Hope and belief.
She leaned closer, desperation cracking on the plea. “But then when I try to go after it, I end up making really terrible mistakes that put my entire family in danger.”
My chest squeezed to the point of breaking.
I was sure what she was referring to.
I hesitated, warred, worried I was about to invade a space that she didn’t want me to enter.
My tongue swept over my suddenly dry lips before I decided to take a chance. “Silas told me that something bad happened to you. That you were kidnapped.”
Surprise jolted her back an inch, a hot gust of air leaving her lungs before another tear slipped free.
“It was my fault.”
I released her hand so I could set my palm on her cheek.
“It’s not your fault.”
It didn’t matter the circumstances or what she thought she might have done. Whoever they were, those sick sadists were responsible.
I could feel it, as sharp as a blade driven into my soul.
It was the kind of hurt that went bone deep and never could be eradicated or erased.
Elena paused before she whispered, “I wasn’t kidnapped. I was duped. I thought this guy who found me on TikTok really liked me, and I was so lonely, I fell for it. Willingly snuck out to meet him, having no idea who he was until he shoved me into the trunk of a car then locked me in a dirty room.”
“Oh God.” The horrified response punched out of me.
How awful. How terrifying.
I sat for a moment in her torment, trying to figure out if I should press for details or if she just needed quiet, undeterred support.
“Did they…” I finally managed, though I couldn’t bring myself to fully say it.
She sniffled and gave a tiny shake of her head, clearly knowing what I was implying. “They beat me up. Taunted me. Laughed at me for being so stupid. But they didn’t do that.”
I couldn’t help it.
Relief heaved out of me.
What had happened to her was appalling, but…
That time she was squeezing my hand. “I’m still afraid sometimes, but I’m okay. I promise. I just feel ignorant and embarrassed. Devastated that I put my brother and the rest of the guys in that position.”
My nod was frantic. “I think it can be really easy to put ourselves in risky situations when we’re trying to find ourselves.”
Then my voice turned urgent. “Most of the time, those risks are worth it. They are life-changing in the best ways. But it is alsotrue that sometimes those risks backfire in such a catastrophic way that we think it will ruin us.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek, her eyes bright in the dim light of Silas’s room.
I edged forward another inch and set my other hand on her opposite cheek.
Framing her face.
“But without those risks, we aren’t going anywhere. We aren’t discovering what we really need or who we are meant to be.”
I angled my head with significance. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for taking one of those risks. The blame lies on those who take advantage of you taking those risks.”
