I needed to try and distract him, or something, so I could get to the tools.
“You’ve been staying here?” I asked, my voice sounding small, but I forced it to be steady.
Ethan didn’t look at me. “It’s quiet. For now.”
He made a sound like he’d found what he had been looking for, and then he turned and gave me a slow, dark look—one that said exactly what was coming next. He held up a pair of handcuffs.
“You’re out of your mind.”
Crap, if looks could kill. That made him angry. He spun on me so fast I barely had time to take a step back before the knife was pressed to my stomach again. My back hit the wall. The air in the room seemed to vanish.
“Don’t push me, Rae,” he hissed. “You think I won’t do it? That cowboy of yours can’t save you. No one’s gonna hear you scream.”
My heart thudded. I kept my eyes on his, forcing myself to not give him the satisfaction of fear on my face, even if it was eating me alive inside.
“You already did your worst to me,” I said quietly, with a bite to my tone. “And I’m still here.” I spit on his face.
His expression flickered—rage, disbelief, something ugly—and then he turned away. He started pacing. Back and forth. Mumbling. Talking to himself more than me.
“You ruined everything! You told him! You made me into some kind of monster, like you weren’t begging for it back then, like you didn’t know how lucky you were.”
My stomach twisted. I thought he was angry before, but this was so much worse.
“I didn’t beg,” I said. “I was scared. And you...”
He turned and shoved me again, harder this time, the flannel falling from my shoulder. My back slammed into the wall. and a large piece of splintered wood pierced through my skin, close to my spine. I screamed in pain and he threw me down on the ground. My hands shot out for balance, my breath knocked from my chest.
“Shut up! You don’t get to talk like that. Not to me.”
I was too far from the tools, but I tried to crawl towards them. He grabbed my hair and pulled me back. I struggled, twisting my body, but he wrenched my arm behind me again. He twisted my skin so tight that it felt like my wound ripped open more.
Keep fighting, Rae.
I kicked at his shin and caught part of it. The knife clattered to the floor. He let out a yell but didn’t release me. He straightened up, picking up the knife as he stood, and dragged me a few feet to the sleeping bag by my hair. I screamed in pain as it felt like every nerve in my body was on fire. He straddled my hips and I thrashed beneath him, but he grabbed the handcuffs and yanked my arms back, handcuffing my wrists together. He then picked up the rope and proceeded to tie up my legs. My skin burned as the fibers scratched and tightened around my legs and ankles.
My throat felt like it was closing. I couldn’t take a complete breath.
“I oughta teach you a lesson for what you did, what lies you said about me. Make sure you understand what happens when you lie about a man like that,” he growled.
Tears stung my eyes, but not just from fear. From fury. From the unfairness of all of this. From the way his voice sounded like it always had right before he hurt me.
He cut off the flannel shirt and stared at me with an evil grin. I thought I had been afraid before, but I was wrong. Now I was paralyzed by fear.
