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That was what my boyfriend had said every day for the last two years. We started dating when I was sixteen, and now that I was inching towards nineteen, I'd come to realize he wasn't the best for me. At first, he was my safe haven.
Someone strong who I hoped not to necessarily rely on, but who could provide me a sense of safety in this small town that was the only option for a girl like me with no money, inheritance, or family members. My parents died in a freak accident that I'd personally come to conclude was a murder.
My little brother, Kyle, was kidnapped by a molester, and they found his body in the woods just before a forest fire attempted to get rid of all the evidence. And my older brother? Well, he vanished after my younger brother's disappearance.
The fact that he wasn’t considered a prime suspect was just another circumstance that worked against me, and it left me homeless, with no money, and nothing to work hard towards.
I was just barely surviving in the hollows of this desolate world.
So why was I now heading towards the same path as my little brother?
I never thought my boyfriend would try to sell me. After my shift, he picked me up and offered me a bottle of orange juice after a long day. I paid no mind to it - my ultimate mistake - and now I was here, trying to not have a panic attack with my boyfriend to my left and a driver in black and wearing a mask taking us to the outskirts of our small town called Hollow Country.
I came here to start over because it was the closest town to the big city filled with matte black buildings and hopeful dreams, but more important, Hollow Country was a close-knit community and the forestry around it was a real sight to see.
Why didn't I think it would be too good to be true? Too beautiful to hide the disgusting deeds done by their own townspeople?
The man looked into the rearview mirror, his eyes locking onto my pale blue ones. My eyes were the most unique in the family. I’d taken most of my father's qualities, which included my very odd two-toned hair. Everyone thought it was highlighted to be a vivid orange that shifted into turquoise blue locks, but nope. I was born that way.
That kind of combination is one of a kind.
My look of recognition may have triggered his response as he hastily muttered, "Go ahead, but don't suck her dry. She’s gotta look decent enough to sell to the pack."
Sell to the pack? Don't suck me dry?! What do they mean? What's going on?
Fear shot through my senses as my boyfriend chuckled and looked over at me. I was afraid to peer to my left side - to see those eyes that should have shown me compassion be filled with a sort of hunger that wasn't human in the slightest.
His eyes that always gave me the impression of moss green were a striking red that I'd never witnessed before. They surely couldn't be contacts, especially when his eyes were normal just seconds ago. Maybe I was hallucinating - that would maybe make this situation feel more like a dream than my unfolding reality.
"Wren," he sweetly said, like my name was his favorite dessert. It was crazy how he was now using my nickname when the entirety of our relationship he'd called me Gwenivere -or Gwen when he was harsh and controlling.
I'd liked Wren because Kyle enjoyed calling me that. He'd learned in school that a wren was a small bird, and I guessed I sometimes felt like that -a little bird in the vast world.Theonly difference was that I'd yet to figure out how to fly.
My wings were clipped together by anyone who wanted to take advantage of the circumstances.
The use of it now made me feel like a helpless ant awaiting the death of being squished with the rest of its home, my body wracked with trembles that only encouraged my boyfriend to smile brilliantly.
"Don't be afraid, babe," he assured me as if he weren't the ultimate culprit of my fright and situation. "It'll all be over soon."
He leaned in as if he were going to kiss me, the tightness in my chest only further growing as dark memories fought to cut through the surface of my frantic mind. I couldn't handle this or I'd suffocate without any outside assistance.
A panic attack now would be a better ending than what these guys were planning for me.
I wished to tell him to get away from me. To stop what he was aiming to do, even with this taut, thick fabric over my mouth. But the words always got stuck in my tight throat - a repetition of forced silence on my own accord versus the outside sources that wished for me to be mute.
No matter the physical suffering plaguing me.
I wasn't expecting the sharp pain that dove into my flesh at the side of my neck, leaving me to whimper as pain rushed through my body like a venomous poison. I tried to jerk away as the pain intensified, making a grunting sound against my boyfriend's throat as he purposely took his seatbelt off to make sure I stayed still.
His grip was harsh - painful - to the point that I was sure even my tanned, tatted skin would be bruised and the marks of his digging fingertips would be left behind. I had to figure out what was happening, my mind fighting to put one and two together, but as this man sucked, my brain felt like a fog was rolling through it.
My eyes grew weak as the world spun, but my strike of delusion still didn't rub off those familiar eyes in the rearview mirror that watched in disgust. A flash of those orbs told me he disliked what was happening, and yet he continued to drive while his expression went blank.
I tried to plead with him to make this all stop with just my eyes - begging for a change of heart, but my attempt was futile.
His eyes dismissed me like he had the majority of our lives.
I had no doubt in my mind now. The driver was my older brother, Hendrick.
