Page 76 of Serpent & Saviors

He pointed to a bookshelf. Tossed on the top like an afterthought was the most worn looking teddy bear I’d ever seen.

“What are you doing hiding up there? Somebody needs you. Your job is not done yet.” I looked down at the child, whose eyes filled with love as he waited to hold his bear again.

I handed it to him, which he immediately hugged to his little chest. “I’m so sorry you had to go away. I’m here now. Uncle Pasha is too.”

I ruffled his blonde hair and said, “Sit down over there while I get your things.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Hannah; I was sure, without even having to look at it. It was the fifteenth one she had sent this morning. Our last counseling session had gone well, but then she popped into the club again. Like the first time wasn’t a clue enough. She didn’t belong there. Last night was worse, if that was possible.

It didn’t help that she saw me with Leena. Didn’t matter; I was fully clothed. Leena wasn’t. I knew at that moment we were done. There would be no coming back from this, and I honestly couldn’t care less. I turned my attention back to the task at hand, which was getting our kid packed. He wouldn’t be coming back here. I felt a little tug on my shirt.

“Can we pack my charcoal pencils and sketchbook?”

“We can. Why don’t you go grab them and anything else that is very important to you?”

“Okay,” Declan whispered, looking around his room.

There was an insistent pounding in my head. It was nothing compared to the burning need for air. My lungs screamed for it, for me to breathe, but that wasn’t an option. Not with being trapped underwater.

Cameron’s voice was dull in my ears, but the anger and hate behind it spoke loud enough. Fighting back was pointless. Nonetheless, I persisted. I had to. Declan was on the other side, and if Andrew rescued him, he could recount what happened.

My eyes shot open as I realized he was pulling me up out of the water once more. Oxygen was a gasp away, and I was desperate for it. I sucked in as much as I could the moment my lips broke the surface. Within seconds, another blow struck my face. This one brought forth bright bursts of stars. They exploded around me, blocking out my vision.

“You stupid, worthless bitch. I had one simple request for you, and you couldn’t even do that right. You don’t care about our son. Now you will pay.”

I’d refused to play his game and drown Jenny, basically calling his bluff. He wouldn’t hurt Declan. Not today anyway. I was another thing, and now his anger was off the charts. After failing to get an erection, he abandoned rape as part of my torture. My final punishment was what he wanted me to do to Jenny.

Drowning.

I had barely caught my breath before my head was once more held down in the tub. I had lost count of how many times and prayed that this time he’d see it through. I didn’t know how much fight I had left in me. With the last of my strength fading, my mind drifted away, and I imagined myself on that beach long ago.

Except this time there was no Andrew. There was only me and the sea. Truth was, I was meant to die that night. I allowed myself to disassociate. My memory had conjured up the exact scene of that night, down to the way the waves broke against the shore. I looked around in awe.

The moon was full, and there lingered a longing inside me, a calling to surrender myself. It was an ache deeply rooted in my chest. It was different from the pain I currently experienced from not being able to breathe.

In front of me lay salvation. In my dreamlike state, I waded into the deep, dark blue water. White foam sea-caps weaved around my feet as I walked forward. Soft, wet sand squished between my toes, and my nightgown tangled around me, yet I walked further still. I expected to feel fear, but in recognizing defeat, I’d freed my mind.

The waves still crashed around me, swirling angrily, but I was calm. All of my weariness disappeared. I drifted away, feeling like I was floating on a cloud across time. I opened my mouth with the last of my breath as the water sucked me down. Eyes open but not seeing, time passed and my life drained from me. Closing my eyes for the last time, I let the memories flood my mind.

Bright spring flowers swirled and formed the shape of a swan on a lake. Autumn leaves, with all the brilliant red and orange colors, drifted down and formed a pile. A white rabbit emerged, and its cute nose twitched. Winter snow fell, but it couldn’t hide the red fox as it bound toward me.

My season sisters had come to be with me in the end. They surrounded me and called my name. An incredible peace warmed me from within. I wasn’t alone anymore.

Please let this be the end.

Then, without warning, I was ripped from my dreamstate. Pain shot through me like a bullet. I was tossed aside like a rag doll, my body hitting the cold, unforgiving floor. My mind tried to reconcile what was happening, and I was trapped between fantasy and reality. It was as if the waves rejected me, throwing me back on the shore somehow.

“You’re still alive! Fight, damn it!” the rabbit screamed.

“Please, you can’t leave us,” the swan cried.

“Scream louder. That’s it. Now fight,” the fox chanted.

I was hallucinating, clearly, but my girls asked me to fight. Instinctually I sucked in air. A renewed sense of strength replaced the apathy and defeat from earlier. Rough hands grasped me, and I did exactly that. A fresh surge of adrenaline jolted through my body. In my disorientated state, I reached out for something and felt an arm. I lashed out, my nails digging into the flesh.

Scratching fiercely, I saw myself as Hercules. I was now on a mission, intent on ensuring that I left evidence behind. Cameron’s DNA would be under my nails. Bucking wildly in confusion because I expected to feel water covering me any second, I punched and kicked. My vision cleared just enough to see a familiar figure with beautiful hazel eyes that were filled with concern.

Marcus?