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Kayde doesn’t waste any time. Still pressing hard and holding me in place, he spits, and I nearly choke when the liquid hits the back of my tongue and seeps into my throat. Every bit of me burns with disgust and humiliation as he does it, but he doesn’t release his grip on me, so there’s no way for me to do anything except stare at him in horror and try not to choke.
“Swallow.” Kayde’s kind enough to loosen his grip enough for me to close my mouth, though when I do, my first thought isn’t to swallow. Still, the look on his face doesn’t exactly give me the confidence to spit out his saliva, so while he grips the front of my shirt and keeps his hand on my face, all I can do is what he says.
I fucking swallow the searing saliva in my mouth, shuddering as it crawls down my throat.
“I guess it’s good enough for tonight,” Kayde allows, dragging me back to him until my back is arched and my head is tilted back again. “Though next time, you’re going to stick out your tongue and thank me for it, sweetheart. Understand?” In my position and unable to get away, all I can do is nod jerkily and hope he’s joking.
“Good girl.” His lips brush mine again, and he chuckles while my stomach tries to double knot itself. “I look forward to finding out if I can break you in the next eight days.”
As much as I try, I can’t hold back the soft, terrified whine that bubbles up my throat, though I lock my teeth around the sound to keep as much of it back as I can.
But it’s not good enough. Not when we’re body to body like this. Kayde’s smile grows, and his eyes seem to glow in the moonlight that filters through the trees. “That’s right, darling,” he agrees, like I’ve given him a real, verbal response. “I’ve been playing this game for years, and you’re just getting your feet wet in the kiddie pool. Poor, poor Summer. But I can’t feel too badly for you…” With that, he licks a quick, hot stripe up my jaw, and shoves me away from him with a laugh on his lips.
“After all, you fucking volunteered.”
CHAPTER SIX
Sleeping is out of the question. At least, more than a few snatched minutes or maybe an hour before sunrise as I’m curled up under my blankets, like they’ll protect me from the boogeyman.
From Kayde, who’s as much of a real life boogeyman as could ever exist. The night’s events run through my mind on repeat as I lie curled up on my soft mattress. And with my eyes shut tight, I can’t help but listen to every single noise outside of my cabin.
What if he lied to me?
After sitting out on my steps with my flashlight in hand for an hour after we made our deal, I’d been mollified enough to at least head inside and out of the night air. Surely he wouldn’t wait this long to carry out his little plan…right?
But the panic of every sound, every possibility that he’s outside instead of it just being the breeze on the cabin window, has me jumping all night long and wishing I’d remembered to close my windows.
Though I know for a fact, neither glass nor blankets will save me from Kayde.
Too soon, the sun is up and I can hear the girls in my cabin getting themselves up as well. They’re loud enough that I can hear snatches of conversation, though nothing concrete, and I stretch my tired, stiff limbs while I listen.
God, I’m tired. Exhausted, really, and more than anything, I just want to go back to bed. Mentally I scan today’s schedule, and with a groan I realize that it’s not going to be a very restful day, like it would be if this was a crafts dedicated day.
No, it’s competitive games day. Well, round one of it, at least. My morning is going to be filled with the kids swimming, and my afternoon is going to be absolute hell.
But at least this year I know better than to wrap the tug-of-war rope around my arm, even if it’s loose.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t learned how not to walk up to strangers and not suffer the consequences. A groan leaves me, and I press my hand to my face while wishing I could go back to bed. It would be unfair to ask Kinsley to watch my cabin today just so I can catch up on some sorely needed sleep.
But more than that, I need to be out in the camp today. I need to grab Kinsley and hold on to her, while somehow making it known to Kayde that he cannot, under any circumstances, go after her. I need help; or to talk to someone. But that’s not possible.
Kayde’s made sure that’s not possible for me, and the sudden, lonely feeling is…harsh. I find myself rubbing my fingers up and down my arms, and I shiver under the touch.
But I need to change. I need to brush my teeth, too, and hopefully giving myself tasks like this will distract me from all the shit that happened in the woods last night. I suck in a breath, then another, and with my nails digging into my skin, I cross the room to open the top drawer of my dresser.
Snatching the first Crestview Counselor t-shirt I can find, I barely even glance down at the material before pulling shorts and a swimsuit out of the other drawers. Quickly I strip, then yank on the clean clothes awkwardly as my brain continues to misfire in every way imaginable.
I shouldn’t have agreed to anything. That’s the main thought going through my brain, and it causes my hands to tremble as I yank the shorts up to my hips. My mind wants to tell me I was stupid, and rash, and that I’d made an awful decision last night.
Maybe I had, but it meant that no one died. And as far as I know, everyone is still safe from him. But I can’t help running my words and his over and over again through my head, like a bad indie film on repeat.
All the while, I pretend I can’t feel the burning crawl of his saliva in my mouth, or the way it had tasted on my tongue. I swallow around the sudden thickness, and remind myself of how he humiliated me about calling the police, and the burning, uncomfortable feeling of that.
Not to mention how he’s thrilled to have control of me for the rest of this camp session, and how he’s looking forward to trying to break me.
I can’t let him do that.
Finally, my thoughts slam into cohesion. I feel awake for the first time since his kiss; like I’m finally all here instead of drifting somewhere in the woods waiting to be put back together.
