AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pulling our joined hands to my lips, I kiss her knuckles. “Have I told you how grateful I am for you? How fucking amazing you are?”
Her laugh warms the darkest recesses of my heart. “Every day. But I never tire of hearing it.” Her face grows serious as she examines me with a critical eye. “It’s what we do, Chase. When you need my strength, I give it to you. And vice versa.”
Glancing down the hallway, I tug her arm, pulling her down a deserted, darkened hallway and pushing her against the wall. “You’re right. It’s what we do.” My lips hover over hers as I cage her in, basking in the heat and sexual tension between us. “We are so much more than any young couple our age. What we have transcends most adult relationships.”
Her breath hitches as she stares at me, amber irises two beacons of light and desire. “So much more.”
“I don’t know how we can ever explain to your mom that what we share will never end. I know it makes her uncomfortable, but I can’t deny what I feel… What I’ve felt since the moment I laid eyes on you. What we endured only strengthened it.”
“It bound us together. In darkness… and in light. Just like when we were handcuffed together. My heart was tethered to yours, no restraints needed.”
My mouth seals over hers, kissing her as though she’s the oxygen I need to breathe. And in many ways, she is.
Even after all the trauma we endured, Mackenzie is the reason I open my eyes every single day with a purpose. She’s the hope that shines like a beacon in the darkness that is forever holding me within its grasp.
53
MACKENZIE
Irun my hands over my black leggings for the fifth time, swallowing hard as I look around the meticulously designed office of Dr. Charlene Wilkinson. She’s a nice enough person, and probably a good therapist, but I’m really having a hard time opening up to her. I’m seeking a connection, something deeper than it’s her job to sit in that chair and analyze me.
I think she means well, but I don’t think she’s going to be able to help me.
She flips to the previous page of her notebook, which rests on her crossed legs. Her beige slacks are perfectly pressed, not a wrinkle to be found. The nude pump on her foot bounces as she reads over her notes from our last session.
If she’s looking for perfection, she won’t find it here. Especially not after…
I can’t suck in enough oxygen to my lungs. I’m no longer sitting on the soft, blue couch in Dr. Wilkinson’s office.
I’m in hell.
I’m bound, lying on that cold stone altar again. The voices of the cult members chanting around me sound as though they’re trying to summon the fucking devil. I don’t know why they don’t understand he’s already in the room. Standing in that cold, dank basement, his soulless eyes showed no humanity. No mercy. Only the desire to main, destroy, and take everything from me. Including the very essence of my soul.
Orpheus sheds his crimson robe. Bloodlust is in his eyes. As he drops his pants, I see his dick twitch from the fear on my face, emanating from my sweaty skin. He gets off on it, relishing in my terror like a drug addict who’s just gotten his next fix.
No. God, no. I turn my head away, not wanting any part of that vile monster to touch me. The only want I want touching me is Chase, the only one I’ve been secretly lusting after for months.
My vision changes and I’m in the attic again. Orpheus drugged Chase, who was trying desperately to touch me, but whatever drugs flowed through his veins rendered his limbs useless. I could barely see Chase, although I twisted and turned my head at odd angles until I thought my neck would snap. I finally caught a glimpse, and the horror in Chase’s eyes gutted me. The pain was so great, my screams so loud, I knew I needed to disappear inside my head to survive this.
I flashed back to one of my favorite dreams of Chase and me that I’d had after the Ferris Wheel ride. Chase and I were a couple desperately in love, and he was taking me to prom. I had a gorgeous blue strapless dress on that complemented my figure and coloring. My blonde hair was curled in ringlets, half up and half down, and my makeup was perfection, enhancing but not overshadowing my features.
Chase looked so incredible in his tuxedo that my eyes misted over, and I worried I’d ruin my makeup. The warm smile on his face and the adoration in his eyes was only for me, hinting at a promise of a long future together.
He pulled me in his arms, and we began swaying to the music. The moment was nothing short of perfection?—
“Mackenzie. Mackenzie.” Dr. Wilkinson’s sharp tone pulls me from my fantasy.
Reality swirls around me, the colors sharpening, then dulling. I’m having problems distinguishing the past from the present. Reality from the horrors of that house and dilapidated church.
The violence barrels over me, only it’s not the assault against me that plays on a loop inside my mind, driving me half insane. It’s the physical assault of Chase, images of him being repeatedly pummeled. I squeeze my eyes closed, my hands curling into fists, nails digging into my palms. Instead of vanishing, the thoughts grow even more morbid. I’m lying on the floor of the exam room, having just regained consciousness, watching helplessly as the devil sexually assaults Chase.
Oh, God. My poor Chase.
Chase’s name comes out of my lips in a barely audible squeak, like someone with laryngitis who is trying to make high-pitched sounds.
My hands tremble as my rapid breathing accelerates, the shallow gasps unable to fill my lungs. My vision blurs at the edges as my frantic gaze darts around Dr. Wilkinson’s office. The world tilts and spins, and my hands fly out, curling into the upholstery fabric to try to steady me.
But it’s not working.
