I am nothing but evil.
Unwillingly, my arms rise and my fists start hitting my head. Over and over. Trying to beat the memories out and silence the voices.
I wish I was dead.
Gone.
Buried.
I didn’t ask for any of this.
Everything I touch turns to wilt and rot.
I blindly turn off the water, trembling violently from the cold and the pain. Then I drag my dripping body out of the stall and collapse onto the broken, sagging mattress.
The cheap sheets soak beneath me as I bury my face in the stained pillow and cry.
And cry.
And cry.
Until there is absolutely nothing left inside me.
When I finally roll over, I reach for my phone on the mattress.
The screen lights up with another text from Valeria.
From the very first day I ran away, she started texting me to come back.
But I don’t want to.
I can’t.
I know how the game is played in that house, and her sudden desperation means one of two things. Either she’s faking it because Graham is threatening her to lure me back into his trap, or he’s already confiscated her credit cards until I return.
Either way, I’m not going back.
I can’t face her again.
And I’m scared that if I do, I’ll fall even harder for Graham.
Valeria deserves a life of peace, and my existence in that mansion will only drag her deeper into hell. Eventually, Graham will get bored of me and give her back her money. And if she’s only pretending to worry because he wants her to? Then I’m giving her exactly what she wants by keeping my mouth shut and refusing to respond.
My eyes drift down the screen to his name.
Graham has only sent me three texts since the night I left.
The first came when I didn’t return that morning.
Where are you?
The second arrived the next day.
Come back.
And then the last one, from yesterday, makes the hairs on my arms stand up.
You’ll either come back kicking and screaming, or on your own two feet.
