Page 192 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Tell. Her,” he growls.

“Your mother was a cheating, lying whore. She told me you weren’t my daughter.”

“What?”

I try to take a step back, but Noah is there holding me in place.

“I lost it. She was going to take you away from me and then she tells me you’re not mine. Years…For fucking years I took care of you two, and for what? For her to fucking scurry away in the middle of the night without even as much as a goodbye? I don’t fucking think so.”

“If you’re not my father, then who…”

“My brother. She said Johnny was your father. I lost it. All I could see was red as I tightened my grip around her throat, but then you had to try and be a hero. You stupid fucking child.”

This is all too much. This monster might not be my father. My real father might already be dead. We were almost free that night, but he’s right, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t dropped that fucking rabbit. If I hadn’t grabbed the knife. If I had just been a good girl and gone upstairs, none of that would have happened.

“Willow?” Noah whispers in my ear. “Breathe, baby. I need you to breathe.”

A gulp of the stagnant air has me choking and gagging on the stench of it all.

“No,” I scream as I push away from them both.

“It’s true, Willow. Your mother is dead because of you,” he cackles as I take another step back, pressing myself against the wall.

My chest feels like it’s caving in.

Why did I come down here?

Why?

“Willow, look at me,” Noah says softly as my eyes focus and find him standing right in front of me.

“Noah, I…Why? Why is he here? How long has he been here?”

“Four years. I’ve been down in this shit-hole for four fucking years all because of you, Willow. Everything is because of you, don’t you see that, you stupid girl?” he shouts.

Noah screams as he rushes towards the monster.

“I’m the one who hunted you down. I’m the one who dragged you here. I’m the one who’s tortured and beaten you for four years, not her. Don’t you dare blame her for this.”

“But it is because of her. You always wanted to be the one to save her, even back then.”

He spits at Noah before another crack echoes as his fist connects with the monster’s jaw.

“Willow, end him. Grab that knife off the table and fucking end him. Kill the monster that’s haunted you for years, Little Rabbit,” Noah shouts to me as he holds James in place gripping him by his hair.

“She’s too fucking weak. Aren’t you, Little Rabbit?” he mocks me.

“No, she’s not. She’s strong. You’re strong, Willow. Kill him,” Noah demands.

“I…I can’t,” I stutter.

“You can. I know you can, Little Rabbit. You know why? Because you’re one of the strongest people I fucking know.”

“I can’t…”

“Look. At. Me!” Noah shouts, snapping my focus only to him. “You can. I’m right here. I told you, I’ll always be there next to you. I lit the flame so you could burn down that house. Now I’m handing you the knife to kill the monster who ruined your childhood. Take it, Willow. End him, and this is all over.”

I glance over at the table of different tools. My stomach churns just thinking about all of the things that these could have been used for. Glancing at the monster, I can see that some have definitely been used on him once or twice.