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I miss my best friend.
If only my life wasn’t as fucked up as it is.
Dahlia was lucky; her dad was killed. I watched the coffin sink into the ground, and I held her as she cried. Sometimes, I wish it was my father who we buried instead of Patrick. Perhaps if it were Fergus lying six feet under, I’d have a normal life, studying for my degree and enjoying my young life in a small town. Maybe, just maybe, I’d have a boyfriend.
Etienne.
Shaking my head, I roll over and close my eyes, pretending I’m not here. I fantasize about being back in Tynewood with the people I’ve come to care for before my father stole me from a happy life and brought me to a place I’d rather die than live in.
Fergus has always been a monster. Hate brewed in my gut for him, year after year, and the older I got, the stronger the emotion became. After my mother died, I promised myself to be strong. She always told me I was a fighter, that I would get through everything, and I allowed my hate of the man who I called father to strengthen me further.
Each time he was near me I would watch him, decipher his moods by the tells he has. A nervous tick of drumming his fingers on the table, the way his mouth would curl in disgust when he was deep in thought. Certain things would push him over the edge, but I never did. Because I learned how to be around the volatile man.
My younger years were spent planning how I’d run, how I’d escape. Even now that he’s taken me, brought me here, I know I’ll find a way out. He may be my captor, but I’ll become a predator.
I’ll save myself.
And I’ll make it back to Tynewood, one way or another.
A loud banging on the door startles me awake. I don’t move. I can’t because I have a feeling my father will kill whoever is on the other side. When the incessant racket doesn’t stop, I sigh and push out of bed.
Barefoot, I make my way into the rest of the apartment to find it empty. A small note on the countertop tells me Dad is out at a meeting.
Another loud hammering on the wooden door and I’m already simmering with rage at whoever decided to wake me at… glancing at the red letters on the stereo, I note it’s only seven in the morning, which makes me even angrier.
I don’t look through the peephole before I pull open the door, only to be met with the beautifully transient gaze of Etienne Durand.
“Why are you here? I thought I made myself clear when you first tried to play the hero.” My voice is filled with frustration. I hear it, and I know Etienne can hear it. I wish he would just leave because it would make all this so much easier.
“You know why I’m here.” He stalks around the apartment, the same space my father just walked out of moments ago to head to a meeting. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, but I can’t take any chances by having Etienne here.
I watch Etienne, taking him in from head to toe, and I don’t know what it is about him, but he makes me nervous. I can’t shake the feeling that if Etienne knew the truth about why I’m here, he’d hate me.
I wonder if he’s already found out about what Fergus has done to me in the past. About the parties. The idea of him knowing fills me with shame and guilt.
And I don’t know why I don’t want him to hate me. That’s a lie. I do know. It’s because he makes my stupid teenage heart believe that he can save me. But fairytales aren’t real, I’ve told Dahlia that since the moment I met her. My best friend would get lost in romance novels that had happy endings, but my life isn’t fictional. As much as I wish it was.
“You should leave, Etienne,” I tell him. Turning away, I head to the coffee machine and place a mug under the drip before flicking on the switch. I can feel Etienne watching me. His silence is jarring, and I briefly think about asking him to save me.
Befriending Dahlia was the first step of many that Fergus had planned. And now I’m here, locked in the apartment with nowhere to go until Daddy Dearest collects me for the poker game tonight.
Blackmail is the name of the game, and the moment he’s got enough footage of these old assholes who like to grope teenage girls, he sends me on my way, and I’m meant to play the dutiful daughter.
Shutting down any fear, I face Etienne again, but I don’t look him in the eyes when I say, “I need you to go back to Tynewood, and forget you ever met me.” When I meet his dark chocolate stare, I can’t help but want to get lost in it. I want him to look at me like he is right now for the rest of my life.
