Page 142 of Savage Don

I stay in bed so long, tucked beneath the heavy duvet, that I’ve started to sweat by the time I decide that enough is enough.

There’s no point in wallowing here. There are decisions to be made. There are decisions to ignore.

Pushing myself out of bed, I shuffle towards the bathroom.

I’m still wiping the sleep out of my eyes when I see the sticky note plastered on the bathroom door.

I’ll be back before sundown. I promise. You know I wouldn’t leave you if it wasn’t important. Our future starts tonight, kitten. Prepare yourself for eternity.

There’s another line below that passage, but it’s been scribbled out. What did you decide to leave out, Ray?

The mystery follows me into the bathroom, and I can’t get rid of the sunken feeling in my gut, even as I wash up with a steamy shower and prepare myself for another eventful day.

Something big is going down outside of these walls. And I know exactly what that is.

Ray isn’t happy with just buying me. He’s too possessive for that. Our future won’t be able to start until he’s killed my past.

He’s going after Father.

I’ve already dried myself off when I feel the first tear fall down my cheek.

Father was so cruel to me last night. It’s been years since he brought up Mother, and even then, he was always so vague about it.

I had to pick up bits and pieces of what truly happened throughout the years. As far as I know, not long after I was born, something in Mother snapped, and Father sent her off to a sanitorium to be treated.

She never came back.

One year, when I was twelve, Father asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him my only wish was to see Mother.

That’s when he told me she was dead.

I’ve buried that memory so deep that I’m surprised I can even remember it. But everything is being unearthed. I guess that’s what happens when you threaten to leave your past behind.

Everything feels so dark and gloomy as I search the closet for something warm. An oversized sweater is my best option. When I put it on, though, I’m overwhelmed by a familiar scent.

It’s Ray.

There’s no escaping him. Just like there’s no escaping my dark past.

I already know what he would say.

Let’s rule the darkness together, kitten.

But I don’t feel like ruling anything right now. All I feel is a deep, empty loneliness.

Father will be gone soon. That’s what my gut tells me.

I’ll be an orphan.

My heart shudders as I step back out of the closet. Then, my stomach grumbles. Maybe some food will help fill this emptiness.

I’m already shuffling towards the bedroom door when I hear a completely unexpected sound.

Is that my phone?

It’s buzzing. But not like it does from a text or even a call.

The vibrations are more violent. So violent, in fact, that they shake the nightstand, even from behind the shut drawer I’d shoved my phone into.