Johnny disappears down the hall, a slight swagger in his step.
Chapter 12
Axel is uncharacteristically quiet at dinner, but I can feel his eyes on me the entire time.
Call me immature, but I avoid looking at him. I’m still hurt, and I’m not ready to pretend everything’s fine. Instead, I focus on making small talk with Ben and Maryanne. They seem genuinely interested in my classes and how my day went. I can tell they’re trying, and considering how sudden this adjustment was for all of us, I appreciate the effort.
I try to match their enthusiasm, but it’s harder than I expect. Other than my old school counselor back in Arizona, no adult has ever asked about my life. We didn’t have sit-down dinners where my mom or Joe asked how my day was. This kind of attention is… weird. But not in a bad way. I kind of like it.
Johnny chimes in now and then, helping bridge the gaps in conversation, and I find myself drawn in when he talks about his college classes. College has been my goal for as long as I can remember. I applied to as many out-of-state schools as I could, (God knows I wanted to get as far from home as possible) but I didn’t apply to any in Tennessee.
Now, I wonder if I should. Maybe I’ll apply to a few local schools last minute. If things work out, maybe Iwouldwant to stay close.
When the conversation drifts toward my future plans, Ben and Maryanne look surprised when I mention I’ll be graduating early, in December. I figured Ben must’ve seen my transcripts when he registered me, but apparently not. I explain how I took summer classes to get ahead and how my AP coursesalready count for some college credit.
We talk about the early acceptance letters I’ve gotten and the schools I was still waiting to hear from, although I’m not sure how I would receive them now. Ben assures me he can make anything happen as long as I have the grades and the test scores.
I tell them how my plan was to take next semester off to work and save before starting college in the fall. My college fund should cover tuition and room and board, but I’ll need extra money for everything else.
Ben and Maryanne seem genuinely impressed with how well I’ve planned things out, and their praise makes something warm unfurl in my chest. I’m proud of myself, too. It would’ve been easy to let everything back home drag me down, but instead, it pushed me to be better. To get out.
After dinner, I retreat to my room before Axel has a chance to corner me. We’ll be stuck in a car together tomorrow anyway. He can wait.
The rest of the night passes in a blur of music and homework. Around nine, I call it quits and curl up in bed with my kindle. I fall headfirst into a story about seven-foot-tall blue aliens on an ice planet who love waking their women up with their tongues. The book has me in a chokehold, and by the time I check the clock again, it’s already eleven.
Yawning, I force myself to set the e-reader aside and turn off the light.
As I drift off, my thoughts circle back to what Axel said earlier.
Of course, I want a relationship, eventually. I want someone I can trust. Someone I can depend on. Someone to love and who will love me.
I know I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I get there. Still, I have to believe it’s possible. I have to believe I can heal. I won’t let my trauma win. I won’t let Joe win.
∞∞∞
I wake in the middle of the night to something large and heavy pressing down on me.
But then I realize, it’s notsomething. It’ssomeone. I open my mouth to scream, but a firm, calloused hand clamps over it.
Panic surges through me.
I thrash, struggling under the weight pinning me to the bed, but I can barely move. I claw at the hand over my mouth, at the body holding me down. If I can just get free—just scream—Axel or Johnny will hear me. Theyhaveto.
“Now, now, Little Lina,” the intruder whispers. “Stop playing hard to get. I know you’ve missed me.”
Oh God.
That voice.
Joe.
My whole body goes rigid. Bile rises in my throat.
How did he find me?
How did he get in?
Ben’s house is like a fortress with all of the security measures.
