Page 11 of Protect

What if she caves because it’s easier? What if we lose her because it’s just too much?

I can’t blame her for that either.

“We’re going to get you,” I say as I touch the screen.

Dimitri nods. “No matter what, baby. You belong right here. We’re going to make it happen.”

“Soon,” I say when the camera angle changes to follow Hope. “Very soon. And I’m going to make him pay for everything he does—whether you know what it is or not.”

“Not just you,” Dimitri hisses. “We all want to make him eat his comments and feel what he’s put her through.”

HOPE

“My dad is an ass too,” Jaxon whispers and an unfamiliar warmth spreads through due to his kindness. Hope sprinkles inside as I see a way out.

I ignore my father’s speeches, his foul words as I stuff myself full with the food Jaxon plated for me.

Perhaps I was right, and things will change because of them.

I blink away the memory and stare at the food and water my dad gave me.

He’s trying to poison me, I just know it. I won’t eat what he gave me. I’m not going to drink the water even though my throat is so dry that talking feels like torture. I don’t have anything to say to him anyway. I stare at the soapy water. If I get to the bottom, will it still taste like soap?

Will it make me sick?

Why am I still here? Why hasn’t anyone noticed I’m missing? I have a job. I have friends. I have… my three stalkers or…whatever they are. Knox hasn’t left me alone even when I ordered it. Jaxon claims I’m his and looks at me with hunger and heat even when I tell him to fuck off. And Dimitri has been the unmoving mountain, steady and lurking. Why aren’t they here?

A part of me is sure that they know exactly where I am because they found me even when I ran.

It’s a stupid thought. A really stupid thought which proves that I need food and more than a few hours of sleep. I blink at the soapy water again. It’s so tempting. I lick my bottom lip. Instead, I grab the bucket of soapy water and drag it closer. I try to hide myself as I clean up slowly. Every muscle hurts.

I’m crunchy from not having any activity.

No matter how much I dream of the life I was just stolen from, I always end up right back here.

There’s no escape for long. There’s no real escape from my father. The last few years might as well be the dream and this captivity my reality.

Shuddering, I finish cleaning up and change into the dress I’ve been left. I feel more exposed but being clean is a luxury I’m not going to waste.

I wish I could hide my clothes to keep them, but instead, I wash them in the soapy water and find a way to hang them up for later. My underwear included. I deserve to still feel like a person and that means being clean. Even if it means feeling like I’m easier access.

Fighting is the best option. I’ve already started finding his weaknesses. I can keep finding them. Maybe I can find ways to gross him out. What if I yell someone else’s name, bring up the guys? I’ll find ways to keep my dad on his toes.

I’ll find ways to push him back, to keep him off me.

Closing my eyes, I take a breath and let myself drift into something else.

I stare at Knox and Dimitri across the table. There’s a kindness in their eyes, beneath the stoic grumpy looks on their faces. Sometimes, I get a faint smile, something sweeter than I’m used to.

Perhaps others could want me. Others could love me.

Does my dad? Would he let anyone else love me?

I open my eyes.

No.

He’ll never let anyone else love me. Because he doesn’t see me as a person.

---