I stop walking, planting my feet. “I think I want to go back now.”
“Come on.” He tries to grab my hip to steer me farther down the trail. It’s getting darker with every step. “Don’t be like that. We’re just getting to know each other.”
Instantly panic starts to bloom in my chest. It’s tight but still spreading. This is wrong. This is very wrong. All the things that led me here play back through my mind. I didn’t see the red flags that I should’ve been watching for. But maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe he really is just clumsy or doesn’t want to admit he’s lost. Yet, even as I have these thoughts, I know I’m not wrong. I’m always making excuses for people, and that’s not smart. I need to get out of here.
For the first time, I really look at Jake. I’m not tiny, but I’m short. He’s not super tall himself, but he’s stocky. His chest is a solid wall of muscle. If he wanted to hurt me, he could.
“Don’t be like that.” Jake grabs my wrist and yanks me toward him.
“Stop.” I go to twist away from him, but he has my other arm now. His face is too close, his breath hot with whiskey. “Let go of me.”
“You’re so tense,” he laughs breathlessly. “Relax. You wanted to come out here.”
The word “wanted” sends me over the edge. My body reacts on instinct, and I scratch him. Hard. My nails rake across his cheek, and I feel them dig in. Then I see three red lines bloom, and it’s satisfying.
“Fuck.” He jerks back, and his hand flies to his face. I watch his whole expression morph, and as satisfying as that might have felt, I’m going to pay for it. “You little…”
He doesn’t finish his sentence before grabbing me again, rougher this time. I scream as pure fear unlike anything I’ve felt before floods my whole body.
Then I hear a crash through the woods that has both of us turning. In the distance, there’s movement in the underbrush, and then I see it. It’s a dark shape that’s moving fast, and the next thing I know, Jake is on the ground with West on top of him. West’s fist connects with his jaw once, twice, before a sickening crack rings out and makes my stomach lurch.
“Don’t you fucking touch her.” West’s voice is barely human. If anything, it sounds like a low growl. He hauls Jake up by his collar and hits him again. “If you ever?—”
“West,” I say, placing my hand on his shoulder. “West, stop,” I say again, and his body freezes.
He turns his head in my direction, and his eyes find mine. They’re wild and barely focused a moment before something in him clicks back into place. He lets Jake drop hard to the ground, and I’m pretty sure he’s unconscious or close to it. The next thing I know, West is pulling me into him.
“Did he hurt you?” His hands hover all around me, not quite touching me but searching. “Bellarose, did he?—”
“No.” I shake my head rapidly. “I’m, uh…” I try to say something but can’t get the words out. It’s then I realize that I’m crying. “You came. I didn’t think because you didn’t come back, and I thought…” I trail off as the jumbled words run together.
“I’ll always come for you,” West says, pulling me in. His arms wrap tightly around me, and I bury my face in his chest, breathing him in. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he repeats like he’s the one who attacked me and not the one that saved the day. “You’re okay,” he murmurs against my hair. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
I’m not sure if he’s reassuring me or himself.
