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Each step brings new awareness to me. The warm, early summer air caressing my exposed legs. Soft, knit cotton covers my body like a dress. An awkward, too-big-but-doesn’t-quite-fit-right dress.

I’m sore everywhere but able to discern between the new aches, like my ribs, and the old, well-established pain from where my body has been used and abused for weeks? Or has it been months?

I hope I never know.

I swallow down a groan, my breath catching deep in my lungs, putting pressure on my ribs.

“Shhh. We’re almost there,” my now favorite voice murmurs in my ear.

“Hurry up. We gotta get outta here, Tig.” The nasal tinge is largely gone from the voice trailing behind us, but urgency is fully present in the whispered yell.

We stop and twist as my savior turns to address the man behind us. “Keep your voice down and get back to the fucking vehicle. I told you I don’t need you for this.”

“But—”

“Go. Follow my order and you’ll see another day.”

We continue forward, one silent step after another. A muffled asshole acting as punctuation to the previous statement.

I laugh, small and filled with pain that feels like a dagger to my side.

“Careful, hummingbird. I had to dole out justice to the last person who caused you pain, I don’t want to have to go back on my promise. I will, though, because the only way I’m hurting you is over my dead body.”

Every muscle in my body stills, except my heart which seems to take off on a wild sprint.

“Oh, hummingbird. Don’t you dare worry, that’s never going to happen. I’ve finally got you safe, I’m not fucking this up now.”

Darkness lifts, and the air around us shifts, like we’re stepping into the light. From the safety of cover, into a wide-open space.

“We’re almost there, love, so I need you to listen carefully.”

My hands rest on my stomach, soft and relaxed from the drugs or the trauma-induced nap I just had. I slide my left hand over my right and squeeze, hoping he sees the movement in the fading light and understands the unspoken agreement.

“Good girl. Your ribs are broken, your”—he pauses, throat clearing as if he needs to clear away emotion or gather courage—“your wounds have been cleaned and dressed as best as possible. I need to leave you for now, but I’m taking you to the only person I trust with your care.”

Panic rockets through me, trembling shakes every part of me and pulls a whimper to the surface.

“Nuh uh, none of that. I may be leaving you for the time being, but I’m not abandoning you. There are things I have to do, take care of, and I can’t do them if I’m worrying about you, yeah? Your friend will keep you safe. She’ll take care of you, get you the help you need, and keep you safe until I can come back for you.

“I need to set you down on your feet, and I need you to stand for me until the door opens, okay?”

I squeeze my legs trying to trap his arm where it supports me, slide my hand to grasp at a shirt that is no longer there. My fingertips rake against the skin of his chest, gaining no purchase since my nails have been bitten or ripped down to nothing.

He drops his lips to my forehead, pressing courage and reassurance through the contact. “I’ll keep you in my sights, love. Nothing and no one will ever hurt you again.”

He sets me on my feet, a solid support at my back until I manage to find my balance. “There you are. I’m going to knock on the door and then I need to go. I promise not to leave until you’re safely inside. Trust in me, hummingbird. Trust in me.”

By the time the door opens, his warmth has leached from my skin, and he’s nothing but a strong presence fading into the shadows.

My legs wobble, barely holding my weight, only to give out entirely, as recognition clears the haze of awareness surrounding me.

“Tru?” My name is a simple whisper of disbelief, and I crumble to the ground on Winnie’s doorstep.

Chapter 15

Yours

TRUIE