Page 98 of The Sound of Silence

He was too strong.

“No, Ethan. Please, don’t do this!” I rasped.

“It’s useless to try to fight me, Gia. How many times do I have to tell you that?” he growled.

“Please. I just want you to leave me alone. Go… go…” I coughed, struggling to gulp air. “Just go away.”

“You’re my girl, Gia. Mine. Not his. Not ever. Do you understand me?”

In a fit of rage, he let go of my throat, grabbed me by the roots of my hair again, and whipped me down to the ground. Along the way, my side smacked against the coffee table, and I could swear I heard a crack. Whether it was my ribs or the table, I couldn’t be sure. My head, my cheek, my back—I hurt all over, and it was hard to tell where the pain stopped and started. The room tilted, my vision becoming hazy. I couldn’t move, my body nothing but a lifeless heap on the floor.

He’s finally going to kill me.

I was stupid to come here.

I laid there motionless with my eyes closed, knowing he was near because I could hear his ragged breaths. He was mumbling something that sounded like an incantation, but I tuned him out. In my mind, the words Derek had once made me say came into focus.

I am not weak.

I am not what he says I am.

I amsmart and intelligent.

What happened is not my fault.

I did not fail.

I am strong. I am enough. I am in charge.

I am.

He can’t hurt me anymore.

I couldn’t let Ethan strike. I needed to fight. This was my life and I was going to take it back.

I am enough.

Drawing on the mental aspects of my self-defense training, I kept my eyes closed and listened to the sounds around me. I heard a hollow wood door opening and closing, signaling he had gone down into the hallway for some reason. There was a click-click that reminded me of the stove burner being lit. I tried to peer through partially closed lids to see what he was doing in the kitchen, but I couldn’t tell from my angle on the living room floor. A few moments later, there was a strange burning smell, but I couldn’t place it. Before I could think about how to investigate further, I heard the shuffle of his feet as he stalked closer.

I pinched my eyes closed tight. From the sound of his breathing, I knew he was hovering above me. He reached down and gripped my jaw with one large hand.

“I’m going to kill your boyfriend next, Gia. If I can’t have you, neither can he. He never should have touched you, and now he has to pay. Perhaps I’ll skin his fucking little dog alive while he watches as punishment,” he hissed. “But first, I’m going to brand you and take what’s mine one last time. My cock will be the last thing you ever feel on this earth. Because make no mistake—you will die tonight.”

He wants to brand me?

I didn’t know what kind of vile, sadistic shit he had planned but I could certainly imagine the worst. With my eyes still closed, I tried not to scream bloody murder as I heard the sound of his pants’ buckle come undone. The only security I had was knowing I was fully clothed.

Instead of panicking, I focused on trying to retrieve the kubotan tucked into the side of my waistband without him seeing it. I peered at him, cracking my eyes open just enough to see that he wasn’t paying one bit of attention to what I might be doing. He was too preoccupied with his lust, struggling to free his dick.

Then I saw why he was struggling. He was trying to do it one-handed while the other hand brandished a black iron pole with a flaming red tip.

Then it clicked.

The burning smell.

He literally meant physical branding—as if I was a cow, he was preparing to slaughter.

I swallowed back the bile welling in my throat as I slid the tiny knife from its hiding spot. Using my thumb and forefinger, I unscrewed the cap until I could pull it from its sheath. Keeping it hidden under my hip, I waited. When the zipping sound of his fly filled my ears, I knew I would only have seconds to act.

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