Page 11 of Save Me

Rhett leans in and wipes a tear off my cheek, looking down his nose at me. “God, you are just a pretty face, aren’t you?” He smirks. “How can you not comprehend this? He doesn’twantyou, Evi, he said so himself. But go ahead and believe whatever you want, just don’t come crying to me when he doesn’t come get you,” he says.

“So what am I doing here then? If you’re not getting money from him, just let me go.” I try not to sound desperate as I plead my case.

He looks at me for a moment as if considering my request before the corners of his mouth tilt up.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to think of a way you can pay me back, so get comfortable. You might be here for a while,” he says, before shifting his attention from me to the TV. “Now, someone put the game on—the Ravens are playing tonight.”

I stand up slowly, my hands trembling as the dam within me breaks and a pain I didn’t think possible fills the void inside ofme, seeping into every crevice of my body as an internal battle is waged within.

Jax doesn’t want me.

This is not real. This cannot be real.

He loves me.

He isn’t coming for me.

I’m not worth it.

He doesn’t love me.

If Jax doesn’t want me, then what is Rhett planning on doing with me?

I collapse on the bed, my sobs wreaking havoc on my body, and I cry until there’s nothing left except a hollowness within me. The last thought I have before drifting off to sleep is that the guy who caught me running away never told Rhett I tried to escape. And for some reason that gives me a sliver of hope.

CHAPTER 6

‡

Four days later.

Isit onthe couch, staring at the painting on the wall across from me as whatever-his-name-is stands in the kitchen, sipping a hot coffee and eating a muffin. The days have started to blur together and I lose track of time as the hope within me is crushed with every passing minute. I’ve made no progress solidifying an escape plan outside of trying to make a run for it again. It feels even colder in here today and I’m starting to question if not risking getting lost in the forest is actually a sign of sanity and not a lack of bravery. An icy shiver runs over my skin as the boathouse shakes from the wind; the blankets I wrap around me are no match for the cold that settles deep in my bones.

I look up as he tosses his phone onto the counter and gives me a bored look. He hasn’t told me anything about himself or his motives for doing this, but something tells me he doesn’t like being here. I’ve only heard snippets of his conversations with Rhett and Tanner when they swung by, my ear pressed up against the door to gather as much information as I could about the situation. From what I can tell, they’re colleagues and friends, yet his tone becomes even more guarded than usual whenever they’re in the room. And when I glimpse him after they leave it takes a while for his posture to relax, which gives me the feeling he doesn’t fully trust them or like them.

I’ve been here for almost a week and there has been no word from Jax. Whenever Rhett swings by he makes a show of loudlyexclaiming how there has been nothing but radio silence from Jax. I know he’s doing it to bother me, knowing I’ll hear him even through a closed door, but it’s starting to get to me. His words slowly eating away at the hope I’ve tried to keep alive. No calls.

No texts.

No effort or change of heart to come and help me.

And every time the words leave Rhett’s mouth, I feel like a piece of me dies as the part of me that believes what he’s saying grows like a vine. My annoyance at Rhett’s visits quickly turns to anger, and his presence evokes a rage inside of me that I struggle to contain, a hatred that all my sadness and pain has fueled over the course of the week.

Thankfully, though, I’m about to have some time without Rhett here. It’s Thanksgiving today and I overheard Rhett saying he’s spending some time at his family’s hunting lodge and will be too occupied to “swing by” as he put it. I’m hoping that without him here I’ll have another chance to escape.

“Are you going home like Rhett?” I ask, my eyes finding him still in the kitchen sipping coffee.

“Hmm?” he responds, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Are you going home for Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah, I’m going home. My family isn’t close, but our presence is expected during the holidays.”

I feel a surge of hope bubble within me at the idea that I might be left unsupervised for the holiday, giving me an opportunity to find a way back to the city without being caught by Rhett or his friends.

“Your family sounds like mine,” I muse, trying to keep my voice neutral, not wanting to give away the plan that I’m already trying to solidify.

“One night for each holiday is what’s required, so that’s all I give. Dinner tonight and brunch tomorrow at the country club. Imight not like my parents, but brunch at the club makes up for it.”

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