay,” I blurt out.
I’ve waited so long for him to hear those three little words I’ve been whispering into the dark abyss, that now I just need him to hear them from my own mouth. I need him to know that I do love him.
I open my eyes and stare at Clay. He’s just staring at me like I’ve grown horns in my sleep.
“Say that again,” he croaks.
I smile. “I love you, Clay. I’ve wanted to tell you that for so long. I just never thought it would happen.”
Suddenly, I feel shy and anxious. Is he going to say it back? Has he moved on without me? I mean, I wouldn’t blame him if he had. I didn’t put him first all those years ago. Why should he put me first now?
Clay places his hands on my cheeks and makes me look him in the eye. “Stop overthinking my silence. I’ve loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. I love your sass, your stubbornness, and your strength. I love everything about you, Shay. I never thought I’d hear you say those three words, but they mean the world to me.”
Tears roll down his cheeks, and unlike the Clay I know, he doesn’t do anything to hide his emotion from me. This is the real him. This is what I’ve done to him.
“I’ve said them a lot lately. I was always hoping and praying that you’d hear it. Crazy, I know.”
“Now that I have heard them, I don’t want to go a day without hearing you say it. Got it?”
“I’ve got it.”
