Page 59 of Fated to Them

“Addie, what’s going on?” Taylor asks, clutching onto my back and using me as a shield.

“Wait, Cyrus, just let me calm her down,” I tell him, but he ignores me, reaching for her.

I slap his hand away, stopping him from grabbing her. Eli growls, making goosebumps rise on my skin. The sound is so menacing that Taylor freaks out, grabbing a lamp from the hall stand and brandishing it as a weapon.

“Taylor, calm down,” I tell her, turning to face her, but her eyes dart to all three of us frantically.

“Addie, you don’t understand. You can’t be with them,” she says.

Eli reaches for her, and she swings the lamp, barely missing him.

“Taylor, calm down! Cyrus is just going to help you.”

“Help me? Help me, Addie? I don’t need help, especially from the likes of them,” she screams, swinging the lamp again, but this time Eli grabs it, ripping it from her hands and placing it on the bench behind him. He advances on her, and I step in his way, blocking him from her.

“Move, Adeline!” he snaps at me.

“No, just let me explain to her.”

“Explain what?” Taylor shrieks just as Cyrus grabs her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She shrieks and starts struggling, kicking her legs and trying to fight him off.

I grab her face, trying to calm her. Instead, I get kicked in the stomach, knocking me back and onto the floor.

“He is just going to help, help so you can be a better mother to Maya, Taylor,” I tell her, getting up off the ground.

“I’ll be good, Addie. I will be good, I promise,” she cries, struggling against Cyrus.

She throws her head back, the back of her head connecting with his face. He grunts at the impact before Taylor screams as his grip becomes tighter, and I see her face turning purple as she struggles to breathe as he crushes her chest in his arms.

“Let her go. You’re fucking killing her!” I scream at him, trying to pry his arms away from her, when suddenly Eli grabs my waist, ripping me away from her.

“Deal with her,” Eli screams at Cyrus, and I watch, horrified, as he starts dragging my sister from the room while she screams for me. I thrash in Eli’s arms, trying to help her, the panicked look on her face breaking my heart. Eli rips me into the hallway toward the living room.

“Addie, enough! He won’t hurt her,” Eli snaps at me.

“He already is. Just let me calm her,” I scream at him, turning in his arms and pushing on his chest.

Eli trips over the coffee table as we crash to the floor; he pivots, and I land on top of him. I sit up, about to make a dash for my sister, when Eli grips my ankle, ripping me back to the ground. A terrifying noise leaves him, making me scream as I am jerked back to him by my foot. I start kicking, trying to get away from him. I watch, petrified, as his canines protrude and his eyes turn into demonic, never-ending pools of darkness. I can see my scared expression mirrored in his eyes as he pushes between my legs, pinning my arms to the floor.

“Stop, Addie,” he growls as I thrash, trying to escape him.

“Let me go, Eli. Let me fucking go!” I scream, tears rolling down my face and into my hairline.

“Addie, stop. We had an agreement. He helps her, and you come with us. He is doing what he promised. Now, fucking stop struggling!” Eli yells at me before slamming me down on the carpet, his grip on my arms tightening painfully.

“It’s done,” Cyrus says, making me look up.

I see him looking down at us, his arms folded across his chest, an annoyed expression on his face. Eli lets me up, sitting back on his knees and releasing me. I scramble to my feet, racing toward the kitchen, when I see my sister sitting at the table, staring off vacantly at the wall.

“Taylor?” I ask before rushing to her side.

She looks at me, her face lighting up like it is the first time she has seen me today.

“Ada…” she says before standing and hugging me.

I pullback, holding her at arm’s length, looking at her.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, and she looks at me like I’ve grown two heads.