Tears filled my vision then. I didn’t recognize this man. And I knew something horrible was about to happen to me.
“If you so much as make a sound, I will make you regret it. Actually,” he said, looking thoughtful. “I'll go and mess up your little boyfriend. He wouldn’t even know it was me.”
The malice that coated his words like molasses made my blood run cold, and I knew he meant what he’d said. He’d hurt Callum.
A whimper spilled from my throat as I pleaded with my eyes, frantically looking between his own.
“Not a peep. Got it?” He paused, waiting for my answer. I nodded stiffly, holding in a sob that was trying to pry its way out of my throat.
“Now I’m going to let go of your mouth, but don’t think for one second that I won’t keep my promise.”
Before I realized what was happening, he pulled me from the wall and spun me around to face the mirror. Fear made me look like a completely different person. I’d never seen such fear in my eyes. My skin was pale, my lips turned down, and my chin was wavering. I watched the cracks form with every passing second. Time slowed, and I no longer saw the details of the wallpaper, no longer saw anything except myself.
He stood so close behind me that I could feel his erection pressing into my back.
Panic flooded my system.I shook my head, pleading, mouthing the word "please". He stepped closer, a horrific, lurid smile on his face.I swallowed, my mouth dry.
His hands ran up my arms, across my shoulders, until they landed right on my breasts. Tears began to fall down my face. His hands slid beneath the cups of my bikini top as he palmed them. His fingers came back up, and he pinched my nipples so hard I had to stifle a cry that threatened to escape.
“Such sweet sounds,” he purred in my ear right before he placed his teeth on my earlobe and bit a little too hard. He then began to run his hands down my abdomen, and my body shook uncontrollably. Just as his fingers began to breach the top hem of my bottoms, a door slammed, and we could hear Callum calling for me. He growled.
“If you say a word, Maeve, I will kill him.” A statement. A promise. “Now get out.”
As soon as he stepped back, I ran out of the bathroom and raced to the stairs before Callum turned the corner. The moment I entered my bedroom, I locked the door and ran to my bathroom, where I emptied the contents of my stomach before I took the longest shower of my life. I scrubbed and scrubbed until I ran out of body wash, my skin red and raw. I slid down the wall and sat on the shower floor, weeping until the water had turned cold, but it didn’t register for me. I was numb.
At some point, a knock at the door pulled me from my daze.
“Maeve, you okay? You’ve been in the shower for a long time,” Callum called from outside my room. I heard the doorknob jiggle, and the knocking persisted.
“Uh, yeah. I’m not feeling well. I’m going to go ahead and go to bed,” I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible.
“I’ll stay with you, just unlock the door,” he said, his voice gentle. He was so good. So, so good.
“I don’t want you to get sick, too. I’m just going to go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow, Cal.”
Silence. I thought he left.
“Okay. Well, let me know if you need anything. I’ll just be downstairs.”
“Thank you,” I said weakly.
I did not sleep that night. The fireworks lit up my room with every explosion,but I only stared at the tiny crack in the glass of a square that made up the window.
Callum tried to come in twice after that.
I thought Uncle Liam was coming back to finish the job until Callum spoke my name softly as he checked to see if the door was unlocked.
I eventually fell asleep, and nightmares replayed on a loop.
I woke up the next morning drenched in sweat and found Callum on a pallet outside my door.
Tears stream down my cheeks, recalling that night. I hadn’t told a soul about it, fearing that Liam would keep his promise.
Callum looks murderous. His icy blue eyes are wide, mouth slightly ajar. He just stood there silently, staring at me in horror.
Callum is going to kill him. I knew it then with absolute certainty.
Without a word, he turns to leave, but I grab his arm before his hand touches the knob. As he turns to look back at me again, I watch his gaze soften, and he pulls me to him and holds me so tight.
