Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I need to ask you something, Skye.”
She stiffens slightly, and Finn’s hand slides up her arm, keeping her close. “I saw your reaction to the possibility of someone being outside the studio. What are you running from? Because I know you’re running from something.”
“It’s nothing,” she whispers and then closes her eyes.
I could probe for more information. I could force Skye to confess, but what good would that do? As much as it frustrates me, we must work to earn her trust, and that will take time.
11
JACK
INTO THE DARKNESS
I’m enveloped in darkness as the final traces of glowing embers fade, leaving nothing but a dying heat and lingering smoke. I inhale deeply and close my dry, gritty eyes. I’m so tired that my bones ache, and my head pounds in the rhythm of my heart.
The curse of insomnia has plagued my life for so damn long that I feel like the walking dead half the time. I surrender to the support of the chair I’ve tried to make myself comfortable in, one that I built with my own hands from the trees that I owe my life to. But there is nothing comfortable about sitting upright in the early hours of the morning. It is an agonizing torture, a punishment for all the wrongs I’ve committed.
Is it the deep-rooted loathing that grips me around the throat in a vice-like grip that prevents my mind from succumbing to a deep and refreshing sleep? The relentless memories of burning pain and shame, helplessness and disappointment? I flinch at the sudden recall of the power of a single set of approaching footsteps, of how I used to crouch in my closet and make myself as tiny as possible and close my eyes, hoping that my stepfather wouldn’t see me.
Damn that goddamn son of a bitch.
My pulse quickens as I imagine how it would feel to beat him as he beat me, ruining his life like he did mine. One day, I’ll find him and make him pay.
The constant pressure at the yard doesn’t help. I’ve had to live with being wired and on high alert for more years than I care to remember.
When the rest of the house is quiet, and I’m alone with my thoughts, the darkness stretches on for endless hours. On a warm, dry night, I sometimes walk into the forest. As a boy, I used to run for the safety of the forest, hiding in the shadows and wishing I could build a treehouse high up in the safety of the tallest branches and live alongside nature and alone, not terrified to breathe in the house I was born in, with a mother who was supposed to protect me and a stepfather who wanted to destroy me.
But tonight, it’s too cold, so I focus on the bright light of the moon shining a halo-like ring around the cluster of cedars in my line of vision. A light spattering of rain begins to tap against the window. My breathing slows and deepens, and my eyes feel heavy, waves of exhaustion pulling me down into the chair with an almost unbearable force...
A noise makes me jump. Was I asleep? I blink into the darkness. Damn, Ethan better not be creeping around out there again. I’ll knock him from here to the river if he crosses this boundary one more time without my goddamn permission.
A soft creak of a floorboard and shuffling footsteps draw nearer. I can just about make out the trace of Skye’s outline in the darkness. She’s gliding like a ghost towards the porch door and choking on stifled sobs. With bare feet and dressed in a small pajama set, it’s obvious she’s not trying to escape.
I’m instantly on my feet to reach out to her.
Skye’s soaked in sweat, her nightwear clinging to her like a second skin, and when she stops still, she sways slightly. She’s still asleep and becomes distressed at my sudden movement, lashing out, thrashing, and flailing her arms around. Grabbing her again, I try to keep her restrained, but it only makes her worse. Her sobs become louder cries, and she tries to break from my grip.
“Skye, Skye! For fuck’s sake, Skye!” I keep my voice hushed, not wanting to wake the others, and not wanting to alarm her further, but she is so lost in this night-terror or whatever it is that I don’t know what else to do.
I try again, and this time, I lift her off her feet, cradling her like a baby, pressing her into my chest. She’s a feather against my bulk, and a rush of protectiveness sweeps over me.
As I stride over to the chair, I remind myself that she’s just an employee and nothing else. There’s no room for any kind of feelings here other than ownership and lust.