Desperate to get away, I push him and run. If I can just get to Teddy, then everything will be alright.
Shane grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop, then drags me down an alleyway.
“Get off!” I yell, tugging against his hold. “I haven’t done anything, I swear! I’ve been good, Shane. Get off me, please.”
He steps into me, baring his teeth. “You’re never good, Bailey. Never.”
I flinch at the accusation.
“You can’t stay with him. You know that. What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” His grip on my arm tightens, and I cry out in pain.
“I’m leaving,” I gasp out. “You’re wrong, I-It’s not me … it’s that house. I’m fine when I’m not there. I’m good with Teddy! When he goes back to Scotland, I’m … I’m going with him.”
Shane releases my arm, a flash of something on his face morphing from concern to rage, then back again. “You can’t. If something happens when you’re up there, what do you think will happen?”
I shake my head. I don’t want to think about what ifs. “I love him, Shane,” I cry.
His nostrils flare and his jaw tenses. He grabs me by the throat so fast, I can barely take a breath. I claw at his arm, but he slams me against the wall, my head bouncing off the bricks. White spots dot my vision and dizziness overwhelms me.
“You’re going to break up with him?—”
“I will not!” I shout, struggling against his hold.
“Youwillbreak up with him, Bailey,” he repeats. “I swear to God, if you leave me … if you go up there and fuck up, they willarrest you. You’ll be thrown in prison, and you’ll never see the light of day again. Is that what you want? Is he worth that?”
My heartbeat pounds so hard, I swear I can hear it. I hate that he’s echoing all my doubts and fears.
“If you don’t do it, then I’ll make sure he never wants to go near you again. I’ll tell him all about your sick secrets. About what you did to Dad.”
I freeze, hands going limp where they were trying to pull him off me.
“How much will it hurt him to know he’s been fucking a psychopath. That you’ve been lying to him for two years. That you put his life at risk because you have no self-control.” He puts more pressure on my throat until I can’t draw breath. Blood rushes to my ears, and my head swims. “If you leave with him, and he ends up hurt—or worse—then you’ll have to live the rest of your life knowing you could have stopped it. You don’t deserve him. You’ve done nothing good in your life to deserve that happy ending,” he growls.
I don’t deserve Teddy …
“Come home with me,” Shane says, releasing my neck.
I collapse to the floor, dragging in sharp, ragged breaths. “I-I can’t go back there, Shane,” I rasp. I won’t go back to a mother who hates me and a stepfather who touches me when I’m too weak to stop him.
“Then we’ll leave together,” he says, crouching so we’re eye to eye. “Just you and me; we’ll go somewhere. I’ll make sure you’re safe, and you’ll never have to worry again. You belong with me, Bailey.”
I look up at him through eyelashes heavy with tears. Going with him isn’t an option, either. He thinks that hurting me keeps me under control, but it doesn’t. I can’t deal with it anymore. Every punishment strips something from me, and I know if I gowith him that eventually there’ll be nothing left. I’d rather be on my own.
My stomach roilslike the sea in the midst of a storm as I stand in Teddy’s bedroom with my bags packed at my feet. The front door bangs closed, and I hear the thumping of Teddy’s feet as he runs up the stairs.
“Hey … what’s up?” he asks slowly, eyes darting to the bags.
Oh God. I don’t want to do this … if I open my mouth right now, all that’s going to come out is the contents of my stomach. My throat tightens painfully as I swallow.
“I-I need to talk to you,” I start, begging my voice to hold out. Teddy stays silent, staring at me. I’m sure he already knows what's about to happen. “I want … I want to end this.” I motion between the two of us. “Us … I want to end us.”
His eyes go wide at that, and I realise I’m wrong. He has no idea where this is going. Of course he doesn’t—he’s being completely blindsided. We’re happy together. Why would he ever think it would end so abruptly?
“I don’t understand … Did I do something wrong?”
No, Teddy. You did nothing wrong. It’s all me.
I clamp down on my bottom lip to stop those thoughts coming out of my mouth. “I just can’t be with you right now. I-I don’t want to go to Scotland with you, and living—” I swallow back a sob, choking on my lies. Blinking rapidly, trying to hold back the tears for just a little longer. “Living with you has been too much.”
