Page 46 of Ruin

I nodded as I choked down tears, unsure what else I could possibly do.

Arik exhaled, smiling as he spoke. “Finally.”

He pressed a bloody kiss to my wet cheek and exhaled, his grip in my hair loosening.

I cocked my head back, headbutting him as my forehead hit him with a thud that echoed in my eardrums as I pulled out of his grasp and ran for the front door. My head pounded as I approached the entry staircase, only to see Arik already standing at the bottom by the front door.

I gasped, pressing my shaking hand to my forehead. I pulled it back only to see fresh blood on my fingertips.

Arik smirked, unscathed by the blow I had given him. He roared, his voice a terrifying thunderclap in the silence, “Fighting me will do nothing!”

I looked around the room, unsure of how to get myself out.

A voice came from behind me. “Claire, it’s okay. You’re safe. I can explain everything.”

I looked back to see Sam, also covered in blood, approaching me from the broken glass leading to the terrace.

I turned on my heel to run to the kitchen; the prospect of finding a knife to protect myself was the only idea I had.

The raw edge of fury in Arik’s voice filled the room as he shouted, “No!” just as my foot slipped on the wet stone at the top of the staircase. My body flew backward, crashing down the stone steps.

I heard a thud as pain exploded in my skull, and I crumpled—my vision dimming as I felt warmth against the back of my head.

I am going to die. My dying parents will have to bury me. This will kill them even faster.

The last thing I saw before darkness enveloped me was Arik’s face twisted into an expression of both rage and desperation.

“Fuck!” he screamed, his voice echoing in my fading consciousness as he scooped me up into his arms.

Arik carried me up the steps with a trembling urgency to the dining room table, his movements jerky and frantic. His voice was raw and laced with fear as he screamed for Sam.

“I’ve got it,” Sam said firmly, his voice coming from somewhere else.

I heard him rustling with something nearby. Then I felt the sharp sting of the needle. The pain rapidly grew distant, muffled by the darkness encroaching around me.

I could feel Arik’s hand against my neck, his anxiety palpable as he spoke to me, each word breaking harder than the last. “Claire…stay with me. Please…Claire.”

Then…

Silence.

Chapter Sixteen

Claire

Ifelt the pounding in my head before my eyes even opened.

My eyelids fluttered open as I struggled to take in the room around me, with only the glow of the bedside lamp bathing the space in warm light. This wasn’t Arik’s bedroom or any other room in the villa I’d seen before. I crawled out of the bed as the room spun, trying to keep my legs under me as I ran to the door. The metal doorknob was stiff in my hand as I pulled on it over and over again, my fist banging violently against the solid door as I screamed, “Help! Help me!”

I finally gave up, my chest heaving as my hands moved to the wall, banging again as I felt the windowless room closing in on me. Concrete met my fist until I recoiled, tears streaming down my face as I crawled back into bed. I curled up, my knees pressed tightly against my chest, sobbing uncontrollably as my breath came in ragged gasps.

The metal door creaked open, and I froze, heart pounding in my ears. I feared Arik would walk through, ready to finish me off.

My brain tried to warn me, and I did not listen.

To my surprise, when I lifted my head the familiar face of Sam emerged from the darkness, carrying a tray of food and a few bottles of water. My breath hitched in my throat as I exhaled slowly, relieved it wasn’t Arik.

“Hi. How is your head?” Sam’s voice was a soothing contrast to my turmoil.