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Here we fucking go.
15
Darragh
I knew I was lost an hour ago, but I was even more worse off now. I was completely turned around, had no idea what direction my rental car was in, and I felt panic settle in so strongly that I was starting to really get scared I’d never get out of these woods.
I stopped in the center of the forest and closed my eyes, breathing, trying in vain to get my shit together.
It wasn’t helping, not with the creepy-ass sounds that surrounded me, not with the fact that the sun had set hours before, and especially not with the shadows all around me that made it seem like there were creatures lurking behind the trees.
Get a DNA test, I told myself.
Find out where I’m from, I encouraged myself.
Fly to Scotland to see where my roots were, I’d talked myself into.
I opened my eyes and looked around, a shiver moving over my arms as a breeze picked up. I curled my hands around the strap of my backpack. At least I was smart enough to bring it and pack some water and energy bars. Although I hadn’t seen myself getting lost.
Blowing out a breath, the stream of air pushed away a lock of my dark hair that had come undone from my ponytail.
I did a full turn, trying to see if I could make heads or tails of which way I should go, but my reality was looking like I’d be stuck sleeping here overnight, because no way could I navigate through the woods when it was dark.
I could cry… again. I’d broken down not that long ago when I knew I was up Shit Creek without a damn paddle, but I’d put on my “big girl panties” and kept on trucking. I was a survivor I told myself. I hadn’t made it through the foster care system with scars and bruises from standing up for myself and not letting the other kids beat me down me, just to lose it in the Highlands of Scotland.
I picked a direction and started walking, because any way at this point was a good enough bet to get out of here.
“This is what I get for being an idiot and going off the trail.” I pushed that same strand of hair away from my face. “This is what I get for not bringing a compass or map, or hell, a cell phone that actually worked in another country and out in the middle of nowhere.”
I was losing my mind. I had to be to berate myself like it would make a difference. Another chill raced over my body, and I tightened the light jacket I wore around my body even more.
As a kid who had no parents and no family, I’d always wondered who I was. And although I’d had to protect myself—prove myself to them, so to speak—the families I’d bounced around in hadn’t been awful.
They’d just been cold, and they’d felt like that because I knew I wouldn’t stay there. I knew it wouldn’t be a home for me.
And once I became an adult and left the system, I’d been so determined to make myself successful that I hadn’t deviated from that for five years.
At twenty-three years old, I was a college graduate with a degree in history. I’d been able to work and save most of my money while going to school, only because I’d worked my ass off in high school and gotten a full-ride scholarship.
And after graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I’d taken to diving right into the workforce and saving any and all money I could. Growing up with nothing really to call my own, and having to fight for anything and everything, had created this drive in me to succeed.
And I’d also had one goal in mind.
Find out who I really was, where I was from, and maybe find an actual family out there I could connect with.
Only thing I’d found out after taking a DNA test was that I was almost completely of Scottish origin. I didn’t have any hits with matching DNA relatives on the damn test site. How that was even possible, I didn’t know.
Just proves I’m even more of a freak than I thought.
I kept walking. And walking. And walking. Time felt like it blurred in these woods, which only added to the absolute horrifyingly creepy aspect of it.
And then I heard something. Moaning? Growling?
I stopped, my heart suddenly in my throat as I turned around, my head whipping back and forth as I tried to figure out what that noise was and what direction it came from.
Another moan. Female.
A harsh groan. Male.
My eyes widened, and I followed the sound. I didn’t give a shit if I came across some people having sex in the woods. They could get me out of here. I was all but running now, my feet crunching over twigs and dried leaves.
