AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nods. “I was so scared and tried to wake you up, but you never acknowledged me.”
“I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“I wasn’t scared of you, idiot. I was scaredforyou.” Tears shine in her eyes. “I feel so helpless whenever I want to ease your pain but can’t. If I could…I would take all your nightmares.”
I stroke her cheek and wipe away her tears. As much as I love and appreciate Maya, I’m well aware that no one can take away these nightmares.
For a foolish moment, I thought Lan would with his crazy kinks and evil character. And yes, his presence helped, but the nightmares never completely vanished.
It’s me who desperately needs to acknowledge these tangled-up emotions and ideally find solutions for them.
“I’m fine, idiot,” I sign. “And, seriously, stop crying or you’ll ruin your makeup.”
“Don’t care.” She hugs me again, burying her face in my neck. “Promise you’ll tell me first when you’re ready to talk about ten years ago.”
I nod against her, even though I don’t plan to talk about it. Not now, not ever.
My shoulders lock together at the thought of mentioning the monster again. I barely managed to escape the first time. I won’t be able to make it out alive the second time.
Subtly, I pull away from Maya and tell her I need to use the bathroom.
Once I’m inside the stall, I lock the door and lean against it to catch my breath.
It’s all going to be okay. I’ve survived worse states of mind, so why does this one feel fundamentally different?
Cheerful female voices reach me from outside, then disappear. So I open the door and force a brave façade.
The moment I step out, a hand wraps around my throat and shoves me back inside the tiny stall.
My back hits the flimsy wooden separator with a thwack as a tall frame looms over me with the horrifying aura of the Grim Reaper.
It’s insane how someone’s presence can take the form of a hurricane, but that’s exactly what I feel as I stare into Landon’s darkened eyes. There’s no trace of his permanent taunting smirk, as if he’s done pretending to be the charming god whose altar everyone worships at.
Right now, he looks nothing short of a beast who’s out for mayhem.
He kicks the door closed and slams his other hand beside my head. Thethwackreverberates at the base of my belly as he imprisons me in his grip.
“Hi, muse. Miss me?”
I plant a hand on his chest and attempt to push him. All of a sudden, his firm yet loose hand on my throat tightens. The breath rushes out of my lungs in one whoosh and tears form at the corners of my eyes. I claw at the collar of his shirt, scratching the skin in a desperate effort to remove his grip.
Landon, however, doesn’t waver. Not even a little. Not even close. “Don’t fight me, Mia. Not when I’msoclose to fucking you all up.”
Slowly, and against my better judgment, I drop my hand from his chest and stare at his monstrous face through my blurry vision. He means it, and I know that not only is it futile to fight, but if I do, I’ll also provoke his uglier side.
His fingers ease on my throat, but they’re not completely gone. “You’re intelligent enough to recognize my beast’s cues, so whatever gave you the impression that blocking and ignoring me was such a brilliant idea?”
I lift my shaky hands and sign, “I told you. I’m bored.”
“Nonsense.”
“I don’t want you anymore.”
“More fucking nonsense.”
“It’s not my problem that your ego is bigger than the earth and can’t take the reality.”
“What reality?”
