The rest of the world would have fought back and damned their family, friends, and whoever else I could use against them. They would have done it out of pride because their ego wouldn’t allow them to admit defeat.

The truth was, not many people had the strength to do what she did. Chances were, I would have killed her aunt and broke her little friend. She was smart enough to see that. Over the years, I would push and take just to see how far I could go before she would bend. I wanted to knock her off her pedestal and dirty her up, but she fought me. All this time she thought she was losing because she didn’t see what the real fight was. In the end, she didn’t break, and I became less concerned with her morals and more interested in owning her.

When I was finally prepared to let her go, she fucked herself and me by turning me in. Her defiance was unprecedented. While I wanted to corrupt her, I still demanded the control. She needed to realize she would always be mine.

By the time I stopped the car, I was in dark place, and in an even blacker mood. I realized I wasn’t home but it was too late. I needed to satisfy an urge and I wasn’t about to deny myself.

Chapter Seven

Lake

When Aunt Carissa called to tell me she would be driving up to visit Grandma Lane for the entire weekend, I was relieved. It would be hard to answer her questions when he showed up because I knew he would come. It was just a matter of when. His pending arrival kept me on edge for the rest of the afternoon.

Willow begged me to come stay with her, but what good would that do? I couldn’t hide forever, and he knew as much. I couldn’t hide, but I could do the next best thing.

After an impromptu stop, I finally made my way home just before dark. Stashing my purchase somewhere safe, I made my rounds through the house to make sure every door and the window were locked. I threw myself into homework and college applications for the rest of the night, ignoring my racing mind and tense body.

I wasn’t waiting for him.

Satisfied I might still have a future, even after the less than ideal school year, I decided a long soak was in order to relieve my anxiety and strained muscles.

Seeing Keiran today set me back a few milestones. He certainly didn’t look and act like a guy prepared to leave someone alone. He’s been out for three days, and I wondered if he even went to see Keenan in the hospital.

How was he able to get out on bail?

I thought about what Sheldon had told me earlier this afternoon. Was he really going back to get them because I called his soul ugly?

The doorbell rang as I was searching for bath salts. A quick look at my phone perched on the vanity told me I hadn’t had any missed calls and it was well after midnight.

It didn’t take an elaborate or scientific guess to figure out who it was. I raced downstairs but paused near the entryway with my hand near the knob.

One day, I would question why I opened the door. One day, I would question if it was the smarter choice, but today, I had something to prove. He needed to know the girl who would cower before him was gone.

I finally gripped the doorknob, but a combination of nervousness and sweat made my hand slip, so I slid my palms roughly down my jeans and tried again.

Racing heart? Check.

Fast breathing? Check.

I willed my emotions under control before snatching open the door. A snarky remark was on the tip of my tongue, but when I realized it was Willow standing on my doorstep, and not my tormentor, I bit back the remark and ignored the disappointment.

“Willow? What are you doing here?”

I forced my eyes to remain on her to keep from searching the night for him. Out of fear? Hope? Why did I want him on my doorstep so much?

“I’m sorry,” she apologized as she brushed past me. “I just had to check on you. I know you’re going through this new phase where you’re not afraid of Keiran anymore, but I couldn’t stop worrying. He fucking burnt two people alive.”

The door closed a little harder than I had intended. “You don’t know that.”

“Now you’re defending him?”

“No. I just—” I stopped to consider my words. Keiran nearly broke our friendship before. I wasn’t about to let him have a second go at it. “I don’t want an innocent man to go to prison. What if Sheldon is right?”

“You were there the night of the fair. How wouldn’t he be guilty?”

“Yes, but so were Dash and Keenan. They actually kidnapped them. Do you think they killed them, too?”

I was harsher than I had to be. Her face tightened with anger and then uncertainty. I realized that I sounded like Keiran when he played mind games. I didn’t want to be him. Least of all to Willow. I needed to save my aggression for the person who deserved it.

“Willow, I’m sorry…” She stared down at the floor and took a deep breath.

“No, you’re right. If Keiran is guilty, then so are they.” Her eyes shined with the sheen of tears as she backed toward the door.

“Willow, wait, please,” I pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears as the front door opened and closed with her departure. “Shit!” My fingers gripped my hair in frustration.

I thought to go after her and apologize but knew she needed time. Willow wasn’t someone you pushed when she was hurt and angry. I knew how much she loved Dash despite her claims and wrongfully convincing her that he was guilty of a brutal murder wasn’t something a best friend would do.

The sound of running water could be heard from upstairs. I remembered the running bath water. I was no longer in the mood for it but now needed more than ever.

I ran up the stairs, silently hoping the tub hadn’t overflowed. When I made it to the bathroom, I dashed for the knob to shut off the running water only a few inches from spilling over and then let some of the water drain from the tub before plugging it again.

I stood up and began lifting the hem of my shirt when the sound of the doorbell ringing for the second time tonight stopped me. My feet swiftly carried me out of the bathroom and into the hall.

I was living one bad cliché after the other. Just when would this hellish nightmare end? For the second time tonight, I was standing in front of my front door with sweaty palms.

This was it.

I could do this.

He was just one guy.

But he wasn’t just a guy. He was someone who was unafraid to draw out a person’s weaknesses and to use them against them. He was a guy who could make me feel things I never knew anyone could feel. He wasn’t just a guy… but I wasn’t just a girl, either.

I turned the knob and opened the door to the past ten years. It was waiting for me on the other side with hooded eyes and an imperceptible expression, just as I knew he would be. We stood there gazing at each other, completely lost.

“I would say I’m surprised to see you, but you’re a lot more predictable than you think,” I said, breaking the ice that started to form from his cold gaze alone.

“So you were waiting for me?” His eyes trailed me leisurely as a small smile teased the corner of his lips. “I got to say, you’re a little overdressed for the occasion.”

“Actually, I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just about to bathe. What are you doing here, Masters,” I asked, taking a page out of his book and calling him by his last name. “You aren’t supposed to come near me.”

“Did you really expect me to stay away after you turned me in and accused me of murder?”

I took a deep breath and gripped the door tighter for support. “In case you missed it—that was your only warning.”

His eyes darkened as an indescribable expression clouded his features. I didn’t see his hand move. My grip on the door loosened as he pried my fingers from the hardwood one by one. “It requires a little bite with your bark to get your point across. You don’t confront the monster hiding in the shadows or under your bed without first getting rid of the fear in your eyes. Wasn’t it you who said you preferred a person’s eyes over their words because they told the real truth?” His mocking grin, as he quoted something from my journal, spiked my temperature, creating a heated flush over my skin.