“You know he’s right.”
I nod. Because yeah, I do.
CHAPTER 24
CECILIA
Dialing a phone number shouldn’t be this difficult, but it is. I stare down at the crumpled piece of paper Julio gave me with Allie’s phone number, trying to decide whether or not to call.
I don’t want a new therapist or any therapist, really. But I need to talk to someone. I think when it all happened, I spent so much time and energy trying to keep myself together that I compartmentalized to the extreme. And when that failed, I shut down. Let myself go numb.
I’m not numb anymore, and though it hurts, I want to feel things. Experience the full range of my emotions. This girl, Allie, she’s been through what I have. She’d get it.
Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I punch in her number. Taking a deep breath, I hit dial and bring the phone to my ear. It rings once and I panic. I end the call. Come on, Cecilia. You can do this. It’s just a phone call. You don’t have to tell her anything you don’t want to. She doesn’t know. There is no way for it to get back to Austin.
I shake out my wrists and roll my neck back and forth. “Okay.” Another deep breath. “You can do it.”
I punch the number in again and hit send, but this time, before I have the chance to bring it to my ear, a flash of movement catches my attention and I turn in time to see Austin barreling toward me.Shit.
I hang up the phone and look around. I’m outside of the Aquatics building. There are people strolling down the pathways between buildings. I’m not alone. I repeat the last part again in my head. I’m not alone. Austin can’t hurt me here. He can yell at me and bully me, but he can’thurtme like he did before.
“Are you stupid?” he snarls as soon as he’s close.
I hunch my shoulders, making myself smaller, and wrap my arms around my waist. “Leave me alone, Austin.” I step around him, but he mirrors my movements, blocking my escape.
“We had a deal.” He shoves me back and I stumble into the building, my head smacking into the stone wall.Ow!My vision blurs and I blink hard to clear it. “I told you to keep your mouth shut. What the hell is wrong with you? It’s like you have a fucking death wish.”
I finger my scalp, wincing when I reach the crown of my head. Drawing my hand away, I look down to find blood coating my fingertips.
“You hurt me?” I can’t take my eyes off the blood. He… my breath seesaws in and out. He hurt me. Here. Out in the open where anyone could see. He just shoved me, like he didn’t even care. My hands shake.
“What did you say to him?”
I look up, meeting his furious gaze. If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now.
“What—“ I shake my head to clear some of the fog. “What are you talking about?”
He crowds me, forcing me to press into the wall. Grabbing my chin, he squeezes until tears spring into my eyes. “Herreraand his friends are asking a lot of people a lot of fucking questions. So I’ll ask one more time. What. Did. You. Say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t tell him anything.”
Shit. What did Gabriel do? He hasn’t asked me any questions recently. Not anything serious. I assumed it meant he’d dropped it. I was wrong.
Tugging at Austin’s grip, I try and fail to get him to release me. “You’re hurting me,” I tell him, as if it weren’t obvious.
“I’m going to fucking destroy you,” he threatens. “Last warning, Cece. Get your boy in line or it’ll be your ass facing the consequences.”
His hold loosens enough that I can tear myself away.
“And your family’s.” With that last threat hanging between us, he stalks away, leaving me reeling.
As soon as he’s gone from sight, I drop to my knees and brace my hands on the ground.Shit.My breaths are ragged, invisible hands squeezing the air from my lungs. Tears fill my eyes and I’m powerless to keep them from falling as the reality of my situation crashes over me. I can’t escape him. Austin always wins. He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants.
I can’t live like this.
Someone shouts my name across the clearing and I look up to see Gabriel flat out running toward me.
“What happened?”
