Page 73 of Saving Little Clark

I clapped a hand over my mouth, muffling the involuntary whimper that tried to escape. Wedged myself deeper into the closet, as far back as I could go.

"I know you're here," he crooned, voice drifting nearer. A shadow fell across the thin line of light beneath the door, and I stopped breathing entirely. "I can practically smell your fear. It's always been my favorite perfume on you."

Oh god. He was right outside, no more than a foot away. If he thought to check the closet, if he so much as rattled the knob...

But then, miraculously, he moved on. Prowling further down the hall, footsteps fading into the distance.

I exhaled shakily, knees going weak with relief. Slowly, carefully, I eased the door open. Peeked out into the hall, hardly daring to breathe.

Empty. Blessedly, terrifyingly empty.

I slipped out on silent feet, every nerve on high alert. I could call Daddy, but the phone was downstairs by the TV.

And then, a noise shattered the hush. High and sharp, ringing out like a gunshot. The jangle of a doorknob. The groan of hinges, slow and ominous.

He'd found me.

I bolted, abandoning any attempt at subtlety. Careened around a corner and down another endless stretch of hallway, the slap of my feet like thunder in the eerie quiet.

Sterling's footsteps echoed behind me, growing louder with every passing second.

"You can't escape me. I'll chase you to the ends of the fucking earth if I have to, but one way or another, this endstoday!"

My lungs burned, my muscles screaming in protest. But still I ran, flew down the halls in a blind panic. And then, from my periphery, a flash of pink. The cheerful coral of Elijah's favorite blankie, peeking out from beneath a closed door.

The playroom. The one place in this mansion that felt safe. The one place Sterling would never think to look for me.

I wrenched the door open and threw myself inside, slamming it shut behind me with a crash. Scrabbled for the lock with shaking fingers, the snick of the bolt like a gunshot in the hushed room.

For a moment, all was still. And then, from beyond the door, a chuckle. Low and dark, slithering down my spine like a trickle of ice water.

"Oh, Clark. My sweet, stupid boy." Sterling's voice was a purr, rolling through the wood like black velvet.

He laughed again, ugly and victorious. The sound of a predator who'd finally cornered his prey, savoring the inevitability of the kill.

"You always were a sentimental little fool. Clinging to yourthings, your pathetic littletreasures. As if they could ever protect you, as if theymeantsomething in the end. And now, they're going to be your funeral pyre."

My heart seized in my chest, a sob hitching in my throat. This room, these precious, cherished bits and pieces of my life with Daddy, they couldn't save me. Couldn't stop the force of Sterling's rage, the hatred that had festered in him.

I was going to die here. Alone and afraid, surrounded by the shattered remnants of a love I'd never see again.

The unfairness of it, the fuckingcruelty... it hit me like a blow, stole my breath and buckled my knees. Sent me crashing to the carpet in a boneless heap, tears spilling hot and fast down my cheeks.

It wasn't fair, not when I'd fought so hard, survived so much. Clawed my way out of the hell he'd made for me, built something beautiful and bright from the ashes.

I had a life now. A family, a future. Someone who loved me, really loved me, in all the ways I'd never dared hope for.

I was going to die, and Daddy would never know how much I loved him. How grateful I was, for every smile and snuggle. For showing me that I was worthy, was wanted, just as I was.

A broken sob clawed its way up my throat. I curled in on myself, small and shattered. Buried my face in Elijah's blankie and keened, raw animal grief sinking its teeth deep.

But even as I wept, even as I shook apart at the seams, something caught my eye. A flash of color, bright against the cartoony pattern of the blanket.

A note. Tucked into the folds with utmost care, my name scrawled across it in Daddy’s slanting hand. I reached for it with trembling fingers, hardly daring to breathe. Unfolded it to reveal a message, short and impossibly sweet.

"To my baby boy,

I'm with you, even when I'm not. In spirit, in soul, in every beat of your beautiful heart. You're strong, sweetheart. Stronger than you know, braver than you'd ever believe.

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