There was a sudden clearing in the canopy. A beautiful cabin appeared out of nowhere.
“Finally,” the woman said, her shoulders visibly easing.
She hopped onto the porch and opened the front door. I froze before the steps. Which place was more hazardous? The woods at night or inside that cabin? My feet wouldn’t move. Grayson grabbed my arm and dragged me into the cabin. I was doing my best to make it hard for him, leaning away with my bodyweight and digging my heels into the ground but he didn’t even seem to notice my struggle.
“I will take her up,” the woman said to Grayson, taking hold of my other arm.
He stared at her for a few seconds, not letting go of me.
“Fine,” he grumbled and released me. I let out a breath.
The front door was still open.Gods, it was so close.
Grayson stepped in front of me, blocking my view. “Running again, are we?” His voice was icy yet enticing. Like he was daring me to do it.
I shook my head and quickly turned away, trying my best not to burst out into a sprint up the stairs. To get away from him.
The cabin was still dark, no one had switched on any lights. Or maybe there was no electricity. It was so far away from civilisation.
Only the contours of the rooms were visible in the low light of the moon, but I tried to take in every visible detail. It was a large open-plan cabin, with the living room area on the right as you enter the front door and the kitchen on the left. In the middle of the room was a staircase that led to an upstairs area with three closed doors, spanning the area of the kitchen and living room. It was to one of those doors, the one on the far left, overlooking the kitchen, that the woman led me to.
Inside the bedroom was a large bed, dresser and vanity, made from the same heavy wood. There was another door that led to an ensuite bathroom. Moonlight streamed through a large window looking out on the dark forest, taking up most of the wall opposite the bedroom door. There were no curtains or blinds for the window. It probably wasn’t necessary. This deep into the woods, there would be no soul to look inside anyway.
“This will be your room,” the woman said. “I’m going to go get you some warm clothes. You must be freezing.” She turned and walked to the farthest door.
I quickly closed the door of the room. It had no key and no other locks I could use. I sunk to the ground, with the door against my back. How didthis happen to me? My head was spinning, and my breaths came too fast. The walls caved in on me. Trapping me.
The flowers were still clutched in my trembling fingers. I opened my hands to see the seed pods. The dots of blood on my palms had already started to dry. This might be how I survive, how I could escape.
Pull yourself together, Ava. You need to make it out alive.
I inhaled deeply. Panicking like this wasn’t going to help me. I needed to be strong. I had to fight for my life. No one else could get me out of this. No one would know to look for me here. I had to save myself.
There were footsteps on the creaky floorboards of the passage, and then hushed voices, one of which was the woman. It sounded like an argument, but it was too low to hear what was being said. I quickly got up and hid the seed pods under the mattress, as deep as I could reach, and placed the flowers on the nightstand. Moving around the bed, I sat on the opposite side, so the bed was between myself and the door. It made me feel a tiny bit better.
The door creaked open, and my heart sputtered. I had expected the woman, in her mask, but instead, there stood Grayson, holding a heap of clothing, his expression blank. He walked to the dresser and placed the items on top, then turned and leaned against it, his eyes on me. There were still smudges of blood over his face. He had taken a knife from his pocket, which he kept flipping from handle to tip, almost absentmindedly while he stared at me. Was he planning on how he was going to use it on me?
Even more unnerving than the knife, was his stare.Dangerwas what the little voice in my head screamed. Death lurked behind those eyes.
Grayson held my gaze for a long time before his eyes started roaming down my body. Every part of me was shaking. I quickly pulled my dress down towards my knees, suddenly aware that it was hitched up at my thighs. Crazy how a dress that made me feel so beautiful, now had me feeling exposed. It felt a little too short, a little too tight.
Grayson pushed off the dresser and walked towards me. My body hunched into a ball, trying to make itself small, unnoticeable. But it was too late. He had noticed.
“Such a pity you tore that dress. It suits you.” He was standing in front of me, his hands in the top pockets of his black cargo pants, a small bag dangling from one of his wrists. It had a red cross on it. A first aid kit. I couldn’t make myself look at his face. What would I see there?
His hand, deceitfully gentle, grasped the underside of my chin and forced my head up. My bottom lip started to tremble. I didn’t want him touching me. I wanted to throw up. My eyes still wouldn’t look up at him. I looked past him, focusing on the blank wall.
“We’ll be here through all of winter. It’s up to you what that time will be like. It could be easy, or hard. Either one is fine by me.”
Through winter? Hot tears started streaming down my face. Months of this. I would have to endure, the gods knew what, formonths. Was that really better than just being killed right now? Either way, I was going to die. There was no way he would let me go now that I’ve seen his face.
I dared to look at that face again. He just watched me, expressionless, waiting. He had a beautiful face, perfectly framed by his short black hairthat almost shined blue in the moonlight. His intense, dark eyes looked right into my soul, like a demon lusting after it.
A thought flickered briefly through my mind. If I’d seen him walk the streets of Bentely Cove, I would’ve found him handsome. Now I wanted to puke my guts out.
“Please.” I wasn’t sure what I was begging for. The thoughts wouldn’t form, as if my mind was trying to protect me from it.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “My, what good manners you suddenly have.” He wiped a tear away, sliding his thumb harshly over my cheek, pressing my lips to a pucker. “Good. A mouth as pretty as yours, shouldn’t be sayinguglywords to me. It would be a shame to carve up such beauty.”
