AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His face hardens and I see it then. The pain that he’s endured. And that pain carved him into the sociopathic child-snatching predator that he is.
Maybe he is no different than my mother. But he’s no different than me either. Except I kill the guilty while he chooses to exploit the innocent. That’s the key difference between us.
I’ve got to get inside that chink.
“I have a past, not scars,” he edges out, eyes narrowing.
“Nothing about that is original. You think you’re special because you have a past?”
“No. I think I’m normal because I have a past. Scars? Those come from tragedy, from allowing people close enough to hurt you. That’s never happened to me and it never will.”
“So, you’re saying I’m scarred because I let people hurt me? Jesus. Blame the victim much?”
I turn from him, feeling my blood pressure rise. This is the ‘my brother can be a dick’ portion of the night.
“No. That’s not what I meant.” His fingers wrap around my upper arm but the moment I turn to him he lets go. I recall his hand around my neck, just last week, and my flesh grows hot.
“What did you mean?”
He takes a few steps back. “I don’t know what happened to you. I won’t force you to talk about it. As far as I’m concerned, however, my past is mine and mine alone. My sister brought up something she shouldn’t have.”
For someone who wanted to talk he really sucks at it.
A huge wave breaks next to us and a strong wind blows. Feels like a storm is coming in. I push my hands inside the front pocket of my sweatshirt. “I respect what you’re saying. One hundred percent.”
“But?” He ticks his head to the side.
“But nothing. Except …” I move closer to him, bridging the gap between being in the dark and knowing a little more. “I have a feeling that if you and I did share our deepest, darkest secret, we wouldn’t regret it. One secret. Right now.”
Releasing a low chuckle, Ben doesn’t seem convinced.
“Hey,” I add. “You’re the one who wanted to talk.”
He takes a step in my direction, closing the gap, and his hand moves to my hair, running his fingers through it, inspecting it closely. “You can tell me your deepest, darkestwhatever, Tove. Or you can keep that chest of yours with your scarred heart sealed up nice and tight. I don’t care.”
“Okay,” I breathe, heart pounding and body shivering.
“Okay then what?” he edges out.
“Okay. But … if we’re going to move forward, you gotta give me something. And vice-versa.”
“Like?”
“Like, what happened to your son?”
He hovers his lips near mine, fists my hair, and whispers. “All you need to know about that is I make people pay for their transgressions. And the man responsible for hurting my son will pay with his life.”
My pulse quickens, and my heart flips end over end.
“Your turn,” he breathes.
Seconds pass. I’m hanging on the edge of a precipice. I can’t keep up this charade. Not without getting seriously hurt in the process. I need to think. I need space.
“Maybe we should, um … I need to use the bathroom.”
His hand falls from my hair and he pulls back and narrows his eyes, as if silently admonishing me. “I’ll walk you inside then.”
I nod, feeling nausea creep up my throat. Why did I want him to kiss me? Something in my gut isn’t right. This feels wrong. As in, hating him feels wrong.
