Jamie growls a dangerous sound and advances on us. "You're telling me when she was unconscious from a panic attack on my couch, you wanted to hurt her more?"
"What?!" I shout. "No! I'm just saying all the feelings were getting twisted around and confusing."
Nate jumps in to help. "Our plan to use you and hurt her ended at the same time. The moment we met you. But seeing her again without being prepared was a shock. We were still so angrywith her, but we slowly began to see how much pain she was in from her past with Blue."
"Jamie, please," I beg again, not feeling one ounce of shame for it. "We made a mistake, backtracked, and didn't tell anyone. I thought we deserved her groveling and one bad choice nobody even had to know about."
Jamie's entire body tenses right before he lunges for me. I don't even have a moment to figure out what triggered him before he's coming at me. "You motherfu?—"
"Jamie, stop!" Nate shouts, jumping between us to push the angry man back.
Raging mad, Jamie's chest heaves a foot away from the huddle of Nate and me. Over my partner's shoulder, I witness Jamie get himself under control. His breaths slow, and he closes his eyes for a second. When he looks at us again, it's with closed off indifference.
"You don't deserve anything from that sweet girl. All she's done is try to protect everyone else. She was already vulnerable beyond what you can comprehend. You made me the bad guy, too. You damaged a relationship that took five fucking years to build, all because you were childish enough to believe the real world should be run bytit for tat."
Each word is a knife in my heart. But it's nowhere near as painful as the knife in their backs.
"I don't know how you plan on being worthy of her or mending the pieces you've shattered. All I know is Violet is surrounded by a fucking army ready to protect her against you. I plan to prove I am not the bad guy you've made me. Where you fit in and what you do will be closely monitored by her family. Figure your shit out, because as of right now, my focus is on Violet. Consider me off limits until you get your shit together. If that day ever comes, that is."
With that, he stomps off toward the front door of the random cabin. Where we go from here, I'm not sure, but as long as Jamie keeps that door unlocked, we're sticking very fucking close.
Nine
VIOLET
The sun is so bright my eyesight wavers. My chest constricts with anxiety.
I have to be able to see, or I could easily get hurt. There's no room for mistakes or being distracted on these hikes. Maybe if I were on a common path with other people, I wouldn't have to be so diligent, but that's not what I like to do.
Darkness sweeps across my vision, forcing me to pause my steps. If I can't get my shit under control, I'll need to turn around.
A flicker of something draws my attention to a divot in the cliff above me. Glancing up, I freeze at the familiar face.
Nate is smiling at me, but it's too large to be natural. His eyes are also too wide, and his long blond hair hangs from his face as he looks down at me.
"Nate?" I call out, wondering if he can hear me.
Not even a single twitch or acknowledgment of my words. Is he okay? Chills race across my arms as the creepiness settles in.
"Are—" Pebbles tumble down the rock face a few feet in front of me, drawing my attention. I gasp when Ellis wavers in frontof me. He's sitting on the edge of the cliff, kicking his legs back and forth like death isn't a sure thing if he falls.
"Ellis, get away from there!" I shout, stepping forward only for my knees to wobble. The chills turn into nausea as my head swims. Like a statue, Ellis freezes with wide eyes and a flat mouth pointed at me.
"E-Ellis?" I hesitate, not sure I want to spook him even though he's scaring me. Glancing up, I see Nate with his head still dangling over the edge. He, too, is like a statue.
My heart, which was already beating too fast for hiking on a cliff, pounds painfully against my ribcage. What's going on? Why are they acting like this? Can they hear me? Are they messing with me? This isn't a safe way to spook me, though. Someone could seriously get hurt.
A heavy breath fans the back of my neck. "AH!" I screech and bolt a few steps forward and away from whoever is behind me. Unable to decide who the bigger threat is right now, I twist toward the unknown and put Ellis at my back.
Jamie stands there with his hands up in surrender, looking worried. No matter that I ran from him, he still walks toward me. His mouth opens and moves, as if forming words.
No sound comes out, though, creeping me out even more. He doesn't seem to notice or care that I can't hear him; he just keeps talking.
"Stop!" I yell, and all he does is silently talk faster. With Nate above Jamie, still looking wrong and weird, I have zero trust in the man coming toward me. "Jamie, stop!"
Eyes wide, he rushes to me faster and mouths what looks like, "Violet, stop!"
He's mocking me. Ears ringing, the last of my balance takes a nosedive when the back of my legs run into Ellis. He doesn't catch me as I fall. I don't know if anyone even reaches for mebecause the sun shuts down, and I'm falling into a black pit of darkness.
