Chapter One
“Charlotte.”
My name. Barely a whisper, but just loud enough to reach me in the darkness that had swallowed me. A darkness where there wasn’t any pain or fear. Just an ebony sea of nothing. I felt weightless, warm, and at peace.
Am I dead?
Am I finally free?
“Charlotte.” Another whisper echoed around me.
I tried to ignore it—pretend that I hadn’t heard anything—hopingthat it would stop.
But even in death,hopestill found a way to screw me over.
“Charlotte,” was said louder. It sent a ripple through and all around me. Then my peaceful nothingness was being ripped away.
The pain hit me first. There was so much that I wanted to scream. The endless void around me shrank as it filled with light. In only a moment, I went from weightless to so heavy that I felt pinned where I was lying.
Whimpering, I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but I could make out a silhouette of someone above me.
My heart tried to pound out of my chest.
“No more.” My voice came out hoarse and it hurt my throat to speak.
A hand quickly covered my mouth, startling me.
“Shh,” the silhouette whispered.
I blinked a couple more times until I could see better and Reid’s face came into focus. He was kneeling next to me.
Why is he here?I wondered as I closed my eyes.Why am I here?
Memories of Clay above me with his hands around my neck, strangling me, came rushing back. I was supposed to die.
Reid shook me a little. “Keep your eyes open.”
He shouldn’t be here.
I was scared to even imagine what would happen if Mother caught him.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes again, only for them to fill with tears. They rolled free from the corners of my eyes and dropped to the rug beneath my cheek. My watery vision was caught by the sparkle of broken pieces of mercury glass on the floor all around me. Then I noticed the smudges and dots of blood already drying into the pink and cream fibers of the rug. More memories came back: Clay throwing me into my nightstand and the lamp on top. All I could do was brace for the impact. My arms slammed into the body of that glass lamp as my face crushed the shade and bulb. The back of the nightstand and I rammed hard enough into the wall behind that it cracked. As I fell to the floor, glass had sprinkled down on and around me like confetti.
Even though it hurt, I began to cry harder, and the sound was muffled behind Reid’s hand.
“I know it hurts, but you need to stay awake,” he whispered with worry furrowing his brow. With his free hand, he reached into his back jean pocket and pulled out his phone. As he unlocked the screen, he glanced around the room as if searchingfor something before quickly focusing back on his phone. He tapped rapidly—sending a message to someone, I assumed.
It was still light out, but it didn’t look like it would be for long. He was wearing the same clothes he’d worn to the Haven’s Rebels barbecue. That told me not a lot of time had passed since I had come home to find Mother and Clay waiting for me.
When he was done with his phone, he stared back down at me while shoving it back into his pocket. The worry on his face had been replaced with determination. “I’m going to get you out of here,” he whispered as he removed his hand from my mouth and shoved his arms underneath me. He lifted me from the floor and every inch of my body screamed in agony.
Unable to stay quiet, I groaned as I hung limply in his arms. He adjusted his hold by hoisting me up a little so that my head could rest on his shoulder. It was a more comfortable position for both of us, but the process of getting there made me cry more.
“I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, yet pissed off at the same time. “Just bear with it a little longer.” He turned and began heading for my bedroom door.
I stiffened when I realized that he intended to go through the house. I was going to protest, but before I could, the knob on my bedroom door turned and the door began to push open slowly.
Reid froze and tensed up as if ready to take on whoever it was.
