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I fight to open my eyes. To look into the eyes of the perpetrator of my destruction. My lashes flutter, but fuck. They’re so heavy. Everything hurts so much. I’m drowning in a sea of agony and despair. I don’t think I’ll be able to escape it.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he whispers in my ear and I gasp.
I know that voice.
My eyes fly open as searing, blinding pain rips through my core. He groans above me and I get one startling moment of clarity as I stare deep into ice blue eyes before darkness starts to overtake me.
I know those eyes.
My heart pounds in my chest as the pain starts to fade away. The black around my vision starts to clear, leaving only the fear behind. My eyes open easily to find Charles laughing at my side, pulling my hand in his as we run across the grass field that leads to the creek behind his house.
It’s our favorite place to play, even if our parents hate when we do.
The fear is forgotten as giggles burst freely from my lips as Charles continues to drag me after him. When did he get so much taller than me? My little legs can’t keep up with the larger steps he’s able to take and I stumble. Charles stops immediately, trying to catch me, but my knees hit the ground and tears spring to my eyes.
“Charlotte!” he cries. “Are you okay?” He falls to my side and peers at my scraped knees. He swallows thickly. “I’m sorry, Tootsie Roll. I didn’t mean to.”
I grab his hand and squeeze, gaining a small smile from him. “Here, hop on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride to find Ms. Nancy. She always makes ouchies better.”
My tears dry, almost forgotten as Charles carries me on his back towards the house. Except, it isn’t Ms. Nancy we find first. Charles’ father watches us with a weird look in his eye that I don’t understand. I pat Charles’ shoulder to get his attention but his father is already walking towards us.
“What happened here?” His voice doesn’t sound angry, but Charles still tenses.
“Charlotte fell and hurt her knees. Ms. Nancy was going to put bandaids on her.” His answer confuses me because we haven’t seen his nanny yet, but I don’t say anything.
His father turns behind him to a man I didn’t notice before. “Find Nancy and have her meet the children in the kitchen.” The man nods and retreats as Mr. Donahue continues to watch us. He clicks his tongue as his eyes land on my bloody knees. I flinch at the sound, it’s the same one my dad makes when he’s unhappy with something I’ve done. He doesn’t say anything more before walking away. Charles holds still for a moment before he squeezes my legs. “Come on, Tootsie.”
A few minutes later, we’re both sitting in the kitchen as Ms. Nancy fusses over my knees. She’s so nice. They barely even hurt anymore. Plus she gave us both cookies.
Mr. Donahue comes in and again Charles stiffens at my side. I also get nervous, maybe I’m getting in trouble after all. He ignores both his son and the nanny and walks right up to me.
“You okay now, Charlotte?” I nod gingerly, not saying anything back. Charles’ father has always scared me just a little bit, even though he’s always nice to me. I think Charles is a little bit scared of him too. Ms. Nancy moves away from us to get out of his way and starts cleaning up. His hands land on my legs and lift them so he can examine the butterfly bandaids on my knees. “You have to be more careful,” he chastises, his voice gentle. Much softer than how my father talks to me. His fingers stroke the skin next to my cuts. “We don’t want this pretty skin to be marred, do we?”
I don’t know what that means, but I shake my head anyway. I don’t want him to be mad at me. He leans away from me and turns around. That same man from earlier comes up from behind him. Mr. Donahue takes whatever he hands him, but I can’t see what it is. Though, I already have a feeling I know.
He turns around and hands me a small bouquet of daisies. Just like every other time I see him.
“Thank you, Mr. Donahue,” I whisper. I’ll get in trouble if I don’t mind my manners. Even if I don’t understand why he always gives me the same flowers.
He laughs, cupping my chin, forcing me to meet his blue eyes. So similar to Charles’ but so different too. “You don’t have to be so formal with me. We’re family, my little daisy.”
I dip my head to agree and his thumb rubs against my cheek. “Good girl. Now, Gregory is going to take you home. Charles and I need to have a talk.”
I blink and their kitchen fades around me as smoke fills the air. Heat rushes through me and I open my mouth to scream but no sounds come out. He’s still there, still watching me with those icy blue eyes, a growing grin spreading across his face. I look down to find the bouquet still in my hands but somehow, it’s caught fire.
I jump back and try to drop it but the flames chase me.
“I’ve been waiting for you, my little daisy.”
Hushed voices breakthrough my dreams of smoke and pain.
“Just let her sleep,” someone whisper-shouts from behind me. Probably not the best way to ensure I stay asleep. The thought makes me smile, even as I struggle to shake off the hands of the demons from my dreams. Determined to drag me back down into the abyss of my mind where only pain and agony await me.
“What do you guys think we should do with him?” someone else whispers from the foot of the bed. If I could just force my eyes open, I could figure out what they’re talking about. I despise this slow-to-waking feeling. This groggy, hard-to-think space in time.
“Feels wrong to just leave him,” someone else argues.
I groan as I roll over. Arms immediately tighten around my waist. “You assholes woke her up.” I open my eyes to find Ryder glaring at the other guys. Fingers trace down my spine and I turn to find Noah snuggled up against my back, with the rest of the guys at the foot of my bed.
