Page 59 of Yours to Break

The forest had changed. It feltthicker, heavier somehow, as if the trees were leaning in around me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw nothing, but Ifeltthem. Somewhere behind me. The way a deer knows the wolf is near before it hears the growl.

My foot then caught on something—a root, a rock, I didn’t know—and I went sprawling again onto the forest floor, pain flashing through my palms and knees.

“Fuck!” I bit out. I wanted to scream and I wanted to cry.

Instead, I stayed frozen there in the dirt, chest heaving, eyes wide and wild as I scanned the area around me.

I remembered the way Hayes looked at me when I laughed or smiled, and how Hudson would mindlessly rub my feet as we cuddled up on the couch.

And the things they said. The way they said them. Like I mattered. Like Ibelongedto them.

Like I deserved to be a part of their family.

I pressed my fists against my forehead and curled in, rocking slightly. “You’re so fucking stupid,” I whispered. “You should’veneverlet yourself fall for them.”

Another branch snapped, closer this time.

Panic lit up every nerve in my body.

I staggered up again, blinking against the blur of tears and wind, and forced my legs to move. I didn’t know how much longer I could outrun this—not justthem, but the part of me that still needed the warmth in their voices when they said my name.

My lungs couldn’t keep up; every inhale was a gasp, every exhale a choked sob. My throat felt like it was burning every time I breathed. My mouth tasted like iron and felt full of cotton. I could hardly see where I was going anymore—just forward. The ground tilted under my feet, uneven and unforgiving.

I felt like a wounded animal. Stupid. Helpless.

I pushed forward, clawing at branches and stumbling down a slope I hadn’t seen until I was tumbling. I landed hard, a loud cry tearing from my throat. My previously uninjured ankle twisted wrong beneath me, a bolt of pain shooting up my leg.

No, no, no. Are both of my fucking ankles twisted now? Motherfucker.

I crawled forward on my hands and knees through the wet leaves and sticks, trying to keep my ankles from bumping into anything.

Then I heard footsteps coming up from behind.

They sounded controlled, not in a hurry. Like they belonged to predators who knew they’d already won.

My heart began pounding like a war drum in my ears. Maybe if I were quiet, they’d pass me. Maybe if I could just—

“Pet,” Hayes crooned.

I clenched my jaw, trying to vanish into the ground. Soft laughter ping-ponged between the trees.

Hayes continued, voice as sweet as honey, “Sweetheart, do you even have any strength left?” I whimpered weakly into the dirt, squeezing my eyes shut. “Why’d you run off, baby? We were doing so well before the little party last night. What changed? No matter. You’ll be back home safe and sound soon. You’ll get that reward you left behind, remember? You earned it, so we won’t take it away. If you give up right now, we’ll carry you back to the house and forget all about this. I’m going to count to three slowly, so if you’d like that option, just say yes before I finish, okay?” It was tempting to take his offer, but I was still clinging to the hope that they might not find me at all if I stayed quiet. “One… Two……. Remember you chose this. Three.”

Everything went silent. I held my breath, waiting.

After a few seconds, I heard the sound of his footsteps walking in the other direction.

I painstakingly counted to fifteen in my head, wanting to be sure that he’d walked far enough away before I started running again.

At the count of fifteen, I breathed out a small sigh of relief, cracking open my eyes to check that the coast was clear.

And screamed.

Because, no, the coast was most definitely not clear.

Hudson was crouched directly in front of me, a sinister smirk lighting up his face.

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